Malaysia Today - Your Source of Independent News
Malaysia Today - Your Source of Independent News |
- LGBT a Jewish agenda, says Perkasa
- Najib shoots pre-election messengers
- Education, economic equity main draw for Chinese community, says Saifuddin
- FORUM: "Bagaimana Kerajaan Pakatan Rakyat akan membelanjakan wang rakyat"
- Free speech fanaticism
- What’s the tit-for-tat for RM40m?
- Why Barisan Nasional Must Be Wary of Today’s Communists
- Umno explains Pakatan’s Rapid backtrack
- Musa Hassan denies joining PAS, says no link to Anwar suit
- RM7.2b oil royalty ‘rip-off’ for Sabah
- Many versions of the truth
- Tee Keat slams Soi Lek for mocking audit report, ignoring mismanagement
- Speak Malay, PM tells Chinese community
- Penang men no longer need first wife's permission to take on second wife
- Zeti: M'sia can withstand capital flows
- Soros: Euro crisis destroying EU
- AG report won’t affect voter mindset
- Problem-plagued Proton ‘in trouble’
- Musa Aman scandal punctures Najib’s vision
- Who is the Taiko Tai in Taman Kaya, Ipoh, Perak Malaysia?
- Is March GE too late for Najib?
- Azmin-Khalid feud enters a new level
- And the fight intensifies
- PAS renegade Hasan Ali says will never join Umno
- The bogeyman and ‘under siege’ stratagem
- Guan Eng teaches Najib how to fight graft
- In latest tirade, MCA warns against principles of 'Koran' in national culture
- MCA is anti-Islam, says PAS Youth
- BN needs to be cautious
- Suspense too much for some
- ‘Graft in military housing since 90s’
- National debt soars to RM456.12 bil
- Malaysia's third quarter GDP to slow
- Sultan yet to give nod for discussion on Talamgate
- Sabah like a second home for MILF leaders
- Hasan Ali tiada kapasiti desak Nik Aziz letak jawatan, kata PAS
- Ali Baba contractors ‘killing-off’ Dayak business
- GE13: Should the global community care?
- Umno menikus bila berdepan MCA
- Misuari: It’s a recipe for another big, big war in Mindanao
- Wow !! 3 olang apek cina masuk Masjid apa hal??
- Azmin to be hit by FAC scandal?
- PAS man wants to know Christians’ 9% secret
- Ex-IGP Musa withdraws "black eye" suit against Anwar
- A prophet is not accepted in his own hometown?
- Bus drivers want bulk discounts for accumulated summonses
- Harassing SUARAM merely exposes BN/s phony reforms
- AKADEMI RAKYAT -- NOTES #1
- When two forces collide
- Nazri: Receiving foreign funds is not treason
| LGBT a Jewish agenda, says Perkasa Posted: 17 Oct 2012 01:08 PM PDT
(fz.com) - Malay rights group Perkasa says LGBT is a Jewish agenda being pursued through NGOs in Malaysia that have received support and funds from international Jewish-run NGOs in an attempt to attack Muslims in countries with a Muslim majority. "This is being done by championing what is forbidden under Islamic law. The enemies of the Jews are Muslims," said Syed Hassan Syed Ali, the secretary-general of the Malay rights group. Their strategy, according to Syed Hassan, is to weaken Muslims by influencing some of them to accept the LGBT culture and thus creating conflict among the Muslims. "Then they will be able to take over an Islamic country because its Muslim community is splintered. "In addition, there are a few political parties from the Malay Muslim community that I am certain, want support for their party," he told fz.com. Therefore, said Syed Hassan, some of the Muslim leaders in this country do not view the legalising of LGBT as a serious enough threat to Islam. "It appears that the Jewish representative in this country has had an early victory when the Muslims in the country are unable to see eye to eye in fighting this social ill," he added. Meanwhile, Barisan Nasional (BN) MPs approached by fz.com voiced their concern over the threat LGBT makes to the family institution. Although Pakatan Rakyat (PR) lawmakers were slightly hesitant to comment on the matter, they argued that there needs to be a more humane approach to issues concerning the community. Lenggong MP Datuk Shamsul Anuar Nasarah has been consistent in toeing party lines against the LGBT issue in various heated exchanges in Parliament over the matter. He acknowledged that individuals have their rights and freedom to express themselves. But he was against LGBT rights as, according to him, they clearly go against the norms of not only Islam but other religious teachings as well. To him, there is also the question of producing a competitive nation in the future. "It will ruin the institution of family. If we want to build a good nation, it has to be made up of good individuals and a perfect family system, He said that opposition to LGBT always existed but the recent increase in attention to the matter by BN lawmakers stemmed from statements made by PR leaders allegedly in support of the movement. "We had to react because certain leaders were lending their support to this small community. Even if they are comparatively small in number, when supported by political leaders, we are afraid that they will grow," he said. He added: "If we don't tackle it now, it will become something normal in society." Minister for Agriculture and Agro-based Industries Datuk Seri Noh Omar echoed similar sentiments, saying human rights must be observed "within the limits of religion". When asked why the government is focusing on such a small community, the Tanjong Karang MP said that the LGBT issue is just another social ill which can harm the current socio-economic make-up of the nation, and thus must be tackled adequately. "They may be small in number but a culture is like fire. When it is small, they are friendly. When it is big it will fight back," he said, adding that the issue has to be curbed before it gets out of hand. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Najib shoots pre-election messengers Posted: 17 Oct 2012 12:54 PM PDT
Anil Netto, Asia Times PENANG - Malaysiakini, a leading independent news portal, and Suaram, a human-rights organization, have come under heavy government pressure in the run-up to what is expected to be a hotly contested general election in Malaysia. Both independent groups have reported on politically damaging scandals surrounding Prime Minister Najib Razak and his ruling United Malays National Organization (UMNO) party. Home Minister Seri Hishammuddin Hussein has said the investigations are not linked to Suaram's actions in the submarine scandal. He and other government critics have charged that Suaram's and Malaysiakini's receipt of foreign funds, including from the US Congress-supported National Endowment for Democracy, has undermined their independence and influenced their agendas. In particular, Malaysiakini's link with the Media Development Loan Fund, which owns a 29% holding in the news portal, has recently been put under the spotlight in the state-influenced mainstream media. One of MDLF's funders is the Open Society Foundations, a US-based organization founded by philanthropist and financier George Soros that promotes the development of civil society in developing countries. Soros has long been a convenient whipping boy in Malaysia. In the early 1990s during the Mahathir Mohamad administration, Malaysia's Bank Negara bet on the British pound against Soros' position and ended up losing unknown billions of ringgit. The bad blood behind the scenes bubbled over when the 1997-98 Asian financial crisis broke out, with Mahathir famously referring to Soros as a "moron" for his alleged role in undermining the region's currencies, including the ringgit. But the charges of associating with Soros don't have the same political resonance today. Malaysiakini noted last week that Najib himself met with Soros two years ago during a visit to New York. Still, UMNO politicians are taking aim at Western funding agencies to target critical civil-society and media groups and distract popular attention from their own political troubles ahead of national polls, which must be held by the first half of next year. Read more at: http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Southeast_Asia/NJ18Ae01.html | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Education, economic equity main draw for Chinese community, says Saifuddin Posted: 17 Oct 2012 12:43 PM PDT
(The Malaysian Insider) - Education and economic equity are the main issues that will attract the Chinese community, who appear to have swung their support in favour of Pakatan Rakyat (PR), says Deputy Higher Education Minister Datuk Saifuddin Abdullah. The Umno supreme council member speculated that it will be highly possible to win the Chinese votes back if those issues are resolved by the ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition. "To court Chinese voters, we have to really, deeply consider the issues that are most dear to them, like education." "Personally, I feel that we need to show a road map when we plan to recognise the certificates issued by 60 of the Chinese private schools," Saifuddin (picture) told The Malaysian Insider in an interview recently. "Maybe there will be some matters that need to be rectified, with respect to standards of quality, if we don't recognise them now, we would still have to one day," he said. The Temerloh MP also agreed with the government's step in recognising certificates issued by Tunku Abdul Rahman (TAR) College which, according to him, is a "step forward towards the road map". "We need to show the road map, since the steps towards it are already there, like the recognition of TAR College," he said. He didn't deny the possibility that issues like economic equity will be hard to tackle, but according to him, the government needs to convince the Chinese community that it is up to it. "Other issues might seem difficult ... but we need to solve them, for example, we need to convince them on issues of equality, equal economic treatment, assisting the poor and so on, without regards of race ... if we succeed we can at least get the support of the Chinese. "But the government has actually given a lot, there are only one or two things that need to be tackled since they are impossible to accomplish, even if PR governs there will be no assurance that they can tackle them," he added. However, he observed that the current BN government's policies are problematic in their implementation, and made difficult by time constraints. "Government policies are already lovely; it's just that the implementation takes a little time, along with some weaknesses. "But problems can be found anywhere, we just have to do that little bit more, and we need to convince them that we can give equality in economy to all races," he explained. Education is an important point for the Chinese community in Malaysia, as evident by pressure group Dong Zong (the United Chinese School Committees Association), which has demanded several changes in the national education policy in order to strengthen Chinese education in the nation. Read more at: http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/education-economic-equity-main-draw-for-chinese-community-says-saifuddin ther Asian nations as part of its commitment to forge solidarity with nations in the continent. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| FORUM: "Bagaimana Kerajaan Pakatan Rakyat akan membelanjakan wang rakyat" Posted: 17 Oct 2012 12:29 PM PDT
Bagaimana Kerajaan Pakatan Rakyat akan membelanjakan wang rakyat Semua pemerhati politik dan orang awam dijemput hadir bagi mendengar dan mengambil bahagian dalam wacana ini. 2 Oktober 2013 Salam Sejahtera, Adalah dimaklumkan bahawa roketkini.com akan menganjurkan satu wacana umum bertajuk "Bagaimana Kerajaan Pakatan Rakyat akan membelanjakan wang rakyat" pada hari Isnin, 22 Oktober 2013, jam 8 malam bertempat di Tingkat 1, Dewan Perhimpunan Cina, Jalan Maharajalela, Kuala Lumpur. Wacana kali ini akan dibarisi oleh tiga orang panelis iaitu YB. Charles Santiago MP Klang, YB Dr. Siti Mariah Mahmud MP Kota Raja dan Sdr. Rafizi Ramli Pengarah Strategi PKR. Moderator untuk wacana ini ialah Sdr. Dr. Ong Kian Meng. Fokus wacana pada kali ini akan membincangkan tentang beberapa segmen penting dalam Belanjawan Pakatan Rakyat yang telah dibentangkan baru-baru ini. Untuk makluman semua pihak, wacana ini adalah percuma. Semua pemerhati politik dan orang awam dijemput hadir bagi mendengar dan mengambil bahagian dalam wacana ini. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Posted: 17 Oct 2012 12:26 PM PDT
Different countries may define blasphemy differently but some common elements must be there. There must be a clear intention to wound religious feelings, a likelihood of breach of public order, and an element of religious insult or vilification. Prof Shad Saleem Faruqi, The Star THIS column on Oct 4 on "Hate speech hypocrisy" had argued that the right to free speech is not unlimited and carries concomitant responsibilities.My article elicited a number of responses, some very learned, and I welcome them and wish to respond. Sarachandran wrote that the perception among Muslims of their persecution is genuine and based on an objective overview of world happenings. But "how would we weave into this paradigm the unprovoked destruction of priceless Buddhist iconic images by the Taliban and the mere murmuring protestations by the world community and deafening silence of enlightened Muslims?" I totally agree with Sarachandran that we must not be selective in our condemnation and must take a stand against all atrocities no matter who the violator is and who the victim. The first function of freedom is to free someone else. Two readers asked about blasphemy against other religions besides the state religion. The answer to this has to be that the law must not be selective. It must shield all religions against vilification. For example, the Malaysian Penal Code in section 298 contains the general offence of wounding religious feelings. The provision protects all faiths. It must be acknowledged, however, that around the world the law on blasphemy is either discriminatory in its reach or administered unequally. For a long time till its repeal in 2007, the UK law on blasphemy defined the offence only in relation to the Church of England. Though the law was rarely enforced, the same effect was achieved by convicting those who insulted Jews under the common law offence of breach of peace. However, when a Muslim citizen of Britain, humiliated by Salman Rushdie's Satanic Verses, filed a police report, the public prosecutor got cold feet. The citizen then tried to initiate a private prosecution but the High Court rejected his application. In Greece and South Africa, blasphemy is only against the Christian Church. In the European Union, despite laudable activism in the cause of human rights of non-Muslims, constitutional jurisprudence is not free of anti-Islam bias. For example, Muslims girls are prosecuted for wearing the hijab. Mosques with minarets are vigorously opposed because that would ruin the skyline. Reader Buyung Adil raises a question about "who will define blasphemy?" My view is that the offence must be defined by law and tried before non-sectarian, civil courts. Different countries may define the offence differently but some common elements must be there. There must be a clear intention to wound religious feelings, a likelihood of breach of public order, and an element of religious insult or vilification. Mere disagreements with or respectful criticism of religious rulings should not be prosecuted. What penalty must be prescribed? One reader strongly argued against the death penalty and I totally agree. Fines along with counselling and community engagement sessions may be adequate. The purpose should be to re-educate and banish the ignorance that leads to the prejudices on which hate speech is based. Reader Buyung also asks the provocative question: "Why aren't Buddhists, Hindus, Catholics, Protestants, Confucianists, Bahais, Zoroastrians creating violent terrorism over acts of blasphemy?" This is a very large and involved question and only a few points can be explored. First, it is probably true that deep, unquestioning veneration for their faith is more widespread in Muslim societies. The militant secularism (e.g. the banning of Bible-reading in public schools as in the United States) is impossible in Muslim societies. Secondly, it is not true that other civilisations do not indulge in religious-racial violence and persecution. In the US, firebombing of black churches by white racist groups is known. Right-wing Christian groups destroy abortion clinics and shoot dead the patrons. The Ku Klux Clan used to lynch blacks. During George Bush's government, nearly 7,000 Muslims were profiled, detained and harassed. Was there no religious violence in Ireland till the 70s – inquisitions and burning of heretics; Jew-baiting and discrimination against Catholics; and the holocaust in Europe? Are not Europe and the UN to be blamed for the genocide in former Yugoslavia? Who committed and who helped the slaughters in Sabra, Shatila and Jenin? In India, religious, caste and tribal violence is endemic. The Babri mosque was razed to the ground and Muslims were butchered in Gujarat with political and police connivance. In Sri Lanka, race/religious violence claimed more than a hundred thousand lives. In Thailand and the Philippines, religious violence by both sides is well known. Thirdly, reader Buyung implies that terrorism is a speciality of Muslims. Much depends on how one defines terrorism. America's actions in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Vietnam, Kampuchea, Laos, Afghanistan, Iraq, Gautemala, Chile, Panama, Nicaragua, Cuba, El Salvador, Colombia, Congo/Zaire, Haiti, Somalia, Iran, Grenada, Costa Rica and Dominican Republic can also be defined as terrorist. Israel's brutalities in Palestine and Lebanon are flagrant violations of international law. Actually, humanity has a bloody record and no civilisation can claim superiority in this area. What has happened today is that through selective demonstration and fear-mongering, the topic of Islamic terrorism is allowed to demonise a religious community. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| What’s the tit-for-tat for RM40m? Posted: 17 Oct 2012 12:23 PM PDT
CT Ali, FMT "Every political party has the right to receive political donations" so said Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak. I agree that it is the right of any political party and any Barisan Nasional politicians (you must not forget to say that) to accept donations. You received RM4,000? Okay lah! What about RM40,000? Still okay. And RM400,000 is very okay… the generous donor must at least get a "thank-you" letter from Najib himself. How about RM4 million? Wow! Must at least have lunch and/or dinner with the prime minister. And RM40 million? Mi Casa. Su Casa! (My house is your house or make yourself at home!) Granted that there would be more than one or two businessmen donors who would willingly part with their hard-earned RM40 million, then take all of them to dinner. Though, of course, if you have given them more than billions in business profits, then it is they who must take you out to dinner. While chewing on that Wagyu beef (tender, tasteful and wonderfully wrapped in rice paper and tripled seared on an iron grill at RM100 an ounce), they might even ask you respectfully if they can give you more… money, that is. That Wagyu beef is too expensive. Of course, there is that small matter of the Wagyu cows being given beer to give them that special "oomph" but you don't think about these minor religious transgression when dining with millionaires. This is the thing with Najib – he knows how to behave in social circles and he knows just what to say. You can fault his wife, his handling of the Defence Ministry, Perak, Sibu, National Feedlot Corporation (NFC) and a host of other "Najib expletive deleted debacles" but not his family pedigree. But he sure has to come down to earth as we approach the 13th general election – tyres for taxi drivers and now RM9 million in "gifts" for the Sikh community. I wonder how that RM40 million donation to Sabah Umno (not to Chief Minister Musa Aman) is going to be spent. I guess keeping the Umno's "jentera" (machinery) happy is more important than the Sikhs. Did the MACC probe this matter? Now, prime minister, no matter what you say about a political party's right to give or take donations, if you have any common sense, what would be the quid pro quo for such a generous donation? Quid pro quo means a more or less equal exchange or substitution of goods or services: "a favour for a favour" and the phrases with almost identical meaning include "give and take", "tit for tat", "this for that", and "you scratch my back, and I'll scratch yours". It is almost beyond belief that you can dismiss this matter with a one-liner "every political party has the right to receive political donations". No wonder your deputy, Muhyiddin Yassin's friends are already staking out their preferred rooms on the fourth floor of the prime minister's office. Read more at: http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/opinion/2012/10/18/whats-the-tit-for-tat-for-rm40m/ | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Why Barisan Nasional Must Be Wary of Today’s Communists Posted: 17 Oct 2012 11:57 AM PDT
The point is, 'democracy' must be whatever WE want the nation to understand it to be - or not to be. To maintain control of people, we must control how they think. Alwyn Lau Dear XYZ, First, let me congratulate you on your efforts to reclaim back our two-thirds majority in parliament for GE13. You are playing our cherished race-and-(in)stability card which always shakes people up. Despite the best efforts of some to create peace and harmony, never fear! Remember that as long as people are concerned about rice bowls and share prices, the mere idea of political instability will Also, good job with your handling of Scorpene. Getting that French 'celebrity lawyer' to say a few words was sweet. In future, deploy more global mainstream media personalities to fight local alternative media reports. Now very few people know the truth anymore; and even fewer people care. Remember this principle: If you want to reap indifference, sow confusion. If you want the rakyat to ignore an issue, simply present multiple perspectives on respectable platforms. This way you'll create discussion (which gives that 'air' of intelligence and credibility) but destroy mass conviction (which is your kryptonite – be warned!). I'm concerned, though, about the actions against SUARAM. Next time, find or plant the dirt first, THEN make your move. Having said that, H's photo with the school-kids Before getting to my main warning, I wish to also give you credit for the DAP 'Christian conspiracy' claim. Send my regards to Nasha. That was a wonderful move! We score points with many Muslims, we score points against DAP and, best of all, we get the Christians fuming over the wrong thing. There is no strategy more effective to get Christians REFUSING to engage politically than to accuse them of over-engaging in politics! They are so predictable! Always high on their heavenly opium, they will always have trouble mixing 'spirituality' with 'political transformation'. I even read that some Christians, in their 'eternal' wisdom, say it's okay for Christians to be involved in politics, it's okay for preachers to discuss political issues but it's NOT OKAY for the sermon to be a place to endorse candidates. What a helpful contradiction! Make sure you remind our churchy friends in the MCA to repeat this at appropriate times. Now to the point of my letter. You may think this is a small matter, but trust me it's potentially huge. I'm talking about our favorite bogeyman: Communism. It's good you're using Red to tar our enemies (and it's only too bad that the best we can do so far is Mat Sabu, but it's a start). It's good that you keep reminding every generation about how our group fought for Independence and helped overcome the 'terrorist' Communist Party of Malaya (of course I'm over-simplifying things but how many Malaysians truly know this country's history?). So, okay, we've kept Communism locked up in the nation's bad books and hurled it every now and then. Splendid. But, look, things are changing. See the OCCUPY movements recently? It wasn't specifically 'Communist' but Marx would've been proud (sorta). For once, a class-based protest was in force, making the rich very uncomfortable. Most importantly, it made the middle-classes shifty, too. This is critical because the middle-class is that 'non-class' which society uses to insulate itself from the truth of Marx's class analysis. On one hand, middle-class folks are not poor. On the other hand, they cannot identify fully with the rich. Yet, on another hand (have you been counting hands?), they distance themselves from the poor. Far from being 'proof' that there is no more class-war, the middle-class in fact embodies the anxiety felt by society regarding class. Can you see, therefore, that the middle-class is a 'class struggle' IN ITSELF? So when this class starts to worry about a movement (like OCCUPY), it shows that the truth of Marxism is emerging. So whatever you do with the word 'Communism', be careful to avoid linking it to 'inequality', 'poverty', 'greedy businessmen', (or even 'HINDRAF') and so on. Make sure you use connotations like 'terrorist', 'genocide', 'mass hunger', 'Mao' – you get the idea. Whatever you do, you must NEVER connect 'Communism' to 'democracy'. Seriously! This will put us in greater danger than ever before! Because this was precisely what the leaders of the Communist Party of Malaya were trying to do: Give a new meaning to democracy. I'm not asking you to include the following in the schools' syllabus (don't do this!), but we must never forget how we reached where The British had their perspective of democracy. Our beloved forefathers had another idea of democracy. And the Communists had their views, too. What eventually happened, in case you forgot, was that our group worked out a deal with the Brits which would (Of course, we had our problems in '69 which, thankfully, were handled well by N's daddy. Really, the way he dealt with the riots I suspect that George Lucas learnt something from him for Revenge of the Sith. Losing control? Simple: Create a national catastrophe, declare an Emergency, grab and consolidate power - superb). The point is, 'democracy' must be whatever WE want the nation to understand it to be - or not to be. To maintain control of people, we must control how they think. The bottom line : Be careful of today's breed of Communists. Their main weapon is not violence, it's vision. They will try to overthrow governments not by armed struggle, but by struggling for a more direct democracy than what regimes like ours have put in place. By so doing, they will inspire people to re-imagine a more authentic form of democracy, much different from the kind inseparable from business concerns that we have been pushing. These new Communists will capture people's hearts not by asking them to blindly follow a leader, but to follow their own desires for self-governance (are we not relieved that even the Opposition has failed to implement local elections?). They also tend to target the poorest or the poor - the least of the least - thus swelling their numbers further. Worse, they're actually suspicious of profit and money. When activists can no longer be bought off, this is dangerous. But when entire masses reject our system of profits and political patronage – this is fatal. Never let this happen! You have been warned. Whilst I expect you to win GE13, we can no longer expect it to be easy. Take stronger measures now! Keep the flames of enterprise and commerce burning (or, put simply, keep people greedy for more and more), and you will stay in power! Bind the people to what will feed the system! This way the country, for all time, will remain ours. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Umno explains Pakatan’s Rapid backtrack Posted: 16 Oct 2012 06:03 PM PDT 'It can't get enough support from Pengerang residents.' Natasha Lai, FMT A lack of popular support has forced Pakatan Rakyat to backtrack from opposing Petronas' Refinery and Petrochemical Integrated Development (Rapid) project in Pengerang, according to Johor Umno secretary Ghazali Abbas. The opposition bloc had failed to win over local residents in its campaign against Rapid. He was commenting on Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim's statement yesterday that Pakatan was opposed not to the project per se, but to the way it was being implemented. Ghazali claimed that most Pengerang residents were now in favour of the project. According to him, the government carried out a survey among the residents, asking them to indicate whether they approved of the project, would accept the project if they received compensation, or were totally opposed to the project. He did not reveal the detailed findings, saying only that "most of the residents accepted the project" and that the majority of those who demanded compensation had received their dues. He said Pakatan "had to backtrack simply because they have failed to win over the residents". According to Hasnul Ahmad, who leads an anti-Rapid movement called Pengerang NGOs, the survey results went in favour of the government largely because many of the residents could not afford to go to trial. "So they chose Option 2 and took the compensation." They were told during the survey that they would each have to fork out a deposit of RM3,000 if they were to go to court, Hasnul added. "Most of them are fishermen," he said. "These people are poor and they can't imagine where they could get that much money." About 40% of the residents were still against the project, he added. Hasnul also said his movement would support Rapid if it were not located in a residential area and not detrimental to the environment. "Pakatan's stand is our stand," he said, "because it's Pakatan that has shown concern for us Pengerang residents. "We're not against development. The government can proceed with any development project as long as it does not intrude into our community and tradition, displace us and disturb our graveyards."
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| Musa Hassan denies joining PAS, says no link to Anwar suit Posted: 16 Oct 2012 06:00 PM PDT
(The Malaysian Insider) - Former Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Musa Hassan denied today speculation that he would be joining PAS or any other political party, following an apparent trend that has seen several government pensioners signing up with the Islamist opposition party this year ahead of the 13th general elections. The rumours were false, he told Sinar Harian Online today, adding that it also had nothing to do with his decision yesterday to drop a defamation suit against Opposition Leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim over the infamous 1998 "black eye" incident and Sodomy I trial. "That is not true," he told the Malay newspaper when asked about the rumours circulating on the web. "Anyway, whether PAS or Umno, nobody has come to meet me to offer membership," Musa told Sinar Harian. The retired police veteran was reported as saying he had never been involved nor supported any political party ever since joining the force. But he declined to comment when asked if he would become a member of PAS if given the chance. "I cannot speak about the future. "For myself, I am independent and my vote is confidential if asked which party I will choose in the general elections," the 60-year-old told the newspaper. Musa's name came to the fore once again recently after several Malay political news websites, including PAS-owned portal, Harakah Daily, published word that a former IGP would be joining the Islamist party over the weekend, citing an anonymous party insider as the source. A recent trend in Malaysian politics has seen several high-ranking Muslim government pensioners, including high-ranking officers such as former secretary-generals, ex-envoys and those from the police and armed forces joining PAS after the end of their service. Among them are former CID chief Datuk Fauzi Shaari, former Land and Cooperative Development Ministry secretary-general Datuk Dr Nik Zain Nik Yusof and Datuk Ramli Buyong, the deputy vice-president of Felcra Berhad. Musa had lauded Fauzi's move to join PAS in a previous exclusive interview with The Malaysian Insider, but said he would not make a similar move. "After this he can teach PAS about the country's laws and rules," Musa said of Fauzi then, adding he had rejected overtures from a Pakatan Rakyat (PR) component party. Apart from PAS, the other component parties are PKR and DAP. "It's better for people like me (former IGP) not to join politics," he told The Malaysian Insider in July.
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| RM7.2b oil royalty ‘rip-off’ for Sabah Posted: 16 Oct 2012 05:57 PM PDT It is highly unlikely that the current BN regime will give Sabahans the 20% oil royalty it is demanding, said opposition MP Hiew King Cheu. Queville To, FMT KOTA KINABALU: The RM7.2 billion received by Sabah for the past 40 years, being the 5% oil royalty payment under an agreement to extract the commodity from the state and its waters, is a major rip-off for the Sabahans, Kota Kinabalu MP Hiew King Cheu said today. "The Sabahans' demand for an increase in oil and gas sharing is understandable and this figure [of RM7.2 billion] is solid proof that the wealth of the Sabahan is exploited and being siphoned away. "We did not enjoy the wealth provided by mother earth; instead we ended up with plenty of hardship, poverty, no development, and poor economy. Many other oil-producing countries are rich, but Sabah has remained a poor state," he said. He was commenting on Prime Minister-cum-Finance Minister Najib Tun Razak's reply to a question raised by him in Parliament recently. Hiew had asked about the total amount of oil royalty paid to Sabah thus far. Najib noted that the federal government had since the beginning collected a total of RM8.4 billion which included income tax on the petroleum, export duty, and royalty up to 2011 from the production and export of oil and gas in Sabah. The export duty is RM0.8 billion and the 5% royalty is RM7.2 billion. Noting that this figure was equivalent to a total of RM144 billion (about US$47 billion today) worth of oil and gas that had been exported during this period, Hiew said the accuracy of the He said such a meagre amount of oil royalty would have little impact on Sabah's development, a contention that has been echoed by Pakatan which agrees that a higher percentage of oil and gas sharing would be fairer to the under-developed state where basic infrastructure is lagging compared to the rest of the country. Pakatan has promised to raise the oil royalty paid to the state to 20% should it win the coming general election.
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| Posted: 16 Oct 2012 05:10 PM PDT The bottom line is Malaysians regard anything that they read which they agree with as true and anything that they read which they disagree with as false. Hence true or false is subject to what I already believe and if it goes against my belief system then it has to be false. NO HOLDS BARRED Raja Petra Kamarudin Lawyers: Anwar did not seek 'settlement' (Malaysiakini) - PKR de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim's lawyers have denied former inspector-general of police Musa Hassan's claim that the team had sought a settlement for the defamation suit brought by the latter. Speaking to reporters outside the courtroom today, Musa said his defamation suit was the result of a "misunderstanding" and that he accepted the "settlement" proposed by Anwar. In a press release issued after the trial came to an abrupt halt, lawyers N Surendran and Latheefa Koya said it was Musa's case and he was the one who sought the withdrawal, not Anwar. "The withdrawal was initiated by Musa or his representative. At all times, Anwar was ready to proceed with the case. The withdrawal against our client was unconditional and there was no out-of-court settlement as alleged by Musa. Our client is satisfied with the unconditional withdrawal and hence did not seek for costs," adds the statement by Surendran and Latheefa. 'Withdrawal vindicates our client' In a shocking turn of events, Musa today withdrew his defamation suit against Anwar, over the latter's police report on July 1, 2008. The police report says Musa, attorney-general Abdul Gani Patail, former Kuala Lumpur CID chief Mat Zain Ibrahim and Hospital Kuala Lumpur pathologist Dr Abdul Rahman Mohd Yusof had fabricated evidence in the Sodomy I trial. During Sodomy I, Gani was the chief prosecutor while Musa was the chief investigator. Following Anwar's police report, Mat Zain immediately sued him for defamation. The suit is still pending. Musa was expected to be put on the witness stand today and this attracted a huge crowd in the public gallery, hoping to watch Anwar's lawyers grill the former top cop. Anwar's lawyers said Musa's withdrawal had vindicated their client, who is standing firm by his police report. ************************************ I always joke that Malaysia Today does not lie. We only give you our version of the truth. I suppose, as my late mother used to say, many a true word is said in jest. Hence there is much truth in that 'joke'. The issue here would be what is the truth? Who determines the truth? Furthermore, what is the definition of truth? And could 'truth' be half and half, meaning part truth and part not true? For example, let's say I make a statement as follows: The Chinese consider it taboo to give out white angpows during Chinese New Year because it is bad luck and white angpows are meant for funerals. Now, that would be what I would call part truth and part not true. The truth part is: it is a fact that Chinese consider it taboo to give out white angpows during Chinese New Year. It is also true that this is done for funerals. But the part about doing so is bad luck is not a fact. It is only a belief based on superstition. It is like believing that it is bad luck to walk under a ladder or bad luck if a black cat crosses your path. Hence the statement 'the Chinese consider it taboo to give out white angpows during Chinese New Year because it is bad luck and white angpows are meant for funerals' is part true and part not true. Part of that statement is fact and part of it is an opinion or perception based on your belief system. Let me give you another example. Around 20% of the world believes that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and he died on the cross to save humankind and was resurrected three days later. Another 20% of the world believes that Prophet Muhammad and not Jesus was the last prophet and Muhammad's miracle is the Qur'an. To the first 20% this is the truth. To the second 20% this is also the truth. Then the balance 60% of the world thinks that these 40% are silly and the 'evidence' they offer to support their 'truths', their so-called 'Holy Books', are fabrications and were created to menegakkan benang basah or to substantiate a myth and present it as fact. Hence which would be the fact here, and hence also which would be the truth? We have three versions of the truth and all sides would argue that theirs is the truth while the others are lies. Can you see, therefore, that not always is the 'truth' true? Sometimes the truth may not be true. When someone reports what he or she saw then that would be an eyewitness account. That could be considered as evidence and therefore the truth. When someone reports what he or she had been told then that would be hearsay. In a court of law hearsay is not accepted as evidence. When someone interprets an event (whether witnessed or reported) then that would be an opinion. That person is merely stating what he or she perceives the event to mean. Readers need to analyse the source of the information, whether the report is based on an eyewitness account or third party information, and whether it is a 'raw' report or a conclusion/analysis of what that event means to the person making that statement. This, many Malaysia Today readers do not appear to understand. They take everything they read as something that a reporter reports. And they classify what they read as true or false based on their own perception of things. Now read that Malaysiakini news report above regarding Musa Hassan versus Anwar Ibrahim. That is what I would consider a 'raw' report. It is about an event and about what some people said and did. That report could be true -- unless Malaysiakini misreported it (which would mean then that it would be a lie). But let us assume that Malaysiakini did not misreport that event and therefore consider that report as true. Now, that news report comes in eight paragraphs. I would read that report and consider the first six paragraphs as the truth. It is what happened and the first six paragraphs is about what happened. As for the last two paragraphs, though, this may or may not be true. Hence part of Malaysiakini's report may be true and part may not be true. Malaysiakini said: this attracted a huge crowd in the public gallery, hoping to watch Anwar's lawyers grill the former top cop. Malaysiakini also said: Anwar's lawyers said Musa's withdrawal had vindicated their client. Now, when you say 'huge' crowd what do you mean by huge? Huge is relative. Was the crowd bigger than the Bersih 3.0 rally? Was it bigger than Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak's Hari Raya open house? Hence this part of the news report may or may not be true. No figures were quoted and no comparison of 'hugeness' was offered. For example, my interpretation of huge crowd would be 10,000 people. To me, anything below 10,000 would be considered miserable. Malaysiakini may regard 200 people as a huge crowd. This means this part of the report is subject to interpretation and not fact and which also means it may or may not be the truth. So you see, you need to know how to separate fact from opinion or perception. Malaysiakini also said the crowd was 'hoping to watch Anwar's lawyers grill the former top cop'. Is this a fact or is this an opinion? Say 200 people were in the public gallery. Did Malaysiakini talk to at least 50 or 60 of them to ask them why they were there? This was never explained. So, again, do we take this is fact or merely your suspicion? Regarding the part where Anwar's lawyers said Musa's withdrawal had vindicated their client, this, again, may be true or may not be true. That is merely the opinion of Anwar's lawyers. Malaysiakini reported as follows: Musa said his defamation suit was the result of a "misunderstanding" and that he accepted the "settlement" proposed by Anwar. Is that true? If that is true then that last paragraph cannot be true. That was what Musa said (the "settlement" proposed by Anwar). Is this a lie? So you see, the truth of the last paragraph hinges on whether Musa lied or he told the truth. Read this part also: lawyers N Surendran and Latheefa Koya said it was Musa's case and he was the one who sought the withdrawal, not Anwar. That is also true. Musa is suing Anwar so he and not Anwar has to make the decision as to whether to withdraw the suit or not. But this report is confusing us. Anwar's lawyers talk about WHO withdrew. Musa talks about WHY he withdrew. These are two different issues. So can you see how sometimes 'truth' can be presented in all sorts of ways? But not always is the truth the truth. It can sometimes be your opinion or perception presented as the truth. But why I even need to educate you on how to understand what you read is beyond me. Is Malaysia's education system that bad that it breeds a generation of Malaysians who have lost the ability to understand what they read? It sometimes amuses me to read Malaysians condemning me for what I write merely because they are too stupid to understand what I am saying. And because they cannot understand what I say they whack me. Malays call this bodoh sombong. Dah lah bodoh, sombong pulak. The bottom line is Malaysians regard anything that they read which they agree with as true and anything that they read which they disagree with as false. Hence true or false is subject to what I already believe and if it goes against my belief system then it has to be false. And we want to trust these Malaysians to do the right thing come GE13? Heavens! | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Tee Keat slams Soi Lek for mocking audit report, ignoring mismanagement Posted: 16 Oct 2012 03:11 PM PDT
(The Malaysian Insider) - Former MCA president Datuk Seri Ong Tee Keat attacked his successor Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek today for "mocking" the Auditor-General's Report by claiming that negative reports would not affect Barisan Nasional's (BN) support in the next general election. Taking to microblogging service Twitter to attack his political foe, Ong said: "Why must Auditor's report b mocked as cloutless in affecting GE outcome? "50 yrs ago it might hv no impact doesn't mean it's d same now." Yesterday, Dr Chua sought to play down the Auditor-General's Report released this week, saying the BN government would fall every year were the report to have any effect. The MCA president said Pakatan Rakyat (PR) would certainly exploit reports of mismanagement, but argued that the BN federal government would not be judged solely on the issue of poor management. Ong, however, had a different take on the issue "Wasteful public spending w/ dishonest mark-up & w/out maintenance must b addressed with severe punishment b4 recurrence can b curbed," he said without naming Dr Chua. The annual Auditor-General's Report has revealed several projects that were directly negotiated, plagued with issues, and may affect the level of trust in government, analysts have said. The most glaring example was the directly-negotiated RM12.49 billion Ipoh-Padang Besar double-tracking project that was delayed twice and has incurred an additional RM3.6 billion in costs. Other examples include 1,000 brochure racks worth RM1.95 million for Visit Malaysia Year 2007 bought through direct negotiation by the Malaysian Tourism Promotion Board without the Finance Ministry's approval, resulting in a probe by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC), and the five billboards worth RM3.64 million that it put up in Indonesia via direct negotiation that are also being investigated by anti-graft officials. Military family quarters built by the Defence Ministry saw costs nearly double to RM3.2 billion amid a litany of defects including collapsed ceilings and leaking sewer pipes, according to revelations in the Auditor-General's Report 2011. Among others, the report found that the majority of the military quarters projects audited were awarded by direct negotiation and that the government waived penalties worth RM87.12 million for failure to meet contractual obligations. Transparency-International Malaysia president Datuk Paul Low said the direct negotiation way of awarding contracts could potentially give rise to problems such as corruption and lack of competition. Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak has pledged his commitment to open tenders, saying at the launch of the Economic Transformation Programme (ETP) in 2010 that competitive tenders for big projects would be the "default" option. Despite efforts to boost transparency including making corruption one of the National Key Result Areas in the Government Transformation Programme, Malaysia slipped four spots to 60th in Transparency International's Corruption Perception Index last year.
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| Speak Malay, PM tells Chinese community Posted: 16 Oct 2012 02:42 PM PDT
Zurairi AR, The Malaysian Insider The Chinese community should embrace Bahasa Malaysia as it is the country's national language, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak said this morning. Speaking on Mandarin radio channel Melody FM, Najib also reassured listeners that Chinese education will be part of the exercise to improve quality of education under the National Education Blueprint. Responding to demands by pressure group Dong Zong, the United Chinese School Committees Association, the premier reminded listeners that Malaysia has always recognised Chinese schools. "We are the only country outside China which has got Chinese education as part of the national system," he remarked. "The people have taken this for granted." He also revealed that the Cabinet is looking into implementing an eight-point plan to address the shortage of teachers for Chinese vernacular schools, drawn from roundtable meetings involving various stakeholders including Dong Zong. The implementation will be overseen by one of the two deputy ministers from the Education Ministry. In March, Deputy Education Minister Dr Puad Zarkashi had branded Chinese educationists "racist" for demanding that only qualified Mandarin-speaking teachers be allowed to teach in Chinese vernacular schools. The group accused the Education Ministry earlier this year of "deliberately" creating a dearth of trained Mandarin-speaking teachers as part of a larger conspiracy to re-engineer the identities of vernacular schools. Dong Zong had last month submitted a memorandum on the matter to the prime minister.
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| Penang men no longer need first wife's permission to take on second wife Posted: 16 Oct 2012 02:10 PM PDT
(Malaysian Digest) - Penang men no longer need to seek permission from their first wife in order to take on another bride. Instead, they now only need to get permission from the Syariah court to do so. This was announced by Penang Islamic Religious Department director Datuk Sazali Hussein, who said the move can help curb the problem of unmarried women. "For those who wish to practice polygamy, they only need to get approval from the syariah court to waive the need to present the first wife's approval to take on another wife." "However, they need to provide solid reasons before it can be considered." "Maybe if the reason given is solid and can bring benefits, the judge will grant the request," he was quoted as saying in Utusan Malaysia today. Sazali was asked to comment on a suggestion by a reader in the newspaper's Forum column. The reader, identified as Syed Abdullah Syed Osman Jamalulail from Ampangan, Seremban, had suggested that polygamy conditions be eased to help women of an advanced age who are still unmarried. Syed Abdullah had suggested that the authorities loosen the condition which stipulates that men who wish to marry women over 30-years-old need to obtain the consent of their first wife. He had also suggested that another condition which should be relaxed was the requirement for the man to produce his salary slip or confirmation of wages from employers, as per normal procedure. He believed that it was sufficient that the prospective newlyweds come to a mutual agreement on their union.
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| Zeti: M'sia can withstand capital flows Posted: 16 Oct 2012 02:06 PM PDT
(Bloomberg) - Malaysia can manage capital inflows due to monetary easing in advanced economies, Bank Negara governor Tan Sri Dr Zeti Akhtar Aziz said, as Asian nations take steps to prevent asset bubbles after the United States boosted stimulus. The country had policy tools and the flexibility to absorb any excess liquidity, said Zeti, who oversaw Malaysia's response to capital outflows during the Asian financial crisis more than a decade ago. The Malaysian economy was withstanding the impact of weakening global growth, with gross domestic product forecast to expand about 5% this year, Zeti said in an interview in Tokyo. "We certainly are the recipient of capital flows but the Malaysian financial system has reached a level of maturity in terms of development and in its functioning that is able to intermediate these flows, both surges of inflows as well as reversals," Zeti said. "The effects are disbursed through the financial system rather than concentrated." Malaysia joins Brazil among emerging markets signaling confidence they can counter any surge in fund flows stemming from the US Federal Reserve's third round of quantitative easing. US Fed chairman Ben S. Bernanke two days ago rebutted concern that the central bank's decision to purchase US$40bil in mortgage-backed bonds a month will cause a destabilising influx of capital into developing economies. Most Asian currencies have gained in the past three months, and Hong Kong and Singapore unveiled measures to cool property prices after the US stimulus. The ringgit has climbed about 4% since mid-July, the most among 11 Asian currencies tracked by Bloomberg after the Indian rupee. Bank Negara has kept interest rates steady for eight meetings, most recently in September, as the lowest inflation rate among South-East Asia's major economies reduced the need to tighten policy. Consumer prices rose 1.4% in August from a year earlier, staying at the lowest rate in more than two years. "Right now on the horizon, the risk to inflation doesn't appear to be imminent," Zeti said. "There is less of a risk of inflation and given that we have excess capacity in our economy, the risk is on growth. But again right now, domestic demand is still relatively strong." The country's monetary and fiscal policy was already "quite accommodative," Zeti said. Malaysia has refrained from joining other Asian nations in lowering borrowing costs this year as Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak increases spending ahead of a general election that must be held by early 2013. "There is no big threat to growth prospects for Malaysia and inflation has been surprisingly low," said Gundy Cahyadi, an economist in Singapore at Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp. "There's room for monetary policy accommodation if necessary but risks are not significant yet to trigger a cut. Any sort of boost will need to come from monetary policy rather than the fiscal side." Asia had "considerable policy flexibility" to respond to external and domestic developments, although a prolonged delay in the recovery in the advanced economies would erode this scope, Zeti said in a speech in Tokyo on Saturday. "It's important for us to have room to manoeuvre in the event things deteriorate, and so under these conditions we should just sustain what we believe is a sustainable growth path and maintain this growth trajectory," she said. If policymakers ease too soon, there would be less scope to do so later if "things take a turn for the worse," she said. Najib cut income taxes, gave civil servants a bonus and extended handouts for the poor in the budget announced last month, with the Government planning to spend RM251.6bil next year. "We already have domestic demand growing, like consumption by 7%, and investment by more than 10%," Zeti said. "This is already the limits to which domestic demand can expand without generating an overheating environment." Malaysia would probably refrain from selling global sovereign bonds for now, Zeti said. "The Government is very cautious about entering into increased foreign debt and they have significant access to domestic sources of financing without crowding out private investment because there is ample liquidity," she said.
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| Soros: Euro crisis destroying EU Posted: 16 Oct 2012 02:00 PM PDT  He says Germany should get out and save currency (Reuters) - NEW YORK: The European Union could be destroyed by the "nightmare" euro crisis, and Germany needs to take the responsibility to save the common currency, according to billionaire fund manager George Soros. Soros, who made his mark as an investor on a big bet against the British pound in 1992, said the other alternative was for Germany the eurozone's biggest economy to simply leave the 17-member currency bloc. The crisis "is pushing the EU into a lasting depression, and it is entirely self-created," said Soros, chairman of Soros Fund Management. "There is a real danger of the euro destroying the European Union," he said. "The way to escape it is for Germany to accept ... greater commitment to helping not only its interests but the interests of the debtor countries, and playing the role of the benevolent hegemon." Germany should act as the leader of the union in the same that the United States did for the free world after World War Two, Soros said at a luncheon hosted by the National Association for Business Economics. Soros, founder of the Open Society Foundations and a founding sponsor of the Institute for New Economic Thinking, said Germany needed to step up to save the euro and the euro bond plan because "if it successful, it would cost very little, but if it fails, it would drag down Germany." Issuing euro bonds would be a way to share risk across the eurozone. Soros floated another solution to the more than two-year-old crisis: let Germany leave the euro. "The problem would disappear in thin air," as the value of the euro declines and yields on the bonds of debtor countries adjust, he said. The International Monetary Fund and the finance ministers of some outside countries have put pressure on Germany to do what is needed to save the euro and solve a crisis that has hamstrung the global economy. Germany is at the forefront of the eurozone's northern creditor countries that are locked in a clash with the bloc's heavily-indebted southern states over the future shape of the bloc. Germany again said it was too soon to say that Greece the most troubled of the eurozone's members needed more time to meet deficit-cutting goals, keeping fears alive that the smaller country could ultimately leave the currency bloc in what would be a messy exit. A key problem is the uncertainty over whether Spain will ask for financial aid from the eurozone and whether Greece can agree on new austerity measures with its lenders. Public opinion in Germany, as well as in Finland and the Netherlands, has grown increasingly opposed to bailouts of eurozone governments. The notion that governments were "riskless" is the main false assumption underlying the eurozone, said Soros, adding it could be corrected by the introduction of euro bonds. "But that has become politically unacceptable by Germany," he added.
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| AG report won’t affect voter mindset Posted: 16 Oct 2012 01:48 PM PDT Political analysts say the report has little implication on BN's reputation and is not an indicator of the GE13 announcement. Alyaa Azhar, FMT Political analysts believe that the newly released Auditor-General's (AG) report will not play a big role in swinging votes to Barisan Nasional or Pakatan Rakyat. Political analyst James Chin felt that the unnecessary spending and wastage in the AG report will do little to affect public opinion. "There is nothing new in the report. Both sides seemingly provide ammunition for the other, whereby they will pick up whatever bad things left behind for the other. "The AG report will not place a major dent on BN," Chin further added. Mohammad Agus Yusoff, a UKM political science professor, said the increased government revenue mentioned in the report is good news for the country. However, he said that revenue collected by the government is only a matter of numbers. "The people don't really bother about the numbers but what is more crucial to them is whether the numbers really benefit them in their daily lives. "If it does benefit the people then it is a successful achievement for the government. The government should use this revenue as the medium to balance and pay off the national debt instead of adding more debt to the country," he added. Agus said the AG report is not instrumental in affecting voting trends. "In order for the people to vote a certain party, they have to feel the impact. They have to feel that they are actually getting something that will benefit them," he said. Parties should be accountable Regarding the issue of negligence and poorly managed projects which were highlighted in the report, Chin said that responsible parties should be held accountable. He said however little will be done to address the issue. "It is usually the same thing each time. People will be very noisy about it, the typical commotion ensues but then later everyone forgets about it," he said. Agus agreed. "So far there has not been any firm action taken against those who are responsible; so far there has not been any prosecution. "Usually in the initial phase, there will be noises here and there but after the noise dies down, there has not been any substantive action taken against those involved: Any follow-up action has never been done," he said. The AG report highlighted increased government revenue of 16.19% and improved ratings for many ministries and government agencies. However, along with the positive reports, there were also several issues of inefficient projects and wastage of public funds. For example, the military housing projects awarded to sub-par contractors and road construction projects in Sarawak which do not meet deadlines and are wanting in safety standards.
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| Problem-plagued Proton ‘in trouble’ Posted: 16 Oct 2012 01:43 PM PDT DRB-Hicom working out plan to remedy the national carmaker's problems. by Azli Jamil, FMT DRB-Hicom Bhd will announce a working plan to remedy problems faced by national carmaker Perusahaan Otomobil Nasional Bhd (Proton) next month, said its chief operating officer Che Khalib Mohamad Noh. The plan is paramount and if not implemented could bring serious negative consequences to DRB, a major investor in Proton, said Che Khalib. "Proton is in trouble and if we don't solve Proton's problem, not only Proton would go down but the whole DRB will go down," Che Khalib said after his presentation at the Malaysian Institute of Certified Public Accountant-Bursa Malaysia Business Forum in Kuala Lumpur yesterday. He, however, did not elaborate on the details of the problems faced by Proton. The problems, if not resolved, would affect its 11,000-plus employees and the whole automotive ecosystem surrounding Proton, he said. Meanwhile, a newswire reported yesterday that DRB's group managing director Mohd Kamil Jamil said Proton's performance would have an impact on DRB as the acquisition of Proton was a major financial investment for the former. The report quoted Mohd Khamil as saying that DRB's management can add value to Proton and realise its potential as the national carmaker before finalising a turnaround plan. It was reported in September that Mohd Khamil said DRB planned to introduce a yet-to-be announced foreign partner to Proton. In the same report, it said Proton has raised the domestic sales target to 200,000 units for the current financial year ending March 31, 2013, up from 167,000 previously. Furthermore, Proton has been given an additional RM120 million funding for development of hybrid vehicles.
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| Musa Aman scandal punctures Najib’s vision Posted: 16 Oct 2012 01:41 PM PDT
While MACC's head of investigation is claiming that it is still in the midst of investigation, how could minister Nazri claim in the same breath that MACC has concluded that there was no evidence of corruption? Kim Quek Prime Minister Najib Razak's refusal to disclose the donor of the S$16 million contraband cash seized at the Hong Kong International airport, following his minister's earlier acknowledgement of the cash as donation to Sabah Umno, has only heightened suspicion over the web of deceit and cover up of high corruption in the corridor of power. His minister Nazri Aziz had earlier (Oct 11) given a written reply in parliament denying that the said S$16 million cash was Sabah Chief Minister Musa Aman's money, claiming that it was a donation to Umno party in Sabah instead, even though the carrier of the cash, Michael Chia Tien Foh, was a well known personal agent and close associate of Musa Aman, as will be elaborated later. In a further attempt to dismiss the notion of any impropriety over the episode, minister Nazri added in his statement that the Malaysian Anti-Corrupition Commission (MACC) has concluded that "no element of corruption was proven". However, this statement has glaringly contradicted MACC's latest stance on the issue, aired only a few days earlier. Answering questions by reporters on the sideline of the recently concluded Sixth Conference of the International Association of Anti-Corruption Authorities (IAACA) in Kuala Lumpur, MACC deputy chief commissioner (operations) Shukri Abdul said on Oct 5: "The investigation against Musa is on corruption and we have completed the investigation, but the panel has instructed us to get more evidence." By "the panel", Shukri Abdul was referring to MACC's operations review panel, which instructed the operation division to collect further evidence against Musa after being presented with the report on the case during the panel's last sitting in May. While MACC's head of investigation is claiming that it is still in the midst of investigation, how could minister Nazri claim in the same breath that MACC has concluded that there was no evidence of corruption?
Obviously, one of the two is lying; or more likely, both are lying, as there is no credibility in what these two gentlemen have said, if we were to take into consideration the full circumstances of the case. Nazri is unlikely to have told the truth, as he couldn't have known more than the head of investigation. As for Shukri, how serious can we take his word that MACC couldn't come to a conclusion despite four long years of investigation into a simple case of someone caught red-handed while smuggling an enormous sum of laundered cash? After all, evidence galore in the Internet of the intricate network of money flow originating from timber corruption in Sabah with Michael Chia as one of the focal points of the trail that eventually ends up in Musa Aman's personal account in UBS AG in Zurich. In fact, a flow chart showing these money movements complete with account details was produced by the Hong Kong Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC), a copy of which has been conveyed to MACC, according to Sarawak Report website, which has also posted the chart in http://www.sarawakreport.org/2012/04/hold-on-trust-for-aman-more-devastating-evidence-from-the-icac-investigation/. It is not difficult to see from this elaborate network of bank accounts and money transactions that the S$16 million incident is only the tip of the iceberg of a clandestine operation to siphon massive timber corruption money from Sabah. Apparently, ICAC has also forwarded its findings to MACC, and requested for inter-country co-operation to wrap up the case, but such attempt was reportedly blocked by Attorney General Gani Patail. Can MACC deny that it is in possession of the fruits of ICAC's laborious investigations into the case including the said money flow chart that conclusively crucifies Musa Aman? Perhaps the parliamentary select committee on corruption should summon MACC chief commissioner Abu Kassim to answer this question.
Adding to the credibility crisis of the duo – Nazri and Shukir – is the blanket denial by Musa Aman of all allegations against him. Responding to Sarawak Report's various allegations that among others, Musa's two sons studying in Australia regularly received timber kickbacks from bank accounts controlled by Chia, Musa flatly denies these in a written statement on April 12, 2012 that reads: "I deny all these allegations. I wish to put it on record once again that I have no business association whatsoever with an individual named Michael Chia". Musa's denial, however, was contradicted by banks statements produced in the Singapore High Court in a civil suit (Suit No.752 of 2010/N) in June that was brought by Chia's former associate and now adversary involving a money dispute. To defend its position in the dispute, UBS AG produced bank statements that clearly showed that Musa's sons Mohammed Hayssam Musa and Hazem Musa Hazem Mubarak Musa were regular recipients of money remitted from accounts of companies which Chia claimed to be under his control. These British Virginia registered shady companies with large amount of unaccounted for cash regularly flowing mysteriously through their accounts are obvious vehicles of money laundering. Thus both UBS AG and Chia, out of the necessity to defend their respective positions, had unwittingly produced in court evidences that tell us that Musa Aman has told a blatant lie that he has no link whatsoever with Michael Chia. More than that, these bank documents also collaborate documents in Sarawak Report's possession (including the abovementioned flow chart) that regularly surface in its frequent exposure of Musa Aman's nefarious ventures as the notorious timber baron of Sabah. Interestingly, according to Sarawak Report, these secret reports are leaked documents from not only ICAC, but also from MACC, which has carried out a parallel investigation on Sabah timber corruption, following the arrest of Michael Chia in Hong Kong on 14 Aug 2008 for money smuggling and laundering. Judging from MACC's long silence and inaction despite the wealth of evidence of Sabah timber corruption in its hands, it is not difficult to visualize the limitations under which it has to operate.
Prime Minister Najib Razak certainly didn't help matters with his curt refusal to divulge the source or any information that may lessen the gravity of this scandal. In that encounter with the press after chairing the Barisan Nasional supreme council meeting on Oct 12, he even tried to sanitize this sordid incident by saying "every political party has the right to receive political donation as long as it is done in a proper way". He added that the amount of the donation is irrelevant, repeating the proviso that "as long as it is done in a proper way". It really boggles the mind to think that the Prime Minister could consider such bizarre fashion of conveying donation as "the proper way". May we remind the Prime Minister that money smuggling and money laundering are serious criminal offences, for which Michael Chia would have been prosecuted, convicted and jailed and the cash confiscated, if not for the Malaysian government's refusal to extend its co-operation to the Hong Kong authorities. And since Michael Chia is only a courier, the master for whom he serves – Umno – is even more guilty. In any democratic country, law enforcers would have swung into action following the Prime Minister's open admission of such association of breach of law; but of course, in Boleh Land, this is business as usual – nothing to make a fuss about. This latest scandal is only one of many that have been incessantly popping up lately despite the imminence of a crucial election. It only serves to reinforce the hard fact that our self-styled "reformist" Prime Minister's many "transformations" he claimed to have brought to the nation are more illusion than substance. As for his vision of "best democracy" and "developed nation" status in the near future, is it not a land too far to reach?
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| Who is the Taiko Tai in Taman Kaya, Ipoh, Perak Malaysia? Posted: 16 Oct 2012 01:35 PM PDT  JakunMalaysia Visit http://helenang.wordpress.com/2012/10/16/senior-citizen-bullied-but-the-star-badmouths-victim-instead/, http://mediaperak.com/2012/09/10/samseng-dap-taman-kaya-1-video & http://weehingthong.wordpress.com/ (the aggrieved Malaysian). You want to talk about the law, the due process and what it is? Then don't practice your 'look and see' from a distance when regular Malaysians like Simon Thong get harassed. You think we are politically right for what it has to be within the new found escapism through the opposition? Simon Thong is not political but humane and just in his affairs to ensure his freedoms of choice and liberty. But look how easily he is portayed to be the villain while the politicians hold reign. Do you get it? Or are you going to be the semua tahu and semua boleh preacher without understanding his predicament within a society that uses politics to meet its means. Thank you. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Is March GE too late for Najib? Posted: 16 Oct 2012 01:32 PM PDT PM Najib has missed his best opportunity to hold the polls in March this year. By next March, he would have lost the element of surprise. Selena Tay, FMT All throughout this year, from January till now, it can be seen that Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak has got no clear strategy in regard to the general election. He will only call for the polls once he is sufficiently sure that he has gained the rakyat's support. Hence the second round of the RM500 cash aid to strengthen the people's support for him. This can only mean that after the first round of the cash aid, he is still not confident of the people's support and it is now extremely obvious that he is playing it by the ear. At first, most people were thinking that he was busy crafting a strategy and that he is the cautious type but his indecisiveness has shone through and revealed that he has no game plan after all. Now after announcing the second round of the RM500 cash aid and various goodies to be given out, he is again pondering the scenario of "before and after". He is now thinking whether to hold the polls after the goodies have been given out or before the goodies have been distributed. There are two schools of thought concerning this matter. This columnist has interviewed 11 people in Kuala Lumpur who are eligible for the cash aid and their response in regard to BR1M 2.0 can be summed up into two groups which will be categorised as Mr A and Mr B. Mr A said, "If the general election is held this year, it shows that the prime minister is insincere in regard to the goodies as he is just fishing for votes and so I will vote for Pakatan Rakyat. If the election is next year, I will vote for Najib as it means that he is sincere in giving because he gives the goodies to everyone although he is not sure whom we will vote." On the other hand, Mr B said, "If the polls are held this year, I will vote for Barisan Nasional as I am afraid I will not get the goodies next year if they were to know I voted for Pakatan. If the polls are held after I have obtained the cash aid, it is bye-bye to BN as I cannot be bothered with them anymore. This Budget 2013 is their zenith, their last hurrah, their final fling and therefore I will vote for Pakatan." To sum up:
The above results show that it is difficult to read people's mind as the results are evenly matched. Thus the results are inconclusive. There could be more people in the first group or more people in the second group whether the polls are held this year or next. Difficult to tell and it is this difficulty that Najib is facing now. However, the purpose of the survey above is to ascertain if the cash aid has any bearing on the voting patterns and is not done to predict election results. Still, there is yet a third group of people who will vote for Pakatan regardless of whether the polls are held this year or next. These people are of the opinion that they will get the cash aid whoever is the government of the day as the aid is from public funds – taxpayers' money and therefore the rakyat's money.
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| Azmin-Khalid feud enters a new level Posted: 16 Oct 2012 01:28 PM PDT The PKR deputy president, according to Raja Petra, is on a 'whispering campaign' to court support against the MB. Syed Jaymal Zahiid, FMT Raja Petra Kamarudin claimed today that the Azmin Ali-Khalid Ibrahim fight is being raised to a new level with the latter planning to exploit a land tussle issue to incriminate the Selangor menteri besar. The firebrand blogger said that Azmin, who is PKR's No 2, is now on a "whispering campaign" to court support against Khalid who was said to have abused his power in the land deal. The 18.51 acre of land in the middle of Klang town near the Goldcoast Hotel and the new Klang Mosque is allegedly owned by Yayasan Selangor, a state statutory body. Raja Petra, who runs the popular website Malaysia Today, said Khalid had used his power to give the land to his "blue-eyed girl" executive councillor Elizabeth Wong who had wanted it for a Chinese cultural centre project. Yayasan Selangor was said to have objected to the idea but was forced to concede when the Selangor MB allegedly interfered in the matter. The body purportedly had an initial joint-venture plan with Persada Sdn Bhd to develop the land. It later sent a letter of appeal dated July 12, 2011, to Khalid against surrendering the land. Secret war "Azmin is suggesting that there is something not too kosher about this land transaction, which he says Khalid approved. "Azmin's boys say Elizabeth Wong abused her authority with the backing of Khalid and they want to use this as the leverage to oust Khalid," wrote Raja Petra. The self-exiled blogger added that while Azmin exposes what he claims to be Khalid and Khalid's people's wrongdoings, "Umno is consolidating in their attempt to grab back Selangor from Pakatan Rakyat". Raja Petra had said in the past that the rivalry between Azmin and Khalid's faction provided a glimpse into the former's ambition to strengthen his position as Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim's successor. Anwar, who is also PKR's de facto leader, is seen as the only factor that keeps the secularist DAP and Islamist PAS together. His moderate image and politics are seen as a key appeal to Malaysia's mutiracial electorate. Azmin's "secret war" against Khalid and his ambitions for the party may rattle the fragile unity between the three major component parties in Pakatan, said the Malaysia Today webmaster.
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| Posted: 16 Oct 2012 01:00 AM PDT
The Azmin Ali-Khalid Ibrahim fight in this game of thrones is being raised to the next level. Azmin's team is now on a whispering campaign regarding a piece of government land involving Khalid's 'blue-eyed' girl, Elizabeth Wong, which they say Khalid personally approved. And they say this is an abuse of power. THE CORRIDORS OF POWER Raja Petra Kamarudin Battle for MB post eclipses polls (The Star, 14 Oct 2012) - The rivalry between Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim and Azmin Ali for the Selangor Mentri Besar post has overshadowed the battle for control of the state. The exchange of fire between loyalists of Azmin Ali and Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim last week was not the first but it was the fiercest to date. The stakes have increased as the general election draws near and there is no denying that the two PKR leaders are doing what it takes to be in the cushy seat of Selangor Mentri Besar (MB). The Azmin-Khalid feud has reached a new level of intensity. But politicians are such natural actors. When Khalid walked into the House shortly before the Dewan Rakyat session began on Monday, Azmin leapt to his feet with outstretched arms. There was no man-hug that would have been over-acting but they smiled like they were in a toothpaste advertisement as they shook hands, knowing that all eyes were on them. Anyone looking at the pair last week would have been puzzled, even confused, as to whether they are rivals or buddies. The two adversaries are, quite ironically, seated next to each other Khalid as the Bandar Tun Razak MP and Azmin as Gombak MP. Azmin immediately launched into an earnest explanation about his interview in a Malay daily that had sparked off the latest rounds of attacks, saying that the reaction generated was not fair to both of them. Khalid was quite blas about it and told him: "No problem, there's no need to apologise. In fact, I just told reporters outside: Thank you to Azmin for saying that I am federal material.'" The pair even left the House together a couple of hours later Khalid to attend a meeting and Azmin to visit one of his party workers in hospital. In the afternoon, they were together again, this time at a PKNS meeting in Shah Alam. Again, there were lots of smiles and jovial exchanges, with Azmin praising Khalid's handling of Selangor's financial affairs. It was not exactly Oscar-winning stuff but it was a good show. Beneath the civil smiles and pleasantries lie a simmering rivalry that is centred around the post of Selangor MB. The two men are savvy enough to leave all that I-say-you and the you-say-me attacks to their machais. They are well-matched to take on each other. Khalid is the MB, but Azmin pulls the strings in PKR as the deputy president, Selangor chief and party election director. Azmin is not only a political animal but a smooth operator. Khalid, on the other hand, is not as naive as some imagine. Behind that absent-minded professor demeanour is a man determined to hold on to what he has. READ MORE HERE: http://www.malaysia-today.net/mtcolumns/guest-columnists/52124-battle-for-mb-post-eclipses-polls ***************************************** The Azmin Ali-Khalid Ibrahim fight in this game of thrones is being raised to the next level. Azmin's team is now on a whispering campaign regarding a piece of government land involving Khalid's 'blue-eyed' girl, Elizabeth Wong, which they say Khalid approved. And they say this is an abuse of power. Azmin had wanted Elizabeth kicked out long ago, ever since the naked photos controversy first emerged. Azmin's boys had insisted that Anwar get rid of her. But Khalid defended her, just like how he defended Faekah Husin, much to Azmin's chagrin. So Anwar backed off rather than upset Khalid. But Azmin is not finished with Elizabeth, especially since she, together with Faekah, is guarding Khalid's back. Azmin is suggesting that there is something not too kosher about this land transaction, which he says Khalid 'illegally' approved. This is the story according to Azmin and gang. Yaysan Selangor is the owner of an 18.51 acre piece of land in the middle of Kelang town near the Goldcoast Hotel and the new Kelang Mosque. In March 2011, Elizabeth Wong met up with Yayasan Selangor and instructed the Yayasan to hand over the land to her for purposes of a Chinese cultural centre. The Yayasan told Elizabeth that they had already signed a joint-venture agreement with Persada Istemewa Sdn Bhd to develop the land into commercial and residential property. Elizabeth replied that she has already discussed the matter with Persada and they have agreed to work with her. Yayasan Selangor was not happy to hand over the land and they asked why such a big piece of land in the middle of the town needs to be surrendered for a cultural centre when it would not need land that big in size. Furthermore, the cultural centre can always be built outside the town centre instead of in the middle of town. This irritated Elizabeth and she warned them that if they refuse to hand over the land then she would use her powers as an EXCO member to ask the Menteri Besar, who is the Chairman of the Yayasan, to intervene. A few days later, on 21 March 2011, Elizabeth sent the Menteri Besar a letter asking for his approval to surrender the land for a Chinese cultural centre. Four days later, on 25 March 2011, Khalid wrote to the Yayasan Selangor. In that letter, the Menteri Besar said that the Board had already discussed the matter and that the Yayasan should hand over the land to Elizabeth. The letter said: 'Sdr. Ilham, sudah dibincang di lembaga, sila uruskan'. On 11 April 2011, a company called Persada Istemewa Sdn Bhd sent the Menteri Besar a letter proposing to develop the land into commercial property and housing as per their joint-venture agreement. The letter was copied to Ronnie Liu. In reference to the 11 April 2011 letter from Persada, the Menteri Besar sent Yayasan Selangor a letter dated 4 May 2011 asking the Yayasan for its comments on the proposal. Yayasan Selangor replied on 23 May 2011 with a four-page report. On 14 June 2011, Yayasan Selangor sent the Menteri Besar a letter appealing against surrendering the land to Elizabeth for a Chinese cultural centre. On 17 June 2011, the Kelang town council sent the Yayasan a letter telling them that the land has already been approved for a cultural centre. On 12 July 2011, Yayasan Selangor replied to the 17 June 2011 letter from the Kelang town council and said that they do not agree to surrender the land for a cultural centre. Azmin's boys say that Elizabeth Wong abused her authority with the backing of Menteri Besar Khalid Ibrahim and they want to use this as the leverage to oust Khalid. The question they raise is: why should a government-owned land meant for development be handed to the Chinese when it should be reserved for Bumiputeras? And while Azmin exposes what he says is Khalid's and Khalid's people's wrongdoing, Umno is consolidating in their attempt to grab back Selangor from Pakatan Rakyat.
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| PAS renegade Hasan Ali says will never join Umno Posted: 15 Oct 2012 06:56 PM PDT
(The Malaysian Insider) - Sacked from PAS, renegade lawmaker Datuk Hasan Ali said today he will never join Umno as he still supports the Islamist party even as he vowed to expose weaknesses in the party he alleged was controlled by a group of progressive Muslims he branded as "Anwaristas'. The self-styled champion of Islam denied allegations that he had been "bought" by the country's largest Malay party — which is also the mainstay of the Barisan Nasional (BN) federal government — to conduct public speeches nationwide. "I am still with PAS and will not join Umno. Therefore, my decision should be respected by all parties," he told state news agency Bernama after a dialogue session with civil servants in Besut organised by the district youth council. "Until today, I speak on the principle of upholding Islam in this country even though I have to used my own funds," he was quoted as saying. The Gombak Setia assemblyman had been Selangor's executive councillor for Islamic affairs until he was booted from PAS in January. The former Selangor PAS commissioner had blamed Opposition Leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim for being the reason that led to his sacking from the Islamist party, which is part of the state's ruling Pakatan Rakyat (PR) pact. Hasan said the "Anwaristas" — a new group of Islamic democrats alleged to take their cue on religion from Anwar — were not only acting as the shield and chief mover in PAS but had also become its spokesman, leading to the marginalisation of the group of PAS ulama, or the religious scholars. The role of the ulama in PAS had shrunk and some were expelled for speaking out in defence of Islam, Hasan said. "Therefore, people should not wonder if in the near future, PAS will sack more of the ulama, including Nasharudin Mat Isa, for championing Isla
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| The bogeyman and ‘under siege’ stratagem Posted: 15 Oct 2012 06:08 PM PDT
In Malaysia's situation, you can regard the liberals as the reformist group, or Pakatan Rakyat, while the conservatist group is Barisan Nasional. The 'war' between liberalism and conservatism in the mid-1800s in Europe saw the collapse of the monarchies and the emergence of republics. Hence do not underestimate the 'danger' of liberalism versus conservatism. THE CORRIDORS OF POWER Raja Petra Kamarudin The Cuban Missile Crisis occurred over a 13-day period from 16-28 October 1962. That was 50 years ago. I was still in standard six then and many of you were probably not even born yet. To commemorate the 50th Anniversary of the Cuban Missile Crisis, the Department for Continuing Education of the Oxford University is holding four lectures (details as below). I have signed up to attend these lectures this weekend so Malaysia Today may be slightly slow in the news updating during that period. I am not going to give you my opinion regarding the Cuban Missile Crisis, at least not until I have attended the lectures this weekend. What I want to do instead is to talk about the use of bogeymen and 'under siege' stratagem as a political tool. When the government raises a crisis, this can unite the people. Hence if the impression can be created that Islam or the Muslims or the Malays are under attack (under siege), this can unite the Malays-Muslims against what they perceive as a common enemy. To do this, though, you need to create a bogeyman. In the Cuban Missile Crisis, the Bogeyman for the Americans was the Communists and their satellite states such as Cuba. We must remember that just a year earlier, in 1961, America got involved in the Vietnam War and by 1962 America's troops in Vietnam had tripled. This war was supposed to be to stop the march of Communism but it was not well supported and most Americans were opposed to this war. Many Americans were openly opposed to the Vietnam War and it even spawned a peace movement, the Hippie culture (make love not war), Woodstock (with the many 'protest' songs), etc. Later, the Vietnam War escalated into an Indo-Chinese War when America began to bomb and invade Cambodia. In 1970, 500 students from the Kent University, Ohio, protested the Cambodian invasion resulting in 4 students being shot dead and 9 wounded. Anyway, in short, Americans did not support America's involvement in foreign conflicts. Martin Luther King, Jr., Muhammad Ali, Jane Fonda, and many more, all opposed the Vietnam War. And they were persecuted because of it. Communism had to be portrayed as an evil and the enemy of the 'free world'. America was becoming very divided and famous people were being attracted to the cause of the anti-war movement. The government had to make the people realise that war was necessary to protect the free world from the evil of Communism. Hence Communism must be seen as 'the enemy'. Today, of course, Communism is no longer feared. So they need a 'New Communism' and this new threat to the free world is Islam, the 'New Communism'. Islam is the new threat to the free world and the people must unite against radical Islam for the sake of democracy. That is in the west. In Malaysia the same strategy is used. Islam is a threat, or rather 'radical' Islam, so MCA plays up this issue to the hilt. Thus you are seeing a lot of rhetoric from the Barisan Nasional coalition partners as to the threat to democracy if Pakatan Rakyat were to come to power and PAS gets to turn Malaysia into an Islamic State with the Shariah criminal laws of Hudud as the laws of the land. MCA, of course, plays to the Chinese gallery. For the benefit of the Malay-Muslim audience, DAP is portrayed as an enemy of Islam with a hidden agenda of turning Malaysia into a Christian State. So both the Chinese and Malays are under siege -- the Chinese under siege from an Islamic State and the Malays under siege from a Christian State. To the Chinese, the bogeyman is Islam, while to the Malays it is Christianity. And to put icing on the cake, revelations of Christians converting Muslims to Christianity is played up. If the people can be made to believe that they face an evil and dangerous enemy they can be made to set aside their political differences and to unite against this common enemy. Chinese would no longer be MCA Chinese or DAP Chinese and Malays no longer Umno Malays or PAS Malays. It would be simply reduced to Malays versus Chinese. And in such a situation Umno and Barisan Nasional would benefit the most. The trouble is, Malaysians have big mouths. Since 2008, Malaysians have become more arrogant and they no longer care about what they say. They will say what they want to say and will even throw dares and challenges, which just increases the animosity between the races. Hence the loose talk only goes to help make the rift even bigger. The siege mentality becomes worse and the focus becomes 'unite against the enemy'. And the enemy of the Malays is the Chinese (in particular the Christian Chinese) and to the Chinese it is the Malays (in particular the radical Muslims). Common enemies are required to be able to unite the people. If there were no common enemy or, more accurately, a perceived common enemy, then the people would be divided along political lines. And in that type of situation you will see the liberals on one side and the conservatives on the other. In Malaysia's situation, you can regard the liberals as the reformist group, or Pakatan Rakyat, while the conservatist group is Barisan Nasional. The 'war' between liberalism and conservatism in the mid-1800s in Europe saw the collapse of the monarchies and the emergence of republics. Hence do not underestimate the 'danger' of liberalism versus conservatism. The government, therefore, cannot afford for Malaysia to be divided between liberalism and conservatism. Malaysia must be united so that the liberalism versus conservatism tide can be stemmed. And for this to happen Malaysians must be divided racially and religiously. When each race and religious grouping sees itself under siege, they would discard political ideology and unite. And this is why a bogeyman needs to be created whether it is Communism, America, Israel, Russia, Cuba, China, Vietnam, Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, radical Islam, radical Christianity, Zionism, or whatever. And this is why Barisan Nasional and Umno are so successful. And they are successful only because Malaysians are so gullible and naïve. Malaysians can be made to feel that they are under siege and that a bogeyman is lurking in the dark waiting to get them. Maybe this is because when we were kids our parents planted the hantu syndrome into our minds. Hence we are able to see hantu everywhere. Bodohnya rakyat Malaysia. Percaya sangat dengan hantu. ***************************************** The Cuban Missile Crisis: 1962 Lecture 1: John Kennedy, American Foreign Policy and the Cuban Missile Crisis PROFESSOR MARK WHITE Department of History, Queen Mary, University of London
Lecture 2: Soviet Communism and the Cuban Revolution in the 1960s DR GEORGE LAMBIE Principal Lecturer, Department of Public Policy, De Montfort University
Lecture 3: The Cuban missile crisis: how close to Armageddon? PROFESSOR LEN SCOTT Professor in International History and Intelligence Studies, Aberystwyth University
Lecture 4: The Cuban missile crisis in cultural memory RIKKY ROOKSBY Tutor for OUDCE (Department for Continuing Education) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Guan Eng teaches Najib how to fight graft Posted: 15 Oct 2012 03:45 PM PDT The Penang chief minister and DAP secretary-general outlines six steps for Putrajaya to follow. Athi Shankar, FMT DAP has proposed six crucial steps for Putrajaya to fight graft and rescue the country from bankruptcy. Party secretary-general Lim Guan Eng proposed making public declaration of assets, implementing open competitive tenders, barring family members from government contracts, protecting genuine whistleblowers, removing Barisan Nasional leaders with extravagant lifestyles and coming clean on political donations. "Will BN leaders walk their talk by applying the six steps?" asked the Penang chief minister. He called on the federal government to first emulate his Pakatan Rakyat state government by institutionalising public declaration of assets. Lim and his state executive councillors had already publicly declared their assets so he could not see any reason for Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak and the federal Cabinet doing so as well. "The declaration was even certified by an international accounting firm," pointed out the Pakatan leader in his blog posting. Lim, the Bagan MP, also called Najib to immediately drop BN leaders with extravagant lifestyles, owning luxury homes, cars and huge personal bank accounts in foreign countries. The third step was to bar family members of BN leaders from involving in government business to avoid another RM250 million "cow – condo" National Feedlot Centre scandal. Lim also called on Najib's administration to protect, not to prosecute, genuine whistleblowers, who exposed corruption cases leading to charges in court. The fifth, he said, BN must come clean on political donations such as the RM40 million political donation to Sabah Umno. Finally, he wanted the federal government to implement open competitive tenders like in Penang. Without open competitive tenders, he said public projects were directly negotiated and awarded to cronies causing loss of public revenue such as the cheap sale of the Sungai Besi Air Force Base land. Similarly, he asked whether the RM386 million for 57 KR1M stores in Sabah and Sarawak or RM6.7 million per store was justified. At RM6.7 million per store, he wondered whether the KR1M stores were selling basic necessities like sugar, salt and rice or luxury items like jewellery and designer handbags. Due to the implementation of an open competitive tender system in Penang since 2008, Lim claimed that his state government was able to table surplus budgets each year with proceeds from the savings going back to the people annually in the form of an "anti-corruption dividend". Unless action was taken against unhealthy practices, he warned that the Transparency International (TI) Corruption Perception Index (CPI) on Malaysia would not only drop further "but the country may go bankrupt." Probe Sabah Umno Lim said Malaysia's CPI dropped from 37 in 2003 to 60 in 2012, prompting TI Malaysia Chapter deputy president Mohammad Ali to note that elements of state-facilitated grand corruption were prevalent. He noted that even Housing and Local Government Minister Chor Chee Heung had admitted that corruption cost Malaysia RM26 billion every year. He pointed out that the Global Financial Integrity Report from Washington estimated that more than RM1,077 million of illicit money flowed out illegally from Malaysia between 2000 and 2009.
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| In latest tirade, MCA warns against principles of 'Koran' in national culture Posted: 15 Oct 2012 03:36 PM PDT "...They will use the principles of the Koran [sic], and Islamic ethics and values into the nation's economic, social, and political culture," he wrote, using the archaic English spelling for the Muslim holy book. (Harakah) - Chinese-only party MCA has launched a scathing attack on any attempt at inculcating Islamic values in governance, and warned non-Muslims that Quranic principles and Islamic ethics would form national culture if Pakatan Rakyat comes to power. The warning was made by deputy chairman of the party's publicity bureau, Loh Seng Kok, in a statement condemning an advisory by the Alor Setar Municipal Council that models on billboard should not appear scantily dressed. Claiming that such a ruling was "detrimental to both the nation's economic policies and competitiveness", Loh went on to suggest that it also trampled on non-Muslim rights.
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| MCA is anti-Islam, says PAS Youth Posted: 15 Oct 2012 03:31 PM PDT
(Harakah) - PAS Youth leader Nasrudin Hassan has decried the fact that MCA president Dr Chua Soi Lek had been spared any action by the authorities over a spate of comments denigrating Islam and Muslims. "Even worse, his ally UMNO has not done anything to defend the sanctity of Islam, let alone to take action against the MCA president," Nasrudin wrote in Harakahdaily recently. To illustrate how UMNO has succumbed to MCA's propaganda against Islam, Nasrudin (above) said a day after Chua had threatened to come out of Barisan Nasional if BN endorsed the Islamic capital punishment for serious crimes, or hudud, UMNO president Najib Razak declared that the laws would never be impelemented.
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| Posted: 15 Oct 2012 03:24 PM PDT
Many questions have been raised after Sabah Umno was alleged to have received RM40 million in political donations. If the Sabah Umno had received the money through a proper way, why was the money brought into the country in cash, instead of being transferred directly into the account? If it was a legitimate donation, why was the businessman carrying the large sum of money detained in Hong Kong? Lim Sue Goan, Mysinchew It will certainly be favourable to BN if the next general election can be held soon as even MCA president Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek has said that there are signs showing the return of Chinese votes, while the support rates of Malay and Indian voters are very satisfactory. In politics, however, even one day can be too long, let alone the election which might be held early next year. To maintain the advantageous position as mentioned by Chua, BN must prevent suspicious incidents before the election. Unfortunately, BN is unable to curb the occurrence of such incidents. Many questions have been raised after Sabah Umno was alleged to have received RM40 million in political donations. If the Sabah Umno had received the money through a proper way, why was the money brought into the country in cash, instead of being transferred directly into the account? If it was a legitimate donation, why was the businessman carrying the large sum of money detained in Hong Kong? To prevent money laundering, many countries, including Malaysia, impose cash limit for foreign travellers. Had the businessman obtained an approval to bring in the large sum of money into Sabah? If yes, from whom did he get the approval? Umno refused to disclose the source of the donation. That being the case, how can it accuse non-governmental organisations of receiving foreign funds? The ruling coalition has even failed to show transparency. The issue might evolve into a political issue in Sabah as it is the poorest state in the country and the issue could trigger unhappiness among the poor. According to the latest poll, Sabah Chief Minister Datuk Seri Musa Aman's approval rate has dropped by 15 per cent to 45 per cent. A further decline might become a threat to the BN regime. The government should introduce legislation to control political donations to avoid the inflow of unknown funds and corrupt practices. The control over political donations is also crucial to show the credibility of the government and political transformation. Once the perception of not being fully committed to curb corruption is deep-rooted, it will be difficult for BN to fight for votes from swing voters. BN should also be concerned about the people's perception as ill-feelings can hardly be eliminated. For example, Malacca Chief Minister Datuk Seri Mohd Ali Rustam spent RM600,000 for his son's wedding and many people are not able to save such an amount of money even if they worked very hard until the day they retire. The Automated Enforcement System (AES) also lacks transparency, causing its good points to be neglected. People are more interested in knowing the background of the two contracted companies and what kind of benefits they can get. Could it be RM700 million as claimed by the alternative coalition? Some people have questioned the technology of the AES and whether the system has made things difficult for motorists. For example, the fine limit for speeding is RM300, which must be paid within two months without discount. According to the Road Transport Act 1987, a discount at different rates should be given to people based on the traffic rules they have violated. Does this mean that the AES has violated the law? Some people have also raise a question over the accuracy of the AES since it has not been appraised by any authoritative independent groups or experts. Motorists who receive AES summonses can only appeal to the courts. It is unreasonable, including for those whose vehicle registration numbers have been faked. It takes time to settle in courts and motorists will have to take leave to do so. Have the officials involved tried to put themselves in the public's shoes? There is nothing as a sure win before the election is held and the situation could change at any time. Therefore, BN still needs to be cautious.
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| Posted: 15 Oct 2012 03:18 PM PDT
After more than a year of intense speculation, the whole country is still kept in suspense as to the date of the 13th general election. Slightly more than 13 million Malaysians aged 21 and above are eligible to cast their ballots to choose 222 representatives in the Federal Parliament and 505 representatives in 12 state assemblies (except Sarawak, which already held its state election on April 16 last year). Philip Hii, The Star AT FIRST the people thought that the general election was going to be in July last year. When nothing happened, the date Nov 11, 2011 was mentioned. They pointed out that the number 11 was Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak's favourite number. Favourite or no favourite, the polls did not happen. Then came the new year and speculators pointed to March, May, July and finally the last month of this year as the "The Day". The intensity of the speculation has diminished somewhat as many people have adopted a "let-it-be" attitude. For some, the delay has made them anxious. Others are rather fed up, while certain segments of the business community are impatiently waiting for their usual election-related windfall. Even the components of the ruling coalition are rather restive. Only the Opposition seems to welcome the delay, saying that it is working in their favour as it gives them more time to reach the voters. The current speculation is that the elections would likely be held after February next year when the distribution of government handouts as promised in Budget 2013 has been completed. Najib might also wait for the expiry of his Government in March next year, which would compel Opposition-ruled Penang, Selangor, Kedah and Kelantan to participate in the general election simultaneously. If none of the above happens, the polls must be held by June 27 next year, at the very latest. January next year is considered a good election month because of the "feel-good" factor as Chinese New Year falls on Feb 10. It is believed that holding the elections close to the Lunar New Year would garner more Chinese support. "It is the first time in our country's history that uncertainty over an election date has dragged on for so long. It is inconvenient for employers and employees," said a businessman who wanted to be known only as Wong. He said the uncertainty had made it difficult for him to approve leave application of his staff, especially those who applied for November and January. "The best I can do is grant them a short period, from two to five days, but on condition that they must return to work if the elections are called," Wong added. A graphic designer, Angela, said she was worried that her approved leave from Nov 21 to 30 would be revoked. "If that happens then it would be a great loss to me as I have bought an air ticket to Bali," she said. Those most affected by the uncertainty are civil servants, police, military personnel, printers, and members of the media. Some party members and workers in the ruling coalition are also starting to get "irritated". An old SUPP member said withholding the announcement of the election date so close to the end of the current ruling government's term could be interpreted as a "show of weakness and indecisiveness". He said many Malaysians were already politically mature and most of them have already decided who to vote for, or whether to vote at all. Slightly more than 13 million Malaysians aged 21 and above are eligible to cast their ballots to choose 222 representatives in the Federal Parliament and 505 representatives in 12 state assemblies (except Sarawak, which already held its state election on April 16 last year). In 2008, Barisan Nasional under the leadership of Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi suffered its first major setback when Pakatan Rakyat won 82 seats, thereby denying the ruling coalition of a two-thirds majority. Barisan also lost control of five states — Penang, Selangor, Kelantan, Kedah and Perak. It, however, regained Perak following the defection of three Pakatan assemblymen. Following the poor showing, Abdullah announced that he would step down. On March 26, 2009, Najib was elected unopposed as the new Umno party leader, paving his way to the nation's premiership. Abdullah tendered his resignation on April 2 and the next day, Najib was sworn in as the sixth Prime Minister of Malaysia. It is stipulated in the Malaysian constitution that the general election is held every five years. The country's past 12 general elections were on Aug 19, 1959; April 25, 1964; May 10, 1969; Aug 24 and Sept 14 1974; July 8, 1978; April 22, 1982; Aug 3, 1986; Oct 21, 1990; April 25, 1995; Nov 29, 1999; March 21, 2004; and March 8, 2008.
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| ‘Graft in military housing since 90s’ Posted: 15 Oct 2012 03:13 PM PDT The Malay Army Veteran Association chief also claims previous contractors dished out contracts to cronies. Syed Jaymal Zahiid, FMT Corruption involving military housing had been widespread since the 1990s, the president of the Malay Army Veteran Association (PVMT) Mohamad Ali Baharom alleged today. Yesterday the 2011 Auditor-General report revealed that the Defence Ministry had spent a whopping RM3.2 billion for poor quality living quarters with a 84% cost overrun from the initial cost of RM1.2 billion. The quality of the quarters was said to be marred with damages and construction defects causing safety concerns for occupants. Reparations were slow to come and low quality furniture was supplied. The report also stated that the contractors failed to complete construction within the initial contract period and were given time extensions of 94 to 1,240 days. "This issue has been around since I was still in the army. That was in the 1990s. It is blatant cheating (by the contractors)," Mohamad, better known as Ali Tinju, told FMT in a brief interview. The PVMT president said similar complaints were lodged with Mindef on the poor quality of housing and suspected corruption in the process but the issue never got out into the open. Mohamad alleged government-owned National Housing Company Bhd (SPNB) had also provided poor quality housing despite being awarded hefty contracts later distributed to politically-connected contractors. SPNB implicated "They may look good outside but the interiors are rife with problems. They handed out the contracts to their cronies," he said, adding that Mindef should rectify the problems and prosecute those involved. The contractor implicated in the 2011 AG report was Syarikat USL, a joint venture of the Finance Ministry-owned Syarikat Perumahan Negara Bhd and the Armed Forces Fund Board Sdn Bhd. The report described the company as "inexperienced" and "technically incompetent". Mindef was censured and urged to ensure that it appoint only eligible and capable contractors. The report also noted that although USL was fined RM87.12 million for the delays, the Finance Ministry waived the penalty following an application by Mindef. In 2006, the same company was censured for sub-par delivery of an air force quarters project in Subang. Despite the reprimand, no repairs were made. However, the report revealed, the ministry had nevertheless issued a "certificate of making good defects" to indicate that repairs had been completed.
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| National debt soars to RM456.12 bil Posted: 15 Oct 2012 03:08 PM PDT The 2011 Auditor-General's report shows that the debt percentage to Malaysia's GDP is shrinking, largely due to the GDP increase. Patrick Lee, FMT Malaysia's national debt is at its highest yet: at a whopping RM456.12 billion, according to the 2011 Auditor-General's report. It is a RM49.02 billion (12%) increase from 2010′s figure (RM407.1b) and 51.77% of the country's RM881.08 billion Gross Domestic Product (GDP). In comparison, 2011′s debt percentage of the national GDP was lower (2010 recorded 53.15%). This might be due to the RM115.1 billion increase in GDP, of which a total of RM765.9 billion was recorded in 2010. According to the report, about RM438.02 billion of Malaysia's national debt was local while the remaining RM18.1 billion was foreign. The country also appeared to be spending more this year due to its rising debt. The report said that 2011′s expenditure due to the debt was RM17.72 billion, from 2010′s RM15.62 billion. At the same time, the country's deficit was shown to have reduced to 2008 levels, recorded at RM42.5 billion of the GDP, or 4.82%. In 2008, Malaysia's GDP stood at RM740.72 billion, with a deficit of RM35.57, or 4.8%. Last year's deficit was also lower than 2010 and 2009 numbers, which were at RM43.24b (5.64%) and RM47.42b (7.03%). These numbers were despite a 16.1% increase in government revenue, which saw Putrajaya collecting an estimated RM185.42 billion, compared to 2010′s 159.65 billion. The report said that efforts to control 2011′s deficit were due to foreign and local loans, which the Auditor-General's Department said, grew by as much as RM36.33 billion last year, or a total of 113.56 billion. In 2011, the government had a total of RM107.09 billion in local loans, with RM6.47 billion in foreign loans. The report added that the government also had a higher loan repayment in 2011, at about RM65.35 billion, or RM33.52 billion from 2010.
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| Malaysia's third quarter GDP to slow Posted: 15 Oct 2012 02:57 PM PDT
(Bernama) – Malaysia's gross domestic product (GDP) for the third quarter of 2012 will be lower due to the reduced trade figure recorded for that quarter, said Second Finance Minister Datuk Seri Husni Hanadzlah. However, the country is on track to achieve the 4.5 per cent to five per cent targeted gross domestic product (GDP), for 2012. "We believe that our third quarter is lower than the second. This is because of the global economic conditions. It has not improved and as a result, our trade has been affected," he told reporters after the launch of the ninth Kuala Lumpur Islamic Finance Forum 2012 (KLIFF 2012) today. Malaysia's total trade in August fell to RM104.84 billion compared with RM106.17 billion in the same month last year. Recently, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said that Asia will continue to power the global economy, but warned there was an increasing risk that growth in the region, could drop to levels last seen during the global financial crisis. The Fund foresees the Asian region economy expanding 5.9 per cent in 2013, 0.7 of a percentage point below the April estimate, it said in an update to its regional economic outlook. The IMF added that a hard landing in China's economy remained a low probability risk, but warned that such a scenario would have a significant impact on Asian economies, if it did occur. Malaysia's economy strengthened to 5.4 per cent in the second quarter 2012 against 4.9 per cent in the preceding quarter, led by continued expansion in the services and manufacturing sectors. He pointed out that the GDP for the second quarter will be the highest recorded in 2012. He noted that the destabilisation effects of QE3 will not impact Malaysia's economy. Meanwhile in his speech earlier, Husni said there is a need to expand the Shariah framework to provide solutions to sophisticated high net worth individuals, balancing the tenets of Islam and the complexities and realities of current financial, legal and taxation requirements. He said by expanding the range of value-add structures, products and services, the wealth management industry is in a position to play a key role in diversifying system-wide risks. "At the same time it adds depth and breadth to the country's domestic direct investment marketplace, secondary market liquidity and expansion of local talent pool and technical expertise. "In the last 10 years, our domestic investment management industry has expanded rapidly. This development was supported by a prudently sequenced deregulation measures, especially in regards to the market』s access to products and services, as well as the opening up of distribution channels within the industry," added Husni. Global Islamic assets have grown at an average rate of 15 per cent to 20 per cent per annum for the last 10 years to reach US$1.3 trillion in 2011. Husni said the government had also strengthened the standards for investor protection by enhancing disclosure and governance standards. "As a result, our domestic Assets Under Management (AUM) grew at a compounded rate of 21 per cent per annum from RM55 billion in 2000 to RM377 billion in 2010," he noted. Malaysia's AUM is estimated to grow to RM1.6 trillion in 2020. The KLIFF 2012 is a two-day forum beginning today and organised by the Centre for Research and Training in collaboration with Hisham, Sobri and Kadir, the Association of Islamic Banking Institutions Malaysia and Amanie Advisor. The forum has brought together scholars, practitioners, industry players and the public who have an interest in Islamic Banking and finance.
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| Sultan yet to give nod for discussion on Talamgate Posted: 15 Oct 2012 02:45 PM PDT
(The Star) - The Selangor Sultan has yet to give his royal consent for a special state assembly meeting, indicating that the discussion on the Talamgate and water issues would be held at the same sitting as the state Budget's announcement on Nov 19. Mentri Besar Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim said Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah had yet to decide on the special meeting but has consented to the one on Nov 19 to table the state Budget. "We will abide by whatever the Sultan says. In fact, some of the state representatives have also expressed the view that the special sitting is not necessary," Khalid told reporters after meeting state heads of departments here yesterday. The state government was hoping to hold the special sitting two weeks before Nov 19 to discuss the White Paper on the Talam debt recovery and water restructuring exercise as well as the number of new voters in the state, which Khalid had labelled as "suspicious". (A White Paper is a government or other authoritative report on a major issue that provides information or proposals on it). On July 3, MCA Young Professionals Bureau Chief Datuk Chua Tee Yong had challenged the Selangor Government to explain how its exercise to recover a RM392mil debt from Talam ended in questionable deals worth over RM1bil. The state government is said to have obtained a grant of RM392mil and acquired additional assets worth RM284mil from Talam, bringing the total acquisition to RM676mil. This RM676mil purchase of assets was said to be part of the RM1bil deal. On a separate matter, Khalid said he would speak with Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin on a proposal from a Canadian company on membrane technology to ease an impending water shortage in the state. He claimed that the technology would produce the same results at a fraction of the cost of the multi-billion ringgit Langat2 project. "Membrane technology will generate one million litres of treated water per day, which would be the same as the Langat 2 treatment plant when it is completed. "Besides, the implementation of the membrane technology would cost not more than RM800mil compared to the cost of Langat 2, which is about RM2.5bil to RM3bil."
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| Sabah like a second home for MILF leaders Posted: 15 Oct 2012 02:42 PM PDT  (The Star) - Sabah is like a second home to several Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) commanders who have either worked or stayed with relatives in the East Malaysian state. Commander Adnan Ebrahim lived at Kg Likas in Kota Kinabalu city for about two years during the Marcos era in the 1980s after he accompanied his comrade Sema Bayao (pic) to seek medical treatment there. "He was injured in a gunbattle with the Philippine government soldiers and could not go to the hospital in Mindanao as he would be arrested," he said, speaking in Malay. Adnan, 54, joined the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) as a soldier when he was 15, saying he wanted to fight Manila's injustice against Muslims. When MNLF split, he joined the breakaway MILF to fight for the Bangsamoro people. In Sabah, Adnan worked odd jobs including as a coffeeshop dish washer and manual labourer while Bayao, after recovering, worked as a contract labourer, earning daily wages of RM10 to RM12. Adnan said life was good in Sabah because there was no trouble. "In Mindanao, it was a time when (Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos) imposed martial law. And we did not have freedom of movement. Life was dangerous as we were hunted by the Philippine army," he said. "At times, we had no food we were always on the run." "Sabahans did not know I was actually a Moro fighter who had fled my country. I did not tell anyone as I was afraid that there were Philippine government spies in Sabah." Adnan and Bayao, 50, later decided to come back and continue their fight for Bangsamoro people. Now that a peace pact has been signed, Adnan and Bayao said they would not be going back to Sabah any time soon. Instead, they are hoping Sabah investors will be coming to Mindanao instead.
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| Hasan Ali tiada kapasiti desak Nik Aziz letak jawatan, kata PAS Posted: 15 Oct 2012 02:31 PM PDT
Mohd Farhan Darwis, The Malaysian Insider Pemimpin PAS bersependapat menegaskan bekas Pesuruhjaya PAS Datuk Dr Hasan Mohamed Ali tidak mempunyai kapasiti mendesak Mursyidul Am PAS, Datuk Nik Aziz Nik Mat meletak jawatan kerana beliau hanyalah "orang luar" daripada parti. Naib Presiden PAS, Datuk Mahfuz Omar menegaskan, Hasan (gambar) tiada hubung kait dengan PAS dan menggesa beliau agar "berdiam diri" daripada mencampuri urusan dalam parti. "Dia tiada hubung kait dengan parti ... lebih baik dia diam sahaja. "Dia umpama bekas menantu, yang minta bekas mertua untuk meletak jawatan sebagai mertua, tidak masuk akal langsung," kata Ahli Parlimen Pokok Sena itu kepada The Malaysian Insider. Senada dengan Mahfuz, Naib Presiden PAS Datuk Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man turut menegaskan Hasan tidak sepatutnya mengeluarkan kenyataan sedemikian kerana beliau bukan lagi ahli PAS. "Urusan melantik Datuk Dr Haron Din, sebagai Mursyidul Am perlu di bawa ke peringkat Majlis Syura. "Hasan tiada kapasiti, dia bukan ahli PAS," kata Pesuruhjaya PAS Pahang itu lagi. Sebelum ini presiden Jalur Tiga (Jati) itu meminta Nik Aziz melepaskan jawatannya sebagai Mursyidul Am PAS, kerana mengeluarkan kenyataan parti DAP tidak pernah menggganggu perjuangan PAS dan akan membantu parti Islam itu untuk menang pada Pilihan Raya Umum ke-13 akan datang. Hasan menegaskan, kenyataan seumpama itu amat keterlaluan dan akan memberikan peluang kepada DAP untuk terus menyerang dan menjadikan mereka lebih ganas menghentam dasar Islam, yang diperjuangkan PAS. Beliau berkata sudah tiba masanya jawatan itu diserahkan kepada Timbalannya, Datuk Dr Haron Din, yang padanya mempunyai kemampuan dan kewibawaan yang setara dengan Nik Aziz. Hasan yang juga Adun Gombak Setia berpandangan kenyataan Nik Aziz itu menghiris hati dan perasaan ahli dan penyokong PAS yang sudah tidak sabar dengan penghinaan demi penghinaan DAP terhadap agama Islam.
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| Ali Baba contractors ‘killing-off’ Dayak business Posted: 15 Oct 2012 01:56 PM PDT 'Ali Baba' contractors are squeezing Dayak contractors out of busienss in Pakan, Sarikei, Bintagor, Selangau, Kanowit and Sri Aman constituencies. Joseph Tawie, FMT SARIKEI: Discontent Dayak contractors in Pakan may cost Julau MP Joseph Salang to lose substantial votes in the coming general election. Salang, who is also Deputy Minister of Information, Communications and Culture, seems to be unable to help his genuine Dayak contractors. According to the contractors, they are shabbily treated and are victims of the famed 'Ali Baba contractors' disease which surfaced during the era of Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad. According to a local contractor Joseph Allen, in Pakan the Ali Baba contractor has been active for the past three years. "This contractor is aligned to certain government officers. He 'sapu' (clean-sweeps) all big projects with high profit prospects meant for Pakan because of his connection with certain government officers," said Allen. The 'Ali Baba' system in Pakan works through three bumiputera companies which are under the control of a non-bumiputera contractor. The practice has been going on for three years. These projects which include village road projects, public infrastructure and basic infrastructure projects were passed through the Public Works Department (JKR) to this Ali-Baba contractor. Last week several frustrated bumiputera contractors met with the Resident of Sarikei division to voice their complaints only to be told that there was nothing he could do to help them. Dissatisfied with the answer, the group led by Hereward Gramong approached Salang last Saturday in Sibu because most of the federal-funded projects in Julau were channeled through Salang. Salang instead advised them to discuss with the officers handling the projects or tenders. But instead of meeting the officers handling the projects, the Pakan district Bumiputera Contractors Association met on Sunday to discuss their next move. They agreed to write a petition letter to Salang with copies extended to the Pakan assemblyman and Minister of Social Development William Mawan Ikom, Meluan assemblyman Wong Judat, Sarikei Division Resident, Divisional Engineer and Pakan and Julau district officers. In the letter, they demanded that the authorities concerned bar the three Ali-Baba contractors who they identified, from vying for tenders offered through Pakan District Office. They demanded that officers sitting in the tender board be changed as they suspected there were some elements of malpractices and abuse of power. The bumiputera contractors also suggested that in order to ensure fair distribution of projects among the genuine bumiputra contractors, there should be a casting of lots (cabut undi) or on rotation system especially for projects though JKR for Class F, Class EX and Class E contractors rather than by open tender.
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| GE13: Should the global community care? Posted: 15 Oct 2012 01:45 PM PDT All the so-called reforms are like attempting to varnish a table that is ridden with termites. By S Ambiga, FMT Those in the international community may be forgiven for saying… "is there a problem with the democratic process in Malaysia?". In the international arena, our leaders portray Malaysia as a moderate Islamic nation that is built on the democratic principles that are enshrined in our Federal Constitution. The fundamental rights of freedom of expression, freedom of association, freedom of assembly, the right to life and a fair electoral process, are indeed guaranteed under our Federal Constitution. The reality is, however, far less idyllic. There are serious questions whether these rights are respected and upheld by those in power. Since before the 1990s, Malaysians have been pushing for a reform of the system of governance. There has been growing discontent over issues like rampant corruption, abuse of power, deaths in custody and selective prosecution (or persecution), to name but a few of the grouses. We are increasingly alarmed by the use of race and religion by politicians to divide the people for political gain, with no regard whatsoever for the possible long-term consequences of this conduct. We note with disgust our mainstream media descending to the lowest depths of junk journalism. We are appalled at the growing instances of political violence. In the clearest example of how low we have sunk, human rights defenders and civil society who are seen as opposing the government are facing ruthless attacks by the government of the day. Suaram, established in 1989 and which has in the past year been exposing possible corruption by Malaysians in high places in the purchase of Scorpene submarines from France, is suddenly facing investigation by several government agencies. The mainstream media is once again playing its role in showing no regard whatsoever for presenting the whole truth. In a front-page news story, preposterous claims were made that NGOs like Suaram and Bersih were funded by organisations like National Democratic Institute (NDI) and Open Society Institute (OSI) for the purpose of overthrowing the government. Directors of Suaram have been hauled up by enforcement agencies for their exposé on the corruption, yet our anti-corruption agency fails to even begin to investigate the claims of Suaram that a huge commission of RM500 million had been received by a Malaysian entity in the Scorpene deal. Civil society is now continuously portrayed in the media as the enemy which is seeking to overthrow the government at the behest of foreign powers. These accusations have also been hurled at Bersih, more so since July last year when we had a successful rally of more than 50,000 people on the streets of KL, clamouring for clean and fair elections. Another rally was held in April this year when more than 200,000 people were on the streets, again asking for electoral reform. Malaysians do not easily take to the streets. The numbers must mean that there were good reasons why they did. What reforms? I will not go into more details of the attacks that human rights defenders have had to face by those in authority or those who had the tacit approval of the authorities. Suffice it to say they have been sustained and relentless. When asked, our leaders will say that this government is reforming because of the replacement of many oppressive laws, and the apparent move to greater democracy. They will say that after the Bersih rally last year, a parliamentary select committee (PSC) for electoral reform was set up and a report issued. What they don't go on to explain is, what replaces these oppressive laws and what they are doing to effectively implement the PSC recommendations. In my view, the new legislation just does not go far enough, and the important recommendations of the PSC report are largely ignored or poorly implemented. Bersih also continues to receive reports of electoral malpractices and the integrity of the electoral roll leaves much to be desired. Our Election Commission does not enjoy public confidence and is not seen by many as independent. This, together with all the other issues that plague our system of governance, leads to the inevitable conclusion that the next crucial general election will be seriously flawed. All the so-called reforms are like attempting to varnish a table that is ridden with termites. It is difficult to fix a system that is fundamentally flawed by building on the same rotten foundation. That is, even if there is real political will to reform. The Global Commission on Elections, Democracy and Security which is headed by Kofi Annan (former United Nations secretary-general) and which has many distinguished members including Ernesto Zedillo (former president of Mexico), Madeleine K Albright (former US Secretary of State) and Professor Amartya Sen, issued a ground-breaking report on clean and fair elections dated September 2012. In his foreword, Annan states, "The spread of democracy across the world has been one of the most dramatic changes I have witnessed over the course of my career. In country after country, people have risked their lives to call for free elections, democratic accountability, the rule of law and respect for human rights. Elections are the indispensable root of democracy…" I make no apologies for quoting from this report at length for I cannot say it better. The report clearly outlines that clean and fair elections are not just about choosing leaders, but are about building a solid framework for a democracy that works for the people. Some conclusions After studies, the following were some of the conclusions arrived at: 1. "Elections with integrity are important to values that we hold dear – human rights and democratic principles. Elections give life to rights enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, including freedom of opinion and expression, freedom of peaceful assembly and association, the right to take part in the government of one's country through freely elected representatives, the right of equal access to public service in one's country, and the recognition that the authority of government derives from the will of the people, expressed in 'genuine periodic elections' which shall be by universal and equal suffrage and shall be held by secret ballot. 2. Elections are fundamental to the ethos and principles of democracy… 3. Citizens lose confidence in democratic processes when elections are not inclusive, transparent, and accountable. When elections have integrity, they bolster democracy, respect fundamental rights, and produce elected officials who are more likely to represent their citizens' interests. 4. But in addition to promoting democratic values and human rights, elections with integrity can also yield other tangible benefits for citizens. Evidence from around the world suggests that elections with integrity matter for empowering women, fighting corruption, delivering services to the poor, improving governance, and ending civil wars… 5. Electoral accountability, in turn, is associated with lessening government corruption… 6. Electoral accountability, in turn, has direct benefits for improving representation of the poor… 7. Even in countries emerging from civil wars – the most difficult of contexts for building democracy – research now shows that when the termination of the war is accompanied by elections in which former combatants run for office and campaign for votes, countries are less likely to revert to civil war. At the same time, however, other studies note that fraudulent elections are correlated with societal violence and political instability…" In an interview after the presentation of the report, Stephen Stedman, director of the Global Commission and a political scientist from Stanford, was asked what the motivation was for the report. In speaking of the chairman (Kofi Annan), he said that Annan was "driven by his experience of having to deal with several elections in Africa that had become violent and had gone off the rails. And there is a frustration he feels about how little attention had been paid to those places before they blew up".
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| Umno menikus bila berdepan MCA Posted: 15 Oct 2012 01:36 PM PDT Pelbagai kenyataan dikeluarkan oleh pemimpin MCA yang secara terang-terangan menolak pelaksanaan hudud di negara ini. (FMT) - Ketua Dewan Pemuda PAS Pusat, Nasrudin Hassan Tantawi menyifatkan Umno menikus apabila berdepan dengan MCA terutama membabitkan isu pelaksanaan hukum hudud. Menurut Nasrudin, pelbagai kenyataan dikeluarkan oleh pemimpin MCA yang secara terang-terangan menolak pelaksanaan hudud di negara ini. Bagaimanapun, Umno yang pernah dituduh hilang akal juga didakwa gagal mengambil sebarang tindakan berkesan ke atas MCA dengan mengeluarkan kenyataan yang biadap terhadap Islam dan para penganutnya. "Presiden MCA Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek pada 23 September 2011 pernah menegaskan di hadapan para wartawan, jika Umno melaksanakan hudud, MCA akan keluar Barisan Nasional. Ekoran ugutan keras MCA itu, sehingga kini Umno terpaksa menikus demi kepentingan survival politik mereka. "Pada 4 December 2011 , selepas merasmikan Forum mengenai hudud di Wisma MCA, sekali lagi Chua menegaskan bahawa Malaysia akan kehilangan pelabur dan negara akan binasa jika hudud dilaksanakan. Malah beliau juga menekankan bahawa hudud tidak adil kepada semua khasnya kaum wanita disamping menyebut bahawa undang – undang Islam adalah kejam. Menambah "kecut"nya Umno berdepan MCA ialah apabila Presidennya menulis dalam twitternya pada 1 Julai 2012 (sebagai respon) kepada Ahli Dewan Undangan Negeri (Adun) Kemelah yang mencadangkan pelaksanaan hudud di Johor bahawa: "Adun Umno Johor itu tentu sudah kehabisan idea dan hilang akal untuk mencadangkan hudud di Johor meliputi bukan Islam," katanya dalam satu kenyataan hari ini. Beliau turut merujuk kepada kenyataan Setiausaha Agung MCA, Datuk Seri Kong Cho Ha yang menempelak gara-gara beliau menegaskan bahawa parti itu adalah anti Islam. Menyifatkan Kong sebagai berpura-pura apabila pemimpin itu mengaitkan DAP sebagai parti yang anti Islam. "Kenapa pula Setiausaha Agung MCA bertanya demikian? Bukankah pemimpin-pemimpin MCA, terutamanya di dalam media milik mereka The Star, secara konsisten menegaskan kepada masyarakat non-Muslim bahawa undi untuk DAP adalah undi untuk hudud? "Ertinya MCA seperti mahu mengesahkan bahawa DAP menyokong hudud. Maka apa masalah DAP bersama PAS dalam Pakatan Rakyat dan apa perlunya PAS menganggap DAP anti Islam pula. MCA yang sangat ketara sikap anti Islamnya. "Pemimpin MCA juga selalu mengulangi 'statement' bahawa "DAP tunduk kepada PAS," katanya.
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| Misuari: It’s a recipe for another big, big war in Mindanao Posted: 15 Oct 2012 01:19 PM PDT Moro leader Nur Misuari (sulu.gov.ph photo) (Inquirer News) - "This framework agreement to me would be a recipe for another big, big war in Mindanao," Nur Misuari said. "Cut my throat if Hadji Murad can ensure peace in Mindanao," Misuari said, referring to Murad Ebrahim, chairman of the MILF, who witnessed the signing of the framework accord in Malacañang Monday with President Aquino and Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak. Misuari, leader of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) that signed a peace agreement with the government in 1996, continued to rant Monday against a new peace accord. The MILF, he said, is "so unpopular in Mindanao." He claimed many MILF members returned to the MNLF because they, too, were upset about the framework agreement for the creation of a new autonomous region in Mindanao, to be called Bangsamoro. Misuari's extreme pessimism came in sharp contrast to cautious optimism of most Muslims in Mindanao and the guarded optimism of the Catholic Church that greeted the signing in Malacañang yesterday of the preliminary peace agreement between the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF). 1996 peace deal But the chair of the MNLF Central Committee lauded the signing of the framework agreement. "The signing of the government's agreement with the MILF proved that our decision to enter the 1976 Tripoli Agreement was the right thing to do," Muslimin Sema, now mayor of Cotabato City, told the Inquirer by phone. Sema, however, wanted to know how the new agreement would harmonize with the 1996 peace deal with the MNLF. The answer will come when the Transition Commission begins work on the creation of the Bangsamoro, which will replace the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM). Read more at: http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/289674/misuari-its-a-recipe-for-another-big-big-war-in-mindanao
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| Wow !! 3 olang apek cina masuk Masjid apa hal?? Posted: 15 Oct 2012 01:15 PM PDT  Batu vs Batu Sekeping gambar menceritakan segalanya.Kenapa tiga orang cina tak fobia dengan agama islam? kini mereka tanpa segan silu berdamping dengan gerakan islam khususnya parti Pas serta berani masuk ke kuliah agama. Pada zaman Umno/Bn kuat orang orang cina cukup takut dengan gerakan islam seperti Pas, mereka di perbodoh bodoh oleh Umno dengan dakyah yang serong terhadap gerakan islam seperi isu hudud, kalau sokong pas nanti kamu akan dipotong ~ anu~dan sebagainya.. Tetapi kini alhamdulilah segalanya telah berubah, mereka dilihat semakin berani serta sudah faham apa itu agama islam semenjak mereka berdamping dengan parti Pas. Mereka tau apa pantang larang agama islam serta yang mana baek atau buruknya. Janganlah pula kita bersangka buruk tujuan mereka hadir ke majlis itu, kena berfikiran positif jangan sempitkan minda kita dengan benda yang negatif. Diharap mereka akan di beri hidayah oleh Allah supaya mereka mendapat petunjuk tentang kebenaran agama islam. insyaallah. Read more at: http://batuvskayu.blogspot.com/2012/10/wow-3-olang-apek-cina-masuk-masjid-apa.html | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Azmin to be hit by FAC scandal? Posted: 15 Oct 2012 01:09 PM PDT
Popular blogger Raja Petra claims that revelations about alleged financial irregularities involving the Free Anwar Campaign are set to embarrass PKR deputy president. (FMT) - The silent spat between PKR deputy president Azmin Ali and Selangor Menteri Besar Khalid Ibrahim's political aide Faekah Husin is set to simmer further with both parties working on their whispering campaigns to seriously undermine the other. Popular blogger Raja Petra Kamarudin, in his latest blog posting in Malaysia Today, claimed that Azmin, having failed to have Faekah sacked from PKR during the party's political bureau meeting last week, has now embarked upon questioning Faekah's sexual orientation. "They [Azmin's camp] are 'whispering' that Faekah is a lesbian and that her partner is a lady doctor. "This is actually a very old story and not even a story for that matter. Everyone knows that these two single girls are sharing a house. But that does not make them lesbians, as what Azmin's boys are trying to suggest," said Raja Petra. And he said that Faekah was not taking the personal attacks on her quietly. "She is fighting back. Her 'team' is talking about the large sums of money Azmin has been [allegedly] siphoning out in the name of the party as well as in the name of the Free Anwar Campaign (FAC) over the last 12 years since 2000. And they are talking about millions," he said. He added that although the story was not new and that he had written about it in the past, "Faekah's 'gurkhas' are resurrecting this story in light of the recent Suaram and Malaysiakini expos̩, which more or less involved the same people". Raja Petra, the founder of FAC, said that he knew about how certain leaders in PKR had made use of the campaign to "collect millions" for themselves. He added that he was only paid RM3,000 to run the campaign РRM1,000 from Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail and RM2,000 from Anwar's brother, Rosli, while the others were using FAC's name to enrich themselves. He also said that one particular Anwar Ibrahim aide had misrepresented himself as a FAC director in London to arrange "financing" for the FAC. "Millions changed hands but not a cent went to the FAC," he said, adding that there were a number of other occasions when FAC's name was used to raise a lot of money. He claimed that Anwar was aware of these but had chosen not to do anything. Read more at: http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2012/10/16/azmin-to-be-hit-by-fac-scandal/
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| PAS man wants to know Christians’ 9% secret Posted: 15 Oct 2012 12:34 PM PDT  Source: National Census 2010 "How can only 9.2 percent of the population, a minority group, set up a Christian state? Tell me how in the world this could happen?" uppercaise » Outnumbered, outvoted, outgunned, and wanting to take over?Mujahid Yusof Rawa, head of national unity in Parti Islam (PAS) and son of a party founder, wants to know the Malaysian Christians' secret formula for taking over the country. Speaking in Penang on Sunday, Mujahid derided recent claims that DAP politicians and Christian leaders were conspiring to set up a Christian state in Malaysia by asking: "How can only 9.2 percent of the population, a minority group, set up a Christian state? Tell me how in the world this could happen?" Quoting official statistics, he said Malaysia also had more Buddhists than Christians. "They should be saying that Buddhists want to create a Buddhist state as they constitute about 16 percent of the country's population." His remarks were lauded by the Catholic Bishop of Melaka-Johor, Rev Fr Paul Tan, who said Mujahid had made a "mathematics-based exorcism" of the Christian bogeyman. The controversy had been created by the Umno-friendly former PAS deputy president Nasharuddin Mat Isa, who had accused DAP leader Lim Guan Eng of planning a Christian state. "The gentleman from Parit Buntar (Mujahid) has offered the simple explanation that the notion of nine percent of Malaysians that are Christian trying to make over the rest of the population in their own image is inherently — mathematically — absurd," the bishop said. SEE ALSO: » Outnumbered, outvoted, outgunned, and wanting to take over?
In other remarks at the forum, Mujahid also urged national political leaders to ensure that, as much as a Muslim has the right to pray in the mosque, Christians, Buddhists and Hindus must have the same rights to pray in their own places of worship. A prayer with the new bishop A prayer of peace: chief ulama of Penang PAS, Soib Mohd Amin, leading a prayer with Bishop Sebastian Francis during a courtesy call on the bishop at his bishop's office at Holy Spirit Cathedral, Penang, in September. Photo: Anil Netto "Saying this does not make me less of a Muslim. This is the new politics we are talking about," said Mujahid, who is MP for Parit Buntar and chairman of the PAS national unity committee. In his party capacity, Mujahid has led PAS delegations to visit four Catholic churches in Penang and also paid a courtesy call on the new Catholic Bishop of Penang, Rev Fr Stephen Francis, who was installed last month. PAS team shows no fear of the cross Specially for you: Mujahid Yusuf Rawa, MP for Parit Buntar, and Abdul Rahman Kasim of Tasik Gelugor PAS present a cake to the new Bishop of Penang, Rev Fr Stephen Francis, in a courtesy call last month. Photo: Anil Netto Samad was the first elected Muslim wakil rakyat to visit the church since it was completed in 2005 — after 28 years of controversy, during which the Barisan Nasional-run state and city council revoked planning permission, halted building works, moved the location several times, resulting in a suit by the church, and its final location in Hicom-Glenmarie Industrial Park on the outskirts of Shah Alam city. Islamisation by Umno and BN frightened of the cross Barisan Nasional frightened of the cross In contrast to the approach taken by Khalid and Mujahid, most of the Muslim leaders of Barisan Nasional have been hesitant at being seen with Christian clergy. A Christmas tea party last year, attended by the prime minister, was embroiled in controversy after it was revealed that his aides had requested that crosses and other religious items not be displayed. Read more at: http://uppercaise.wordpress.com/2012/10/16/pas-wants-to-know-christians-secret/
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| Ex-IGP Musa withdraws "black eye" suit against Anwar Posted: 15 Oct 2012 12:31 PM PDT
(The Star) - Former Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Musa Hassan has withdrawn his suit against Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim over the Opposition leader's allegation that he fabricated evidence during investigations into the "black eye" incident in 1998. Counsel Kamarul Hisham Kamarudin, acting for Musa, told High Court judge Justice Asmabi Mohamad Tuesday that his client was withdrawing the suit. The suit had been fixed for trial Tuesday, over three days. Later, Musa told reporters that both parties had discussed the issue and he was made to understand that there was a misunderstanding over his role in the case against Anwar and he accepted an out-of-court settlement. In his statement of claim filed on July 21, 2008, Musa said the allegation was baseless, untrue and had tarnished his personal reputation, image, sincerity and good name. Musa filed the suit three weeks after Anwar lodged a police report against him. The PKR leader, in his police report lodged on July 1, 2008, claimed that Musa and Attorney-General Tan Sri Abdul Gani Patail had fabricated evidence and hidden facts in the investigation into the physical assault on him by the then IGP Tan Sri Abdul Rahim Noor, in 1998. Musa further contended that Anwar acted with bad intentions in lodging the report against him. He said Anwar's police report, in its natural and ordinary meaning, alleged that he had misused his power to fabricate evidence. He contended that Anwar had committed defamation repeatedly when he allowed the report to be reproduced on several websites, including his own blog, which was accessible to the public. Musa sought an unspecified amount in damages for slander and an injunction restraining Anwar, his servants or his agents from further publishing the alleged defamatory words, costs and other relief deemed fit by the court. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| A prophet is not accepted in his own hometown? Posted: 15 Oct 2012 12:06 PM PDT
While the whole of UMNO seem to be conducting themselves in unbecoming behavior, this one healthy being sticks out like a sore thumb. I feel so sorry for you, my dear Datuk Saifuddin. May Chee Chook Ying Just recently, a most revered politician from UMNO was flayed for not "embracing his party's stand and claims". Embrace a claim??? The upstart who had the gall to tell his own boss off is so typical of those blinded by ambition. Datuk Saifuddin Abdullah, the Deputy Higher Education Minister, in my humble opinion, is the ONLY credible person left in UMNO. He is the one who has to save UMNO now and then from the red-hot blushes stemming from their stupid antics and diabolical behavior! While the commander-in-chief has not had the gumption to face off his equal in the opposition, here we have Datuk Saifuddin going to opposition-led Penang, and charming everyone there with nothing more than his usual dose of honesty, clarity and sincerity. While the whole of UMNO seem to be conducting themselves in unbecoming behavior, this one healthy being sticks out like a sore thumb. I feel so sorry for you, my dear Datuk Saifuddin. Now and then, you see some headlines in the news that just put you off reading any further. You wonder where all those stupidity came from. Then, when it's time for Datuk Saifuddin to say his piece, you reassure yourself that all is not lost with Malaysia. In their ravings, his detractors from his own party debase the original struggle of UMNO and what they once stood for. They insult and scorn Over and beyond other truths which people discover, there is a light that is total Truth. This light can neither be dimmed nor divided. You are or you are not with the light. This light does not give knowledge directly but affects the person who acts, lives and walks in the light. Those walking in this light walk in faith and find themselves free from obstacles. So, they are not afraid to speak the truth, the truth as it should be, like our good Datuk here. This faith opens for us a global vision of human reality. Those who walk in darkness dwell in a sectarianism that prevents them embracing others as universal brothers and sisters. The UMNO we know now manifests a deep alienation for logic and truth, and of course, love for their fellow Malaysians. If they are reinventing themselves as "tuans", then what are the rest of us to them? I, for one, thought that politicians in power, including those in UMNO, were public servants. Servants, mind you, not masters. Only in Malaysia, public servants behave as if they are public masters. They expect others to pick up their tabs, launder "dirty linen", shouldering yokes that eat into their flesh, taking the best of the rakyat's harvests for themselves; the list goes on. Medieval, no? Yet, these clowns Isn't a public servant elected on the premise that he is accountable to his electorate, their progress and development? How is it some of our public servants consider their electorate as their "thing", to use and neglect according to their fancy? To force the way their electorate should think? That they should be "grateful"? Oh, I forgot, these public servants think themselves "tuans". By telling the wiser Datuk off, is the upstart saying that we must always support the people in charge, no matter the circumstances? Even when they are accusing some really good people of doing poor Soros' bidding and helping him set up a puppet regime in Malaysia? I feel really embarrassed to have such news leaving our shores. What must others think of us? Perhaps, the tempurung might be able to shield us from the scorching scorn people from outside Malaysia can pour on us? Insane comedy, alright! I believe people like the good Datuk know that the Truth forms free people. He also knows that we cannot blindly accept another's stand without evaluating for ourselves, according to the criterion of the larger good. It's our responsibility to think for ourselves and however much we criticize what must be criticized, does not make us lesser Malaysians. And however much Datuk Saifuddin is at odds with the present leadership of UMNO, does not make him love UMNO less, or their original stuggle for a better Malaysia. Even if people like the good Datuk are marginalized for their courage in upholding the Truth, they wouldn't be responsible for the demise of the diseased community. The latter is already in a self-destructive mode. It's a pity that the majority in UMNO "loves" blindly and sentimentally. Rather, they should love effectively, in a way that can liberate and transform their brothers and sisters from a complacency that can be debilitating. Progressive people like our good Datuk have emerged from what some would refer to as feudalistic politics. (Hi, Nat!)They are aware that the Malaysian identity has evolved, developed even; situating itself within the realities of the Malaysian context. There has been a constant effort on the part of progressive Malaysians to express what being Malaysian means in the language of our day. We should make good use of this time given to us to advance and to change for the better. Having said that, however, I don't see many progressive specimens in the powers-that-be. In fact, I see the danger in hanging on to dim-wits or half-wits that sudah lupa that we are now in the 21 st century. These wrinkled prunes are not helping their brothers or sisters to face their true destiny; to realize themselves through their own efforts and to discover they are helpless if they do not first, acknowledge their other brothers and sisters and act with them. These dim-wits and half-wits do not have the wisdom in them (or is it courage) to tell their brothers and sisters the Truth as it is. Instead they make bogeymen out of the Jews, Christians and whatnots. These dim-wits and half-wits are entrenched in the power of delusion, entertaining the likes of themselves with sterile arguments and failed doctrines. We have, in the likes of Datuk Saifuddin, progressive Malaysian leaders, who act in solidarity with fellow Malaysians. They are aware that their duty is not just to govern the nation alone, but to be an advocate before the Truth; to promote the Truth, encourage love among fellow Malaysians and to establish peaceful relationships. They are the leaven sorely needed for a better Malaysia. They are not like those upstarts who "mengigau" to be in the company of the best of society, in pursuit of money and power till they isolate themselves from their duty to their electorate. In spite of propounding reforms, I for one, don't see the shadow of a change. In fact, I see how, with each passing day, the powers-that-be are playing God with our lives by disregarding the conscience and the rights of the common Malaysian. It is said that the real sin is to lose hope but I don't have any more hope in the present powers-that-be. I just don't. God bless, especially progressive Malaysians wanting a better Malaysia, for all. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Bus drivers want bulk discounts for accumulated summonses Posted: 15 Oct 2012 12:04 PM PDT (Bernama) - Peninsular Malaysia Bus Drivers Association (PPBSM) has appealed to the government to give discount on traffic summonses. Its chairman, Saadan Man, said about 700 members have accumulated summonses for various traffic offences over the years and put financial burden on them. He said the discount would help bus drivers who receive average income of below RM2,000 per month adding they did not benefit from Budget 2013. "We really need the discount as it will help bus drivers to reduce the arrears in summonses," he told reporters here today. Saadan suggested that the discount be given only to card-carrying PPBSM members and payment made at police stations and the Road Transport Department. He said the number of bus drivers on the road was high and thus made it easy for them to receive summonses for traffic offences. There are about 20,000 drivers of stagecoach, school, factory and tour buses all over the country. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Harassing SUARAM merely exposes BN/s phony reforms Posted: 15 Oct 2012 11:54 AM PDT
As Malaysian citizens we ought to know exactly how much of our tax payers' money is being wasted on such extraneous side activities of our police, Special Branch and other government agencies in the name of "national security". Dr Kua Kia Soong, SUARAM Adviser When this political farce started over the BN Government's attempt to demonise SUARAM as a "foreign agent", it happened to coincide with our planned annual holiday. I am always reminded of these words by my old friend, the late K. Das in his foreword to my 1989 book on Operation Lalang, "…but we must not spend our days and nights living in silent fear of the thieves who stole Kua's freedom." Whether beholding the stars above the Scottish highlands with my loved ones or the stars above Kamunting detention camp, the oppressors can imprison our bodies but our spirit will always roam free… SO WHAT HAVE THE SIX GOVERNMENT AGENCIES UNCOVERED? When I told my friends in the UK that the government had commanded no less than six government agencies to investigate SUARAM to try all means to pin a charge on us, they were incredulous and asked if Malaysia was still a banana republic where the civil service can be ordered by the regime to act against legitimate organisations! "Haven't they got more important things to do?" they asked. As Malaysian citizens we ought to know exactly how much of our tax payers' money is being wasted on such extraneous side activities of our police, Special Branch and other government agencies in the name of "national security". A month has now elapsed since the start of the rigorous CCM investigations that included many days of 1-1 questioning with at least 20 people and which have revealed nothing questionable within their remit. Indeed, I was reassured when we went to the CCM interrogation and one of their staff came over to congratulate me on the good work SUARAM was doing! Now the buck seems to have been passed on to the AG's chambers. We were also summoned to the PERKESO offices to explain SOCSO payments to our staff dating back ten years or more. When we got there, the officer in charge didn't seem to know what we were there for! Obviously, these summonses have all been ordered by people above them. As for the Registrar of Societies coming in on the act, they were made a laughing stock when their Wikipaedia source of information meant that even the recently departed Fan Yew Teng was also summoned to their office to make a 112 statement! How Fan must be laughing at the fools from up there. Various people associated with SUARAM from years back have also been called to the ROS for questioning all because some far-right crackpot individual and insignificant Ah Pek made a police report against SUARAM. Meanwhile, no government agency appears to be investigating all the reports about Perimekar and Terasasi and the suspected selling of national defence secrets and commissions paid in the Scorpene deal uncovered in two years of investigations by the French. And has Bank Negara uncovered any whiff of money laundering by SUARAM all these years? I am sure all the Harvard trained economists in Bank Negara must be laughing at the preposterous presumption in government circles that there could be such a possibility. Nevertheless, the well-oiled propagandists in the mainstream press seem to be spinning merrily for the same idiotic thinking in government. Ah, and as soon as they mentioned money laundering, some money launderers were actually caught in the act with RM40 million in Hong Kong soon after. There was no need for a six-agency posse – it was uncovered by the Hong Kong police! The government explained it away as funds for Sabah UMNO but we'll wait for the MACC and Bank Negara and the AG's Chambers to do the needful… The BN government's "foreign plot" ploy has blown up in their faces. The subsequent exposes of Dr M and Najib's recent close encounters with George Soros have certainly embarrassed the spin doctors. Furthermore, by allowing nuclear-armed US warships to visit Port Klang a few days ago, the BN government has exposed their duplicitous (not non-aligned) foreign policy and raised the question of who are the US foreign agents in Malaysia! The latest attempt to implicate SUARAM in "destabilizing Indonesia" is perhaps the most comical. Organising the second Asia-Pacific Conference on East Timor (APCET II) with other Malaysian NGOs on 9 November 1996 was one of SUARAM's proudest moments. It was the last important international effort at achieving independence and peace for East Timor. As a token of the appreciation by the East Timorese for our efforts, SUARAM was invited to the Independence celebrations in East Timor soon after. In contrast, the BN government put the country to shame by orchestrating a mob from BN Youth organisations to violently tear down the partition of the hotel where the conference was being held and holding the organisers and foreign guests to ransom. This made international headlines and made us a laughing stock in the world. And instead of apprehending these fascist thugs, the police proceeded to arrest and detain some 59 participants, some (like me) for six nights and seven days. We subsequently sued the government and the police for wrongful detention and we won our case after nearly 15 years! The APCET debacle should therefore be seen as a case of the BN government's complicity with the Indonesian government in the repression of the East Timorese. Who were the agents of a foreign government then, and who stood by the East Timorese in their hour of need? Once again, it was another feather in SUARAM's cap of steadfastly defending human rights, justice and democracy. Hasn't Malaysia recognized East Timor's independence now? THE SCORPENE SCANDAL – FACT AND FICTION Another story being spun to try to discredit SUARAM is the statement by French prosecutor Yves Charpenel that there is no on-going trial in France over allegations of corruption in the Scorpene submarine. When has SUARAM ever said that there is an on-going trial in Paris? This is what I wrote on 30 May 2011, 'SUARAM STARTS LEGAL FUND TO PROBE SUBMARINE COMMISSIONS IN FRENCH COURTS': "Unlike the British (and Malaysian) system, the French inquisitorial system has an examining or investigating judge. The examining judge can conduct investigations into serious crimes or complex enquiries. As members of the judiciary, they are independent of the executive branch. The judge questions witnesses, interrogates suspects, and orders searches or other investigations. The examining judge's goal is to gather facts, and as such their duty is to look for all the evidence. Both the prosecution and the defence may request the judge to act and may appeal the judge's decisions before an appellate court. "SUARAM's latest application, once approved by the court, would allow it to become party to the enquiry and have official access to every element of the enquiry, including access to the evidence which allegedly links DCNS to the issuing of commissions to government officials. The case is still at the enquiry phase and the new application is to upgrade it to the "instruction phase" where an investigative judge would be appointed." More recently, after I had been interviewed by the investigating judge in the Paris Tribunal de Grande Instance, I wrote 'THE PARIS PAPERS ON THE SCORPENE SCANDAL - THE MALAYSIAN GOVERNMENT MUST TELL US ABOUT THE ROLE OF TERASASI' on 5 May 2012: "Since SUARAM lodged its complaint with the French courts for a judicial review of the Scorpene contract in November 2009, the French judiciary has certainly been busy with their investigations. They have interviewed officials in the French state company, DCN and related companies such as Thales as well as officials in the French ministry of defence. They have looked into bank vaults and scrutinized contracts, memoranda of understanding, memoranda of intent, invoices, bank accounts of various people including Abdul Razak Baginda. There are also some rather telling internal confidential reports of DCN and the French ministry of defence…" At no point in my articles did I say that we had reached the trial stage when criminal charges can be pressed against any officials. This will be the prerogative of the investigating judges, Roger Le Loire and Serge Tournaire. The spin doctors in the BN-controlled mainstream press should take note. SUARAM BORN OUT OF BN VINDICTIVENESS AND REPRESSION We seem to have come full circle. Twenty three years ago, as a result of the vindictive and repressive 'Operation Lalang', several human rights activists including myself formed SUARAM. There was a dire need for such a human rights organization that would not only defend human rights in Malaysia but also coordinate other organisations in civil society to fight corruption, injustice and repression. Twenty three years later, our achievements are evident. We have among others, - Established a human rights centre for victims of human rights abuse and their families; - Established an instant international "Urgent Appeal" hotline in the event of any human rights violation; - Published a Human Rights Annual Report of Malaysia every year since 1998; - Nurtured young human rights activists; - Provided human rights education and training; - Initiated coalitions among civil society to defend communities which are victims of corporate greed and state collusion as well as to promote democratic initiatives; THE SCORPENE HAS TOUCHED A RAW NERVE It is clear to all that it is SUARAM's application to the Paris courts to enquire into suspected corruption in the Scorpene deal that has led to the BN government going berserk and making wild allegations against our organization. At this inquiry stage, according to the Paris Papers the commissions and dividends for the Scorpene deal appear to have been funneled through two companies, Terasasi and Perimekar, both owned by Abdul Razak Baginda. Baginda's wife, Mazlinda, is a director in Perimekar while his father is also a director in Terasasi. Malaysians have heard about Perimekar and its "coordinating service" in the submarines deal. But so far there has been no mention of Terasasi. The BN government has still not told the Malaysian public and Parliament the exact role of Terasasi in this Scorpene deal. From the Paris Papers, we know that at least 32 million euros (RM144 million) were paid by Thales International (Thint) Asia to Terasasi. There is an invoice by Terasasi dated 1.10.2000 for 100,000 euros. There is also an invoice from Terasasi to Thint Asia, dated 28.8.2004 for 359,450 euros (RM1.44 million) with a hand-written note saying : "Razak wants it in a hurry." Given that the Paris investigations have provided Malaysian officials with so many leads, one would have expected them to act against the culprits, but as in APCET, it is the good guys that are hounded and dealt with. THANKS BN FOR HELPING SUARAM'S LOCAL FUNDRAISING. The silver lining in this cloudy hullaballoo is that Malaysians are at last appreciating the work done by SUARAM in defending human rights and the interests of Malaysian tax payers. Since the recent desperate onslaught by the BN government against SUARAM through the use and perversion of Malaysian democratic institutions including the civil service, Malaysians of all communities have been inspired to donate funds to SUARAM in expression of their heart-warming support. Thus, for helping SUARAM to realize an objective which we have cherished since we first started 23 years ago, namely, to be locally funded, we would like to give our grudging appreciation to the BN government! The creation of a vibrant civil society requires more than just pious pronouncements! Enjoying a larger democratic space than what we have experienced these 55 years is the dream of most Malaysians. The BN government may come at us with threats of fines and detentions but as Terence McSweeney, Lord Mayor of Cork told his oppressors in 1920: "It is not those who can inflict the most - But those that can suffer the most who will conquer… Those whose faith is strong Will endure to the end in triumph."
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| Posted: 15 Oct 2012 01:35 AM PDT Philosophy was cultivated as a foundation of learning and teachers modeled their teaching after the style of Socrates; a technique we now know as "Socratic questioning". The Renaissance painter Raphael's "School of Athens" captured the spirit of the majesty of philosophy and learning. A REPUBLIC OF VIRTUE Dr Azly Rahman (Notes on People's Academy) 1] The word "academy" has always interest me -- it brings back memories of my undergraduate reading Plato, a 5th. century BC Greek philosopher who chronicled the thoughts of Socrates, the "first teacher". There is a genealogy of master-pupil relationship that provided the element of "Axial Age in Philosophy"; Socrates taught Plato who taught Aristotle who taught Alexandra of Macedonia who was humbled by Diogenes the mystic. ********************************** DR AZLY RAHMAN, who was born in Singapore and grew up in Johor Baru, holds a Columbia University (New York) doctorate in International Education Development and Master's degrees in the fields of Education, International Affairs, Peace Studies and Communication. He has taught more than 40 courses in six different departments and has written more than 300 analyses on Malaysia. His teaching experience spans Malaysia and the United States, over a wide range of subjects from elementary to graduate education. He currently resides in the United States. https://www.facebook.com/#!/azly.rahman http://azlyrahman-illuminations.blogspot.com/
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| Posted: 15 Oct 2012 01:00 AM PDT
But you should not underestimate Faekah either. This girl may be small in size but she is big in resolve -- sort of like cili padi. And she is fighting back. Her 'team' is talking about the large sums of money Azmin has been siphoning out in the name of the party as well as in the name of the Free Anwar Campaign (FAC) over the last 12 years since 2000. And they are talking about millions. THE CORRIDORS OF POWER Raja Petra Kamarudin PKR won't be taking action against Faekah (The Star, 12 Oct 2012) - PKR is not taking any action against the Selangor Mentri Besar's political aide Faekah Husin despite calls for her to be sacked following her criticisms against party deputy president Azmin Ali. PKR secretary-general Saifuddin Nasution said the matter involving Faekah was not even discussed at its political bureau meeting on Wednesday. "We are not referring her to the disciplinary committee," he said, adding that the party certainly won't be taking any disciplinary action against Faekah for now. Saifuddin was commenting on calls by some party leaders for Faekah to be sacked for criticising Azmin, who had implied that her boss Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim would not be retained as Selangor Mentri Besar. Selangor PKR election director Borhan Aman Shah had said Faekah should be sacked immediately for publicly criticising state chief Azmin. The MB's deputy Zuraida Kamaruddin had also hit back at Faekah for saying that Azmin was not a smart politician. Saifuddin said the political bureau had discussed the divisions' AGM reports during the meeting. "We also discussed the latest status of our election preparations and other current issues," he added. Many observers had viewed the Khalid-Faekah-Azmin feud with interest as the aide was known to have the support of PKR president Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail while Azmin had the backing of party leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim. "As Faekah is working under Khalid, Khalid is seen indirectly as having Wan Azizah's backing," said a party insider. ***************************************** Battle for MB post eclipses polls (The Star, 14 Oct 2012) - Khalid's chief defender has been his loyal political secretary Faekah Husin. She did not mince her words about Azmin's interview; as a result she has been severely criticised by Azmin's camp. The petite lawyer admitted with a laugh, "there are bullet holes all over my body." Azmin's boys joke that Faekah is the "First Lady of Selangor". They go for her because she is an easier target to hit than Khalid and there are now renewed calls to sack her for criticising Azmin. But sacked from what and for what? Faekah is only an ordinary party member, she does not have a party post and her remarks about Azmin were rather mundane. Moreover, the only person who can sack her is Khalid and he trusts her implicitly; that is what makes her so powerful in Selangor. Faekah is Khalid's spokeswoman, and during the launch of his book Fearless: From Kampung Boy to CEO, he singled her out for mention. Going by the video that was aired during the launch, it is quite clear that she is central to Khalid's politics and work. Her power status goes up another notch if one considers that she was the former political secretary to PKR president Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail and they are still very close. Azmin's boys know they will have to take Faekah down before they can get Khalid, hence the periodic calls for her removal. In June this year, a group using the Twitter handle @PecatFaekah had agitated for Faekah's resignation. The group has not given up and has since extended their scope to @PecatFaekah/Arfah, the latter being Khalid's press secretary. While Khalid relies on Faekah to check Azmin, Azmin uses Ampang MP Zuraidah Kamaruddin to poke at Khalid. They are Alpha females who do not mind taking the heat for their men. Zuraidah, who is Azmin's No. 2 in Selangor, ticked off Khalid a few months ago when he declined to defend Azmin over some compromising photographs of a couple in a toilet. More recently, she lectured Faekah for "jumping the gun" and told her to improve her communication skills with party leaders. Azmin's supporters maintain that the MB post should have gone to him instead of Khalid. Azmin was in the lead to be the MB when Selangor fell in 2008. But in the early hours of March 9, Khalid's name overtook Azmin's and by the time the sun came up, Khalid was confirmed as the choice of MB. Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim had opted for Khalid because he was a big corporate name and also because he thought that Khalid would be easier to control than Azmin; he was wrong on the second count. Azmin was deeply disappointed and one of those at Anwar's house that morning recalled witnessing how the de facto leader tried to placate Azmin for almost an hour. "Azmin's face was white with anger if you had cut it with a knife, there would have been no blood," said an insider. READ MORE HERE: http://www.malaysia-today.net/mtcolumns/guest-columnists/52124-battle-for-mb-post-eclipses-polls ***************************************** Azmin Ali is pissed big time. He wanted PKR to sack Faekah Husin. Anwar Ibrahim, however, refused to do so. It is not that Anwar has any love for Faekah. In fact, between Azmin and Faekah, Anwar would stand behind Azmin any time. It is just that sacking Faekah would create a worse rift in PKR. And the rift is already bad as it is. Azmin's boys are now trying to undermine Faekah in other ways. They know they need to isolate Menteri Besar Khalid Ibrahim if they want to bring him down. So they need to first get rid of Faekah who is aligned to Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail and Nurul Izzah Anwar. These three ladies -- Wan Azizah, Nurul Izzah and Faekah -- are helping to keep Khalid afloat, even if it is just to prevent Azmin from getting Khalid's job. Azmin's boys are now insinuating that Faekah is guilty of sexual misconduct. But they are not suggesting that it is with Khalid. They are 'whispering' that Faekah is a lesbian and that her partner is a lady doctor. This is actually a very old story and not even a story for that matter. Everyone knows that these two single girls are sharing a house. But that does not make them lesbians, as what Azmin's boys are trying to suggest. But you should not underestimate Faekah either. This girl may be small in size but she is big in resolve -- sort of like cili padi. And she is fighting back. Her 'team' is talking about the large sums of money Azmin has been siphoning out in the name of the party as well as in the name of the Free Anwar Campaign (FAC) over the last 12 years since 2000. And they are talking about millions. In fact, this is not a new story as well and is a story that I had already written about in the past. But Faekah's 'gurkhas' are resurrecting this story in light of the recent Suaram and Malaysiakini exposes, which more or less involves the same people. I remember telling you the story about one of Anwar's lawyers, Pawancheek Marican, asking me to close down the FAC back in 2004. Pawancheek had asked me how much money I had received to fund the FAC and I told him so far only RM3,000 -- RM1,000 from Wan Azizah and RM2,000 from Anwar's brother, Rosli. This made Pawancheek very upset. He said that 'they' had been collecting millions so how come I only received RM3,000? He also told me he had met Anwar in prison to complain about this but Anwar did not say anything. Hence Pawancheek suggested that I close down the FAC so that they can no longer use it to raise money. And who are 'they'? 'They' are Azmin Ali, Khalid Jaafar, Anuar Shaari, Dr Rahim Ghouse, Tian Chua, Elizabeth Wong, Saifuddin Nasution, Ezam Mohd Nor, Ruslan Kassim, etc. On one occasion, one of the PAS leaders, an 'Old Boy' of MCKK, told me he met one of the FAC Directors in London together with a Malaysian tycoon-in-exile. I asked this PAS leader who this 'Director' was and he replied Khalid Jaafar. I was surprised. Khalid Jaafar was not one of the FAC Directors so how come he was masquerading as one? On further investigation I found out that Khalid, as the 'Director' of the FAC, was in London to meet this Malaysian tycoon-in-exile to arrange 'financing' for the FAC. Millions changed hands but not a cent went to the FAC. On another occasion, I received a phone call from the US asking me to confirm the four 'Directors' of the FAC. I asked the chap from the US what their names were. Azmin Ali, Anuar Shaari, and two others whose names I will keep as a surprise. I vouched for these four people, as I did not want to place them in an embarrassing situation. I then immediately phoned Dr Rahim Ghouse in Perth and asked him about these four people. His response was, "Four? I thought only three." I then named the four and Dr Rahim said, "Oh, Anuar Shaari also went, is it?" My phone call to Dr Rahim ended in a bitter quarrel. I cursed him and swore at him, the worse language I could use that included 'mother-fucker' and all. We did not speak for more than a year after that. There were a number of other occasions when the FAC's name was used to raise quite a bit of money. Hence I was not surprised when in 2004 Pawancheek spoke to me about it. I just sighed and told him that I had known this for quite some time. But I swear, I told him, all I received was RM3,000 and not a cent more than that. Just close down the FAC, Pawancheek told me. The bastards are using you to collect money. If they gave you some funding at least that is not so bad. Now, as it is, they are collecting millions while you are funding the FAC from your own pocket. I did eventually close down the FAC, of course. But I did that on the day Anwar was released from jail on 2nd September 2004. And I closed down the FAC not because of the money they were collecting but because Anwar had been released from jail and I wanted to focus on Malaysia Today, which I had launched two weeks earlier. And this is what they are going to use against Azmin. However, Khalid Jaafar, Anuar Shaari, Dr Rahim Ghouse, Tian Chua, Elizabeth Wong, Saifuddin Nasution, Ezam Mohd Nor, Ruslan Kassim, and a few others, are also going to get implicated. But then they are merely 'collateral damage' in this game of thrones. Dr Wan Azizah and Nurul Izzah both know about this transgression. They have known for some time. They even suspect that Nurul Izzah's wedding was used to raise a lot of money. Of course, Anwar's family never saw this money. But will they tell the truth once this issue explodes or will they act dumb and pretend they know nothing about what Azmin and gang did and the millions they raised and pocketed in the name of the FAC? I suppose, for the sake of the party, they might have to keep their mouths shut. But those who donated all this money are now talking. And they are revealing that they paid a lot of money, which they thought had gone to the party and to the FAC. Hence it is not that easy to keep the lid on this issue. And Azmin knows this so he is going to hit back even harder. But then that is a story for tomorrow, so stay tuned. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Nazri: Receiving foreign funds is not treason Posted: 14 Oct 2012 06:50 PM PDT
The de facto law minister reiterates today in Parliament that no charges can be brought against a organisation just for receiving foreign funding Teoh El Sen, FMT There are no laws stopping organisations from receiving foreign funding, said Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Nazri Abul Aziz despite several parliamentarians pushing for prosecution against those they considered "treasonous". "There can't be any prosecution against those who receive foreign funding. Charges can only be made on bodies which are illegal and go against other laws under the Companies Act or Society Act," the de facto law minister told Parliament during his winding-up speech of the Budget 2013. Several BN-friendly independent MPs such as Ibrahim Ali (Pasir Mas) and Zahrain Mohamed Hashim (Bayan Baru) today urged again for new legislation to address the issue of channelling of foreign funds to local organisations aimed at "toppling the government" or threatening the nation's security. But Nazri firmly repeated several times that no prosecution can be made based on those assumptions alone. "If it can't be linked to any offences that threaten security, or linked to anything that amounts to acts of treason, then we cannot act based solely on the fact that they are receiving foreign funding," he said. PKR's Batu MP Tian Chua then asked if the RM40 million smuggled out of Hong Kong by a businessman meant for Sabah Umno, and other genuine bodies such as Red Crescent, Girl Guides, and World Wildlife Fund, would come under the same category. Zahrain argued that Suaram, which he called "Suara Haram", was obviously trying to topple the government. And there is a clear distinction between funds that are "genuinely for nation building" and (funds) "to topple the government" While debating the issue, BN-Sri Gading Mohamad Aziz stood up and asked: "Why do they insist on defending traitors?" "Because they are traitors themselves!" retorted Ibrahim. PAS' Shah Alam MP Khalid Samad then commented that the main agenda of NGOs such as Suaram was to expose corruption. "I'm surprised. Suaram exposes corruption, is that something that is considered an act of treason? Or are the protectors of corruption commiting treason," he said. In recent months, several NGOs critical of the government, including Suaram, newsportal Malaysiakini, and Lawyers for Liberty, had been "exposed" as receiving foreign funding. Authorities initiated extensive probes on the financial structures of these organisations, which the NGOs described as an act of intimidation. Some quarters, including a UN rapporteur, had argued there was nothing unusual about NGOs receiving foreign funds, adding that even the government received international funding.
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'The LGBT is a Jewish agenda being pursued by NGOs in Malaysia in an attempt to attack Muslims'. 
lawyers and initiated a high-level judicial investigation into the Scorpene deal. Malaysiakini has provided considerable coverage of the exposes surrounding the deal, as well as countless other instances of alleged corruption and abuse of power in Najib's administration.
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