Malaysia Today - Your Source of Independent News
Malaysia Today - Your Source of Independent News |
- Lament of a Stressed-out Minister
- PAS gets my vote
- EC upset over Suara Keadilan report
- The truth about oil royalty
- My response to Kee Thuan Chye
- Hudud: ‘MCA hitting below the belt’
- ‘Malays not ready for hudud’
- Mind your language
- MARA, the property pushover
- MCA touts ‘Ah Jib Gor’ factor for Chinese vote
- Nazri: M’sia not a secular state
- Mat Sabu: MCA insulting Islam
- MCA – the champions of petty issues
- Perkasa mohon Raja-Raja turun padang
- Pakatan needs a decisive strategy now!
- An AGM of opposition bashing
- Quarry Collapse
- Has The Star paper became too arrogant??
- Should government scholars be grateful?
- Wee steals DAP secular theme, but MCA silent
- Auditing of S’wak govt agencies ‘superficial’
- Holding Out for a Hero: the Saddening State of the Sabah Opposition Front
- 5 of Najib’s Filipino maids barred from flight at Naia
- MCA’s bold move in secularising Malaysia
- Ex-IGP denies tell-all Altantuya media conference in Bangkok
- MCA defends hardline stand on hudud
- Soi Lek: MCA bersedia berperang habis-habisan untuk PRU-13
- Najib: Malays have had enough of DAP
- The power is with the people
- Jangan guna hudud untuk pancing undi, MCA
- Chua: Pakatan’s shameful democracy
- Jingga 13 Questions Top Leader on Ex-Maid's House in Indonesia
- Fairness Of Court Judgements Come Into Question
- Explosive Altantuya Revelations Coming?
- Chua: The verdict is still open on Chinese support for Barisan
- Wee: PAS in favour of the dark ages
- Pakatan must endorse Johor Demand
- Poll registration law to go
- Chua: I agree PAS condones raping of non-Muslim women
- Amangate: Umno sinks into deeper quagmire
- Kong: DAP is sinful for helping PAS' hudud
- Ahli kesal cubaan sabotaj DAP
- MCA akan terus bangkitkan isu ‘hudud’
- No end to crisis in Kedah
- HK dropped Musa’s case after MACC probe, says Nazri
- Nasha likely to go on baiting PAS
- MCA’s death knell gets louder
- The Choices Before Us - Emigration, Encampment or Engagement
- Discontent in KL: ‘People First’ debunked?
- Umno forms panel to act on errant members
| Lament of a Stressed-out Minister Posted: 22 Oct 2012 01:25 PM PDT
Every little thing only, they want to protest in the street. Kee Thuan Chye I tell you, it's tough laa being a minister these days. We have to take so much shit. From the media, from Facebook, from bloggers, from the Opposition. It was so different when Mahathir was PM. Nobody dared to question any minister then. Nobody wrote a word to criticise. But now … And it's not like we make that much money. Our salary is nothing compared to Singapore. Some more, the people don't appreciate it. They think we are getting kickbacks left, right and centre. This recent case over Musa Aman getting RM40 million … it's not him, the money was for Umno. Political donation. What's wrong with that? PM Najib already said it's proper. But people still want to make trouble and call it money laundering. Just because Michael Chia got stopped when he was bringing the money out from Hong Kong. Some more, they are saying Michael has been giving money to Musa's sons in Australia for a long time. You believe that? They just want to make him look bad laa. They say Musa hasn't said anything about the RM40 million so far, but can you blame him for keeping quiet? I think the less said the better. Nowadays, you have to be careful what you say. Hishammuddin kena after Bersih 3.0. Remember, the media asked him why police were confiscating memory cards from media cameramen and the public? He said, "SOP." After that, they hentam him kau-kau for talking rubbish. No respect laa. Nowadays, they don't show ministers respect, I tell you. We were elected, you know, and appointed by the PM. OK laa, a few were not elected, but a minister must have respect. Otherwise, how to carry out the job properly? So now we want people to respect us more. That's why we arrested that young man for showing his backside to the PM and his wife's photos. Who would have dared to do this to Mahathir when he was PM? We must return to the way we did things, the way we controlled, during his time. I know on social media they are calling us a fascist state but let them call what they like. We have to mean business. If I were Hisham, I wouldn't want to be Home Minister. Honestly speaking. You have to take care of national security, crime and, some more, people's safety. But you just have to say people must be responsible for their own safety against crime and they come back and bash you. You just have to say PKR must realise it is taking a risk going to Johor because it is Umno territory and the online news website distorts your words. They say you said there's no need to guarantee the safety of PKR in Johor, and how can the Home Minister say that. Even Borders – Borders, you know. What is it? Only a bookstore. But it is challenging Hisham in court. It is saying he acted irresponsibly. It is saying he is not telling the truth. Over what? Over a deviant book by a Canadian Muslim that Jawi seized from the bookstore. Can you believe that? No respect, that's the problem. Poor Yen Yen. At the Himpunan Hijau Raub, some protestors whacked her poster with their shoes. They said it was the Hong Kong style. Why follow the Hong Kong style? It's not part of our culture. And poor Tiong Lai finally gave up his chance to get WWW 15 for his car number plate because they kept saying he was using RM24,200 of the people's money to make a bid for it. But he told them he was entitled to it for free. In the end, he was honourable about it, he gave it up. See? We are all not bad laa. They still think Tiong Lai is a liar after his bad experience handling the hoo-ha at Tung Shin Hospital during Bersih 2.0, but we're not always liars … wait! That didn't come out right. We don't lie. We don't lie. PM Najib said it best when he said, "The Government doesn't know how to cheat the people." The people must realise that. They must realise we always try our best. Like Rais. He's an old-timer. He has served the country so long, but still they hentam him. They made fun of him for writing the lyrics of 'Janji Ditepati'. OK lah, he's not a professional songwriter but he has good intentions. He did so much to make 'Himpunan Merdeka' a success, to unite the people in a big celebration, to set a new world record for the number of tweets, and what did they do to him on Facebook? They ran a big picture of him with the caption "The world's greatest …" I better not say laa. You see? Too much laa these people. Two years ago, he made that remark about changing his mode and they put it on youtube and made all sorts of funny comments about him. And then they even tried to spin a false story alleging that he raped his Indonesian maid. Tak habis-habis. They like all this sordid sex stuff. Shafie Apdal also they tried to dirty. Not enough they said he had a mistress. They also said he gave her RM1.5 million over three years. Remember in the '80s, there were strong rumours that a deputy minister was connected with the murder of his mistress? Nothing came out on that in the media. It was all just khabar-khabar angin. People didn't dare come out in the open then. No one was ever charged for the murder. The deputy minister even got promoted to full minister. But now even Nazri's son – apa nama? … unh, Nedim – is dragged out in public. They demand to know why no criminal case against the boy for assaulting the condo security supervisor. They said CCTV showed Nedim strangling the man and punching him on the head. But police said CCTV showed Nedim was not involved. Who should you believe? Would the police lie? No way, right? Some more, Hisham has already said the case has been amicably settled. So it's clear already lah. Then they want to know about the murder of Darren Kang in 2004. That is old story laa. Police found that Nedim was not involved. And five Thais have already been convicted for the murder. Habis cerita. Why are they still focusing on Nazri's son? No minister is safe any more laa. Even Najib. When the schoolboy asked him to give an example of Najis Mughallazah at some recent exhibition, there was a video recording of it that went viral – to show the world Najib couldn't answer. Malu la! I mean malu in that it's telling the whole world something so trivial. Some more, they played it up. Put on youtube. Said the PM didn't know shit. What for? The worst is what they are doing to the grand old man himself. Every time Mahathir says something, he's sure to kena. Shameful laa the comments they write about him on social media and online news websites. The man is 87 years old. He used to be PM. In our culture, we must respect senior people. But no. He said American mothers are whores, they hentam. A vote for Pakatan is a vote for Soros, they hentam. It's okay to give ICs to illegal immigrants in Sabah, they hentam. And because he said it is better for the people to vote for the devil they know, now people are calling us "devils". We are here to serve the people laa. We are not devils. I don't know la. If we win GE13 also, we will find it hard to govern after that. Every little thing only, they want to protest in the street. Even with PAA, they don't care. Police say no, they still come out. For the next five years, they will be fighting us, watching us like hawks. Sometimes, I feel I want to give up. * Kee Thuan Chye is the author of the bestselling book No More Bullshit, Please, We're All Malaysians, available in bookstores together with its Malay translation, Jangan Kelentong Lagi, Kita Semua Orang Malaysia. | ||||||||
| Posted: 22 Oct 2012 01:11 PM PDT
Instead of suggesting something constructive, the MCA, in election gear, decides to embark on a fear-mongering campaign. May Chee I think every kampong or neighbourhood has this one person whom you see at the warung or food-stall during mealtimes. He kind-of holds court, speaks rather loud and in a condescending tone. If you stay long enough, you will also notice that he never pays for his food. It's as if he needs to speak the way he does to earn his keep. I think you call that "free-loading"? All this "hate" speech lately by the MCA against PAS, hudud, and about my favourite Mursyidul Am, Nik Aziz instigating rape of non-Muslim women borders on being just that – "free-loading". Rehashing news from 2008 just goes to show how bankrupt MCA has become. To go back in time when you should move forward – to create, innovate, progress, anything but backslide and with such malice, too. It beggars belief! Instead of suggesting something constructive, the MCA, in election gear, decides to embark on a fear-mongering campaign. Goodness, a dearth of brains in the MCA-ah? Are the people in MCA even serious about wanting to represent our interests in Parliament? Aiyoh, how-lah? How can we trust such bird-brains to fight for us? Sure lose, hands-down! Despite what a fumbling imbecile of a minister may say, Karpal Singh, another towering Malaysian has reminded us not too long ago that in 1988, former Lord President of the Federal (later, Supreme) Court of Malaysia ruled that the country was governed by secular law which meant Malaysia was a secular state. Is that not clear enough? Come on MCA, we are not morons. We know you for what you are. Among the feather-brain schemes, initially the 1Care and now, the latest being the AES, you are in cahoots with the plunderers to rob us, Malaysians, blind! How lofty can you people in the MCA get? Are you not touching base with the ordinary rakyat? How on earth can we afford to enrich you and your cronies any further? To feed your avaricious appetite for money and power? Have you not seen how the poor are getting poorer and the ordinary Malaysian is finding it hard to get by? And you people still think that it is only a perception that the crime rate has skyrocketed? Are you people in the MCA living in denial or what? By the time you wake up, the rest of us Malaysians have crossed over to the other shore while you stay behind, stranded! Worse still, you'll be drowned! PAS president, Abdul Hadi Awang, himself had reiterated last year, that the Quran did not provide for an Islamic state but a welfare state. That's not a bad thing. Shouldn't that be every leader's responsibility, to see to the welfare of the state? What do we have in the MCA? Now and then, fighting for scraps that fall off the banquet table? Even Lazarus had better! Are you anyone's equal, MCA? 1Malaysia, what's that? A miserable handful of scholarships for some students and that too, debatable about whom they go to. I've heard stories about how some people obtained their scholarships. You are a farce, MCA, you really are! We have real problems here, in Malaysia. For instance, we need to do something real quick about our mounting debts. It's definitely not a perception that we live in fear. My daughter was almost "mishandled" by someone in a car-park in one of the shopping centres in KL recently. Thank God she had a friend with her and a gentleman who parked his car on the same level. I cannot wait to pack her off to where she can be safer. Our education system is in shambles. My nephew who has been placed first in class since he started Standard 1 told my sister that he needed Physics tuition because his teacher has not taught since the beginning of this year. All she does is to ask the students to refer to some bright sparks in class. I don't want to foam at the mouth, as RPK would say. But honestly, MCA, are you aware of the problems we, the people whom you profess to represent, have? Doubt fear-mongering, using PAS as your punching bag, is the quick-fix we need. Get real, MCA or ship out! To me, the MCA has apparently isolated itself from the misfortunes of the ordinary rakyat, and day after day, wastes the opportunity to help them. Yes, it's an opportunity to be of service to others, for the last shall be first and the first, last. I don't see any effort coming from the people in MCA that promote human dignity nor do I see any of them participating actively in the building of the future of this nation. But I do see how hastily these same people wanted to implement the AES. I see a loathing self-interest to enrich their own coffers and a lack of courage in standing up to their "sleeping partners". Or is it a case of "you scratch my back, I scratch yours"; acting like opportunists whose deeds do not match the responsibilities that they are entrusted with. Coming from the Malacca hometown of Tun Tan Siew Sin, I shudder to think that the MCA of today has all but lost its original identity and mission. I see a leadership whose intuition is bogged down by corruption, cronyism and cowardice. And for that, the MCA is already deemed irrelevant and will have no further impact on our Malaysian history. I believe many past and present leaders of the MCA realize that they are no longer respected by the majority of Malaysians, not even those they "sleep" with. Yet, MCA, you are not purging yourselves to merit this respect. Sad, no? Aren't you made of sterner stuff? Your forefathers crossed oceans, with nothing more than the shirts on their backs, to seek a fortune for themselves. Even the cousins they left behind in Thong San are doing really well. As national leaders, those of you in the MCA should open your eyes to the evils that afflict the nation. You should know by now that injustices will be paid for dearly or are you still fooling yourselves that you can get away with it? We need progressive leaders who can champion unity, not those who still engage in the stone-aged tactics of divide-and-rule. That's not Malaysian. We have to discover a new meaning in the Malaysian way of living. For that, we have to leave behind an existence where we live alienated lives from one another. That's no more Malaysian. We need each other to mature as a true, progressive people. Things will work out better for us if we share our responsibilities. That's Malaysian. Having a stranglehold on the economy and perhaps, leaving entire classes of people in poverty is no more acceptable. It shall not be Malaysian.The devil is not out there, MCA. It's not PAS and it's not the DAP. It's within you. Be afraid, MCA, be very afraid. I'm not alone here when I, a Catholic and a Chinese woman say, "PAS gets my vote, any day!" God bless, especially Mursyidul Am, Nik Aziz and please forgive MCA's insolence. Thank you. | ||||||||
| EC upset over Suara Keadilan report Posted: 22 Oct 2012 03:49 AM PDT
He told the writer Hishamuddin Rais to check the facts before coming out with the innacurate report, he described as malicious, discrediting the country's independent electoral body. Kamaruddin said all names were cross-checked with the National Registration Department (NRD) which verify they are Malaysian citizens, including those using the MyKad state code "71" in the electoral roll. "If the writer thinks this is a big issue, then he should take into account that the MyKad state code of several Pakatan Rakyat leaders is also listed as "71"," said Kamaruddin. Weird names of voters listed in the report including Bukit bin Batu, Harimau bin Buaya, Kijang anak lelaki Ular, Jintan bin Bawang, Dubai bin Abu Dhabi, Sungai binti Laut and Koma binti Noktah were not in the electoral roll. "We admit there are names such as Sitti Hairan binti Jauharatil (Kg. Padang Serigala), Kereta binti Laut (Kg. Samuran), Kucing anak Tedong (Lutong Sec School), Batman bin Bakke (Rh Nyuak) and Proton Saga a/l Kelambu (Jentong) in the electoral roll. "They may sound weird to Hishammuddin but not to the owners," he added. On claim that there are 46 voters registered at a single address at No. 994 Jalan Papan Klang, Kamaruddin said they were squatters living around a bungalow and some of them were still using the postal address. | ||||||||
| Posted: 21 Oct 2012 10:58 PM PDT  Azman Ujang, Bernama ONE of the populist ideas from the Pakatan Rakyat (PR) to win more votes in Sabah and Sarawak is a promise to increase the states' annual oil royalty from 5% to 20% if it comes to power. For opposition leaders, this has been the gist of their speeches in the two states, especially after the political tsunami of 2008 when Sabah and Sarawak came to be known as Barisan Nasional's (BN) "fixed deposit" states. This is because BN managed to win almost all of the 56 parliamentary seats in these states in the last election that enabled it to retain power while doing badly in Peninsular Malaysia. Several top PR leaders went on a roadshow to Sabah and Sarawak on Sept 16 in conjunction with the Malaysia Day celebration and again they hyped up this oil royalty issue. To the man on the street, it's a very attractive proposition because everyone wants their state to have more money so that they can have a better life. But in reality, the quota of oil royalty distribution to the country's three oil producing states – Sabah, Sarawak and Terengganu – is not as straight forward or simplistic as the 5% figure suggests. When you give them 5% for drilling oil in their offshore fields, the impression given is that Petronas, the national oil company, gets the other 95%. This is not the case and to a large extent this public misconception is due to the fact that many Malaysians, including parliamentarians, have been kept in the dark about who's getting what in the oil and gas production industry, which is by far our biggest revenue earner. Despite this issue being recycled, no one has come out to reveal the royalty sharing formula. I did my own enquiries and a former senior executive of a multinational oil company told me something informative that I am delighted to share here. According to my source, this is how it works – 5% is federal royalty and another 5% is state government royalty. Of the balance, up to 20% goes to what is known as 'cost oil' to recover the cost of production. This leaves a balance of 70% which is split between the operator and Petronas. The operator here means foreign oil companies that commit billions in investment to drill for oil in the fields awarded to them by Petronas. At times, they spend billions without striking any oil of the volume required to make it commercially viable. He cited as an example, a typical production sharing contract (PSC) between a foreign oil company and Petronas – of the 70%, 30% goes to the company and the balance to Petronas. In terms of oil barrels, let's say for every 100 barrels, the PSC split is five barrels to the Federal Treasury, five barrels to the State Treasury, and up to 20 barrels claimed by the operator as cost oil. The balance of 70 barrels is split 70:30 with Petronas getting 70% or 49 barrels, and the operator 30% or 21 barrels. To the credit of Petronas, at long last on Oct 12, it came out with what I consider to be one of the most significant press statements it has ever released. As far as I can recall, this was the first time that Petronas has reacted to the oil royalty issue, a departure from its past policy of avoiding to discuss it openly. Petronas said that its own sustainability to contribute to the nation would be undermined should royalty payments to the states be increased from 5% to 20%, because it would result in lower petroleum income tax payments. What politicians like PR de facto leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, who once served as finance minister and who's been harping on increasing the royalty to 20%, deliberately don't tell the people is that what they are trying to do is to put our entire oil and gas industry at risk. Petronas explained that over the next five years alone, planned projects with a total capital expenditure worth about RM170 billion are at risk of being cancelled if the royalty payment to the states is increased. Any increase in oil royalty to the states would automatically reduce the profitability and economic viability of all current and future oil and gas projects under development. This in itself will deter Petronas and PSC contractors from further investing in these projects. There are some among the ruling BN leaders in the two states who are beginning to be influenced by the prospect of a royalty increase. They are voicing out to the federal government to consider giving them an increase, but what they fail to realise is that a reduction in the oil and gas production will result in lower payments to the states. It's still 5% but this 5% in monetary terms will be much less. On the bigger picture, a reduction in oil and gas production – which could happen if foreign investors are put off by the prospect of getting less from the PSC – will also threaten Malaysia's energy security. "Apart from this direct impact, the resulting slowdown will have an adverse multiplier effect on the domestic oil and gas industries such as service companies as well as spin-off industries, leading to a reduction in employment opportunities for the people residing in those states," warned Petronas. This is indeed a very grim scenario akin to killing the goose that lays the golden eggs. Close to 30% of our gross domestic product comes from Petronas's output and the oil company contributes well over 40% of federal government revenue. Federal government revenue is ploughed back to all states, and since Sabah and Sarawak became BN's safe deposit states, they have been receiving huge allocations for development much to the envy of the non-oil producing states. And whatever extras the federal government is giving the two states, as per their requests, actually come from the federal portion of the Petronas royalty. Under our laws, oil belongs to the federal government and the oil producing states are already blessed with the 5% royalty which amounts to a cool few billion annually. Asking for more is tantamount to having the best of both worlds and this is not the way to run a federation of states like Malaysia. It's just unfair to other states. Politics is of course politics, but Malaysia will be better off with politicians who know what they are talking about especially when it comes to such important issues. They have to get their facts right so that they don't simply create issues out of thin air. Just like the PR's shadow Budget 2013 with its slew of highly populist proposals. Second Finance Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Husni Mohamad Hanadzlah has described the budget as "mathematically wrong, misleading and will definitely increase the country's fiscal deficit and national debt". It would be wise for the government and the Opposition to heed Petronas's warning against any review of the oil royalty formula which has worked so well in enriching Malaysia and in the process, made Petronas recognisable as the world's most profitable national oil company.
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| Posted: 21 Oct 2012 08:42 PM PDT Wee Ka Siong called on Malaysians to reject laws based on religious theocracy. That would mean reject the Shariah, plain and simple, because laws based on religious theocracy means the Shariah. Hence this would also mean Malaysia becomes a Secular State where Muslims can become Christians and need not fast or pray and can drink beer and eat pork, etc. NO HOLDS BARRED Raja Petra Kamarudin This was a comment posted by Kee Thuan Chye in my article MCA's bold move in secularising Malaysia. Where on earth in the NST report is it said that Wee called for Shariah law to be abolished??? RPK is making too much of a meal out of this. Wee was just making the same old, same old call we have heard many a time from the MCA to reject PAS's Islamic state. That's what he meant by rejecting laws based on religious theocracy. For all we know, "laws based on religious theocracy" might have been wrongly phrased by the NST reporter when writing the story. So, please, RPK, don't try and make the MCA look like a pioneer or doing something significant when it really is not. It wouldn't have the chutzpah or cojones to call for the abolition of Shariah. You and I know that. No way in Hell. ********************************* Dear Kee, my reply as follows: (NST) -- PAS' aspiration to introduce its interpretation of the Islamic law, or hudud, if the opposition coalition came into power was strongly criticised at the MCA Youth and Wanita assemblies yesterday. (My response) -- Wee said "...its (PAS') interpretation of the Islamic law, or hudud...". First of all, it should not be "...its interpretation of the Islamic law, or hudud...". Islamic law is called Shariah law and Hudud is one branch of the Shariah. Hence Islamic law (Shariah) and Hudud mean two different things. Secondly, there is no such thing as PAS's interpretation of Islamic law. Either there is such a thing called Islamic law or Shariah law or there is no such thing. Is there or is there not such a thing called Islamic laws or Shariah laws? If there are none then how can the UIA (International Islamic University) offer Shariah law courses and degrees? How can there be Shariah laws, Shariah lawyers, Shariah judges and Shariah Courts? How can Muslims face punishment for drinking beer under the Shariah law? Islamic laws are called Shariah laws and Shariah laws are based on: 1. Interpretations of the Qur'an. 2. Interpretations of the Sunnah. 3. Ijma or consensus amongst scholars ("collective reasoning"). 4. Qiyas/Ijtihad or analogical deduction ("individual reasoning"). Can you see that the four items above form the foundation of the Shariah? Hence there is no such as PAS' interpretation of Islamic law. Hence, also, Wee and/or MCA are either misleading the people or are trying to talk about something they know nothing about. The Shariah comes under six main branches as follows: 1. Ibadah (ritual worship). 2. Mu'amalat (transactions and contracts). 3. Adab (morals and manners). 4. I'tiqadat (beliefs). 5. Uqubat (punishments). 6. Munakahat (Islamic marriage jurisprudence). There are four main schools of Shariah law: 1. Hanbali. 2. Hanifi. 3. Maliki. 4. Shafi'i. There are four categories of punishment under Islamic Penal Law: 1. Qisas. 2. Diyya. 3. Hudud. 4. Tazir. (NST) -- MCA Youth chief Datuk Dr Wee Ka Siong called on Malaysians to reject laws based on religious theocracy and to denounce Pas' call to implement hudud. (My response) -- Wee and MCA (and probably you as well) do not understand the difference between an Islamic State, the Shariah, Qisas, Diyya, Hudud and Tazir. One does not equal the other, as they are different issues. NST said: Wee Ka Siong called on Malaysians to reject laws based on religious theocracy… That would mean reject the Shariah, plain and simple, because laws based on religious theocracy means the Shariah. Hence this would also mean Malaysia becomes a Secular State where Muslims can become Christians and need not fast or pray and can drink beer and eat pork, etc. (NST) -- Wee likened the mindset of Pas leadership to one that belonged to the Dark Ages. (My response) – The Shariah is part of Islam. To say that the PAS leadership belongs to the Dark Age means Islam, the Prophet Muhammad, the Qur'an, etc., also all belong to the Dark Ages and are no longer relevant. Is this what Wee and MCA mean? PAS quotes Islam. If PAS is wrong then Islam is wrong, plain and simple. PAS can only be stupid if Islam, the Prophet Muhammad and the Qur'an, etc., are stupid. I repeat, there is no such thing as PAS' version or Umno's version of Islam. There is only one version because there is only one version of the Qur'an unlike the Holy Books of some other religions where there are many different versions. I trust this clarifies why I say MCA is secularising Malaysia. That is what they are trying to do. There is no half-Islam just as there is no 'little bit pregnant'. Islam is all or nothing. And, this, the kafirs do not seem to understand or appreciate although they comment as if they are graduates of Shariah law. | ||||||||
| Hudud: ‘MCA hitting below the belt’ Posted: 21 Oct 2012 07:41 PM PDT PAS MPs said that the hudud bashing was not the way to win votes and MCA should have focused on national issues such as good governance. G Vinod, FMT PAS vice-president Salahuddin Ayub described the hudud bashing session over the weekend by MCA as 'hitting below the belt." Speaking outside the Parliament today, Salahuddin said that he was especially disappointed by the statement made by MCA's youth chief Wee Ka Siong. "We are leaders of tomorrow. You should talk about national issues like good governance. Even if you want to fish for votes, you shouldn't do it this way," said the Kubang Kerian MP. Over the weekend, MCA leaders went on a hudud bashing spree during the party annual general meeting in their attempt to win the hearts and minds of Chinese voters. MCA Wanita vice-chairperson Heng Seai Kie accused PAS spiritual leader Nik Aziz Nik Mat of condoning rape on non-Muslims, and her allegation was endorsed by party president Dr Chua Soi Lek. Plus, Wee also accused PAS of trying to bring Malaysia back to the Dark Ages by implementing a theocratic state. Whether such talks would alienate Malay-Muslim votes from Barisan Nasional, Salahuddin said," I don't know, but I don't think this kind of talk would benefit anyone." Fellow vice president Mahfuz Omar showed on how Umno would just allow anyone to attack Islam just for the sake of gaining political power. "Mind you, all these statements were made in the presence of Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak," said the Pokok Sena MP. He also said that he was disappointed that MCA had made such statements without allowing any chance for anyone to rebut the statements. "This is should be an eye opener to Muslims out there on Umno's true colours," he said. PAS MP Hatta Ramli, on the other hand, refused to comment on the matter saying the people would judge them for their deeds.
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| Posted: 21 Oct 2012 07:37 PM PDT Incessant politicking, the lack of understanding on hudud and the need for a proper model are all major barriers for the Malays, say the experts. Alyaa Azhar and Anisah Shukry, FMT Malays are not ready for hudud in Malaysia, experts said, citing incessant politicking, fear, lack of understanding and the need for a proper model on the Islamic criminal law. "Mentally and spiritually, Malays are ready for hudud but they need to be more enlightened on the issue and to move away from the shock factor," said Muhammad Fauzi Asmuni, vice-president II of Islamic NGO Ikatan Muslimin Malaysia (ISMA). Hudud is a strict Islamic criminal law famous for resorting to punishing offenders through physical means, including slicing thieves' hands, stoning adulterers to death and flogging those who consume alcohol. But Muhammad Fauzi told FMT that only a minority of Malays in Malaysia actually feared the law, and that most had the intention to be governed by Islamic laws. He said that the fear stemmed from the fact that the people had no proper model to refer to with regard to the implementation of hudud. "The people need a model because there's none in front of their eyes, there's no model that they can hold on to. "The only thing they see is the Taliban regime, and also how Iran and Saudi Arabia govern their people. This is why the fear towards hudud comes," he added. He said that if Malaysian leaders truly wished to implement hudud in Malaysia, they must first allay fears by educating Malaysians on the law. Politicians are at fault Meanwhile, Professor Dr Mahmood Zuhdi Abdul Majid of IIUM told FMT that heavy politicking had not only set the nation backwards in terms of implementing the law but was also the reason why many Malays were frightened of hudud. "If we do not politicise it, we Malays are definitely ready [to implement hudud in Malaysia], but if we were to look at hudud as a political issue, then it becomes a problem," said the professor from the department of Fiqh and Usul Al Fiqh (Islamic Jurispudence and Roots of Jurispudence). PAS had long championed the criminal law, despite it not being included in the opposition pact's common manifesto, and this created a rift between the Islamist party and its political ally, the Chinese-dominated DAP. Meanwhile, MCA had seen fit to perpetually warn the Chinese community of the "dangers" of hudud should Pakatan come to power – even though PAS had promised that the Islamic criminal law would only be applied to Muslims. "There is this misunderstanding that hudud is all about cutting hands solely, but in fact hudud is actually a law to prevent people from committing a crime in the first place," said Mahmood. "The cutting only comes later on, but that is only for those who actually commit the crime," he stressed. He said that while hudud could certainly be implemented now, everything depended on the politicians.
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| Posted: 21 Oct 2012 07:01 PM PDT
So, legally, a Member of Parliament cannot resign his or her seat and re-contest that seat in a by-election. This means that issue first needs to be addressed. And then we need to amend/abrogate the Article in the Constitution that guarantees all Malaysians freedom of association. You will be denied freedom of association once you get elected into office. THE CORRIDORS OF POWER Raja Petra Kamarudin First please read Chief Minister of Penang Lim Guan Eng's press statement below. I have not edited or amended it because I want you to read it as it is. It looks like someone had translated this statement into English from the original Chinese version. Since this press release carries the Chief Minister's name there should be a higher standard of language used. The grammar and sentence structure should be as flawless as possible and words or phrases such as 'political frogs' should be avoided. Name-calling cheapens the message. If we indulge in name-calling where do we draw the line? Mahathir al Mamak. Anwar al Jubur. Khalid (Ibrahim) al Lembik. Najib al Tantuya. Ibrahim (Ali) al Katak. Hee al Camry. Can you see that the list of 'names' we can attach to various Malaysian personalities is endless? You only need to allow your imagination to run wild and Malaysians certainly have a world-class imagination when it comes to giving people 'names'. I bet the comments below are going to be flooded with some very creative and imaginative 'names' of people you love to hate, me included. Nevertheless, I am giving Guan Eng the benefit of the doubt and will assume that his aides and speechwriters would usually prepare his press statements. I am sure Guan Eng is too busy to sit down with pen and paper and spend hours writing all these statements. Guan Eng has to review the quality of his staff and outsource some of this work if necessary in the interest of maintaining a higher standard. One of the criteria of a good speechwriter would be the research required. The statements must not only be consistent with earlier statements and the party stand but they must also be consistent with the Federal Constitution of Malaysia, the State Constitution, convention, tradition, cultural norms, religious sensitivities, sentiments and whatnot. There are so many things to consider in making a statement because in this age of the information revolution people will remember what you said even 30 or 40 years ago. So you cannot make a faux pas and get away with it. It will come back to haunt you later. And the 'I have been misquoted' excuse no longer works, as many people have discovered. I can afford to ignore all these 'pitfalls' and write 'no holds barred'. I do not need for people to like or love me because I will not be contesting the election and, therefore, do not need your votes. The same can't be said for Guan Eng. Public perception and public support is very crucial in Guan Eng's case. This will determine whether he wins or loses the election. Now, before you go off tangent and start saying that this is a Guan Eng bashing article, please note for the record that Guan Eng is one of my more favourite politicians. I actually went to Penang back in 2008 to help campaign for him. I did not do that for the other Pakatan Rakyat politicians other than Ronnie Liu and Nurul Izzah Anwar (and the proof is all on YouTube if you care to do a Google search). Nazri Aziz made a statement in Parliament today saying that Malaysia is neither a Secular State nor an Islamic State. And the reason Nazri said this, according to him, is because Malaysia's Constitution is 'silent' on the matter and makes no mention of it. I find that politicians will quote the Constitution when it suits them and if it does not then they will quote the Qur'an, the Hadith, the Sunnah, the Social Contract, the Merdeka Agreement, the 18-Point Agreement, the 20-Point Agreement, the New Economic Policy, the Election Manifesto, the Reid Commission, the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and whatnot. If Nazri wants to follow the Constitution then the Constitution is also silent on the matter of the race and religion of the Prime Minister. Legally, Lim Guan Eng can become the Prime Minister of Malaysia. But Guan Eng cannot become the Prime Minister even though legally, according to the Constitution, he can. And we know why he cannot and also know that it has nothing to do with the Constitution. Basically, politicians will make a statement and then they will find the justification for that statement. And most times they will contradict themselves from one statement to another. And if they fail to find the right justification they can always use convention, tradition, cultural norms, religious sensitivities, sentiments, etc., as the excuse to justify what they say. So which 'guideline' do we follow then? The Constitution, the Qur'an, the Hadith, the Sunnah, the Social Contract, the Merdeka Agreement, the 18-Point Agreement, the 20-Point Agreement, the New Economic Policy, the Election Manifesto, the Reid Commission, the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights, convention, tradition, cultural norms, religious sensitivities, sentiments, the powers of the Minister, or what? We must note that each of those various 'guidelines' may contradict one other. So, when yesterday we used one, today we use another, and tomorrow we use yet another, this means we are contradicting ourselves. Legally, when you vote for someone, whom are you voting for? At the back of your mind you may be voting for the party rather than the candidate. That may be what you are subconsciously doing. But I am asking: legally, whom do you vote for? When a Member of Parliament stands up in Parliament, the Speaker will address you as, say, "Ahli (Member) dari Lembah Pantai". The Speaker does not address you as "Ahli dari PKR" or "Ahli dari Pakatan Rakyat". So you are the wakil or ahli from Lembah Pantai. That is your 'legal status'. Which party you are from is not the issue. Hence even if you change parties that does not affect your Parliament status. Now, if we want whoever changes parties to resign (by law) and re-contest the seat in a by-election, we will first need to amend the law that bars someone who resigns from re-contesting for a period of five years. Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail resigned her Permatang Pauh seat in mid-2008. That means she cannot contest any Parliament seat until at least mid-2013. And that also means she will have to give the coming general election a miss, unless she decides to contest a state seat instead. So, legally, a Member of Parliament cannot resign his or her seat and re-contest that seat in a by-election. This means that issue first needs to be addressed. And then we need to amend/abrogate the Article in the Constitution that guarantees all Malaysians freedom of association. You will be denied freedom of association once you get elected into office. It also must be made clear that if you get elected into office you are not Wakil Rakyat but Wakil Parti. And to make sure this is clear, the Speaker must address the Members of Parliament as, say, "Ahli dari PKR" and not "Ahli dari Lembah Pantai". Can you see the changes that will be required? It is not merely a simple matter of amending a few words in the State Constitution. A paradigm shift will be required including reconditioning the minds of the voters and the minds of those people who the voters vote into office. Okay, back to Nazri's statement today. Nazri is using the Constitution as his guide and his argument is that Malaysia is neither a Secular State nor an Islamic State. So what are we then? For sure Malaysia is not a Republic because we are a Constitutional Monarchy. And the nine State Rulers are Heads of Islam in their respective states while His Majesty the Agong is Head of Islam for the Federation (plus the four states that do not have Rulers and instead have Governors). What powers do the Rulers have as Head of Islam? For example, say, Their Highnesses the Sultans of Kelantan and Terengganu want to implement Hudud in their respective states since these two State Assemblies have already approved it years ago. Can this be done? Nazri would say 'no' because Parliament first needs to approve these laws. And since Parliament has not approved it (or has rejected it) then it can't be done. New laws or amendments to old laws need to be approved by Parliament. But then is Islam a State matter under the charge of the Rulers or a Federal matter under the charge of Parliament? Ah, Nazri will argue, but Hudud is a legal matter, not a religious matter. So the Federal government and not the State governments have authority over this matter. Okay, but then apostasy (leaving Islam), drinking/selling of liquor, adultery, illicit sex (sex outside marriage), khalwat (close proximity), etc., are also religious issues. And they are also legal issues. Each state has its own laws and its own forms of punishment for these 'crimes'. And they differ from one state to another. We must also remember that although, officially, there are no Hudud laws in Malaysia, those crimes I mentioned above come under Hudud. Hence we DO have Hudud in Malaysia. The only thing is we do not call them Hudud. It is 'silent' as to what they are. So, for purposes of giving them a name, we call them Shariah laws. But Shariah laws are a collection of laws. And one of these collections of laws under the Shariah is Hudud. So what Malaysia has done is it has allowed the implementation of (part of) Hudud as long as you call them Shariah laws and not Hudud laws. You can implement Hudud laws but do not label them as Hudud although they are in reality Hudud laws. It is like the issue of usury or riba'. In Islam, riba' is haram (forbidden). So don't call it riba'. Call it faedah (benefit/interest) or keuntungan (profit/gain). Then it is no longer haram. It is halal (kosher). Sex outside marriage (zina) is also haram. So don't call it zina. Call it mut'a (temporary marriage). You get married for a couple of hours just for sex so it is no longer zina and hence not haram. After the sex you 'divorce'. Can we take this further? Say you have a bad cough. You then get the doctor (a Muslim doctor if need be) to say that you need some brandy to get rid of your cough. So, for health reasons, you can drink brandy and it is no longer haram. You don't call it arak. You call it ubat. Yes, then we can issue a fatwah concerning 'defending' Islam and then blow up a school bus with 50 Jewish children inside it. It is not called murder any longer. It is called jihad. Can you see there is no limit to what we can do when we twist and turn to suit our agenda? And can you also see why Malaysians in general and Malays-Muslims in particular are a very confused lot? They contradict themselves and make statements to suit their objective even though these statements do not make sense. One day they scream about freedom of this, that or the other. The next day they make a statement that violates all these freedoms. The issue of Islam and the rules of Islam is one case in point. Do we arrest and then jail, cane, fine, tickle, torture, slap, fondle, spank or punch a Muslim who is caught drinking liquor? Furthermore, do we just punish the offender or also the person/establishment that 'collaborated' in the 'crime'? When you allow prostitution in your massage parlour, not only the prostitutes but also the massage parlour owner will be punished. If your pub employs Muslim staff and they sell beer to Muslims, not only the Muslim customer will be punished. The Muslim staff and the pub owner will face punishment as well. Is this the law? Yes, according to some states, but not according to the Federal government -- or else the government-owned establishments and GLCs will also face punishment. But then they do not face punishment, do they? So it appears like this is a State criminal law and not a Federal criminal law. People can face criminal action in some states. And this is Hudud although not called Hudud. Hence it appears like the States can by-pass or ignore Parliament if they wish to do so. But then the Federal government says that the States cannot implement or amend laws without the approval of Parliament. Aiyah! Pening kepala! Yang mana yang betul ni? Okay, so can Penang introduce laws or amend laws that make party-hopping a crime? Do they need Parliament's approval or an amendment to the Federal Constitution for this? And while on that subject, can Penang then also pass a law that DOES NOT make it a crime for Muslims to drink beer? And if not, why not? Is it because His Majesty the Agong and not the Penang State government is the authority over Islam? And if that is the case then can His Majesty the Agong introduce Hudud in Penang whether the Penang State Government and/or DAP/Pakatan Rakyat agrees or not? Yes, confusing, is it not? Sometimes the Minister has sole authority. Sometimes the Cabinet is the authority. Sometimes the Menteri Besar/Chief Minister has authority. Sometimes the State EXCO has authority. Sometimes Parliament has authority. Sometimes the EXCO Member has authority. Sometimes the Ruler has authority. Sometimes the Mufti has authority. Sometimes the Religious Department has authority. Sometimes the Attorney-General has authority. Sometimes the IGP has authority. Sometimes the OCDP has authority. Sometimes the CPO has authority. Sometimes the court is the authority. And sometimes the dogcatcher is the final authority as to whether to kill the stray dogs by drowning or send them to a dog's home. *************************************** Lim Guan Eng's Press Release today The PR state government will not be deterred by BN's support for the culture of political frogs but is determined to table a historic constitutional amendment to push through an anti-hopping law in the Penang state assembly meeting on 1 November 2012. The State Legal Advisor has been tasked with the necessary process of gazetting the proposed constitutional amendment. Any amendment to the Penang state constitution requires a 2/3 majority and PR has the required numbers by holding 29 out of the 40 seats. All 3 parties in Penang PR of PAS, PKR and DAP have also supported the proposed constitutional amendment requiring State Assembly members who jump or change their party affiliation to resign and re-contest in a by-election. BN and MCA have taken the opportunity to hit out at the Penang state government at yesterday's MCA Annual General Assembly by dramatically labelling the proposed anti-hopping law as unconstitutional and that it will even creating a constitutional crisis that will be the very foundation of the Federal Constitution and the nation at risk. The Penang state government believes that the anti-hopping law should be within the Federal Constitution for 3 principal reasons. One, it respects the democratic mandate of the people being kingmakers by allowing their constituents to either support or reject the decision of their elected representatives to hop from one party to another. As parliamentary democracy is the basis of our Federal Constitution, the anti-hopping law by reinforcing its democratic character will only serve to strengthen the Federal Constitution. Two, the anti-hopping law does not infringe on a person's right of freedom of association as he or she can join any party subject to a renewal of mandate by the constituents. Finally this will also ensure the practice of political accountability as well as principled values and public integrity in Penang, where elected representatives can not be traded like a commodity at the highest price. BN and MCA's condemnation of Penang PR's anti-hopping laws provides a stark difference between BN's focus on party interests and personalities as compared to PR emphasis on policies and people. Lim Guan Eng | ||||||||
| Posted: 21 Oct 2012 03:50 PM PDT
ANOTHER BRICK IN THE WALL There is an old sinister interpretation to the acronym MARA or Majlis Amanah Rakyat (MARA). They say then it means Money Always Run Away. And the person that gave that interpretation actually ran away with commissions from contracts given out to Chinaman suppliers. MARA is a purpose-incorporated Federal Government agency by a Parliament act to assist the development of Malays. It has been successful in many ways, especially education.
One of the notorious case is the MARA acquisition into the Bukit Rahman Putra property development project in the late '80s, when Mohd. Tamrin Ghafar was the Chairman. MARA paid over RM 70,000.00 per golf membership where 260 golf membership of Kelab Golf Rahman Putra was transferred to MARA and acquired 100 acres from the 760 acres development.
Then the acquisition of 53 room Ashley Hotel near Paddington Station, London by MARA Inc. two years ago. Why MARA goes into the hotel business and in London is baffling many. MARA has neither the expertise in the inn business nor understands anything remotely about property in London. In the first place, they never did were into the inn business in Malaysia.
The most recent is MARA Council's approval to dish out RM140 million of soft loan to MARA Inc. to acquire an accommodation building in the neighbourhood of Carlton, Melbourne, Victoria. MARA Inc. is supposed to acquire 746 Swanston Street, Carlton, Melbourne VIC 3053, Australia. Currently, the building lease twin-sharing or single rooms at the rate of AUD 160 and AUD 210 per week, respectively. Why MARA is doing this especially when the sponsorship program for students to Australia has been reduced drastically? If the acquisition of this property is for the benefit of MARA sponsored students in Australia, then the next question shall be how many students do MARA sponsor to study in Australia annually. Wouldn't these sponsored students attend universities all over New South Wales, Queensland and Western Australia too? The fact that 746 Swanston St. is a building where there is 313 beds. Unless MARA intend to have about 100 sponsored students to Melbourne University and RMIT annually, the acquisition of the accommodation building is about making money from a market where MARA Inc. has little understanding about. RM 140 million for a property investment abroad by a wholly own company of a Federal Government socio-economic development agency is definitely mind boggling. MARA should be looking into acquiring high street commercial spaces and develop the Bumiputra retail opportunities first instead of looking at and acquiring properties abroad.
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| MCA touts ‘Ah Jib Gor’ factor for Chinese vote Posted: 21 Oct 2012 03:27 PM PDT
Nomy Nowzir and Hafidz Baharom, The Malaysian Insider Datuk Seri Najib Razak's popularity or the "Ah Jib Gor" factor will help cajole a segment of the Chinese community back to Barisan Nasional (BN) in the coming polls, MCA grassroots leaders have agreed, but warned that the same sentiment could not topple the opposition in its urban fortresses. This was the resounding sentiment among delegates attending the MCA's 59th annual general meeting at Wisma MCA yesterday, which is seen as the party's final chance to chart its election strategies in the months ahead as it heads into its toughest battle yet. "Najib is good because he has done a lot of programmes for the people, I am sure the Chinese will vote BN," said one delegate, Lim Chee Cheong, from Rasah in Negri Sembilan. "Najib has done a lot for the Chinese. And he has our support and the Chinese community support as well," another delegate, Loke Poh Chye from Pengkalan Kota in Penang, toldThe Malaysian Insider. During the meeting earlier, among one of the key battle cries sounded by the party leadership was a call for delegates to "Stand with Najib", who was extensively described as a leader popular among the Chinese. In his presidential address, party president Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek repeatedly praised Najib's transformative policies and attention to Chinese community issues, even telling the prime minister, "Sir, sometimes I think that you are too kind." At the MCA Youth AGM on Saturday, party deputy president Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai predicted that the MCA will "rise again" in the coming polls, citing Najib's popularity among the Chinese community as one of the key reasons behind the possibility. He said the prime minister's outreach towards the Chinese community, even resorting to social media tools like Facebook to create a Chinese persona, "Ah Jib Gor" (Brother Najib), had successfully convinced voters that the community would not be left out of the nation's development. "The feel-good factor is coming back. And the commitment from the PM to the Chinese… the Ah Jib Gor factor shows that he will listen to the Chinese community," Liow had said. But despite these leaders' optimism, several MCA delegates approached by The Malaysian Insider yesterday agreed that the party would suffer the most when attempting to sway the urban Chinese vote, pointing out that in areas like Petaling Jaya Selatan or key states like Penang, it would be near impossible for the MCA to trounce the Pakatan Rakyat (PR) federal opposition pact. "I don't think so we can win back PJ, they are entrenched already with the opposition. I don't think we can take Penang back either," said Loh KF, a delegate from the area. Loh was among several delegates who also admitted that the issue of corruption would be among BN's greatest stumbling block to woo the Chinese vote, complaining that it was hard to answer voters who brought up issues like the National Feedlot Centre (NFC) scandal and other graft cases. "Bribery is really bad, I was a victim myself," said Sungai Siput MCA delegate Tham Siew Poh. Tham was also critical of the MCA's focus on hudud law, a wedge issue used against the DAP and PAS who are members of the PR opposition pact. "Most Chinese already understand that the hudud issue is hands-off, it's a religious question, very sensitive. This issue shouldn't be commented upon. "After all, hudud has already been implemented in many countries, why be scared if we do no wrong?" Tham said. But his opinion was not shared by Tenggara MCA delegate Catherine Chia, from Johor. Chia said the hudud issue was critical to be highlighted on as it affects Chinese culture and was demeaning towards women. "I think this hudud will affect everybody, not only Chinese, the whole nation. If the nation is under hudud law, we will become just like the Middle East nations. And eight of the most corrupt nations come from that region," Loke said.
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| Nazri: M’sia not a secular state Posted: 21 Oct 2012 03:14 PM PDT
At the same time, the minister does not say if Malaysia is an Islamic state. Patrick Lee, FMT Malaysia, according to the federal government, has never been defined as a secular state. Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Nazri Abdul Aziz said this in the Dewan Rakyat today, adding that the word "secular" was not even present in the Federal Constitution. "…the allocation of the law shows that it is clear that Malaysia has never been determined or declared as a secular state," he added. He was responding to a question by DAP-Seremban MP John Fernandez, who asked Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak about the decisions made by the former Lord President Tun Salleh Abbas in the case of Che Omar Che Soh vs the Public Prosecutor (1988), where secular law came into question. At the same time, Nazri did not state if Malaysia was an Islamic country. However, he added that the country had been using secular law which had been brought over from before Independence, through Article 162 of the Federal Constitution. The article states that laws existing before Merdeka Day 1957 would continue to be enforced.
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| Posted: 21 Oct 2012 03:11 PM PDT
Nomy Nozwir, The Malaysian Insider PAS deputy president Mohamad Sabu today accused political foe MCA of having insulted Islam and not only the Islamist party when it alleged that PAS condones the rape of non-Muslim women. He cautioned the ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition's Chinese component against making such statements. "MCA should be careful when making such statements, because it is no longer insulting the party but insulting the religion. Do not twist Nik Aziz's statement," Mohamad(picture) told The Malaysian Insider. The opposition leader was responding to MCA president Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek's remark over the weekend when agreeing with a Wanita MCA leader's view that PAS condones the rape of non-Muslim women, pointing out that PAS spiritual leader Datuk Nik Aziz Nik Mat had made the opinion clear in a speech four years ago. Dr Chua alleged that in the 2008 speech, Nik Aziz had said that women who do not "tutup aurat" (protect their modesty) "deserved to be raped". "And the reason he gave was that this is because the eye is connected to the genitalia so when you see… you get provoked. "This is not what I am saying… this is what Nik Aziz said. I can get you a tape immediately if you are interesting in seeing (Nik Aziz's speech)," he told reporters after chairing a special briefing with MCA delegates ahead of the party's main annual general meeting (AGM). Dr Chua was ask to comment on a Malaysiakini report quoting Wanita MCA vice-chairman Senator Heng Seai Kie as saying during the wing's AGM earlier that PAS condones the raping of women who do not conform to the Islamic dress code. According to the news portal's report, Heng, in trying to explain how Islamic hudud law would affect both the Muslims and non-Muslims, had cited Nik Aziz's 2008 speech, which can be found on YouTube. "If you watch the YouTube clip, you would know that Nik Aziz had once said that a woman should 'tutup aurat' (protect their modesty), otherwise the woman should be raped. "From Nik Aziz's speech, we can conclude that Nik Aziz openly asked Muslims to rape non-Muslims, am I right?" Heng was quoted as saying on the portal. Appearing to agree with Heng's point, Dr Chua pointed out again that Nik Aziz's speech had been recorded. Asked, however, if Heng had twisted the matter out of context as Nik Aziz had purportedly only been speaking about Muslim women, Dr Chua said: "I think you missed the part where Nik Aziz explained why you need to tutup aurat… because if you do not tutup… then it provokes, you know, all these young men. You understand? "When a Muslim man wants to rape, it does not mean he must rape only a Muslim, right? He can rape anybody… so do not spin it out of control."
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| MCA – the champions of petty issues Posted: 21 Oct 2012 02:49 PM PDT Taking pot-shots at Pakatan leaders for the most trivial issues shows how bankrupt of ideas MCA has become. Iskandar Dzulkarnain, FMT When one thinks that the MCA has run out of petty issues to lament about, out of the blue comes another salvo from MCA president Dr Chua Soi Lek who now claims that PAS spiritual leader Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat condones rape on women who are not properly attired. Rummaging through the closet, the party came up with a "four-year-old" issue to try and frighten non-Muslims against voting for PAS, as PAS leaders condone raping any woman who does not cover up, whether Muslim or non-Muslim. Not only is that a gross insult to a Muslim leader, it is also an insult to all Muslims and non-Muslims as well. Nik Aziz was merely admonishing his Muslim audience on the need to cover up, so as not to invite disaster. How can that be taken literally as evidence that PAS leaders condone the rape of women who do not dress decently? Did the Muslims go berserk, and started a raping spree in Kelantan and elsewhere after hearing his speech? Did any Malaysian took Nik Aziz's speech literally and contemplated a desirous urge to rape, or was it just an isolated case narrowed down to the MCA president that harboured such unhealthy thoughts? Sometimes, Malaysians would never know how dumb some of our political leaders are, until they open their big mouths. And to ensure that Malaysian citizens are safe from rape and other immoral sex crimes, MCA thinks that the Chinese should refrain from voting PAS or Pakatan Rakyat. Caught red-handed on tape Having forgotten his own humiliating dash with adultery, forever embedded on video and still accessible on YouTube to everyone, he sees it fit to point a finger at other opposition leaders, accusing them of condoning rape. Now, that is rather sickening and an embarrassment to himself and the MCA. Until today, everyone including the non-Chinese is stupefied as to how he managed to get himself elected by the same MCA members who made him the MCA president. In the past 50 years, Chinese rights were seen to have deteriorated to the point that the Chinese themselves felt like second-class citizens. The MCA flirted with the sentiments of the Chinese, ignoring their plight and simply stood idly by, watching as their rights were being stripped away little by little. Umno, on the other hand, was seen busily trying to upgrade the rights of the Malays at the expense of other races. MCA was so comfortable in its seats that it simply forgots about its own countrymen. Power has gone to its head, and it was busy helping itself to the till. Today, we see two past senior MCA leaders being charged with corruption while the Chinese believe it is only the tip of the iceberg. The Chinese also see the MCA as playing second fiddle to Umno, contented with a power-sharing formula that allows the latter to lord over the Chinese. Are the Chinese abandoning the MCA? Contrary to popular belief, the Chinese did not abandon the MCA, but it was the MCA that has abandoned the Chinese many, many years ago. Now that the first generation of Chinese voters has dwindled, a disillusioned second generation is not going to give the MCA anymore room to manoeuvre, and is determined to see its timely demise. Yes, MCA MPs would be hard-pressed to keep their 15 seats intact. If MCA is not harping on the hudud, it will be about Chinese education or backstabbing the opposition. If MCA leaders were serious about Chinese education, this issue would have been wrapped up ages ago. And taking pot-shots at Pakatan leaders for the most trivial issues shows how bankrupt of ideas MCA has become. The Chinese are actually shaking their heads in disbelief, whether to laugh or cry at the absurd issues highlighted by their leaders. And today, Chua is trying to convince himself that Chinese fear of hudud is greater than before. To the Chinese, the issue is no more play-play. The Chinese would now vote for BN. What a big relief for Umno. Meanwhile, MCA Youth chief Wee Ka Siong is saying that a Pakatan government will take Malaysia back to the Dark Ages. Such vivid imagination! Maybe, we would see more limbless sub-humans walking around like zombies if a Pakatan government ever come to pass? MCA's refusal to admit its own mistakes and putting the blame on the "stupid" Chinese for their predicament shows how chauvinistic it has become. Political infighting, greed and power struggles have weakened them. Instead of wooing back the Chinese with sincerity and humility, the leaders continue to use the politics of fear, race and religion card to scare the Chinese into submission. Do they think the Chinese are as dumb as they are?
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| Perkasa mohon Raja-Raja turun padang Posted: 21 Oct 2012 02:45 PM PDT
Memandangkan zaman berubah mengikut arus demokratisasi dan perjuangan hak asasi, Institusi Diraja kini mudah diungkit dan dikritik secara terbuka. Jamilah Kamarudin, FMT Pertubuhan Pribumi Perkasa Malaysia (Perkasa) memohon perkenan Raja-Raja supaya turun padang lebih kerap dan berjumpa dengan rakyat jelata serta badan bukan kerajaan (NGO). Presidennya Datuk Ibrahim Ali berkata, memandangkan zaman berubah mengikut arus demokratisasi dan perjuangan hak asasi, Institusi Diraja kini mudah diungkit dan dikritik secara terbuka. Namun katanya, dalam perubahan ini hanya masyarakat Melayu sahaja yang masih taat kepada kepada Raja-Raja. "Bagi memperkasakan Institusi Diraja, Perkasa mohon ampun perkenan mesti turun ke padang dan berdampingan dengan rakyat. "Kita tahu seperti sebelum ini Sultan Pahang dan Kelantan juga sering melakukannya tapi perlu lebih kerap dan bergaul lebih mesra," katanya. Cadangan itu dikemukakan Ibrahim dalam ucapannya di Persidangan Khas Tahunan Perkasa Peringkat Selangor di Dewan Tuanku Canselor Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM) di sini petang semalam. Sementara itu, beliau turut memberi jaminan Perkasa akan menyokong sepenuhnya calon Barisan Nasional (BN) dalam Pilihan Raya Umum (PRU) 13 akan datang. Ibrahim berkata walaupun Perkasa adalah NGO bebas, namun sokongan terhadap parti komponen BN tidak akan berbelah bagi termasuk undi kepada calon MCA. Ahli Parlimen Pasir Mas itu dalam ucapannya turut melancarkan boikot dan melarang setiap ahlinya daripada memberikan sebarang kenyataan terhadap portal berita Malaysiakini. Beliau mendakwa Malaysiakini mendapat pembiayaan daripada George Soros yang juga dikaitkannya dengan NGO Suara Rakyat Malaysia (Suaram). "Haram bagi ahli Perkasa bagi kenyataan kepada Malaysiakini. Kita cakap lain dia tulis lain. Kita boikot sampai PRU13," katanya. Persidangan itu juga dirasmikan Menteri Pertanian dan Industri Asas Tani Datuk Seri Noh Omar yang turut menyumbang RM10,000 kepada pertubuhan itu.
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| Pakatan needs a decisive strategy now! Posted: 21 Oct 2012 02:32 PM PDT Pakatan must prove to the rakyat that it can tackle national misfortunes and produce a strategy to overcome grim election possibilities now, before the general election. Awang Abdillah, FMT Since the beginning of the Mahathir era until today, the Umno-led government has accumulated a trail of unresolved national misfortunes, by-products of long-term bad governance and gross abuses of power. It has compelled Malaysians to collectively act (read 2008 polls tsunami) in order to save the nation from the these ills and their consequences. Hence Pakatan Rakyat, as the opposition coalition, must take the initiative now to address these failed policies and practices instead of waiting until it is elected to office as the next federal government. These long-standing, unresolved products of mismanagement have generated into toxic national waste harmful to the national, political and economic environments that have earned Malaysia the tag as a "sick nation" and the laughing stock of Asia. Pakatan must tackle these national disasters now ahead of the impending 13th general election, bearing in mind the grim possibility of a double tragedy – declaration of an emergency and a crackdown on the opposition before the election is held, thereby clearing the path for an easy election victory for the Umno-led Barisan Nasional. Pakatan must therefore foresee these possible circumstances and stop any and all impending election tragedies now to enable it to overtake the incumbent federal government. It is critical that Pakatan proves to the rakyat that it can tackle these national misfortunes and produce a strategy to overcome these grim election possibilities prior to the general election. The Pakatan leaders should set up steering committees to analyse and establish the facts and offer solutions for each one of these issues and situations. Key issues that the steering committees should address are:
The low rate could be attributed to tax evasion by BN crony companies and individual politicians who stash their money overseas and corrupt government officials who are bribed from collecting the full amount of taxes from companies and businessmen.
Pakatan must draw up a comprehensive training programme for the police force, including inculcating good religious and moral values before it comes to power.
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| Posted: 21 Oct 2012 02:29 PM PDT MCA chief Dr Chua Soi Lek said the party has no time for discussions on policies because the general election was around the corner. So MCA's AGM was all about bombarding its rivals. Leven Woon, FMT Opposition bashing and pre-election chest thumping took centre stage at the two-day MCA annual general assembly (AGM) which concluded yesterday evening. As party chief Dr Chua Soi Lek put it, MCA had no time for policy discussions at the AGM but opted to switch into battle mode to regain its dwindling Chinese support. "While an AGM is always a platform for laying out policies, we feel that this is not the time to talk about policies because the general election is only two to three months away. "So the important thing is about party unity and winning the election," he told reporters. The AGM saw MCA leaders and delegates lashing out at Pakatan Rakyat's policies, attacking PAS' hudud stance and criticising DAP for compromising its stand with regard to PAS. Delegates also came dressed in Barisan Nasional T-shirts, bearing anti-Pakatan slogans. Hence, Chua, together with his deputy chief Liow Tiong Lai, Youth chief Wee Ka Siong and Wanita chief Yu Chok Tow launched a broadside against PAS and its hudud aspirations should the Islamic party come into power. The attack was, however, akin to new wine in an old bottle, as many statements made in the AGM such as hudud would affect the non-Muslims, cinemas and lottery outlets would be closed and countries that adopt hudud were the most corrupted were mentioned numerous times before. MCA Wanita vice-chief Heng Seai Kie, however, added a fresh twist with her interpretation of a statement by PAS spiritual leader Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat made four years ago. Nik Aziz had said that women who did not cover their modesty (tutup aurat) deserved to be raped, but Heng however told delegates that it would also mean that non-Muslim women should be raped. "(Nik Aziz) was instigating the Muslims to rape the non-Muslims," she had said. Do or die battle On economic issues, MCA leaders heaped praises on the Government Transformation Programmes by Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak, labelling it as the only roadmap that would ensure the country achieved its high-income nation ambition. Chua even mentioned in his presidential speech that the rakyat should not "change the farmers when the seed of transformation had been planted by Najib".
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| Posted: 21 Oct 2012 02:17 PM PDT uQw2jNYiBvA Or watch at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uQw2jNYiBvA Raymond Tan This tragedy was covered-up by the authorities. The footage was taken by a villager on a scooter while later being chased by the securities/gangsters as the vicinity was heavily guarded to avoid being exposed. The quarry collapsed in March early this year, it happened late at night, hence when the water gulped the quarry, the entire vicinity submerged while the labourers were still in their beds. Machineries and squatters are all hundreds of meters below. However, this tragedy was covered-up by the state authorities fearing besides having to deal with the legality of the ownership of the so-called quarry, they are also answerable to the foreign embassy having employed Indonesians. Once again, thank you for your kind attention. | ||||||||
| Has The Star paper became too arrogant?? Posted: 21 Oct 2012 02:07 PM PDT
The Star (after dictating what the readers should read) also wants to dictate what we should watch! The Masked Reader Fresh from proudly claiming itself to be the No 1 newspaper in Malaysia, the paper stopped publishing the local TV stations daily programs recently. Instead, this paper chose to publish the Astro channel 728 daily programs in the same page, and suggested to the readers "what to watch" programs on local tv stations and or course, Astro. Is The Star paper indirectly suggesting that we should suscribe to pay tv, and deem the readers who don't as not important to them? Maybe The Star has grown proud of its status as Malaysia's No 1 paper, and forgotten it's loyal readers who supported it all these years. Most of the rakyat don't suscribe to pay-tv, either due to financial constraints, lack of time or frustrated by the often repeated programs, and the increase in fees. We are fine with the local tv stations. But now its seems that The Star (after dictating what the readers should read) also wants to dictate what we should watch! The Star should remember that, like Proton, Perodua (who divided the small and medium cc engine market between themslves) and Astro, they are NO 1 because there isn't much choice for the rakyat to choose to begin with. People HAVE to buy The Star if they want to check out the latest property ad launches, movie listings, etc. There is hardly any such ad in the competing English newspapers. Therefore, most advertisers themselves have little choice but to advertise in The Star. Maybe The Star should change it's tagline from "The People's Paper" to "The Arrogant Paper". | ||||||||
| Should government scholars be grateful? Posted: 21 Oct 2012 02:04 PM PDT
Should recipients of government scholarships be grateful? Grateful to whom? Kee Thuan Chye I'm asking this because former minister Shahrizat Abdul Jalil mentioned recently that PKR strategy director Rafizi Ramli was a Petronas scholar and yet he appeared to be going against the people who had given him the scholarship. As the Petronas scholarship is a government scholarship, she implied he was being "ungrateful". She even suggested that other young people of Rafizi's generation might also be "ungrateful".But should Rafizi – and other Petronas scholars, indeed all government scholars, including those awarded the Jabatan Perkhidmatan Awam (JPA) scholarships – be beholden to the Government and eternally grateful to it?
* Kee Thuan Chye is the author of the bestselling book No More Bullshit, Please, We're All Malaysians, available in bookstores together with its Malay translation, Jangan Kelentong Lagi, Kita Semua Orang Malaysia.
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| Wee steals DAP secular theme, but MCA silent Posted: 21 Oct 2012 02:01 PM PDT
The 16 MCA resolutions were completely silent about secularism, Islamic state or hudud. Two of its three political resolutions condemned Pakatan Rakyat and particularly the DAP for supposedly misleading the Chinese community about PAS and hudud. But of secularism, Islamic state and hudud itself there was not a word. uppercaise Wee Ka Siong, the MCA's Youth leader, has stolen the DAP's theme of secularism in political administration, by coming out strongly against theocracy in an Islamic state, which he said would plunge Malaysia into the Dark Ages. Secularism was one of 16 resolutions adopted by MCA Youth on Friday — but the senior party remained silent about an Islamic state or even about its hudud, Islamic criminal punishment, about which party leaders had made many critical statements. On Friday, the MCA Youth adopted the following as Resolution No 3: Mempertahankan sepenuhnya sistem pentadbiran sekular negara kita yang berteraskan Perlembagaan Persekutuan serta menolak sebarang bentuk pentadbiran ektremis agama dan hukum hudud. MCA YOUTH But on Sunday, the 16 MCA resolutions were completely silent about secularism, Islamic state or hudud. Two of its three political resolutions condemned Pakatan Rakyat and particularly the DAP for supposedly misleading the Chinese community about PAS and hudud. But of secularism, Islamic state and hudud itself there was not a word.  Attacks on the Islamic state policy and on hudud criminal law punishment featured heavily in speeches at the MCA general assembly and in news coverage at the weekend, as the party made a strong attempt at reviving itself. The MCA has been hamstrung after suffering devastating losses at the hands of the DAP in the general election of 2008 and through its power struggles in the enforced resignation of Chua Soi Lek, a coup against his successor Ong Tee Keat, and Soi Lek's subsequent return. " We must remember that the democracy and human rights which we are fighting for today is the result of the separation of politics and religion. We must not allow PAS to return us to an age that has long past us. This ideology must be rejected by the people of this country. However, the mindset of PAS leadership remains in the dark ages and now they are trying to force our country to return to the very days that all other countries have fought hard to leave behind. WEE KA SIONG at MCA Youth assembly Ka Siong spoke of how Europe had overthrown Christian theocratic rule in the 14th Century, and developed secularism in politics by separating church and state, which, together with democratic practices had led to the Renaissance and the Industrial Revolution in Europe, spreading to the world and creating present-day prosperity. Wee's statement against theocratic rule and for secular democracy was clear and forthright. But it was not matched by the senior party whose leaders merely used hudud as a stick with which to beat the DAP and Pakatan Rakyat. Even its back against the wall, the MCA seemed unwilling to commit itself at a policy level, leaving it to the junior wing to mention the unmentionable. The DAP has often capitalised in the past on the MCA's relative silence and ineffectiveness against the creeping Islamisation of Malaysian public policy and administration. MCA leaders often stated that worked quietly behind the scenes as a partner of Umno. Read more at: http://uppercaise.wordpress.com/2012/10/22/wee-steals-dap-secular-theme-but-mca-silent/ | ||||||||
| Auditing of S’wak govt agencies ‘superficial’ Posted: 21 Oct 2012 01:58 PM PDT
(Free Malaysia Today) - Some 30% of Sarawak's annual budget go into a government approved agencies 'trust fund', information to which no one has access too. A Sarawak DAP leader has expressed deep dissatisfaction over the Auditor-General Report on Sarawak's financial issues, describing it as "superficial", especially with regard to the auditing of government-owned companies. State party secretary Chong Chieng Jen said the AG's report was a piece of "peripheral auditing" focusing on unimportant issues. "I call the report of peripheral auditing, because it is auditing on less important issues while skirting and skipping key issues of Sarawak's financial position. "When we look at the AG report, we all know for a fact that Sarawak Energy Berhad (SEB) had borrowed a sum of RM15 billion to construct dams and this RM15 billion debt loan is not mentioned in this AG report. "Why? Because, they call off the balance sheet debt of the government. So the balance sheet of the state government does not contain all these debts. "If you don't see all these debts reflected in the report, you see a picture of good management of Sarawak government. "SEB's balance sheet debt for instance is not highlighted in the AG report and SEB is wholly owned by the government," he said. Chong said that the state annual budget had what is known as a 'black hole'. "Under our state budget every year there is one item – government's contribution towards government approved agencies trust fund – which is a black hole. "For this fund the government sets aside every year some money. In 2007, RM1 billion was channeled into this trust fund and in year 2008 and 2009 it was RM1.7 billion and RM1.8 billion respectively. "In 2010 the government allocated RM1 billion while in 2011 the amount was RM1.3 billion, bearing in mind that Sarawak annual budget is around three to four billion ringgit. "This amount (to the trust fund) represents 30% of the annual budget," Chong disclosed. He claimed that until today the Sarawak government has refused to release information or explain in the State Legislative Assembly as to where the money went. "Is this money going to approved agencies? And what are the agencies that receive this money? "It was never disclosed. Even the Auditor-General did not dig into it and to tell us who are these agencies. They only say it is the government's obligation towards the repayment of debts. Read more at: http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2012/10/22/auditing-of-swak-govt-agencies-superficial/
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| Holding Out for a Hero: the Saddening State of the Sabah Opposition Front Posted: 21 Oct 2012 01:56 PM PDT
There is a kind of inchoate lack of will that characterises the Sabah opposition parties, it is as if it is not sincere. Much of its leadership is doing what it does, not because it sees a point to it, but because it does not have anything else to do. Selvaraja Somiah Sabah opposition is, for all practical purposes, a collection of four main parties, DAP, PKR, Sabah Star and SAPP including newly formed but not registered Angkatan Perubahan Sabah (APS) headed by Wilfred Bumburing and Pakatan Perubahan Sabah (PPS) headed by Lajim Okin. USNO Baru is also in the fray mobilising support using founder Tun Mustapha's name, but, its yet to be registered and very unlikely that it ever will. There is a remark attributed, perhaps apocryphally, to Dr Jeffrey Kitingan to the effect that most Sabah politics is mathematics, a number game. As political analysis goes, this remark proves insightful. Sabah politics is, in this view, not driven by ideology or charisma. It is constituted by the mundane activity of stitching together narrow interest-driven coalitions. And electoral fortunes, for the most part, do not turn on massive changes induced by immense persuasiveness of candidates. They turn on small swings, and contingent management of interests. But if this political analysis is taken too literally, it can become spectacularly self-defeating. It can make politics a passive waiting game. As opposition parties in Sabah prepare to met and strategise, or assuming they ever will, a plan to commit to one-to-one fights against the Barisan National in the coming 13th General Elections brews. Pakatan Rakyat in Sabah headed by Anwar Ibrahim has little presence here but it has done well in other PKR states from 2008. Since the last election, it has not expanded its presence in Sabah although the DAP has its footing in the urban areas. Lest we forget, elections are ultimately about the ability to project credibility. On the economy, the Pakatan Rakyat states have done well so far. It has given an alternative to old-fashioned UMNO/BN politics, concocting better versions to solutions. In Parliament sessions it had the rulling coalition on the mat for the many economic mess-ups in the last four years. The most polished personalities in the Sabah opposition scene, Dr Jeffrey Kitingan and Yong Teck Lee, don't seem to show that they have what it takes to run the state economy like the way Musa Aman has, but has only seem to be harping on the Sabah Rights vis a vis the Malaysia Agreement 1963. They are also simply waiting for the Barisan National Sabah to make more errors to give them a lift. To make matters worse, internally, the Sabah opposition itself is faced with a series of simultaneous equations it cannot solve. The main one is of course the mistrust between Malaya based Pakatan Rakyat and Borneo based Star Sabah and SAPP. Most commentators assume that the Sabah opposition's central dilemma is between Sabah Rights and a more centrist position. But, arguably, this is not its biggest dilemma. It will never be able to persuade die-hard antagonists who think that Sabah joining the Federation in 1963 to form Malaysia is a mistake. Regrettable as it might be, it can probably get away with a game of calculated ambiguity, so long as it is not deeply polarising. Its central dilemma is that Malaya does not understand what federalism means for Sabah politics. If politics has become genuinely federal, then there are implications for how political parties are organised. In an ideal situation, like what we see now in the Musa Aman Government, state-level leaders and units have to believe that there is a symbiotic relationship between them and the leadership in Putrajaya. Association with the Putrajaya leadership enhances the prospects of local units and that's why we see so much positivity coming from the Musa Aman government today. But if the Putrajaya leadership does not significantly add to the state units' prospects, or worse still, becomes a liability ( like during the PBS days) then the central high command has little authority over the state. On the other hand, a party composed entirely of state units can have no coherence at the centre, and cannot project itself as a national party, like in Sarawak. This is the basic structural dilemma faced by the Sabah opposition. It is, for all practical purposes, a collection of four parties; DAP and PKR, (Malaya based), Sabah Star and SAPP (Borneo based). Except for Jeffrey Kitingan and Yong Teck Lee who can be considered local leaders, PKR and DAP does not have anyone except Anwar Ibrahim who isn't local himself. So the question of who is going to lead the Sabah opposition becomes an issue. To complicate matters, PKR in Sabah is undergoing a leadership crisis. Anwar and his cronies have meddled and presented Azmin Ali, also an outsider, as a solution to a headless PKR in Sabah. Clearly, the Sabah opposition's problem is that it has no charismatic local leader of any kind to take reign, althogether failing to see that the the average age of its cadres does not reflect new Sabah. Read more at: http://selvarajasomiah.wordpress.com/2012/10/21/holding-out-for-a-hero-the-saddening-state-of-the-sabah-opposition-front/ | ||||||||
| 5 of Najib’s Filipino maids barred from flight at Naia Posted: 20 Oct 2012 11:40 PM PDT  Jerome Aning, Phillipne Daily Inquire Five Filipino members of the household staff of Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak were barred from their flight at Ninoy Aquino International Airport on Tuesday after a confidential agent of the Bureau of Immigration reportedly suspected them of being job seekers planning to enter Malaysia as tourists. The Filipinos—identified as Maricel Cancejo, Decemera Salceda, Wendelyn Tacotaco, and Janeth and Rene Revadona—were supposed to return to Kuala Lumpur onboard a Malaysian Airlines flight (MH-803) set to leave Naia Terminal 1 at 6:30 p.m. when they were ordered to disembark by the BI agent identified as Nelia Buenaflor. When contacted by reporters, BI spokesperson Ma. Antonette Mangrobang declined to confirm the incident but said the agency's main office was awaiting the official report of Benito Se, chief of the BI-Airport Operations Division. The Inquirer tried but failed to locate Buenaflor at the BI office in Naia. According to BI employees, she was a nurse who worked for Immigration Commissioner Ricardo David when he was still the Armed Forces of the Philippines chief of staff. While in Manila, the five Filipinos attended to Najib and his wife Rosmah Mansor. The couple, together with Foreign Minister Anifah Aman and other top Malaysian officials, graced Monday's signing in Malacañang of the historic framework agreement between the peace panels of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front and the Philippine government. Najib, his wife and the other Malaysian officials left on a private plane on Tuesday morning, leaving their staff and other aides to book a commercial flight. Sources said the five were already lining up for the final security check when they were told by another immigration officer to return to the Travel Control Enforcement Unit. The Filipinos, who had been cleared at the immigration counter, said they had already presented to the TCEU their working and travel papers issued by the Malaysian government which indicated that they were part of Najib's entourage. Buenaflor, however, reportedly profiled the Filipinos as possible "tourist workers," according to the sources, and refused to let them leave. The Malaysian foreign minister later called Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario to complain about the BI's action and to confirm that the five were legitimate employees of Najib. Missing their Oct. 16 flight, the five Filipinos had to rebook their flight the next day. Despite stringent guidelines governing the operation of BI agents, many departing international travellers have complained about being offloaded or denied permission to leave on mere suspicion of illegal activity despite their presentation of valid travel papers. The agents, however, maintain that they were just being vigilant since they could be dismissed from the service for allowing undocumented workers or human trafficking victims to leave the country. | ||||||||
| MCA’s bold move in secularising Malaysia Posted: 20 Oct 2012 07:00 PM PDT
Malaysia's dual legal system has long been a bone of contention. While non-Muslims are free to lead an immoral lifestyle, Muslims who do the same are arrested and punished. This is a system of discrimination since Muslims are not allowed to be immoral while non-Muslims are free to do what they want. THE CORRIDORS OF POWER Raja Petra Kamarudin Today, MCA, the second most important party in the Barisan Nasional ruling coalition after Umno, most probably made history. MCA took a very bold step in officially declaring what most people have been 'unofficially' saying for some time -- and that is the Islamic Shariah law is outdated and a relic of the Dark Ages. It is not only non-Muslims who are saying this. Even some Muslims, in particular those who are aware of the history of the Shariah, are of this opinion. But not many, in particular Muslims, dare condemn the Shariah. To do so would invite retaliation from orthodox or fundamentalist Muslims, sometimes physical in nature, who would feel antagonised by what they consider opposition to God's law. This is not just a Muslim problem. This was actually a dilemma amongst the Christians as well -- until slightly over 100 years ago. Then the Europeans overthrew the church and monarchy in favour of secular-based republics towards the end of the 1800s. Only then was religion 'kicked out' and the people became free. Religion's 'slavery' over the people for thousands of years finally really ended. It took Napoleon Bonaparte to lead the challenge to oppose the church and God's 'appointees' on earth, the hereditary monarchs. Now, 200 years later, MCA is leading the challenge to oppose the Shariah -- and hence oppose the heads of Islam in Malaysia, the Raja-Raja Melayu. Is MCA Malaysia's Napoleon Bonaparte? MCA's bold and most dangerous move to propagate secularism might yet reverse the fortunes of this Chinese party that appears to be heading for extinction -- or it might accelerate its death. Either way it is going to be extreme. MCA is either going to emerge as the largest Chinese party in Malaysia or it is going to be buried for good. Either way MCA has nothing to lose and everything to gain by putting everything on that last throw of the dice. If MCA does nothing it is finished anyway. By taking this bold step of opposing the Shariah and propagating secularism, MCA is embarking on an all-or-nothing high-stakes gamble. MCA Youth Chief, Datuk Dr Wee Ka Siong, said the Pas leadership belonged to the Dark Ages and that they are trying to force our country to return to an old system, which every country in the world had fought hard to discard. He also called on Malaysians to reject laws based on theology or religious theocracy (meaning the Shariah). For those not familiar with the issue, the Islamic Shariah is a collection of various theological-based laws. One of these laws is the criminal law of hudud. However, only part of hudud is being implemented in Malaysia. Laws covering murder, robbery, theft and sodomy do not come under the Shariah while others such as apostasy, illicit sex/fornication, close proximity, adultery, drinking/intoxication, eating during the month of Ramadhan, etc., have been passed into Shariah law long before Merdeka. There are those who dispute that the Shariah is God's law and they argue that the Shariah was 'invented' long after the Prophet Muhammad had died. In other words, the Shariah did not come from God but is a fabrication of humankind. They also argue that the Shariah is a mix of Jewish law, Christian law, old Arabian tribal laws, and pagan laws. MCA, more or less, has officially stated its position on the Shariah -- in that it is not God's law and hence can be opposed. MCA also calls on Malaysians to reject all theological-based laws, the Shariah in general and hudud in particular. MCA has brought Malaysian politics up to a new level. Those who reject theological-based laws will now support Barisan Nasional while those who still want to live in what MCA calls the Dark Ages will support Pakatan Rakyat. This is a most interesting development indeed and it is not clear at this stage how this anti-Shariah card is going to be played out. Currently, of course, the Shariah only affects Muslims and non-Muslims are exempted from it. Only Muslims who do not fast, drink liquor, or commit 'illegal' acts such as close proximity, illicit sex, adultery, etc., are arrested and punished. If the Shariah was abolished like what MCA wants then Muslims will be free from the control of religion and will be able to lead a freer life like those in the west. Malaysia's dual legal system has long been a bone of contention. While non-Muslims are free to lead an immoral lifestyle, Muslims who do the same are arrested and punished. This is a system of discrimination since Muslims are not allowed to be immoral while non-Muslims are free to do what they want. For example, the MCA President, Chua Soi Lek, was caught on camera having sex with a woman he was not married to, and he even admitted it, but this did not damage his political career. Anwar Ibrahim, the Opposition Leader, was also allegedly caught on camera having sex with another woman, and which he denied, but there were calls for him to resign on grounds that he is immoral. With the abolishment of the Shariah, the immoral lifestyle of the Malay-Muslim politicians will no longer be an issue and can no longer be used against them. Also, it would address the unjustness of the system where only non-Muslims are allowed to be immoral while the Muslims do not enjoy that same benefit. It is not clear how many Malays-Muslims will support MCA's call to abolish theological-based laws such as the Shariah. I suppose how well MCA performs in the coming general election will answer this question. And considering that MCA will depend on Malays votes, if the Malays support the abolishment of the Shariah, MCA may be set to win big this coming general election. With this latest development, many may vote MCA if MCA succeeds in getting the Shariah abolished and Malays-Muslims can now enjoy their beer in the pubs without worrying about getting arrested and punished. That would overshadow the calls to get rid of corruption, abuse of power, mismanagement of the country's resources, racism, etc. *************************************** (NST) - PAS' aspiration to introduce its interpretation of the Islamic law, or hudud, if the opposition coalition came into power was strongly criticised at the MCA Youth and Wanita assemblies yesterday. MCA Youth chief Datuk Dr Wee Ka Siong called on Malaysians to reject laws based on religious theocracy and to denounce Pas' call to implement hudud. He also cautioned the people to be wary of the opposition's 'hidden traps'. "They are hoping to take over the country from the Barisan Nasional. The people need to see the hidden traps that will surface if this happens. Pas still insists on creating an Islamic state and to set up a political system based on religion. To date, Parti Keadilan Rakyat and DAP are unable to reject Pas' agenda," he said in his speech. Wee likened the mindset of Pas leadership to one that belonged to the Dark Ages. "They are trying to force our country to return to an old system which every country in the world had fought hard to discard. It is worrying and it saddens us." Wee also lambasted the DAP for conspiring with Pas to gain political mileage. "What is worse is that DAP, which had been adamant in rejecting an Islamic state in the past, is now working hand-in-gloves with Pas. They are now willing to sacrifice their stance and belief. Where is their integrity?" Wee said he sympathised with DAP stalwart Karpal Singh, the only party leader who had openly spoken up against Pas' aspiration to implement hudud. "Karpal's famous response 'over my dead body' with regard to the creation of an Islamic state has been drowned by the howls of new DAP leaders. We pity Karpal, who is powerless, as he is betrayed by party supremo Lim Kit Siang and his son, Lim Guan Eng." Wee recounted that in the past, Kit Siang had launched a campaign to protest against former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad when he announced that Malaysia was an Islamic country. "Yet, when Pas leaders announced that the Constitution will be amended for the implementation of hudud, Kit Siang kept his mouth shut." | ||||||||
| Ex-IGP denies tell-all Altantuya media conference in Bangkok Posted: 20 Oct 2012 05:22 PM PDT
Amin Iskandar, The Malaysian Insider Former Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Musa Hassan has denied he will speak to reporters in Bangkok tomorrow about the murder of Mongolian Altantuya Shaariibuu. and is puzzled about the speculation about his activities. The Foreign Correspondents Club of Thailand (FCTT) had put up a notice of the press conference but said it was not a club event but organised by other parties. "I was shocked to hear the news. I only found out about this when reporters contacted me yesterday. There is no such thing, I am still here (in Malaysia)," Musa told The Malaysian Insider. The event headlined "New exposés in the Altantuya murder" was scheduled for 11am Bangkok time and comes six years after she was blown up with explosives by two Malaysian security escort policemen in Shah Alam. Both were convicted of the crime but they have appealed against the death sentence. "I don't understand why recently I've been the target of so much speculation. I hope these irresponsible people will stop disturbing me," added the former national police chief who retired in 2010 after his contract ended. Incidentally, the two former police Special Action Squad commandos sentenced to death for the murder will have their appeal heard October 31 and November 1. Chief Inspector Azilah Hadri, 34, and Corporal Sirul Azhar Umar, 39, were convicted and sentenced to death by the Shah Alam High Court in 2009 for murdering Altantuya, 28, at Mukim Raja between 9.45 pm on October 18, 2006 and 9.45 pm the following day. Political analyst Abdul Razak Baginda, 50, was also charged with abetting the duo but was acquitted by the High Court on October 31, 2008, on the basis that there was no prima facie case against him.
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| MCA defends hardline stand on hudud Posted: 20 Oct 2012 05:18 PM PDT Chua Soi Lek denies playing up hudud scare, saying that the issue itself poses great impact to the country. Leven Woon, FMT MCA has been attacking PAS and its hudud agenda in a bid to persuade the anti-establishment Chinese voters to abandon PAS and its ally, the DAP, and return to MCA's fold, said its president Dr Chua Soi Lek. MCA's anti-hudud campaign reached a feverish pitch during the ongoing MCA annual assembly with all top party leaders raising a huge red flag against PAS' Islamic agenda. MCA leaders argued that they needed to "enlighten" the public on hudud, and why it should be objected. At a press conference today, Chua defended the anti-hudud campaign, saying that the issue itself was of utmost importance to the country. "We feel that the use of word 'play' is wrong, because there is great impact (of hudud) on socio-economics and the country's political climate. It is not fair to say we play with the issue," he said. He said MCA was duty-bound to "further enlighten the people" of the consequence of PAS's hudud agenda. Chua also pointed out that the PKR-led Selangor government has not seen the opening of any new cinemas since Pakatan took over the state in 2008, a vivid evidence that PAS was dominant in the Pakatan coalition. "…everybody in Pakatan is frightened of PAS. PAS is still the taiko (big brother) because of the resources and the fact that they have more members," he said. When asked to comment on MCA Wanita chairman Yu Chok Tow's remark that Umno parliamentarians would support the PAS's hudud proposal, Chua branded the matter as being hypothetical and refused to answer directly. "Why we have to go to that stage, we don't have to. If all Malaysians are aware, PAS and hudud are bad to the country and if they unite against hudud, then we will never reach that stage," he said. The assembly today saw the delegates dressing the trademark BN blue tee-shirt that had anti-Pakatan slogans on the back. The slogans, reading "Ubah? Bankrupt in two years", "stability above chaos", were the same phrases used on the anti-Pakatan banners decorating the event venue, Wisma MCA. Chua said the tee-shirts and banners were used to point out that Pakatan was an empty shell and would lead the country to bankruptcy should they ever come into power.
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| Soi Lek: MCA bersedia berperang habis-habisan untuk PRU-13 Posted: 20 Oct 2012 04:26 PM PDT
(Bernama) - MCA telah bersedia menghadapi perang pilihan raya umum ke-13 (PRU-13) dengan penuh semangat kesepakatan dalam Barisan Nasional (BN) bagi memastikan kejayaan lebih besar BN dalam pilihan raya itu nanti, kata Presidennya Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek. Berpegang kepada slogan 'Berperang dengan Penuh Keberanian', Dr Chua berkata MCA kini sudah bangkit lebih sepakat, bersatu dan fokus dalam menangani isu-isu yang penting bersama-sama BN dan bersedia untuk menempuh apa jua masalah dan rintangan.
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| Najib: Malays have had enough of DAP Posted: 20 Oct 2012 04:13 PM PDT Reformasi is just a mere Pakatan slogan, says the premier. (Bernama) - Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak said the Malays have had enough of DAP, challenging the party that claims to be multiracial, to contest in a Malay constituency. "If DAP is a multiracial party, I dare them to stand in a Malay constituency. You know Malays have had enough of DAP… all are rubbish," he said at the launch of MCA's 59th Annual General Assembly, here today. Among those present were MCA president Dr Chua Soi Lek, Deputy President Liow Tiong Lai, Vice Presidents Dr Ng Yen Yen, Senator Donald Lim Siang Chai and BN component party leaders, including Gerakan President Dr Koh Tsu Koon, MIC President G Palanivel and Umno Secretary-General Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor. Najib also agreed with the MCA president that DAP leaders have only been preaching multiracialism but it was never shown in reality. "Being democratic…are they more democratic than us (the BN)? If you want to know, ask Tunku Aziz (former DAP national vice-chairman Tunku Abdul Aziz Ibrahim), he will tell you," said Najib adding with a firm tone that BN's message is that real change and progress was taking place in Malaysia. "Reformasi is just a mere slogan," he said. Najib said, one could question the fairness and policies of the government but shoud never question the fundamental of this country which was built based on the constitution. Najib said the government has been making many politically-risky decisions just to ensure that it would be fair to all the people of this country. On that basis he said, the government was also fully aware of the four basic needs that are the centerpiece of the Chinese societies' struggle, thus always striving to meet the needs of the group, where ever possible. The needs include, to have a stable and vibrant economy, fair and just country, good governance and education. "Our country's economy is among the best in the world currently. There are visitors who are impressed with Malaysia. They say many cranes in Malaysia and they are all working. "Our economy is progressing well and out budge is people friendly and fiscally responsible. On the contrary, the opposition budget in populist and fiscally irresponsible…vast difference," he said.
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| Posted: 20 Oct 2012 04:08 PM PDT Stop blaming the BN government or Pakatan Rakyat for the state of affairs within our nation today. We have to take our fair share of blame too. CT Ali, FMT Today our people are divided in so many ways. Whether intended or not these divisions reached its peak under Mahathir's watch because this Umno-led Barisan Nasional government saw in these divisions their way towards consolidating political power and personal wealth for themselves, their families and their cronies. The rich and the poor. The powerful and the weak. The VVIP's and the VIP's. The connected and the not too connected. The privilege and the not so privileged. Those in Umno and those outside Umno. Those in Barisan Nasional and those outside of Barisan Nasional. The Malays and the non-Malays. Royalty and commoners. Everywhere we look these barriers became obstacles we encountered on a daily basis and caused great hardship and impossible odds to overcome as we go on with our daily lives and the business of trying to earn a decent living. It took us this long – 12 general elections in total – to come to the realisation that these divisions within our people have been the result of a conniving politicians from both sides of the divide that had deliberately used these racial and religious barrier to their advantage – both Barsian Nasional and Pakatan Rakyat. These politicians think that our division is their salvation! These politicians believe that when our people are in conflict it is easier for them to secure electoral success. These politicians have that twisted logic to divide and rule their own people because they know that if we are together as one people our first work will be to rid ourselves of these insidious politicians! How has it come to this? How has these politicians been able to exploit these inherent divisions within our people to their advantage and more to the point – why do we let them? Of course I am first a Malay. I cannot ignore that reality in Malaysia nor can I ignore that reality anywhere I go. Here in Australia I an acutely aware that I am different from the others that are around me. I see white people, black people and every conceivable hue and colors in between. I see women covering themselves from head to toe walking alongside another member of her gender with her jeans hung so low that you can see the top of her underwear splendidly exposed. There are men outfitted in sartorial splendor walking alongside men in shorts so brief that any lady would be remised if she did not make herself look the other way when these men walk by. Everywhere you turn you are aware of the diversity that abounds around you and yet there is symmetry and balance that is the result of a tolerance of each other individuality and the acceptance of it. To each his own. And that is why even as I am acutely aware that I am different from the others we are all able to live together because we celebrate our differences. So why do these politicians talk about our people living in harmony under 1Malaysia when they are the very reason why we have a people divided in every way except for the fact that we call Malaysia our home. How, as I have asked before, have we come to this? The power is with us, the people Let us stop blaming this Barisan Nasional government or Pakatan Rakyat for the state of affairs within our nation today. We have to take our fair share of blame for the state we now find ourselves and our nation hopelessly mired in. A state of affairs where corruption is endemic, where people go into politics not to serve the nation or its people but to make money for themselves, where the use of race and religion will bring you more electoral success then anything else, where politicians are more the subject of ridicule then of respect. Where political leaders are without honour or self-respect, where the people's trust and votes are not earned but bought. If we are prepared to keep electing the same corrupt politicians to power why are expecting things to change? And yet where would we find the precedent from our nation's past to tell us what do? How do we tell our people that this 13th general election is our opportunity to effect change? There is no precedent in our history that will point us to go in the right direction. Neither had the people in Egypt, Tunisia, Libya and now Syria had any precedent in the history of their nation to know what was the right thing to do to rid themselves of the tyrants and dictators that had exploited their time in power for personal gains. So like them we only have ourselves to depend upon to make these changes that we want as to how we want our nation to be governed. Never before in the history of our nation have our people been in so much in contract and in communication with each other. Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and blogs are our go-to source for information and knowledge when we want to know what is going on around us. The social media defines our generation – young and old – cutting across barriers of race, religion and culture. When a politician takes from our nation what he is not entitled to, then in anybody language, in any culture, in any religion in any race – we know that that politician has done wrong. And that information is available to anybody with little or no advanced computer skills. And the impact of that information has toppled government. What anyone of us think, when put onto the Internet, You Tube, Twitter and Facebook will make a government denial of wrongdoing superfluous if evidence to the contrary is posted on to the public domain through these social media outlets. Hence we have seen Umno's capitulation to our demand that Shahrizat Abdul Jalil take responsibility for NFC. In Pakatan Rakyat the impact of social media comments have been to ensure that there is accountability from within the ranks of its first tier leadership for the abuse of public office in the states they control. There are many other instances we all know off when what is posted onto the public domain will ensure that at the very least, Barisan Nasional and Pakatan Rakyat understand that we are watching them and will judge them by what they choose to do when we make clear our displeasure at what they do. Moving from online activism to offline reality Political chatter on the Internet will increase as we near the 13th general election and will continue to generate enormous amount of data and information that will determine how we cast our votes. Real time Internet debating on issues of the day and on matters of interest to the people would be something we can all participate in with the knowledge that both Pakatan Rakyat and Barisan Nasional will take cognizance of we say and where necessary act on it. What we say now can gain momentum, attention and awareness in real time and with this possibility comes the ability to do good or bad to the leaders we want to serve us in government. Najib Tun Razak and Anwar Ibrahim had been at the receiving end of these possibilities too many times to be unaware that they can feed of the social media as much as the social media can feed off them. Politicians of all persuasion are now adept at using cyberactivism to advance their political agenda.
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| Jangan guna hudud untuk pancing undi, MCA Posted: 20 Oct 2012 04:01 PM PDT Perkasa melihat tindakan MCA mengguna hudud sebagai menghina Islam. K Pragalath, FMT Pertubuhan Pribumi Perkasa Malaysia (Perkasa) hari ini memberi amaran kepada MCA kerana menghina umat Islam dengan membangkitkan isu hudud. "Isu hudud biar orang Islam tentukan. Jika mahu undi bukan ini caranya sehingga menghina dan mempertikaikan agama orang lain. Apakah ini sifat–sifat seorang presiden parti politik? "Jangan sampai kami gunakan kuasa (mengundi) yang ada pada kami bila tiba pilihan raya," kata ketua Wira Perkasa Irwan Fahmi dalam satu kenyataan media. Tiga hari yang lalu presiden MCA Datuk Dr Chua Soi Lek berkata pelaksanaan hukum hudud akan menjejaskan 1.2 juta peluang pekerjaan di dalam sektor pelancongan dan perkhidmatan. Hukuman hudud merupakan salah satu hasrat yang ingin dilaksanakan oleh PAS sekiranya memenangi pilihan raya umum ke 13 nanti. "Angka yang ada pada tangan saya adalah sekitar 1.2 juta. Ini akan menjadi realiti, sebagaimana dijangkakan, PAS menjadi parti dominan," kata beliau. "Ini akan menjadi realiti jika PAS menjadi parti dominan jika Pakatan Rakyat memegang kuasa. Ia akan menjadi parti dominan Pakatan Rakyat," kata Dr Chua. Irwan turut mengingatkan Dr Chua agar berusaha mendapatkan kembali sokongan masyarakat Cina yang telah hilang semasa pilihan raya umum ke 12 pada 2008. "Sepatutnya MCA bekerja keras untuk mengembalikan kepercayaan kaum mereka, bukan dengan menghina orang lain. Kaum mereka menolak mereka secara terang pada tahun 2008," kata Irwan.
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| Chua: Pakatan’s shameful democracy Posted: 20 Oct 2012 03:18 PM PDT MCA chief Dr Chua Soi Lek questions the status of Anwar, Kit Siang and Nik Aziz in their respective parties. Leven Woon, FMT MCA president Dr Chua Soi Lek today used his presidential speech at his party's annual meeting to snap at Pakatan Rakyat in a way to boost morale for his cadres in the run up to the general election. He lashed out at Pakatan for claiming to be advocating democracy when the three main leaders of PKR, DAP and PAS were not elected to their positions in their parties. Hitting out at PKR de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim, DAP advisor Lim Kit Siang and PAS spiritual leader Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat, Chua said it was embarrasing for Pakatan to claim that they were key promoters of democracy and reforms. "The three big Pakatan leaders – Anwar Ibrahim, Lim Kit Siang and Nik Aziz – have something in common. They are appointed leaders and not elected. "There is no direct election. They choose themselves as the supreme leader of the party but keep chanting about democracy. How shameful!" he said. In comparison, Chua praised Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak for amending the Umno constitution to increase the number of delegates eligible to elect him as party president from 3,000 to 400,0000. The MCA's 59th annual general assembly will be the last one before the polls are called – legally must be called by end of April next year although speculations are rife that Najib would be doing so sooner. MCA is trying its best to boost the morale of its members following a deflating show in the 2008 general election, attempting to regain the lost support among the Chinese community. MCA ready for GE war Throughout his 45-minute fiery speech, Chua repeatedly said that MCA was ready for an election "war" and would march to the battlefield once Najib "beats the war drums". Chua urged MCA members to be confident of the party as they have frequently defeated arch rival DAP in the previous elections. "We have fought with the DAP in the last 10 general elections and the record shows that we have defeated DAP seven times, lost to them twice, and drawn once," he said. In an attempt to urge party members to close ranks, he also announced that the party would expel party saboteurs. He said from now on, members should now focus on the objective of strengthening MCA and to defeat Pakatan. "(You should) think and discuss about how to defeat Pakatan in the morning, afternoon, night or even late night," he said. Kit Siang's volte face "The rakyat should be reminded that the PTPTN which exists today was introduced by Anwar Ibrahim when he was the deputy prime minister. "The parliament Hansard on May 14, 1997 indicates that it also received support from the then Opposition Leader Lim Kit Siang," he said.
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| Jingga 13 Questions Top Leader on Ex-Maid's House in Indonesia Posted: 20 Oct 2012 11:24 AM PDT
(Malaysian Digest) - PKR-linked NGO Jingga 13 has questioned a top politician over how a former maid has managed to afford a luxurious RM100,000 house in Indonesia. Jingga 13 coordinator Fariz Musa, who submitted a memorandum to the office of the said politician yesterday, alleged that the maid could not have purchased the house based on her low income earned in Malaysia.
"Our accompanying Indonesian friends have told us that her house is estimated at RM100,000."
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| Fairness Of Court Judgements Come Into Question Posted: 20 Oct 2012 11:11 AM PDT
Why were they even charged with murder in the first place? This was self defense. Where was the premeditation (mens rea?) to commit murder or to kill someone? OutSyed the Box They say the law is an ass. Looking at some of the judgements being passed by our Courts, maybe some of the Judges are asses too. There must be consistency and fairness in how sentences are meted out. Yesterday the case of the two Indonesian brothers (who are only 22 and 20 years old) who were sentenced to hang for causing the death of a violent robber who broke into their room and then attacked them attracted my attention. I thought it was strange (and grossly unfair) that the victims of a violent robber who were startled from sleep and had to defend themselves would be sentenced to death. What were they supposed to do? Wait for the robber to kill them first? First here is a gist of the story from The Star.
Then today it was more encouraging to read that a few organisations had spoken up against this sentence of death. We thank Allah that there are people who have more conscience in our country. Again here is The Star : Groups: Review death sentence
The three guys were inside their room. A burglar tries to break in, first through the front door, then through the back door. He finally climbs through the ceiling and falls into the room. There is so much determination - the burglar really wanted to break in. Then he attacks the three occupants of the room. One of the occupants runs away. The other two defend themselves, there is a struggle, a fight and the robber dies. Now the robbery victims are sentenced to death? | ||||||||
| Explosive Altantuya Revelations Coming? Posted: 20 Oct 2012 11:04 AM PDT
(Asia Sentinel) - Retired Malaysian police chief schedules mysterious Bangkok press conference Monday to announce "new revelations" in murder for hire case The Foreign Correspondents Club of Thailand announced Saturday that Musa Hassan, who retired recently as Malaysia's national police chief, would hold a Monday press conference in Bangkok with "new revelations" over the 2006 murder for hire of Mongolian beauty Altantuya Shaariibuu. Read more at: http://www.asiasentinel.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=4913&Itemid=178
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| Chua: The verdict is still open on Chinese support for Barisan Posted: 20 Oct 2012 11:03 AM PDT
(The Star) - IT is an open question whether the Chinese will vote for the Opposition because recent events have shown a reversal of the trend from the last general election, said MCA president Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek. "The verdict is still open this time around as to whether the Chinese will come back to vote for Barisan (Nasional) or they (will still) vote for DAP. "The Chinese voted DAP (in 2008) because DAP kept promoting a self-perpetuating lie that the Chinese are very angry with the Government and they have no choice but to vote for DAP. "But most Chinese who are businessmen, traders and hawkers are also very concerned over bread and butter issues and progress, and for this BN stands tall, way above Pakatan (Rakyat)," Dr Chua told The Star. He also noticed a "positive change" in the attitude of the Chinese towards the MCA and Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak. Citing the MCA's nine mega dinners, Dr Chua said the party had initially targeted just 5,000 people per dinner but the response was overwhelming. "I am surprised but cautious. Prior to this, the people had also been receptive to our roadshows where we provide services like free medical screening. "As for the mega dinners, each guest had to pay RM30 for food and listen to political speeches and nothing else. "This shows the people still have hope in MCA and just want to confirm certain things," he said. He reminded the Chinese voters that Malaysia was a multi-racial country and there was a need to "strike a balance as the country does not belong to any one race". Dr Chua said the Chinese community must not let their "anger" over perceived discrimination and injustices, which had been stoked by the Opposition, to cloud their judgment. "Do not destroy the (present) Government unless you are very sure you can vote in a better government," he said. "But look at the four Pakatan-ruled states. The Chinese can see that their perception that Pakatan is fairer to the community is wrong."
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| Wee: PAS in favour of the dark ages Posted: 20 Oct 2012 05:54 AM PDT The MCA Youth chief says that it was only after the separation of politics and religion that the European countries prospered. Leven Woon, FMT MCA Youth chief Wee Ka Siong attacked PAS for trying to return the country to the dark ages by implementing a theocratic state, which he said was a feudal political system. In his opening address at the 48th MCA Youth Annual General Assembly meeting today, Wee said that the European countries have spent thousands of years to do away with a political system that combines with religion. "It was only after the separation of politics and religion that saw the birth of the Renaissance and eventually the Industrial Revolution" he said Wee told some 600 delegates that it would be mockery should PAS strive to reintroduce a system that had been abandoned by the world. "We must remember that the democracy and human rights which we have today is the result of the separation of politics and religion. "We must not allow PAS to return us to an age that has long past us. This ideology must be rejected by the people of this country," he said. He also took a jab at DAP's inconsistency on the hudud issue, saying that the party chairman Karpal Singah and advisor Lim Kit Siang once made a strong stance against hudud law, but not the current leadership. "The new generation of leadership in DAP has changed their stand by saying that there is no need to fear an Islamic state as long as you don't steal or rob," he said. Later at a press conference, Wee was asked if MCA's constant harping on hudud issues would translate to Chinese support to BN. Sarawak's SUPP also highlighted the hudud issue but they did not do well in the state election last year. Wee said the opposition's reaction would not have been so great if the Chinese were not concerned by the hudud issue. MCA deputy president Liow Tiong Lai, who was also at the press conference, believed in the Chinese's wisdom to differentiate between a national election and a state election. "(In a national election), you elect the federal government, where the Federal Constitution is of utmost importance to the nation. You can't allow PAS to become the government to implement such a policy in this country," he said.
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| Pakatan must endorse Johor Demand Posted: 20 Oct 2012 05:51 AM PDT The Johor Friends of Suaram and Hindraf Makkal Sakti said only then will Pakatan get their electoral support. Athi Shankar, FMT The Johor Friends of Suaram and Hindraf Makkal Sakti have come up with a Johor Demand and wants Pakatan Rakyat to endorse it. They say Pakatan must endorse it, if they want their electoral support in Johore In a joint-statement here today, Friends of Suram coordinator, Ang Pei Shan and Hindraf's Y Mohan said Johore Demand constituted three major demands: racism, "nationalisation" of alien workers and Pengerang. Mohan said the NGOs would want pre-election commitment from Pakatan to implement their demands if the coalition took over power in Johor or Putrajaya. Yesterday, he said, the Johore Demand was submitted to the state branches of DAP, PKR and PAS. "Our support for next general election must be on a win-win strategic alliance," Mohan said. The NGOs' main demands were:
They said the unequal provision in Article 153 had given a legal basis for UMNO-dominated Barisan Nasional ruling elites to practise institutionalised racism, create two classes of citizens of Malays and non-Malays. The NGOs said the NEP and bumiputera quota system allowed BN ruling clique and cronies to enrich themselves while the Malays at large remained poor and live in abject poverty. In this era of China and India emerging as big powers, they said any attempt to eliminate Chinese and Tamil education for the 6.96 million ethnic Chinese and 2.07 million ethnic Indians is wrong. The NGOs want the authorities to establish more Chinese primary schools in Chinese dominated areas and Tamil primary schools in Bukit Indah, Mount Austin, Kota Tinggi and other areas in Johore. The NGOs also want authorities to approve the application to revive the Segamat Chinese independent secondary school and give due recognition to United Examination Certificate (UEC) and degree of Southern College University. The groups called on the state government to allocate land for Masai Hindu cemetery, which has now been hit by land shortage. They said this would prevent poor Indian families from falling prey to loan sharks, who collect exorbitant interest on loans taken for cremation. The groups resolutely opposed Project Mahathir because it was highly prejudicial to Malaysian citizenry rights. Through Project M, the groups claimed that Umno elites has legalised illegal immigrants in Sabah and now in Peninsular. According to conservative official statistics, they said three million aliens have been legalised and, issued long-term work permits and identity cards.
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| Posted: 20 Oct 2012 05:47 AM PDT The EC will see that the regulation will be abolished and reviewed after the next general election. Patrick Lee, FMT After the next general election is over, the Election Commission (EC) will do away with a law that governs the registering of voters in Malaysia. Deputy EC chairman Wan Ahmad Wan Omar said that the Registration of Electors Regulations 2002 was littered with problems, causing many public complaints. "Next year, after we're done with the election, we're going to abolish the present law… The EC has decided that there will be a big working committee to go on every point of the law and to improve it," he said. Wan Ahmad said that the law would then be reviewed in full, with help from the Attorney-General's Chambers. He said this while speaking at a National Institute for Electoral Integrity (NIEI) forum today. Wan Ahmad said that Malaysia had the misfortune of having a very complex electoral roll, which he said had been "rolling" ever since the EC was formed in 1958. He added that at least 50% of the names present on today's electoral roll had been registered before 2002. Before then, he said, voter registration was extremely loose. "…forms could be filled up without proper checking. There was no online registration checking. It was completely dependent on the declaration by the person who came to register," he said. Wan Ahmad suggested that this was a reason why the electoral roll was so convoluted; a point of contention by various election watchdog groups in recent months. On top of that, he said that the EC had sacked 250 assistant registrars for not meeting with those they registered before putting them on the rolls. He added that there were 10.7 million registered voters in the 2004 general election, compared with 13.05 million now. As a result, Wan Ahmad hinted at a mountainous workload for the EC. He was also present at the NIEI event to hear the findings of a study that surveyed the accuracy of the current electoral roll. Study results NIEI acting chairman K Shan said that the study showed that 92% of the addresses surveyed were identified as valid. From this chunk, a further 74% were identified as recognisable voters. From this final group, the study determined that only 31% of the voters stayed in the addresses that they were registered under. The survey covered 2,400 respondents across 240 polling districts from 60 parliamentary constituencies. This, Shan said, had resulted in a false representation of the constituency, and would lead to a dilution of "voting wishes". He added that the EC appeared to have a lack of auditing and verification exercises to deal with these matters.
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| Chua: I agree PAS condones raping of non-Muslim women Posted: 20 Oct 2012 05:40 AM PDT The MCA president said there was nothing wrong with Wanita vice-chairman Heng Seai Kie's interpretation of Nik Aziz's statement. Leven Woon, FMT MCA president Dr Chua Soi Lek agrees with Wanita vice-chairman Heng Seai Kie for saying that PAS condones the raping of non-Muslim women who do not conform with the Islamic dress code. Earlier today, Heng produced a video showing PAS spiritual leader Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat giving a speech four years ago in which he said that women who do not protect their modesty deserved to be raped. She said that Nik Aziz was instigating the Muslims to rape non-Muslim women. When asked to comment on Heng's statement, Chua said there is nothing wrong for Heng to interpret Nik Aziz's statement that way because rapists do not choose their victims. "When a Muslim rapist wants to rape, it doesn't mean he must rape a Muslim. He can choose anybody. "You cannot say I am not a Muslim, please don't rape me," he said at a press conference after chairing a delegates' briefing session this afternoon. Earlier today, Heng urged MCA Wanita members at the party's AGM to go all out to stop Pakatan from taking power, or risk seeing the implementation of hudud law. MCA Wanita chairman Yu Chok Tow also raised the possibility that all Muslim MPs, including those from Umno, would support PAS' hudud proposal should Pakatan win the next general election. "Due to religious concerns, Umno and PKR Muslim parliamentarians will have no choice but support a [hudud] bill…" she said. On a separate issue, Chua said that Pakatan Rakyat's proposed floor wage of RM1,100 would incur RM10 billion to RM12 billion extra costs to employers a year. He said the proposal would put 1.2 million people out of job and cause unemployment rate to increase.
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| Amangate: Umno sinks into deeper quagmire Posted: 19 Oct 2012 06:52 PM PDT
The S$16 million cash seized on 14th August 2008 was only released at the end of the statutory retention period limit of three years, when ICAC failed to wrap up the case due reportedly to Malaysian government's refusal to extend co-operation in the investigation. If there was no case as claimed by Nazri and Najib, would the Hong Kong authorities have kept the money for the full legally allowable period of three years? Kim Quek Parliament should consider censuring Minister Nazri Aziz for giving completely contradictory answers in parliament within the short interval of one week in respect of the contraband S$16 million cash seized in Hong Kong International Airport which both Nazri and Prime Minister Najib Razak denied that it was Sabah Chief Minister Musa Aman's money, claiming it was donation to Sabah Umno. It should also consider rebuking Prime Minister Najib for having irresponsibly denied that the illegal attempt by Michael Chia Tien Foh to board the plane with the contraband cash was not an act of smuggling cash in breach of law, simply because Nazri has made some dubious statements in parliament. On Oct 11, answering MP Chua Tian Chan, Nazri stated that the Attorney General (AG) had decided that corruption was not proven, based on the reports submitted by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC). Nazri further stated that, based on this outcome of MACC's investigation, Hong Kong's Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) did not take any further action. However, answering MP Tan Kok Wai on Oct 11, Nazri said investigation carried out on the case was not done by MACC, but by Hong Kong's Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC), which had subsequently stated that there was no corruption in this case. One moment, it was MACC's investigation that led to AG's verdict of no corruption. But the next moment: no, it was not MACC, but ICAC which investigated and concluded that there was no corruption.
The contradictions are puzzling. Could it be that Nazri thought our AG and MACC's credibility might not be good enough for Malaysians, and decided to attribute the findings to the world famous ICAC noted for its anti-corruption prowess, hoping to get better reception from Malaysians? Otherwise, how could he reconcile the two completely contradictory statements? In fact, Nazri not only has problem reconciling these two different statements, but he also has problems reconciling both these statements against a MACC statement a few days earlier. On Oct 5, MACC's deputy chief commissioner (operations) Shukri Abdul said that investigation on the Hong Kong contraband cash case was still ongoing as its review panel requested for further investigation. Apart from these multiple contradictions thrown by Nazri to parliament, his claim that ICAC has concluded that there is no corruption is also fishy. This is evident from the fact that the S$16 million cash seized on 14th August 2008 was only released at the end of the statutory retention period limit of three years, when ICAC failed to wrap up the case due reportedly to Malaysian government's refusal to extend co-operation in the investigation. If there was no case as claimed by Nazri and Najib, would the Hong Kong authorities have kept the money for the full legally allowable period of three years? In fact, Michael Chia was arrested and investigated for both offences of money smuggling and money laundering.
Sneaking out the country with large amount of cash in breach of law is called smuggling money. I fail to see how Najib could claim it was not smuggling just because his minister Nazri has answered some questions in parliament – and badly answered at that, I must add. Answering a question in a press conference on Oct 19 whether there was any basis to claims that the money was smuggled or laundered through Hong Kong, Najib answered curtly: "No. It has already been explained in parliament". By that, Najib was of course referring to Nazri's duplicitous answers abovementioned. It is most unbecoming of the prime minister to base his answer to such a serious scandal on such a shady foundation. Members of parliament should seek the following from Nazri in parliament, in addition to asking him to explain the many contradictions in his abovementioned statements: 1. Full disclose of the communications between the governments of Hong Kong and Malaysia on this issue; in particular a) whether ICAC has forwarded its findings to MACC including the money flow chart trailing the Sabah timber corruption money all the way to Musa Aman's UBS AG account in Zurich, b) whether ICAC has requested for inter-country co-operation, c) whether ICAC has categorically stated that there was no corruption in the case and that it has ceased to pursue the case further. 2. When did MACC start its investigation, and whether it is still on-going. If so, why it has not been able to complete the task after such a lengthy investigation. 3. What role the AG has played in this case – in relation to the Hong Kong authorities and in relation to the Malaysian government, in particular, MACC. Unless Nazri is forthcoming with satisfactory answers, he should be censured and referred to parliamentary select committee (privileges and power) for further probing.  | ||||||||
| Kong: DAP is sinful for helping PAS' hudud Posted: 19 Oct 2012 06:01 PM PDT  Delegates welcoming Kong as he arrives at the AGM (The Star) - KUALA LUMPUR: The DAP will become a sinner to the Chinese for helping PAS turn Malaysia into an Islamic state, said MCA secretary-general Datuk Seri Kong Cho Ha. He said the PAS leadership at all levels had repeatedly spoken that they would not give up on hudud, the party's main agenda. The DAP was opposed it initially, but it had slowed down on its criticisms over time, Kong said in his speech at Wanita MCA's 37th annual general meeting here on Saturday. Kong added that the DAP was also told to leave the Pakatan Rakyat pact if it could not accept PAS' agenda. "Why has PAS never stopped emphasising Hudud law, is it part of the common agreement?" said Kong. He said the DAP has been misleading the public by saying that they do not have to be afraid of hudud. Indeed, he said, Islamic state and Hudud law would affect daily life, deprive women of their rights and bring negative impact to the economic. | ||||||||
| Posted: 19 Oct 2012 05:43 PM PDT
(Sinar Harian) - DAP Parlimen Hulu Langat nafi terlibat dalam mencetak dan menampal pelekat berlogo DAP tertulis 'No Hudud' di bunting program Pas sekitar kawasan Semenyih dan Kajang, baru-baru ini. Samsol berkata, jangkaan mereka daripada 72 cawangan Pas yang ada kemungkinan sekitar 300 ke 400 yang hadir namun kehadiran melebihi jangkaan apabila lebih 500 yang hadir pada program tersebut. "Tindakan pihak yang cuba mensabotaj program ini sebaliknya membangkitkan semangat ahli untuk hadir," katanya. | ||||||||
| MCA akan terus bangkitkan isu ‘hudud’ Posted: 19 Oct 2012 05:40 PM PDT
(The Malaysian Insider) - MCA akan terus membangkitkan isu hudud untuk memastikan rakyat tidak mengundi Pakatan Rakyat (PR) walaupun ia berulang, bagi menyelamatkan Malaysia dari menjadi negara teokratik Islam. "Isu hudud ini adalah penting kerana hukum hudud ini bakal mengubah senario negara ini. "Kita harus menyampaikan mesej ini kepada rakyat, terutama kepada masyarakat Cina bahawa negara teokratik tidak dapat diterima di negara ini," kata timbalan presiden MCA Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai dalam sidang media selepas merasmikan perhimpunan agung Pemuda MCA pagi ini. "Kami akan terus menerangkan kepada rakyat yang kami tidak boleh menerima negara teokrasi dan hukum hudud ala PAS," katanya lagi. Menteri kesihatan itu menemplak kritikan bahawa MCA telah mengulang-ulang isu hudud untuk meraih sokongan pengundi untuk memenangi pilihan raya dengan berkata isu tersebut perlu diulang bagi memastikan undang-undang Islam tersebut tidak diadakan di Malaysia. Turut hadir dalam sidang media tersebut ialah ketua pemuda MCA Datuk Wee Ka Siong. Wee berkata, dahulu DAP lantang menentang negara Islam yang dimahukan PAS, tetapi ia semakin berlembut untuk menawan Putrajaya. Read more at: http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/bahasa/article/mca-akan-terus-bangkitkan-isu-hudud/ | ||||||||
| Posted: 19 Oct 2012 12:13 PM PDT
Kedah is in the throes of an administrative crisis as tensions between Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Azizan Abdul Razak and his state secretary Datuk Rasli Basir worsen amid attempts to make the top civil servant resign. Joceline Tan (The Star) DATUK Seri Azizan Abdul Razak was in a relaxed mood as he mingled with the dignitaries sending off the King and Queen who were leaving for the Haj in Mecca. The Kedah Mentri Besar seems to have recovered from his poor health; he looked steady on his feet and has even put on some weight. But rumours about his tenure continue to irritate him. Last Wednesday, journalists were calling up his office to ask about reports that he was resigning that afternoon. It was completely untrue and the news portal that published the news has since apologised. Azizan has no plans to resign. Instead, he is demanding the resignation of his state secretary Datuk Rasli Basir. Kedah is currently embroiled in an administrative crisis that has drawn parallels to the one that had preceded the appointment of Tan Sri Sanusi Junid as Mentri Besar back in the 1990s. The current crisis has caused the state administration to come to a near standstill and there are endless accounts of how state matters, especially land applications, have stalled for months. At one level, the crisis is about the fallout between the Mentri Besar and the state secretary. At another, it is about PAS trying to assert control over the Kedah civil service. The Mentri Besar and his state secretary have locked horns for much of the past year and witnesses have watched them argue openly at meetings. They are barely on talking terms and Rasli was not allowed to visit Azizan when the latter spent weeks in hospital. Their fractured ties and animosity are an open secret in the state. But it erupted into the open following Rasli's decision to transfer one of his district officers (DO) Ahmad Fisol Md Nor from Kubang Pasu to Kuala Muda. It seemed like a routine transfer but it has erupted into a political issue with PAS politicians claiming that Rasli has no right to order the transfer as Ahmad Fisol is also Kubang Pasu District Council chairman. They said that while the DOs come under the power of the state secretary, district council appointments come under the political purview of PAS. As such, they are claiming that Rasli has overstepped his powers in taking Ahmad Fisol out of his chairman post. The PAS side apparently like Mohd Fisol who is said to be sympathetic to the party's cause. Several district councillors have since staged protests against Rasli, holding up banners calling for his resignation. They are demanding that Rasli reverses the transfer of Ahmad Fisol. However, Rasli is standing firm. But the story behind the story is that PAS had been uncomfortable with Rasli from the day they came to power. Read more at: http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2012/10/20/focus/12198874&sec=focus | ||||||||
| HK dropped Musa’s case after MACC probe, says Nazri Posted: 19 Oct 2012 11:49 AM PDT
(The Malaysian Insider) - Putrajaya has confirmed that Datuk Musa Aman was only cleared of corruption after Malaysian graftbusters told Hong Kong authorities that a RM40-million cash contribution allegedly meant for the Sabah chief minister was a "political donation" to Umno. De facto law minister Datuk Seri Mohamed Nazri Aziz told The Malaysian Insider that the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission's (MACC) probe on Musa was initiated after Hong Kong's Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) requested for information on the issue. He said the ICAC had asked for MACC's co-operation after Sabah timber trader Michael Chia was arrested and charged with money laundering in 2008 for attempting to smuggle S$16 million (RM40 million) out of Hong Kong. According to media reports, Chia had at the time told Hong Kong authorities that the money belonged to Musa. "MACC agreed to co-operate with its Hong Kong counterparts and found that the money in question was not for Musa's personal use. "The agency then reported back to ICAC with the information and the Hong Kong authority decided to drop the matter and pull its complaint from the Swiss court," Nazri told The Malaysian Insider yesterday. The minister was asked to respond to DAP advisor Lim Kit Siang's accusation that he had been giving conflicting reports to Parliament on which anti-graft authority ― Malaysia's or Hong Kong's ― had first cleared Musa of graft. Read more at: http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/hk-dropped-musas-case-after-macc-probe-says-nazri/ | ||||||||
| Nasha likely to go on baiting PAS Posted: 19 Oct 2012 11:46 AM PDT
(Free Malaysia Today) - The sooner he is sacked, the better it may be for the party. PAS is playing a dangerous game in its refusal to sack the maverick Nasharuddin Mat Isa over his latest and perhaps most energetic round of Pakatan Rakyat bashing. Even novice political observers can guess the rationale behind the apparent leniency. Having learnt a lesson from PKR's sacking of Zahrain Mohd Hashim and Zulkifli Noordin and its own sacking of Hasan Ali, PAS does not want to play Nasharuddin's game. Like those three other Umno lackeys, Nasharuddin wants to be sacked rather than tender his resignation because the second option will expose him to accusations that he has been bought by Umno to cheat those who voted him to public office. Nevertheless, according to insiders, Nasharuddin's case is slightly different from those of Zahrain, Zulkifli and Hasan. As former deputy president of the party, he is said to enjoy some support from the rank and file, including some members of the Syura Council. PAS does not want to alienate these people. But insiders who are losing patience with Nasharuddin fear that he will escalate his attacks as the general election gets closer in order to help Umno score points with conservative Malays. They note that his audacity has grown following the slap on the wrist that he received for criticising PAS' decision to replace its Islamic state agenda with a welfare state programme. It was for a similar offence that Hasan was sacked. Nasharuddin was merely told to stop making public statements against the change of agenda. He has largely obeyed that order by the letter, but not by the spirit. Indeed, he has grown more vicious in openly questioning the moral validity of PAS' continued cooperation with DAP in the Pakatan pact and, more recently, creating doubts about PKR leader Anwar Ibrahim's Islamist credentials. And he has not been shy of being seen cavorting with Umno president and Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak. When the Syura Council met last month, it was widely anticipated that it would announce some form of action against Nasharuddin. At the very least, some thought, he would be kicked out of that powerful consultative unit of the party. However, party president Abdul Hadi Awang emerged from the meeting only to say that the council did not discuss any action against him. Risk worth taking The council's stance shocked quite a number of members, including some in leadership positions. But a source had in fact told FMT prior to the council session that Nasharuddin was safe because too many of the councillors were "Nasha's men" – that is, leaders who support the proposal for PAS and Umno to form a "unity government". In the last party elections, the so called pro-Erdogan team won most of the central committee positions. But the failure to act against Nasharuddin clearly indicates that the unity-government camp still has control over the PAS leadership, especially through the Syura Council and, some say, the Ulama Council. But then again, as some would argue, the PAS leadership is perhaps merely fearful of a backfire. For sure, if Nasharuddin were to be sacked, there would be no end to Umno's spinning of the issue through its newspapers and the public-owned electronic media. However, if one were to take the long view, it is a risk worth taking. Read more at: http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/opinion/2012/10/20/nasha-likely-to-go-on-baiting-pas/
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| Posted: 19 Oct 2012 11:44 AM PDT
(Free Malaysia Today) - The party goes into a crucial annual assembly amidst doubts over its chances of recovery. Chinese voters are no longer asking whether MCA will remain credible as part of the ruling coalition, but whether it will survive even as an opposition party. The general belief is that it will do worse in the 13th general election than the bruising it got in 2008, and most of the blame is placed on Dr Chua Soi Lek's leadership, or rather the lack of it. At the party's 59th annual general assembly this weekend, Chua will no doubt try to boost party morale in preparation for the impending election. Sources familiar with his style predict that he will use emotional rhetoric aimed at imbuing the rank and file with the fighting spirit necessary to pull off the miraculous feat of winning more seats than the party did in 2008. He is also expected to emphasise that he has brought unity and stability to the party, as he has done on many occasions. His detractors in the party say the claim sounds more hollow and frivolous with each repetition. Chua, 65, limped into the MCA presidency in April 2010, carrying a tremendous amount of moral baggage. Since then the party has plunged ever more deeply into the political abyss, with no convincing sign that it will recover any time before the election. Such is the pessimism within a sizeable section of the membership. But many prefer to whisper to each other about their grievances and frustrations rather than discuss them openly, mostly for fear of being accused of disloyalty in the face of a seemingly formidable Pakatan Rakyat, specifically DAP. When Chua took over as the MCA's ninth president, many party insiders regretted, saying the event was an ugly stain on the legacy of the third largest Chinese organisation in the world. They were not referring only to the confession two years earlier that he was the protagonist in a widely distributed pornographic video, but also to his alleged plotting against rivals as he worked his way to the top. Some have said that his political machinations were even sleazier than his sexual indiscretion. Details of the alleged plotting against former presidents Ong Ka Ting and Ong Tee Keat might one day emerge. For now, however, insiders claiming to be in the know would only speak in general terms, perhaps out of love for the party and in the hope that it will somehow tide over these trying times and one day regain its lost glory. Recalling Chua's assertion that he was not interested in any executive position in MCA, they say he was in fact all the while manoeuvring his way to the top, getting himself appointed as Barisan Nasional's chief coordinator, and then contesting and winning the deputy presidency of MCA and eventually the presidency. They accuse him of being behind the "Save MCA Campaign" that forced an open inquiry into a so-called "snoop squad", which in turn undermined the credibility of then president Ong Ka Ting. Glaring favouritism They note that many of the party activists who lobbied for the March 2010 EGM that installed him as party president have been rewarded with ministerial and senatorial posts and top jobs in the party and agencies linked to the party. Others are potential candidates in the coming general election. Such glaring favouritism makes nonsense of his claims of success in uniting the party. Detractors say he had better leave out any talk of unity in his speech this Saturday (today) unless he is not concerned about being called a liar. Like Umno, MCA is facing the grim possibility of losing votes from even its traditional base of supporters. Analyses of figures from the 2008 election show that sizeable numbers of card-carrying members rejected both parties. The question now is not whether those members will return to the fold this time around, but how many more will join them in giving votes to the opposition. What about Chinese voters not affiliated with either MCA or any of the opposition parties – the so-called fence sitters? Since they are not involved in any factional animosity, is there any chance that they are impressed enough by Chua's leadership to give their votes to MCA? "Me and my friends are not supportive of MCA as a party and consider its role as no longer relevant," Gary Lim, a 32-year-old insurance executive, told FMT. Lim, like many voters in his age group, said he resented being treated like a fool by MCA's propaganda machine. Referring to what he described as "distortions and lies" about PAS, he said: "It's as if we're all so ignorant, or we don't have other sources of information. Read more at: http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/opinion/2012/10/20/mca%E2%80%99s-death-knell-gets-louder/
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| The Choices Before Us - Emigration, Encampment or Engagement Posted: 19 Oct 2012 11:37 AM PDT
Maybe you are also one of those people who are re-considering your future with Malaysia, or at least the thought has crossed your mind. The way I look at it, we have three choices before us. Thomas Fann I had an interesting conversation with a friend this week about some of the choices made by people we know. Over dinner, my friend related to me about his brother who had worked and lived in France for many years, and how he had decided to return to Malaysia for his retirement only to find out that his citizenship has been revoked. He tried to appeal to the government but was turned down and he returned to France dejected. He also related about his sister's family who also wanted to return but, after coming back for a holiday and looking over the socio-political environment and inequality here, changed their mind. My friend further told me that many people he knows are making plans to emigrate to Singapore or Australia. It was a dinner conversation that left me with a heavy heart because I know that these are not isolated stories but all too common and true, attested to by statistics. For more numbers on immigrants and emigrants, Tindak Malaysia has done the homework for us and you can read about it here. An unnecessary tragedy The economic and social impact from the loss of these citizens are hard to quantify empirically but it would be colossal in the long-term. We are not talking here just about the funds that would flow out with them but also with it their talents. Remember, most are migrating to countries like Singapore, Australia, New Zealand, etc, where migration criteria are stringent. In short, they would only accept the highly educated, most talented or wealthier from us. It is a tragedy made worse because it shouldn't be. In my humble opinion, Malaysia is still one of the best countries to live in. Geographically, we are strategically located in one of the main shipping lanes of the world. Almost all our lands are fertile and arable. We are blessed with an abundance of both renewable and non-renewable natural resources. Our climate, though a little humid, is mostly stable and comfortable and relatively free from natural disasters like earthquakes, typhoons and floods that plague our neighbours regularly. But all these endowments are pale in comparison to our greatest asset, our human resource. As a melting pot, with people from some of earth's greatest civilizations here, we have all the right ingredients to forge a great people and make an impact on human history. But the cooks who are entrusted with cooking this great stew have messed it up for us big time. We have messed it up and people are leaving. Maybe you are also one of those people who are re-considering your future with Malaysia, or at least the thought has crossed your mind. The way I look at it, we have three choices before us. Emigration According to a World Bank Economic Monitor report in 2011, there are more than one million Malaysians living abroad and Singapore absorbed almost 57 per cent or 570,000 of these. Ethnically these are mostly Chinese, though not exclusively. The reasons cited are poor governance and lack of meritocracy issues. In short, they don't see a future for themselves and their children to remain here and our loss is their gain. Some of our brightest are holding high office in Singapore and around the world. Recognising this loss, the government initiated a programme called Talent Corp to attract back those who have left by offering them various incentives to come back. According to Talent Corp's CEO, Johan Mahmood Merican, the greater significance is that 200,000 of the one million Malaysians overseas are tertiary-educated. Since there are about two million tertiary-educated Malaysians in the workforce here, that means one in ten of Malaysians who would otherwise be contributing to Malaysia are living abroad. Johan said, "And it warrants attention because we need this qualified and experienced group for our economic transformation." According to Talent Corp's press release this year, a total of 1,192 Returning Expert Programme applications were approved since its inception 18 months ago. While commendable, it is still a paltry number compared to the 200,000 who are still not returning. Further, in 2010, Deputy Foreign Minister Senator A. Kohilan Pillay reported that 304,358 Malaysians had migrated from March 2008 till August 2009 compared with 139,696 Malaysians in 2007. The fact remains that until we address the root causes for people to want to migrate away, the efforts of Talent Corp would gain little traction and the brain drain would continue to our detriment as a nation. Encampment Another option we have if we are not planning to emigrate is to adopt an "encampment mentality". We say to ourselves, "Why bother with what's going on in this country? As long as my family and I are alright, that is all that matters." Perhaps this choice is the one chosen by most Malaysians today and who can blame them? After all, don't we all want a good life for ourselves, free of hassle and concerns? We see inequalities, lack of opportunities and poor governance as road bumps or potholes on the road of life which we would try our best to circumnavigate by being tolerant, closing one eye and resigning to it. Life becomes bearable when we have such qualities and we can manage our blood pressure better by it. We encamp around what we are comfortable with ― social circles that share our language, values, religion and cultures. We build for ourselves nice little "ghettoes" in our nation, where we feel at home with our own kind. Today as we move around in our cities, we see such "ghettoes" where one would be forgiven, if you are an "outsider" you would feel like you have walked into a foreign land. The Chinese have sections of cities and even whole towns where the Chinese culture and language are predominant. Indians have their communities in every cities and towns as do the Malays and the other groups. Actually I hate to use such racial terms to describe ourselves but the fact is, we still see ourselves through such lenses. The encampment is not confined to racial lines but also to social and faith-based lines. The English-speaking, well-to-do crowd from all races get together in their country clubs, the Christians in their own church communities, the Sikhs around their gurdwaras, Muslims in their mosques, Indians in their temples and the poor in their inner city slums. From a human social behaviour angle, the choice to encamp around what we are comfortable with is an instinctive one especially when one feels threatened and vulnerable. Herding together with our own kind gives us a sense of identity and strength, making life bearable and even enjoyable. But this option not only doesn't deal with the larger problem that exists, it adds to the problem in at least two ways. Firstly, the problem of poor governance, corruption, injustices and inequalities remain and the people who profit from it continue to have a free rein perpetuating it. In their hearts (if they have one), they would say, "Please stay in your ghettoes, your churches, your temples, your country clubs, your kampungs and new villages, while we continue to plunder!" Secondly, our ghettoes are a powder keg ready to explode one day. We grow farther and further from each other, pursuing our own cultures, languages and religions. We have become strangers to each other and one day we will see each other as enemies. When the time comes, the same politicians who kept us apart will incite us to fight each other. It will happen, it's just a matter when, not if. We do not want to see an Arab Spring in our beautiful country, where the people are so desperate that they would be prepared to die for a morsel of freedom. And die they did. Will one day my children or grandchildren be as desperate as those Egyptians because of my choice to do nothing now? Engagement There is another choice we can make and that is to actively engage the political process. There are people who say, "I am not interested in politics, it is not my cup of tea." Strange thing is, politics affect your daily life and the cup of tea you are drinking. Instead of saying, "I am interested in politics", I'd rather say, "I am interested in decisions made by politicians that would affect my well-being and that of my children." How can we sit idly by while people elected by and paid by us are passing laws that curtail our freedom and future prospects? Engagement or having a say in our future is not limited to voting in the general elections but it can happen on a daily basis. Some of the ways we can engage the political process are: • Being well-informed of what politicians, government agencies and city councils are doing and whether they are doing their appointed jobs. • Highlighting issues, provide constructive suggestions and feedbacks. • If nothing is done and we are suffering the consequences of failures, we can take the matter further by going to the press, organising petitions, and even protestations. • Report to the relevant authorities any wrongdoings like corruption and abuse of power by government officials. • Supplement and complement the work of government by volunteering for social works like caring for the aged and handicapped, doing new voters registration and serving as polling agents on polling day. • Working together with lawmakers to craft laws that are consistent with the Federal Constitution and that address certain shortcomings in our society. Just be aware that because they are YBs, they would know everything, they still need us. UndiMsia has come out with a book called "Activating Malaysians: The D-I-Y Toolkit", which would be very helpful to Malaysians who choose engagement rather than emigration or encampment. You can read a review of the book here. Conclusion English writer Gilbert K. Chesterton said, "You cannot love a thing without wanting to fight for it." All of us have the freedom to choose between emigration, encampment or engagement when it comes to our future in this nation. As for me and my household, we have chosen to stay and engage as much as we can with the political process as citizens because we know selfishly, that it would affect our lives. Or maybe as Chesterton suggested, it is because we love this country and consider it our home and not just a guesthouse that we can stay or leave depending on the services we are getting. Thomas Fann blogs at newmalaysia.org | ||||||||
| Discontent in KL: ‘People First’ debunked? Posted: 19 Oct 2012 11:35 AM PDT
(Free Malaysia Today) - From temple demolition to traders, KTM employees to taxi drivers, BN must take note of the growing discontent on the ground. Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak's slogan of "People First" is nothing but a myth and this is proven true by five groups of people in five instances highlighted below which serve to show that there are quite a number of discontented people in Kuala Lumpur. Therefore this means that all is not 100% well in the Najib administration. The first issue, as above all else, concerns the divine and it pertains to the demolition of the Sri Muneswaran Kaliyaman Temple located in Jalan P Ramlee near Bukit Nanas in KL. On Sept 25, Dewan Bandaraya Kuala Lumpur (DBKL) had issued a notice that the temple is to be vacated within 30 days so that it can be demolished. According to PKR vice-president N Surendran, Federal Territories and Urban Well-Being Minister Raja Nong Chik Zainal Abidin has promised that no temples will be demolished. "Why are Indians being treated in this manner?" asked Surendran. DAP's M Manogaran, the Teluk Intan MP, is of the view that "it is very strange that this happens close to the general election and that this sort of incident is not the first time". Indian voters have to take note of this issue. The second issue concerns the privatisation of Keretapi Tanah Melayu Bhd (KTMB) to MMC Corporation Bhd (MMC). The president of KTMB's workers union, Abdul Razak Md Hassan, has informed PKR's Kuala Langat MP, Abdullah Sani, that MMC could not guarantee that no one would be laid off. KTMB has about 5,600 employees. Abdullah Sani has stated that KTMB chairman, who is also the Selangor BN co-ordinator, Mohd Zin Mohamed, would be replaced if Pakatan Rakyat were to form the federal government as the latter was only a politically-appointed person tasked with furthering the interests of Umno, which included advertising the prime minister's picture and message on the commuter train coaches and placing BN flags at the premises of the Shah Alam commuter station. Again, the rakyat's interests have been relegated. Traders in a spot As for the issue involving traders, the night market traders in Kampung Kerinchi have been instructed to move to a spot near the Universiti LRT station. This new trading spot, however, could only accommodate 30 traders whereas the old spot in Kampung Kerinchi could accommodate up to 60 traders. In addition to the above problem, 56 traders have been asked to move out of Kompleks Niaga Utama Bandar Utama Bangsar as this building will be demolished. These traders have turned to PKR's Lembah Pantai MP, Nurul Izzah Anwar, for help in highlighting their plight. So fair, Raja Nong Chik has not been helpful and attempts to meet the Datuk Bandar have failed. A representative of the traders, Fizan Mohd Nor Ar-Jamli, has forwarded a memorandum to the prime minister on this issue. As shown in the above instance, the slogan of "People First" is plain empty rhetoric. Another burgeoning issue concerns taxi drivers. They have a few grouses but one of the major ones concerns the issuance of too many taxi permits and the monopoly of taxi permits by certain quarters. Then there is also the MRT-Jalan Sultan issue where tunnelling works are to be done below the properties in Jalan Sultan, but the property owners prefer the MRT line to be moved to the main road of Jalan Tun Tan Cheng Lock nearby. Where is MCA's voice in this issue? If "People First" is the philosophy, why are the property owners being inconvenienced? They may even need to move out when the tunnelling works are being carried out. Read more at: http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/opinion/2012/10/20/discontent-in-kl-people-first-debunked/
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| Umno forms panel to act on errant members Posted: 19 Oct 2012 11:33 AM PDT
(fz.com) - Umno will form a special committee to act against errant party members to curtail acts of sabotage and treachery in the run-up to the general election, said party president Datuk Seri Najib Razak. "We have decided to take up a proposal mooted by the (party) management committee to empower a special committee to monitor and take immediate action against any party member who commits an act of treachery, sabotages the party or Barisan Nasional candidates," he said after chairing Umno's supreme council meeting on Friday. The prime minister said that the committee will be made up of supreme council members who do not hold other positions in the party as well as members of the disciplinary council. The committee will be overseen by the disciplinary committee chairman, Tan Sri Tengku Ahmad Rithauddeen Tengku Ismaill. The move will enable the committee to suspend or sack any party member who jeopardises the party's interest, he said. According to Najib, appointments will be made at every division to keep track of the members and update the special committee. "Complaints can also be made online or sent directly to party headquarters," he said Asked on the necessity for a special committee when there is already an existing disciplinary council, the Umno president said: "We want to speed things up. We want to be proactive." |
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