Malaysia Today - Your Source of Independent News
Malaysia Today - Your Source of Independent News |
- GLCs were part of Malay equity, says Dr M
- Malay congress proposes direct negotiation for Malays for projects below RM100m
- Malaysia opens schools for migrant workers’ kids
- Surat Ringkas Buat Chua Soi Lek
- Object hudud, not insult Islam
- Rafizi’s attacks on NFC has set Malaysia back by 10 years
- We didn’t start the fire
- The Firefighter's Plight
- Dr M: ‘Weak’ Najib won’t heed Malay concerns
- ‘CAT’ culprit identified
- Make Malay agenda ‘top priority’
- PAS Youth calls for MCA to apologise over rape comments
- NGO group accuses Anwar of approving Scorpene deal
- Dr Mahathir’s masterstroke
- Fair, secular nation better label than Islamic, says ex-Perlis Mufti
- RM40m ‘donation’ held privately by Umno man, ex-BN MP claims
- Dr Asri khuatir PAS tadbir negara
- It is the right of non-Muslims to comment on Hudud: Chua
- ‘DAP Malay candidate a safety cushion’
- ‘Hudud tiada kesan kepada bukan Islam’
- Much ado about hudud
- PKR: Anwar did not fail the Malay agenda
- Ex-Sabah AG sues two social activists
| GLCs were part of Malay equity, says Dr M Posted: 23 Oct 2012 10:42 PM PDT
Lee Wei Lian, The Malaysian Insider The country's government-linked companies (GLCs) were once considered part of bumiputera equity, said Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad today, which could mean that bumiputera corporate holdings might have exceeded the original 30 per cent target in the past. The former prime minister said that GLCs and state investment arm Khazanah Nasional were established to hold equity in trust while Malays strengthened themselves economically and that the equity was meant to be later distributed to the Malays. He said that GLCs were established in trust for Malays but have since deviated from their original purpose. "GLCs are holdings in trust and were considered part of bumiputera equity," said Mahathir (picture) at a press conference today after closing the Malay Economic Congress here. "Now the holdings belong to the companies concerned and they cannot be regarded as bumiputera holdings." The definition of whether GLCs are considered part of Malay equity could have implications on affirmative action programmes for Malays as many Umno leaders maintain that Malay equity stands at only about 20 per cent today, which is below the target of 30 per cent set in the New Economic Policy (NEP). If GLCs, which comprise a large chunk of the economy and also make up a significant number of the benchmark FBM KLCI index components, were at one time considered to be Malay equity, it is possible that the 30 per cent target was exceeded in the past. State oil company Petronas is also Malaysia's sole representative in the Fortune 500 list of the world's largest companies. Some observers have argued that GLCs appeared very much to be Malay companies due to their management and employee makeup as well as their activities and should be counted as Malay corporate holdings. The government has said that GLCs cannot be considered bumiputera equity as they are controlled by the government. The Malay Economic Congress also passed a resolution today criticising GLCs, and in particular Petronas, Khazanah and PNB, saying that they should have a stronger Malay agenda.
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| Malay congress proposes direct negotiation for Malays for projects below RM100m Posted: 23 Oct 2012 10:38 PM PDT
Lee Wei Lian, The Malaysian Insider The Malay Economic Congress passed a resolution today proposing that government tenders worth less than RM100 million be directly negotiated with Malay companies. The congress also called for GLCs to have a strong Malay agenda and that they be monitored with key performance indicators (KPIs). "The new economic policy has not achieved its objectives," said Datuk Syed Ali Alattas, president of the Malay Chambers of Commerce Malaysia (DPMM). "The gap between Malays who are the majority race and heritage of this country and other races is growing and increasingly worrying." He also said that government agencies have "lost their spirit" to help Malay entrepreneurs. Other resolutions include a stand against corruption, cronyism and abuse of power and a call for the revamp of Teraju, a bumiputera economic development agency. The congress said that "weak leadership" in Teraju was the main reason for the failure of several Malay agenda initiatives. These include failures to allocate economic opportunities to Malay entrepreneurs, the failure to allocate funds for business viability studies and lack of clear direction and communication. The congress said that the head of Teraju needed to be changed to someone who had high aspirations for Malays and ministerial powers. The congress also wanted special courses for government staff and politicians to educate them on the Malay agenda. It also called for priority for local companies and bumiputeras in government tenders. Another resolution proposed the establishment of an audit firm run by Malays to audit GLCs and government agencies.
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| Malaysia opens schools for migrant workers’ kids Posted: 23 Oct 2012 09:29 PM PDT But Tamil schools ignored (The Jakarta Post) - Malaysia has agreed to open 22 schools for the children of Indonesian migrant workers in Sabah, according to a senior Indonesian official. Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa said on Tuesday that the agreement was announced by his Malaysian counterpart, Anifah Aman, during the 12th meeting of the joint commission for bilateral cooperation between Indonesia and Malaysia in Yogyakarta. "This is the agenda we have been pushing to get approved. It has just now been announced that [Malaysia] has approved the establishment of 22 schools," Marty told reporters after the meeting.Although the Foreign Ministry had no information on the number of children of Indonesian migrant workers in Sabah, many are said to lack access to school for a variety of reasons.
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| Surat Ringkas Buat Chua Soi Lek Posted: 23 Oct 2012 09:01 PM PDT
Syafiq Kamil, Penerangan Ma'ruf Club Hari ini bicara Hudud kembali hangat semula di media dengan kenyataan kurang beradab seorang makhluk Allah bernama Chua Soi Lek. Kepada Encik Chua Soi Lek, kami menawarkan kepada anda dua pilihan; sama ada anda berhenti bercakap pasal agama lain, atau jika anda mahu juga bercakap mengenai agama lain lebih-lebih lagi Islam, anda duduk belajar mengenai agama Islam dengan ulama'-ulama' kami. Anda perlu faham, anda sebenarnya seorang yang masih jahil bab hukum hakam Islam. Lihatlah sahaja bagaimana Encik Lim Kit Siang membalas kenyataan anda. Kenyataan anda semakin hari semakin pelik. Anda mendakwa Islam membenarkan wanita bukan Islam yang tidak menutup aurat dirogol oleh orang Islam. Dari mana anda belajar? Bahkan anda tahu atau tidak apa yang dimaksudkan dengan aurat atau ketika kod pemakaian Islam? Jika anda tidak tahu, silakan baca artikel ini terlebih dahulu. Jika anda masih tidak faham istilah-istilah yang digunakan, tidak mengapa kami akan cuba terangkan. Kami akan terangkan dengan penuh beradab dan budi bahasa. Budi bahasa budaya kita. Sekarang bukan soal anda dari parti mana. Kami di peringkat mahasiswa sentiasa jelas dengan pendirian kami, tidak kira parti mana, jika ianya menghina sensitiviti agama Islam mahupun agama lain, anda wajib ditegur. Anda mesti mahu mendapat penjelasan mengapa PAS begitu bersungguh-sungguh mahu melaksanakan hudud bukan? Sebelum itu anda masih mengerti atau tidak apa yang dimaksudkan dengan hudud menurut perspektif Islam? Sudah dengar penjelasan pimpinan PAS? Adakah bezanya hudud PAS dengan hudud sebenar yang digariskan dalam Islam? Kalau masih belum mengerti, di sini kami sertakan link mengenai penjelasan di sekitar 'hudud PAS'. Link yang kami sertakan ini semuanya diambil dari jaringan web kelolaan PAS. Jangan melatah lagi, baca dulu, Encik Chua Soi Lek. Jika anda masih perlukan penjelasan dan penerangan dengan lebih lanjut, kami sedia berjumpa menerangkan kepada anda dengan lebih lanjut. Kita buat usrah sekali, anda mahu tanya seribu empat ratus enam puluh tiga soalan pun, kami akan cuba untuk jawab dengan penjelasan mendalam. Kami sediakan pakar-pakar yang terbaik buat anda! |
| Object hudud, not insult Islam Posted: 23 Oct 2012 08:54 PM PDT
Datuk Chua Jui Meng, PKR vice-president NO MALAYSIAN has the right to insult any religion. And MCA, in its amok frenzy to garner Chinese support for the next general election, is doing just that against Islam, the national religion. Using the hukum hudud (Islamic criminal law) bogey, as has been used for umpteen years after Merdeka (Independence), what the MCA and even the dominant Umno in Barisan Nasional (BN) don't realise is that the hudud is a double edged sword. It harms and damages the integrity of both MCA and Umno. Malaysians have every right to object to the implementation of the hudud but not insult Islam. When MCA president Chua Soi Lek says eight of the 11 countries that implemented hudud were backward and corrupt, that is just a plain insulting sweeping statement. When Chua says hudud is a cruel law, that is harsh to the Muslims and Islam. Can't he articulate more diplomatically? Like saying the hudud is not suitable for this era because … There are many other insults hurled by MCA against Islam which I do not wish to repeat. The Islam-bashing led by Chua exposes Umno as a hypocrite, unable to defend the national religion against the insults. With Mahathir Mohamad, the man who ruled Malaysia for 22 years, saying MCA did not object to 'Islamic country' declaration, MCA is now a political dead duck to the Chinese and Muslims. It is also becoming increasingly clear to all that Mahathir is still running the country. As usual, Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak can't make a stand. He had no response when asked about Soi Lek's insulting statements. Najib could not defend his own religion. In exasperation, Mahathir had to take the issue into his own hands. After the fire bombings of churches over the use of the word "Allah", it was Pakatan Rakyat de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim and PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang who emerged to defend the constitutional rights of the Christians. The Christian weekly, The Herald, then took the Umno-led federal government to court over the use of the word "Allah" to describe God. On Dec 31, 2009, the High Court ruled that the Christians had the right to use the word "Allah" because the word was not exclusive to Muslims only. I say there is no more room for race and religious politics in Malaysia. We are Malaysians loyal to the country. And this is an extract of a June 20, 2002, AP report: All these zombie-like religious and racial slurs put up by MCA and Umno for the past 55 years are aimed at only maintaining their political power to enrich their crony businesses and the elite. That is the only plausible explanation why, a natural resource-rich country, including oil and gas, like Malaysia has accumulated more than RM500 billion in federal debts, just 1.3% short of the 55% legislated debt ceiling. If this is not gross mismanagement of the country's wealth, what is it?
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| Rafizi’s attacks on NFC has set Malaysia back by 10 years Posted: 23 Oct 2012 08:46 PM PDT
Industry players in the agriculture sector say the relentless rhetoric by Rafizi has set Malaysia back by 10 years from meeting the government's objectives in its National Meat Policy (Ruminant Sector) 2006. Fabiani Azmi A New Straits Times report has quoted the Attorney General as saying, "The investigation did not reveal criminal breaches as far as the Agriculture and Agro-based Industry Ministry is concerned." Will the government then immediately revitalize the NFC project? Will it expedite the construction of the important Export Quality Abattoir to meet the slaughter numbers? Will Malaysians then stop consuming tough buffalo meat imports (Malaysia is the largest importer of Indian buffalo meat termed misleadingly as Cara beef). Fabiani Azmi talks to those that matter and is told .. It would appear that Malaysians have not been given the right impression on the issues confronting the National Feedlot Centre (NFC) and National Feedlot Corporation (NFCorp) which otherwise would have been a highly viable and profitable venture for entrepreneurs especially contract farmers who were targeted to raise beef sufficiency levels to 40% by 2015, one big step towards Malaysia's food security. The suspension and silence adopted by the government had allowed the opposition led by Anwar Ibrahim and his slanderous strategy honcho Rafizi Ramli to fuel lies, distortions and misrepresentations on the NFC beef project and NFCorp. Industry players in the agriculture sector say the relentless rhetoric by Rafizi has set Malaysia back by 10 years from meeting the government's objectives in its National Meat Policy (Ruminant Sector) 2006. It has never been the intention of Anwar Ibrahim and the opposition to see Malaysians benefit from government initiatives. The Felda Global Ventures Holdings Berhad (FGVH) IPO re ignited by the prime minister to lift the welfare of farmers is a perfect example. By listing Felda, Najib had upgraded the position of Felda from a group of local farmers into a mega international conglomerate, the listing of which is the second largest in the world this year. But the opposition's incessant vile attacks on FGVH to wreck government initiatives were evident in the lead up to its listing. In NFCorp's case, the opposition's primary aim was to derail the Wanita UMNO Chief Datuk Seri Shahrizat Abdul Jalil who commands a membership portfolio of over 1.3 million women voters. Shahrizat is married to NFCorp chairman Datuk Seri Dr Salleh. The opposition was never really concerned that the beef project was important to Malaysia's food security. Their zeal and fervour was to knock Shahrizat off from the government machinery by running down the NFC project and NFCorp the company to demolish the government. So for months, Malaysians were fed with lies, distortions and misrepresentations. Among others, the opposition had harped on the findings of the Auditor General's 2010 Report. For the NFC beef project to have been successful, an Export Quality Abattoir (EQA) designed to slaughter 350 heads of cattle a day was vital. Without the EQA in place, the contract farmers under the Entrepreneur Development Programme (EDP) would not be able to slaughter 186,000 heads of cattle in 2014. Neither could NFCorp for their 60,000 heads of cattle. This foremost point was never clearly brought to the public's attention by the Auditor General in his previous 2010 report. Nor did the opposition in their politically motivated attacks. The EQA deferment meant that the EDP programme could not be rolled out. Nor could the feed mills and the bio gas plant (which relies on volume abattoir waste) to generate electricity, be feasible. Nor could more cattle be imported as there would be a surplus with many left to idle and languish in the farms. And currently there is no other such EQA of this capacity in Malaysia. The EQA meets world-class standards and is an imperative requirement by international hypermarkets and supermarkets in Malaysia before the slaughtered beef can be sold to consumers at their outlets. The AG's lack in co-relating this crucial missing link of the EQA in the NFC equation had contributed to misperceptions. Instead, concerns were on beef production shortfall, delays in the construction of ancillary facilities such as the feed mills and a bio gas plant, the deferment of the EDP and satellite farms, government infrastructure and other weaknesses. As a result, the opposition used these points to their advantage and created a political stir against the government, NFCorp, and robbed 310 potential contract farmers of a lucrative opportunity for a better livelihood. The latest 2011 AG Report released recently reported the Ministry of Agriculture (MOA), the Ministry of Finance (MOF) and the Attorney General's Chambers mulling civil action. NFCorp said in a statement that it was the MOA's prior act of default on the Implementation Agreement that had caused all the needless shortcomings and set backs in the NFC project. The statement sought the Attorney General's indulgence to be fair in assessing the truth of the situation in all fairness to the parties before plunging into any civil action. It is understood that as early as 2007, NFCorp had been reassured in meetings with the MOA that the EQA would be completed by 2008. However, the MOA had only tendered the EQA construction in 2009. In May 2009, the ministry called off the EQA and suspended the NFC project. The reason given was that a Viability and Business Model Study had to be undertaken. Despite two years with NFCorp on track with the NFC project, one wonders should not this study have been done first before tendering the project? It was also really unnecessary to halt the NFC project. NFCorp had already succeeded in importing 8,897 heads of cattle, 11 per cent more than the planned target for 2010. The government-commissioned independent study by UPM Holdings had pointed, "On the whole, the NFC Project represents a viable project both from an implementation and profitability standpoint, and is in line with the aspiration to develop entrepreneurs in the feedlot sector provided the project is carried out as outlined in the Implementation Agreement." Today the EQA and NFC project remains deferred. The MOA defaulted on its obligations in the Implementation Agreement. There is really no basis for the government to take civil action, lawyers tell. The AG had also come out to say in an NST report that "The investigation did not reveal criminal breaches as far as the Agriculture and Agro-based Industry Ministry is concerned." If that is the case, what is next for Malaysian Halal beef consumers in this predicament? The NFC beef project has been suspended. The EQA has yet to be built. The Government's National Meat Policy (Ruminant Sector) 2006 to ensure Malaysia's food security has been jeopardized and set back by the opposition by 10 years. Will we continue to be eating Buffalo meat imports? "All this is so illogical without any sense and sensibility," said housewife Noorjanah Abdul Samad on a trip to the market to procure beef for her rendang that she intends to cook to celebrate Hari Raya Haji. She finds it hard to distinguish between Indian beef and the genuine beef. She asked why was Indian buffalo meat referred as Indian beef? Will she and many other unsuspecting housewives end up with a periuk of tough Indian buffalo rendang? In this quagmire, Fabiani believes this is tantamount to labeling kangaroo meat as Australian beef. About the Writer Fabiani Azmi is an avid reader of Malaysia Today, intelligent mainstream newspapers and Internet news portals. When not reading, he also enjoys the company of sapiosexuals. It's a stimulating discovery for him. |
| Posted: 23 Oct 2012 08:42 PM PDT
Be careful what you wish for. The Malays get angry very easily. The Malays suffer from what we call the Amok Syndrome. But just because the Malays are emotional this does not mean they are stupid as well. They know who to get angry with. They know who these people who 'rampas' all the land in the cities are. And this was precisely one of the reasons (I said 'one of the reasons') why the Malays 'mengamok' in May 1969. THE CORRIDORS OF POWER Raja Petra Kamarudin Properties in Penang only for the rich, says Chua (The Star) - The Penang Government has come under fire for depriving more than 100,000 local families of the chance to own houses on the island. MCA president Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek said the properties on Penang island were now beyond the reach of those earning below RM7,000. "It seems that Penang island is now only meant for the rich." Dr Chua said this in response to the drastic increase in the price of condominiums/apartments (by 411%), flats (339%), low-cost flats (157%) and detached units (103%) within the span of a year. According to the Valuation and Property Services Department statistics, the price of a detached unit, which was RM1.72mil during the first quarter of last year, has soared as high as RM3.5mil during the corresponding period this year. The price of condominiums/apartments rose from RM528,000 to RM2.7mil, low-cost flats from RM68,000 to RM175,000 and flats from RM132,000 to as high as RM580,000 during the corresponding period. Chua also lambasted Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng for misleading the public into thinking that the state was doing well based on the size of its coffers. "They (the DAP-led state government) go around proudly showing how much they have collected. But generating revenue from the sale of land is not sustainable, especially in a land-scarce state like Penang." "Income from sale of land should be regarded as extraordinary gain, as it is certainly not recurrent, sustainable or long term," he said. Dr Chua said the claims by some quarters that people in Penang were happy with the state government was a mere illusion. "Reality will hit them when the majority start pushing for decent, affordable homes," he said. ******************************************* "It seems that Penang island is now only meant for the rich," said Chua Soi Lek today. Actually, that was what we in the Malay Chamber of Commerce have been lamenting about for over 30 years since the early 1980s when Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad first became Prime Minister. Not only was this a complaint about Penang. Syed Ali Alattas, the then Chairman of the Johor Malay Chamber of Commerce, also complained about the same thing regarding Johor Baru. "Do you know only 3% of the land in Johor Baru belongs to the Malays?" asked Syed Ali. We laughed when someone asked him, "3% of the land in Johor Baru belongs to the Malays or 3% of the land belongs to the Arabs?" Syed Ali did not find it amusing. "At least 3% belongs to the Arabs. If not because of the Arabs then it would be zero!" You see, in Johor, Arabs are not considered Malays (they can't buy Malay Reservation land) so that 'joke' was actually a sore point for Syed Ali. Anyway, the point is, this is a 30-year old grouse amongst the Malays regarding Penang, Johor Baru, Kuala Lumpur, Ipoh, etc. And that was why UDA was formed -- to solve this problem of the 'de-urbanisation' of the Malays in the main cities. However, along the way, UDA lost its way and deviated from its charted course. And this was one of the bones of contention of the then Federal Territory Malay Chamber of Commerce Chairman, Izat Emir, who whacked UDA kau kau. Today, 30 years on, 30 years after the Malay Chamber of Commerce raised the issue, MCA is talking about it. The only thing is MCA is making it appear like this happened only over the last four years since Pakatan Rakyat took over Penang. This is NOT something that happened only over the last four years since Pakatan Rakyat took over Penang. And this is NOT happening only in Penang. This has been going on (slowly and silently) over the last 55 years. And 51 of those 55 years were under a Barisan Nasional (Alliance Party earlier) government. Kuala Lumpur has always been under the Alliance Party/Barisan Nasional since the beginning (even now when they hold only 1 of the 11 seats). Johor has always been under Barisan Nasional since the beginning. And the 'de-urbanisation' of the Malays in Johor Baru, Kuala Lumpur, Ipoh, etc., is as bad or worse than in Penang. If MCA wants to talk about this then let's talk about it. We in the Malay Chamber of Commerce have been talking about it for 30 years since Dr Mahathir first became the Prime Minister of Malaysia. And it has not improved. In fact, it has become even worse. (Even Dr Mahathir tried to solve it but failed, as he admitted). This has nothing to do with Lim Guan Eng, DAP or Pakatan Rakyat. Maybe they are guilty of not addressing the problem since they took over Penang four years ago. But the culprit is not Lim Guan Eng, DAP or Pakatan Rakyat. The culprit is CAPITALISM. Yes, that's right. When property prices go up, only the rich can afford to buy them. And those who happen to own property in areas where prices have spiralled will sell their property when the price is good. That is called CAPITALISM. So how to avoid this? How to avoid the 'de-urbanisation' of the Malays (and poor Indians and Chinese as well) in the big/main cities of Malaysia? One way would be to not develop these places. Do like what you do in Kampong Baru in Kuala Lumpur. 'Gazette' the land and leave the place poor like an urban slum. Then the land will have no value and the Malays would remain living there because their land has no value. Once it has value and they can get millions if they sell their land then they would sell their land. I would! So I don't know why the others wouldn't. Chua Soi Lek and MCA are trying to get the Malays to become angry with Lim Guan Eng and DAP/Pakatan Rakyat. That, I agree, is what politics is all about. I would do the same if I were a politician. But this strategy can backfire. The Malays, in particular those from the Malay Chamber of Commerce, have been angry that the Malays are being slowly 'ousted' from the city centres. And we have been angry about it since way back 30 years ago. But 30 years ago it was Barisan Nasional that we blamed, not the opposition. Hello, Mister Chua, this did not happen since only four years ago. This has been going on since 55 years ago. And we blame Umno, the Alliance Party and Barisan Nasional for this. Actually, I am no longer in the Malay Chamber of Commerce. So, many of us have given up talking about this matter. Yes, we no longer talk about it. But now that you have resurrected something long 'dead' and have reminded us about something we talked about 30 years ago but have now forgotten, you have just opened a Pandora's box. So now I do want to talk about it. You have just reminded me about a matter we talked about 30 years ago but have since forgotten about it. And that matter is the Chinese have kicked the Malays out of the city centres. And those Chinese who kicked the Malays out of the city centres are the rich Chinese, the capitalist Chinese, the crony Chinese, the Chinese aligned to the ruling party -- Barisan Nasional, Umno and MCA. So let's get angry. Let the Malays rise up in anger about being kicked out of the city centres. Let's see the Malays outraged about the Chinese taking over all the expensive property in the cities. And when that happens they will hate the government and the rich Chinese from MCA for this 'injustice'. Be careful what you wish for. The Malays get angry very easily. The Malays suffer from what we call the Amok Syndrome. But just because the Malays are emotional this does not mean they are stupid as well. They know who to get angry with. They know who these people who 'rampas' all the land in the cities are. And this was precisely one of the reasons (I said 'one of the reasons') why the Malays 'mengamok' in May 1969. These MCA people are so stupid. They start a fire and end up burning their own house down. Just remember: we didn't start the fire! 7AXGIl1yHWA SEE VIDEO ON YOUTUBE HERE: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7AXGIl1yHWA |
| Posted: 23 Oct 2012 08:42 PM PDT
Nicole Tan Lee Koon, Secretary of Seremban branch, DAP Negeri Sembilan. I want to share the firefighter's plight with you. Let's say an arsonist started a fire. The firefighter then comes and tries to extinguish the fire. The arsonist then tries to sabotage the firefighter's effort. In the late 80s, Chan Ah Chye, a former engineer and project manager in Selangor state subsidiary PKNS formed Talam Corporation. He was the crony of BN Menteri Besar, Muhammad Muhammad Taib and became a major player in the Selangor development scene. An extremely large amount of state land was alienated to Talam for a song. Talam's modus operandi was to use the land for huge loans to finance their projects. Talam's loan kept growing. Talam also owed MBI (Menteri Besar Incorporated) a huge sum of money i.e RM392 million. In 2008, Pakatan took over Selangor and Khalid Ibrahim became the MB. Khalid inherited a situation in which Talam owes MBI the said RM392 million. Khalid, an expert in corporate finance then planned to recover the RM392 million from Talam, which was owed to Selangorians. Khalid and his team succeeded. For a more information, please read Nathaniel Tan's article : http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/202941. The story does not end here. Chua Tee Yong then comes along and cries wolf. He claimed that MBI's restructuring was tainted with scandal. However, Chua did not do his homework properly. He reduced the amount of money claimed to be 'misused' by Selangor - from RM1 billion, to RM260 million, to RM42 million. Using "The Star" as his mouthpiece, Chua continued attacking Pakatan with his malicious lies. Summary : There you have it. A fire (Talamgate) started by an arsonist (BN). A firefighter (Pakatan) managed to extinguish the fire. Instead of thanking the firefighter for saving the fire, the arsonist (BN) tried to sabotage the firefighter's (Pakatan) effort, by claiming that it was done wrongly! What shall we do with an arsonist such as BN? Kick the arsonist out in GE13!!! |
| Dr M: ‘Weak’ Najib won’t heed Malay concerns Posted: 23 Oct 2012 07:32 PM PDT The former premier said this is because the Malays are no longer the kingmakers and are now reduced to being 'beggars' in their own land. Syed Jaymal Zahiid, FMT Dr Mahathir Mohamad today called the Najib administration "weak" and said it will not entertain the concerns of the Malays, especially its business community, as they are no longer the country's kingmakers. The former premier said the division among the country's majority electorate has made them fragile and forced the present government to depend on the support of "others" in an apparent reference to the non-Malays. This is the second time Mahathir had openly called Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak's government "frail", saying it is forced to make key concessions to non-Malay demands in the hope of winning their support in the upcoming national polls. "I do not believe this government will take your demands seriously," he told the 2012 Malay Economic Congress held here. "This is because we [the Malays] no longer hold anymore political power… we have become a beggar in our own country," he added. The congress, in its resolutions passed today, criticised the Najib government for what it described as its failure to uphold the New Economic Policy, a system meant to enhance Bumiputera economic participation through race-based affirmative action programmes. Mahathir claimed that Bumiputeras, forming 60% of the electorate of which the majority are Malays, are forced to fight for "what is theirs" silently as they feared being labelled as racists. 'I am no racist' The former prime minister, who served for 22 years, said however, if the non-Malays are vocal in protecting their interests they would not be viewed as racists. "But I am not a racist. I want the wealth of this resource-rich nation to be shared equitably. "I am not asking for much. We form 60% and we are only asking for 30% and they can take the rest. But even so, we are not getting the 30%," he said, referring to the 30% equity ownership programme under the NEP.
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| Posted: 23 Oct 2012 07:23 PM PDT A report prepared by the state PKR leadership, according to sources, points the finger at a young newcomer. The report alo suggests the possible masterminds behind the leak. Athi Shankar, FMT Penang PKR may have identified the culprit who let the "CAT" out during a casual meet-up between Deputy Chief Minister I Mansor Othman and several local ethnic Chinese members. Sources said the state leadership had submitted a comprehensive inquiry report on the CAT – "cocky arrogant, tokong" – issue to the national leadership for further action. The report was prepared based on findings of the state-level internal inquiry conducted early this month by a panel headed by party state vice-chairman and Penang Speaker Abdul Halim Hussain. Sources said the inquiry report contained compiled facts and evidence from all witnesses. Since the inquiry was concluded, speculations had been rife that the culprit could be a young party newcomer, who is a member of a division headed by a prominent and ambitious PKR assemblyman. However, it was not clear whether or not the person's name was mentioned in the report. But insiders said the report had indicated to the national party leaders a clear picture on the highly likely person to have secretly recorded the meeting proceedings. Since the speculated culprit was a newcomer, the report is said to have suggested few senior politician names as possible mastermind behind the alleged conspiracy to oust Mansor from state politics. It is learnt that the identified person could be one who was heard in an alleged audio recording of the closed door casual meet up asking a lot of questions. The alleged audio recording was aired during TV3 prime time on Sept 24. If the audio recording was authentic as claimed by TV3 sources, then Mansor could clearly be heard using the words "angkuh" (cocky) and "sombong" (arrogant). He also allegedly described Lim endeared like a "tokong" (deity) to the Chinese community. When the CAT controversy first emerged as a hot issue in August, Mansor denied he described Lim as "cocky and arrogant", but admitted saying "tokong" in a positive note. However, when asked again after the TV3 airing, Mansor did not deny the audio recording contents.
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| Make Malay agenda ‘top priority’ Posted: 23 Oct 2012 07:14 PM PDT A resolution at the Malay Economic Congress also said the government had failed to implement the NEP equitably. Syed Jaymal Zahiid, FMT The Malay Economic Congress demanded that the "Malay agenda" be Putrajaya's top priority. The demand reflected the growing frustration among Malay businesses over Putrajaya's liberal directions and the contention that the New Economic Policy had failed to elevate the community's economic status. The race-based affirmative action NEP was created in the 1970s to boost the ethnic majority's business participation through a 30% equity ownership programme, but the target had not been achieved up until today. Although the policy created a large pool of Malay middle class, genuine supporters of the system, often mid to low-level Malay businesses, lamented the widespread abuse of the system by "cronies" linked to the ruling party. Today's congress reflected that sentiment. In its resolutions, the congress criticised the Najib administration's alleged "lack of support" for the Malay business community, especially on the growing choke-hold of government-linked companies (GLC) on government contracts. The demands included assurance from the prime minister that all GLCs have a clear Malay agenda with a key performance index system in place to ensure they "partake in the economic advancement of the Malays". Leaders failed NEP Malay Chamber of Commerce president Syed Ali Alattas in his speech at the congress here criticised the GLCs for their alleged failure to carry out their duty as the vanguard of the NEP. "There was no sense of urgency on the part of the government to address the poor implementation of the NEP," he said.
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| PAS Youth calls for MCA to apologise over rape comments Posted: 23 Oct 2012 07:07 PM PDT
Leannza Chia, The Malaysian Insider A group of PAS Youth members held a peaceful protest today against MCA over comments made by party president Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek that the Pakatan Rakyat party and Islam condoned the rape of non-Muslim women, which they said was an insult to the religion. Five members of the group handed a memorandum to MCA Youth secretariat officer Leonard Tan calling for the Barisan Nasional (BN) party to apologise. The memorandum also stated that if MCA does not respond within a week, they would send a further memorandum to the King asking him to intervene. About 100 supporters from both PAS Youth and PKR Youth gathered in front of Wisma MCA, Jalan Ampang here to protest against Dr Chua's (picture) statements. They also carried placards saying "Don't degrade Islam (Jangan Hina Islam)", "Soi Lek Should Apologise (Soi Lek Wajib Minta Maaf)" and "Don't challenge Muslims (Jangan Cabar Umat Islam)". The group was responding to MCA president Dr Chua'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.
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| NGO group accuses Anwar of approving Scorpene deal Posted: 23 Oct 2012 07:01 PM PDT
Ida Lim, The Malaysian Insider Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim approved Malaysia's controversial purchase of Scorpene submarines when he was Finance Minister in 1995, a group of non-governmental organisations campaigning against Suaram's role in pushing for investigations, said today. French shipbuilding giant DCNS won the €1 billion contract in 2002, when Anwar was still serving a jail sentence for his 2000 sodomy conviction, but the group alleged today that he had approved it when he was Finance Minister in the 1990s. "Why didn't Suaram reveal that the Scorpene purchase was actually made by Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim?" Dzulkarnain Taib, president of the Young Journalists Club, asked at a press conference today. He alleged that the Scorpene issue was first discussed in Cabinet in 1991. "In 1995, the then Finance Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim had approved the Scorpene purchase," Dzulkarnain said. He traced the chronology of the purchase of the two Scorpene submarines, saying that the deal was inked between the Malaysian government and French companies in 2002, while the vessels were handed over to Malaysia in 2010. Several NGOs had on October 11 said Suara Rakyat Malaysia (Suaram) had misrepresented its status as a plaintiff to a French inquiry of the multi-billion Scorpene submarine deal.
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| Posted: 23 Oct 2012 06:18 PM PDT
Then Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad stirred the pot to see what surfaces from the bottom of the pot. And this shows that Dr Mahathir is savvier than the PAS politicians. Dr Mahathir said that PAS promised -- if they manage to take over Terengganu -- that they would implement Islamic laws. Now that PAS has taken over Terengganu where are these Islamic laws? PAS is utter bullshit, said Dr Mahathir. THE CORRIDORS OF POWER Raja Petra Kamarudin This whole thing started about 12 years ago soon after the November 1999 general election when PAS retained Kelantan, which it won in 1990, and added Terengganu as the second state to fall to the opposition. Losing Kelantan or not being able to retake Kelantan was not as disastrous as losing Terengganu. This is because Kelantan is poor and it needs federal aid and grants to develop the state. Terengganu, however, has oil and gas and it contributes to about 50% of Petronas' income. Hence losing Terengganu is extremely bad news. Terengganu has only eight Parliament seats, which is no big deal. But it is not the Parliament seats or the state government that is the issue. It is the RM800 million to RM1 billion a year Oil Royalty that the opposition is going to get its hands on. Imagine that amount of money in the hands of the opposition. And this RM800 million to RM1 billion a year represents only 5% in 'Royalty' mind you. To know what the total revenue is, you need to multiply that figure by 20. And that figure is huge for a state that has only about one million or so inhabitants. (Just to digress a bit: and that was why Dr Mahathir withdrew the Oil Royalty merely five months after GE11 and changed it to 'Wang Ehsan', which was then managed by Umno -- meaning Idris Jusoh -- and no longer by the state government. And that was also why His Highness the Sultan of Terengganu did not want Idris Jusoh as the Menteri Besar -- because of his mismanagement of Terengganu's 'Wang Ehsan'). Terengganu is supposed to be the second richest state after Selangor. Terengganu even beat Penang and Johor. This was what a Malaysian business magazine reported back in the mid-1990s. However, said the same business magazine, the Terengganu citizens are second poorest after the people in Perlis. I was still in Terengganu then. We rushed out to buy copies of that magazine but found that none of the local newsagents or bookshops had any copies left. They had sold out every copy. Then we discovered that the Menteri Besar had instructed his office to buy up every copy. We then called up Kuala Lumpur and managed to get the people there to help buy some copies and put them on the next plane out to Kuala Terengganu. Hence we had to wait another day before we could read that most damaging report. Basically, the issue that the Terengganu State Government wanted to hide from us is that Terengganu was the second richest state (in terms of state wealth) but the second poorest (in terms of the people's wealth). And, a couple of years later, on 29th November 1999, Terengganu fell to the opposition because the people were pissed big time that the state was so rich but the people were still very poor. In short, money talks and bullshit walks, and the people had had enough of the Umno bullshit. PAS knew this. So, as soon as they took over the state in November 1999, they abolished the toll charges on the Terengganu bridge, they abolished council tax, they gave scholarships to poor students, and much more. Basically, PAS tried to turn Terengganu into a welfare or socialist state, so to speak. The Menteri Besar, Tok Guru Abdul Hadi Awang, was also very careful about the perception he gave. First of all, he never referred to the Terengganu government as 'Kerajaan PAS' or the PAS Government. He would refer to it as 'Kerajaan BA' or the Barisan Alternatif Government. Then he appointed non-Muslims to head certain committees and held meetings with the Christians, Hindus and Buddhist before changing any policies or before implementing any new policies. (I know because I helped arrange some meetings between Hadi and the church groups from Kuala Lumpur, as Goh Kiat Peng can confirm). For example, when the state wanted to ban liquor and gambling, Hadi called the non-Muslims for a meeting and asked them what they had to say about the matter. The non-Muslims agreed that gambling is bad. Gambling was one of the causes of families breaking up, they said. So they have no problems if gambling is banned as long as the Chinese could still play Mah Jong in the privacy of their own homes. As for liquor, the non-Muslims want to still be allowed access to liquor in the state. Hadi agreed to this on condition that only non-Muslims were allowed access to liquor and not the Muslims. In other words, 'public' gambling is banned. Gambling in the privacy of your homes is not. Liquor is banned only for Muslims. Non-Muslims were still free to sell and drink liquor. Pubs and clubs could still operate in Terengganu on the basis of 'For non-Muslims Only' -- just like coffee shops selling pork have to post 'Non-Halal' signs whether in Terengganu or Kuala Lumpur. This worked well. Both PAS and the non-Muslims appeared happy with the arrangement. PAS will not deny non-Muslims their rights. Non-Muslims, however, must not involve Muslims in their 'vices' or do things in public. Gamble at home and drink in the pubs/clubs (or at home). Don't 'go public' or do all this in front of the Muslims. Then Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad stirred the pot to see what surfaces from the bottom of the pot. And this shows that Dr Mahathir is savvier than the PAS politicians. Dr Mahathir said that PAS promised -- if they manage to take over Terengganu -- that they would implement Islamic laws. Now that PAS has taken over Terengganu where are these Islamic laws? PAS is utter bullshit, said Dr Mahathir. Hadi suddenly forgot that he had always called the Terengganu government 'Kerajaan BA' and not 'Kerajaan PAS'. In fact, he had told his people to do the same -- say 'Kerajaan BA' and not say 'Kerajaan PAS'. But now, with Dr Mahathir's goading and provocation, Hadi and PAS forgot all this and suddenly announced that the PAS government of Terengganu was going to implement Islamic laws in Terengganu. Why 'the PAS government of Terengganu'? Was it not 'the BA government of Terengganu'? BA includes PKR and DAP as well. But this is not a BA decision, explained Hadi. This is a PAS decision. When I heard this I shuddered. This was the beginning of the end for BA. And I said so in the articles I wrote back in 2000. And I got whacked for saying that, by none other than Anwar Ibrahim himself, who told me to back off and not attack PAS. Yes, Dr Mahathir engaged PAS in a staring competition and PAS blinked first. PAS announced it was going to implement Islamic laws in Terengganu. But in the same breath they also announced that they have not quite formalised these laws yet. In other words, they have no idea yet what these laws are going to look like. This was merely a 'pre-emption' announcement. Announce first and sort out the details later. Even Tun Salleh Abas, the one-time Lord President, admitted this. So what more could I say? This was hara kiri. This was political suicide. And I wondered why they could not see this. Basically, Dr Mahathir laid a trap and PAS walked into that trap and got caught. Now, instead of sorting out the financial welfare of the people of Terengganu, they focused on the issue of Islamic laws. But the people wanted to talk about money. They didn't want to talk about Islamic laws. And they found that as more and more PAS talked about Islam, their pockets became emptier and emptier. (Of course, the withdrawal of the Oil Royalty and handing the money to Idris Jusoh as 'Wang Ehsan' for the exclusive use of Umno helped accelerate this financial disaster. But that was the intention in the first place). Then, on 21st March 2004, the Terengganu people kicked out PAS and gave the state back to Umno. And the reason why the Terengganu voters made PAS/BA a one-term government is all because of money, or rather the lack of it. In the meantime, Barisan Alternatif broke up. DAP left the opposition coalition and went independent. And 2004 was the worse election performance in history for the opposition. This all started 12 years ago as a contest of 'one-upmanship' between Umno and PAS. It was a contest to see who can be more Islamic than the other. It is like two peacocks showing of their feathers, each thinking it is more beautiful than the other. This was a contest that would go nowhere. PAS can demonstrate all it wants that it is more Islamic than Umno by announcing that it is going to implement Islamic laws in Terengganu. But as had been proven almost a decade earlier in Kelantan, it cannot be done unless Parliament approves these new laws first. And there is no way Parliament is going to approve it. Once PAS and Umno were done with flexing their muscles and showing off their peacock feathers, this thing should have died a natural death -- like what had happened in Kelantan almost ten years earlier. Back in the early 1990s, when PAS announced the implementation of Islamic laws in Kelantan (and which Parliament blocked), no one cared. No one said a damn thing (other than Zaid Ibrahim who took the matter to court). It was not even discussed, debated or argued. The only two groups that were quarrelling over it were Umno and PAS. And soon that quarrel ended and died a natural death when they got tired or arguing over a non-starter. Surprisingly, though, when PAS did the same thing in Terengganu almost ten years later, the whole issue did not die there. It was no longer just a PAS-Umno issue like ten years earlier. The non-Muslims got involved. Why did the non-Muslims not express outrage when Kelantan did the same thing back in the early 1990s? Why ten years later express outrage when it was done in Terengganu? Terengganu just did what Kelantan did almost ten years earlier. But for Kelantan it was a non-issue. For Terengganu it was such a big issue that resulted in the breakup of Barisan Alternatif. Maybe this was because the 1990 Kelantan Government was a PAS-Semangat 46 government while the 1999 Terengganu Government was a BA Government (which means DAP was supposedly part of it although they did not win a single seat in Terengganu). Whatever it may be, Dr Mahathir laid a trap and PAS and DAP walked right into it and got caught. Now, in 2012, 12 years on, the trap is still working. Today, the non-Muslims are talking about the matter more than even the Muslims themselves. What Dr Mahathir wanted was to goad PAS and make them do something that would upset the non-Muslims. PAS did what Dr Mahathir had hoped and the non-Muslims got upset as Dr Mahathir had hoped. And that proves Dr Mahathir is a far better politician than those from Pakatan Rakyat. Today, the non-Muslims are giving their opinions regarding Islam. And this just upsets the Muslims, even those who are pro-opposition. Dr Mahathir, as he always said, wants the Malays to unite. He means, of course, to unite under Umno, not PAS. But he failed to get them to unite. Race just can't seem to unite the Malays. However, religion can because most Malays (more than 50% according to the poll) consider themselves Muslims first, Malays second, and Malaysian third. Hence what Dr Mahathir started 12 years ago in 2000 has finally succeeded. The non-Malays have jumped onto the Islamic law bandwagon and are offering their 'expert' opinions regarding Islam. It is the right of non-Muslims to talk about Islam. Even if Islamic laws only affect the Muslims and not the non-Muslims the non-Muslims still have a right to talk about it and must talk about it. The non-Muslims are merely trying to save the Muslims who will be subjected to barbaric and outdated laws from the Dark Ages if Islamic laws are implemented. The Muslims must be allowed the freedom to do what they want even if it is to leave Islam, drink liquor, eat pork, etc. Yes, the non-Muslims are merely trying to help the Muslims. The non-Muslims want the Muslims to have the same rights as the non-Muslims and not have to suffer discrimination and persecution under separate (Islamic) laws. The non-Muslims are sincere and only have the interest of the Muslims at heart. Malaysia is a Secular State and not an Islamic State so Islamic laws have no place in Malaysia. Whatever it may be, the Muslims are now very divided. In fact, they have always been divided since 1,400 years ago anyway. The question is are the Muslims divided between Barisan Nasional and Pakatan Rakyat or divided between Islam and Kafir? I suppose the coming general election will reveal the answer to that question and we shall find out whether Dr Mahathir's strategy that was launched 12 years ago has finally borne fruit. Dr Mahathir was hoping that the non-Muslims would become kay poh. And now the non-Muslims have become kay poh much to the delight of Dr Mahathir. |
| Fair, secular nation better label than Islamic, says ex-Perlis Mufti Posted: 23 Oct 2012 03:20 PM PDT
Amin Iskandar, The Malaysian Insider The debate over Malaysia's Islamic nation status has been described as a "branding" quarrel by popular cleric Prof Datuk Dr Mohd Asri Zainul Abidin, who said a secular nation that is fair is better than an Islamic country that exploits religion. The Federal Constitution is Malaysia's supreme law but minister Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz said this week that the country was never declared a secular nation; he stopped short, however, of calling it an Islamic state as declared by former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad. "You can name the country as [an] Islamic country but you exploit Islam, for what? You name the country secular but give the people rights; that is better. The most important (thing) is the values carried. People like to exploit brands." "However, I am not interested in terms; I am more interested with the content of a country," the former Perlis mufti told The Malaysian Insider after the 15th Sinar Harian Wacana titled "Ulama's Role, Advising Leaders (Peranan Ulama, Menasihati Pemimpin)" at the Karangkraf Complex yesterday. "I ask from PAS especially, don't fight about branding. We have to think whether social justice can be carried out in a multiracial country," he said, talking about the Islamist party that has accused Umno of using a secular constitution inherited from the British colonial masters. Repeated accusations from PAS led then-prime minister Dr Mahathir to announce in 2001 that Malaysia is an Islamic state, in his bid to regain support from the Malay community who had voted for the opposition in the 1999 general election. Mohd Asri, who resumed teaching in Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) after leaving his post as Perlis mufti, agreed that Malaysia was an Islamic state rather than secular. "The definition of Islamic state is when the country is controlled by Muslims and at least part of the Islamic laws (Syariah laws) are implemented; that is enough." "The strongest proof that Malaysia is an Islamic state (is) when we Muslims in Malaysia demand for Islam (to be) strengthened in the country," said the scholar who ironically was arrested by the Selangor Islamic Religious Department (JAIS) in 2009 for allegedly being linked with spreading puritanical Wahabi teachings from Islam's birthplace, Saudi Arabia. Then-JAIS director Datuk Mohammed Khusrin Munawi said Mohd Asri's arrest was for lecturing without approval and not for any other offence. But Dr Mohd Asri pointed out that being Islamic did not mean forcing non-Muslims to comply with religious laws and practises. "We cannot demand the non-Muslim to pray, we have to recognise he's a Muslim first, then only we ask him to fast." "When we ask our country to practise Islam, that means we recognise that it is basically Islamic," he said.
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| RM40m ‘donation’ held privately by Umno man, ex-BN MP claims Posted: 23 Oct 2012 03:13 PM PDT
Clara Chooi, The Malaysian Insider The RM40 million "political donation" to Sabah Umno at the centre of a controversy involving Chief Minister Datuk Musa Aman was remitted into the personal bank account of "an Umno leader", a former Sabah Barisan Nasional (BN) lawmaker has alleged. Datuk Seri Wilfred Mojilip Bumburing, now an independent MP for Tuaran, said in an emailed statement last night that the family members of this "Umno leader" have been able to withdraw from this account "bit by bit", drawing question marks over claims by BN leaders that the funds were meant for Sabah Umno's use. "Were these withdrawals approved by Umno? "If the money was meant to be donated to Umno, why was it remitted into an individual and personal bank account?" he said in the statement. The former deputy president of Sabah-based BN party United Pasokmomogun Kadazandusun Murut Organisation (UPKO) did not, however, reveal the identity of the Umno leader or provide proof to back his claim. Bumburing also questioned BN's apparent refusal to reveal the source of the funds, saying this appeared to suggest that the ruling pact and its leaders were condoning corruption. He singled out Sabah Umno secretary Datuk Abdul Rahman Dahlan (above), pointing out that the Kota Belud MP has repeatedly defended the donation by saying there was nothing wrong with such contributions. "His (Abdul Rahman) admission also leaves many unanswered questions such as where did the money come from? "Is the money tax-exempted or did the donor paid income tax on the money donated?" he asked. Bumburing and fellow Sabah lawmaker Datuk Seri Lajim Ukin recently left their respective posts in BN to pledge allegiance to the Pakatan Rakyat (PR) federal opposition pact, citing their growing disillusionment with the Najib administration. In Parliament earlier this month, it was revealed that Musa had been cleared of corruption after the local authorities declared that the RM40 million in question was a "political donation" to Sabah Umno and was not meant for the chief minister's personal use. According to previous reports, the probe was first kicked off in 2008 at the request of the Hong Kong's Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC), after a businessman was allegedly arrested when attempting to smuggle the cash back to Malaysia. But findings by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) later cleared Musa's name and subsequently led to the ICAC closing its probe against the Sabah Umno chief. Opposition lawmakers here have, however, been dissatisfied with the closure of the matter and are demanding the Najib administration explain the source of the donation and the exact events leading up to the probe on Musa. According to Sarawak Report, the whistleblower site that first exposed the case online, Sabah timber trader Michael Chia had been caught in the Hong Kong International Airport with the cash in Singapore currency.
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| Dr Asri khuatir PAS tadbir negara Posted: 23 Oct 2012 02:59 PM PDT
(Malaysian Digest) - Walaupun memegang status parti yang berjuang atas dasar Islam, ulama tersohor negara, Prof Madya Datuk Dr Asri Zainul Abidin semalam menyuarakan kerisauan sekiranya PAS mentadbir negara ini. Bekas mufti Perlis itu melihat masalah PAS sekarang adalah mereka dipimpin oleh golongan ulama, dan tiada siapa boleh menegur kesalahan yang dilakukan oleh ulama mereka. "Masalah sekarang, PAS belum jadi pemimpin negara lagi."
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| It is the right of non-Muslims to comment on Hudud: Chua Posted: 23 Oct 2012 02:52 PM PDT
(The Star) - MCA president Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek has hit out at Opposition Leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim for equating PAS with Islam. Stressing that his criticism of PAS' brand of hudud law was just that, he said it was not meant as an insult to Islam. "What is wrong with talking about hudud if it is going to affect the whole country? It is our Malaysian right to speak about it," Dr Chua said yesterday. "When we criticise PAS' hudud, we are not criticising Islam. Every time we talk about PAS, the Opposition would say we are attacking Islam. Why? Because they have equated PAS with Islam, which is wrong! "PAS is a political party. Islam is a religion. They are insulting Islam for equating themselves with it." Anwar had, during a ceramah in Taman Melawati in Kuala Lumpur on Monday night, challenged the Prime Minister to state his stand on MCA's claim that PAS' hudud law would encourage Muslims to rape non-Muslim women. On Saturday, Dr Chua had defended Wanita MCA vice-chief Senator Heng Seai Kie's claim that PAS spiritual leader Datuk Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat was instigating Muslims to rape non-Muslims. Heng's claim was based on a video recording of Niz Aziz's speech, believed to be recorded in 2008, on the need for women to dress conservatively. Dr Chua said PAS had conned its followers by associating themselves with the religion, adding that its leaders did so because they were "hungry for power". "We respect Islam as the official religion of the Federation. Let's be very clear about it," he added. The MCA chief also lashed out at PAS members who condemned Heng for extrapolating Nik Aziz's speech on the need for women to dress conservatively or risk being raped. "It was not Heng who said it. It was their leader who said that not dressing conservatively could provoke someone sexually. She merely highlighted it," Dr Chua said, adding that such words were unfair to women. He also stood by his remarks at the MCA general assembly last week that Pakatan Rakyat's RM1,100 minimum wage policy proposal was unrealistic and would bankrupt small businesses, and brushed off accusations that he was anti-worker welfare. "Imagine now, there are three million foreign workers here, earning a minimum wage of RM800. Increasing it by RM300 would mean spending RM900mil a month or RM10.8bil extra in wages. "That's too huge a sum for small and medium enterprises to bear," he said, adding that Pakatan's exorbitant promises were a ploy to buy votes.
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| ‘DAP Malay candidate a safety cushion’ Posted: 23 Oct 2012 02:48 PM PDT No government can last in the state for fortnight if it does not have calibre Malay candidates, says Penang Malay Congress. Hawkeye, FMT GEORGE TOWN: The fielding of Malays as DAP candidates in Penang is just a "safety deposit" for Pakatan Rakyat in the coming general election, said a Malay NGO. Rahmad Isahak, the Penang Malay Congress chief, said PAS and PKR have failed to secure the Malay ground since 2008 although the opposition's leader Anwar Ibrahim hails from the state. "No government can last in Penang for two weeks if it does not have calibre Malay candidates to sit in the state government," said Rahmad. To avoid a scenerio where all of Pakatan's non Malays win in the next polls while all of its Malay candidates lose in Penang, it is best to allow DAP to field Malay candidates to strategically leverage against such a possibility, he said. Rahmad said that DAP had risen to become a prominent party here, and it is best that it reflects its ambition to be a truly multi-ethnic party under its 'Malaysia Malaysian' slogan. "What better way to reflect its multi-ethnic leanings by parading a multi-racial candidates list in a state as diverse as Penang?" he asked. Rahmad alleged that there was a fracture within PKR over the choice of candidates and seat allocations, while its leaders were suffering from an inferiority complex dealing with DAP. For example, Rahmad said state PKR chairman Mansor Othman was allegedly quoted in a leaked taped recording, describing DAP secretary-general and chief minister Lim Guan Eng as arrogant. "PAS is also dealing with its own "demons" as its former state youth wing head Mohammad Hafiz Noordin has been critical of the party of late," said Rahmad. "DAP Malay candidates may able to stave off a spirited challenge from BN, led by Umno and "hold the fort" in the event PAS and PKR candidates lose heavily in Penang," he added. Malays still struggling Rahmad said his views were based on the present political realities confronting the Malays in Penang. He also rebuked another Malay NGO called PAJIM for suggesting that the congress is not the voice of the Malay community here.
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| ‘Hudud tiada kesan kepada bukan Islam’ Posted: 23 Oct 2012 02:43 PM PDT Sekitar Dewan Rakyat Menteri di Jabatan Perdana Menteri Senator Mejar Jeneral (B), Datuk Sri Jamil Khir Baharom juga menolak cadangan untuk meminda Akta Pencegahan Jenayah 1959. K Pragalath K Pragalath, FMT Kerajaan hari ini memberi jaminan bahawa sekiranya undang-undang hudud dilaksanakan maka undang-undang itu tidak akan memberi kesan kepada rakyat bukan Islam. "Jika undang-undang hudud hendak dilaksanakan di Malaysia, maka undang-undang hudud yang merupakan sebahagian daripada undang-undang Islam berada di bawah kuasa negeri. "Mahkamah Syariah hanya mempunyai bidang kuasa terhadap orang-orang Islam sahaja seperti termaktub dalam Perlembagaan Persekutuan," kata Menteri di Jabatan Perdana Menteri Senator Mejar Jeneral (B), Datuk Sri Jamil Khir Baharom. Oleh itu katanya, undang-undang hudud tidak akan memberi kesan terhadap rakyat bukan Islam. Beliau berkata demikian dalam jawapan bertulis kepada soalan Ahli Parlimen Bebas Tan Tee Beng. Tan dalam soalannya bertanya kesan pelaksanaan hudud, sekiranya dilaksanakan, terhadap rakyat bukan Islam. Beliau turut bertanya samada Akta Pencegahan Jenayah 1959 akan dipinda dan diselaraskan mengikut undang-undang hudud di dalam pelaksanaan hukuman. Menurut Jamil Khir, undang-undang hudud akan tertakluk kepada peruntukan Perlembagaan Persekutuan dan undang-undang Islam yang terletak di bawah bidang kuasa negeri seperti dalam Fasal (2) Perkara 74 dan butiran 1 Senarai Negeri Jadual Kesembilan Perlembagaan Persekutuan. "Berdasarkan Seksyen 2 Akta Mahkamah Syariah (Bidang Kuasa jenayah) 1965, bidang kuasa mahkamah syariah terhad kepada hukuman penjara tidak melebihi tiga tahun, denda tidak melebihi RM5,000 dan sebatan tidak melebihi enam kali atau apa-apa gabungan hukuman -hukuman tersebut," kata Jamil Khir. Beliau turut menolak sebarang perkaitan Akta Pencegahan Jenayah 1959 dengan undang-undang hudud. "Justeru itu kerajaan tidak merancang untuk meminda akta ini," katanya.
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| Posted: 23 Oct 2012 02:38 PM PDT Once again, hudud is becoming a hotly debated topic. But what is hudud exactly and are we ready for it? But let's make this clear: contrary to belief made popular by MCA and other uninformed members of the public, hudud is not a law meant to brutalise Muslims, it is not a tool meant to perpetuate social injustice, and it is definitely not an archaic relic from a barbaric civilisation of the past. Anisah Shukry, FMT Shrieks of women being stoned to death pierce through the air as you walk down Lorong Haji Taib. Once a red light district, tourists now flock here to get the chance to hurl rocks at the very same transgendered prostitutes who lured them into badly lit alleys five years ago. You'd like to keep your eyes firmly on the ground, but you've just had your lunch and the sight of freshly dismembered hands still writhing on the road is just a bit too much. This is the year 2015, three years after Pakatan Rakyat won the general election and began implementing hudud – the Islamic criminal law – with delirious zeal. Cinemas have been shut down, Muslim and non-Muslim women alike stay at home for fear of being raped, and Genting Highlands has been transformed into a Taliban stronghold. Or so MCA would like you to think. If you were to swallow what they have been touting for the few months (years?), hudud means The End of Malaysia As We Know it. Prevention is better than cure But let's make this clear: contrary to belief made popular by MCA and other uninformed members of the public, hudud is not a law meant to brutalise Muslims, it is not a tool meant to perpetuate social injustice, and it is definitely not an archaic relic from a barbaric civilisation of the past. In Islam, hudud is a specific set of fixed penalties laid down by Allah for specified transgressions or crimes, such as adultery, fornication, stealing, or consuming alcohol. Its purpose, simply put, is to maintain justice and to protect society. "But why is it so brutal?" you cry as you gingerly stroke your wrist and flex your beloved fingers. Oh to part with such digits! The answer is simple: because hudud works by preventing people from committing crime in the first place – through sheer fear of such brutal retaliation. Take theft as an example. After all, who wouldn't think twice about committing a theft if they risk, not a mere slap on the wrist, but a slice of it? But take heart: even if a person was found guilty of thievery under hudud, it's not a simple matter of hacking the wrongdoer's hand off and calling it a day. Instead, there are a multitude of factors that must be taken into consideration before any punishment can be meted out. In the case of theft, the court must take into account the amount of money stolen, the thief's financial situation as well as his or her mental stability before even considering the ultimate punishment of amputation. Rape = adultery? Another controversial, so-called unjust part of hudud is the fact that a rape victim must supposedly produce four male – adult, pious, credible Muslims – to testify they had witnessed her rape. If she fails to do so, she will then be charged as having committed zina (fornication or adultery); a crime against the state punishable by stoning to death. But according to a paper written by Dr Mohammad Omar Farooq, an associate professor at the Royal University for Women, Bahrain, classical Islamic jurisprudence clearly treated rape as a special case of assault, never zina. In fact, he wrote, Prophet Muhammad himself differentiated between consensual and non-consensual actions and punished individuals accordingly. An equally important note he made was that, in the case of zina, the burden of providing the four credible and pious eyewitnesses is not on the person accused of committing zina, but the accuser. Hence, because the requirement is so strict, cases of zina that emerged during the time of the Prophet were generally a result of voluntary confessions by the wrongdoers themselves, rather than gangs of vigilant peeping toms.
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| PKR: Anwar did not fail the Malay agenda Posted: 23 Oct 2012 02:32 PM PDT PKR has dimissed the allegation by a former Cabinet minister that Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim had approved banking licences to non-Malay banking groups. Teoh El Sen, FMT PKR has come to the defence of its de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim following the "revelation" made by former Cabinet minister Sanusi Junid who accused the opposition leader of "failing the Malay agenda" when he was finance minister. Yesterday, Sanusi had reportedly told a Malay economic forum that former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad and former finance minister Daim Zainuddin had, by not granting banking licences to non-Malays in Malaysia, tried to emulate Nazi Germany's anti-Jewish policies. However, Sanusi added that the duo's plan was thwarted by Anwar when he became finance minister and approved two banking licences to non-Malay banking groups, namely Hong Leong Bank and Alliance Bank. "Sanusi's accusation that Anwar had failed the Malay agenda is baseless," PKR communications director Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad said in a statement today. "Perhaps the Malay agenda that Sunusi meant was to safeguard the shareholder interests of Umno-BN cronies, such as how Petronas was pressured to save Korsortium Perkapalan Bhd, a company owned by Mahathir's son, Mirzan, during the 1997 economic crisis, at an above market price." "However, the one who stopped that attempt was Anwar. "It is clear that Sanusi's statement is mere slander. His eagerness to attack Anwar and defend Mahathir and Daim made him blind to the mismanagement of the economy, which has made Malaysians [in general] and Malays [in particular] the victims," said Nik. Nik Nazmi also pointed out that one of the companies Anwar allegedly gave banking licence to, Alliance Bank Malaysia Bhd, was linked to Daim himself as it was a banking company under the Alliance Financial Group Bhd (AFG). He alleged that Daim owned 14.8% of AFG through a company called Langkah Bahagia Sdn Bhd. "Langkah Bahagia, together with parties linked to investment company Temasek Holdings Ltd in Singapore, had interests in AFG through Vertical Theme Sdn Bhd," said Nik Nazmi. Huge disaster Nik Nazmi said that the "relationship" between Daim and AFG dated back to 1982 when the former bought over the Malaysian French Bank, which was later renamed Multi-Purpose Bank. According to Nik Nazmi, Langkah Bahagia purchased shares in Hock Hua Bank in Sabah in 1997, where one of the shareholders of Langkah Bahagia, Mohd Nasir Ali, had openly admitted that he acted on behalf of Daim.
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| Ex-Sabah AG sues two social activists Posted: 23 Oct 2012 02:30 PM PDT Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) panelist seeks RM50million in defamation suit against Sabah singer-activist Atama and a social activist. (FMT) - KOTA KINABALU: Former state attorney-general Herman Luping has filed a RM50 million defamation suit against popular local rapper Atama (photo) and a social activist. Luping, recently appointed a member of the Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) on illegal immigrants in the state, named Atama whose real name is Andrew Ambrose and SM Muthu as first and second defendants in the suit filed to the High Court this week. The former AG and deputy chief minister during the Usno era is seeking an injunction against the defendants restraining them from making defamatory remarks about him and an order to remove an offending article from FMT. He is claiming punitive damages, statutory interest and other relief deemed fit by the court. In his statement of claim, Luping said Atama, a musician and spokesman for Bersih Sabah and Muthu, an ex-civil servant turned social activist posted malicious statements against him on Twitter, Facebook and FMT. According to Luping the article entitled 'Luping appointment came under fire', published by FMT on Aug 13 this year, had seriously injured his character and his reputation has been brought into scandal and hurt his feelings. The statements made by the two, he said, were calculated to make negative and false inferences of him, namely that he could not be trusted, is not fit to be in the RCI, is dishonest with low integrity, not credible and a criminal. He also claimed the the first defendant's statements in Facebook and Twitter on Aug 12, 2012 were calculated to make negative and false inferences of him as a corrupt politician and a person who could not be trusted. Luping said the second defendant also alluded to this same sentiment in his postings in Facebook. The suit was filed through his lawyer Marcel Jude.
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