Malaysia Today - Your Source of Independent News
Malaysia Today - Your Source of Independent News |
- PKR strongman Badrul Amin among 16 charged in Syariah court
- Malay grads losing out in job ‘race’
- Outlawed Al-Arqam gathering raided, 20 detained
- PKR, Hindraf to map out plans for Indians
- Forest land taken by MCA man?
- BAFIA charges against Rafizi should stay, say NFCorp lawyers
- Greek journalist on trial for leaking bank data
- Fresh from RM2.2b deal, ex-CJ’s wife’s firm plots route to listing
- ‘Voters unfazed by Pakatan woes’
- Al-Arqam's shadow cabinet uncovered
- The Once and Past King
- Chia link will not cost BN, unlike NFC scandal, says Nazri
- Malaysian employers practise racial bigotry, study shows
- Tripped up by blog comments
| PKR strongman Badrul Amin among 16 charged in Syariah court Posted: 01 Nov 2012 08:26 PM PDT
(NST) - Sixteen Al-Arqam members who were picked up during a gathering in Bandar Country Homes Rawang on Thursday night were charged at the Kuang Syariah Court this morning Among those in court were PKR supreme council member Dr Badrul Amin Baharon and Global Ikhwan Sdn Bhd board of directors. |
| Malay grads losing out in job ‘race’ Posted: 01 Nov 2012 08:14 PM PDT A new study discovers that Malay graduates stand a lesser chance in being called up for an interview compared to their Chinese counterparts. Teoh El Sen, FMT Does race matter in securing an interview? Apparently so, according to a new study which found that a Malay fresh graduate was 16.7% less likely to be called up for a job interview in the private sector compared to their Chinese counterparts. The study, funded by the University Malaya Research Grant, was jointly conducted by Lee Hwok Aun, a senior lecturer from the Department of Development Studies at Universiti Malaya (UM) and Muhammed Abdul Khalid, a Research Fellow at Universiti Kebangsaan Malaya (UKM). The academic paper was presented at a public seminar in UM this morning. Both researches said they aim to "empirically and objectively" investigate racial discrimination in the private sector labour market in the Peninsular Malaysia, which was talked about but its prevalence not studied. However, they stressed that the focus was on incidences of discrimination and not on the reasons behind it, including racism, prejudice or bigotry. The "first of its kind" study was based on a field experiment where fictitious resumes of Malay and Chinese applicants were sent to job advertisements in Peninsular Malaysia. A total of 3,012 resumes were sent to 753 engineering and accounting jobs advertised on Jobstreet.com and JobsDB.com between August and December 2011. For each job, the researchers sent out four fake resumes according to race and their academic qualifications. All the "applicants" were male with no prior working experience but have a basic qualification in the field being applied for. The number of responses from employers, which have been divided into "Chinese-controlled, Malay-controlled or foreign-controlled", are then recorded for each category. One of the main findings of the study was that the total resumes sent, only 13.1%(396) received callbacks, of those, 4.2%(63) were Malay and 22.1%(222) were Chinese. The study also found that the quality of applicants appeared to matter more for Malays than for the Chinese. There was also a difference between industries, where engineering companies were responding to 25% of resumes by Chinese applicants and only 3% of resumes by Malay applicants while in accountancy, a lesser 19% Chinese applicants received callbacks compared to 6% of Malay applicants. It was also found that discrimination against Malay applicants is highest among foreign-controlled companies, followed by Malay-controlled companies, then Chinese-controlled companies. Employers that stipulate Chinese language proficiency as a job requirement also favour Chinese applicants. Chinese-controlled and foreign-controlled companies are significantly inclined toward Chinese resumes. "The data do not directly inform the motivation of the observed discrimination. Nonetheless, our findings suggest that employers are generally predisposed favourably toward Chinese, substantially due to compatibility factors and unobservable qualities not revealed in job applications, and are more selective toward Malays, which results in fewer but considerably qualified applicants getting callbacks." "This study underscores the complexity of labour market discrimination and its policy implications," said the study.
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| Outlawed Al-Arqam gathering raided, 20 detained Posted: 01 Nov 2012 05:15 PM PDT PKR leader Dr Badrulamin Bahron one of those arrested (NST) - Selangor Islamic Religious Department (JAIS) raided a gathering of Al-Arqam followers and detained more than 20 of them here last night. They were detained under Section 12C of the Selangor Syariah Criminal Enactment for seeking to revive the banned Al-Arqam sect. The raid which began at 9 pm saw JAIS personnel swoop down the banned sect members during a function, said a JAIS spokesman. Those picked up were attending the 75th birthday of Al-Arqam founder Ashaari Muhammad or popularly known as Abuya who died in 2010. All those detained were taken to the JAIS headquarters in Shah Alam for questioning. During the raid, JAIS officials also seized pamphlets.
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| PKR, Hindraf to map out plans for Indians Posted: 01 Nov 2012 05:06 PM PDT Anwar Ibrahim and P Waythamoorty held a meeting to address issues affecting the Indian community. K Pragalath, FMT PKR and Hindraf are working on a plan to solve the problems faced by the Indian community. Hindraf chairman P Waythamoorthy met PKR de facto leader and Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim at the latter's office in Parliament yesterday in search of a permanent solution to the various problems faced by the community. The two-hour closed door meeting was also attended by PKR vice president Tian Chua and Hindraf advisor N Ganesan. Tian Chua was upbeat over the meeting and expressed confidence that PKR would be able to resolve the woes of the Indian community. "The Indian social problem is a national problem. We are willing to find a certain time frame to resolve the problem," he said. He added that PKR would announce the methods to resolve the issues and the time frame soon. Tian Chua, who is also Batu MP, told FMT that the PKR – Hindraf partnership was on the basis that they are "fighting partners moving in the same direction to restore human rights and dignity". Ganesan told FMT that they had a fruitful discussion with Anwar without divulging the details. "If this works out positively there is potential for Hindraf to work with them," he said. Meanwhile, Waythamoorthy said: "We are here to find a permanent, comprehensive and practical plan to solve the problems of Indians since independence." "We are looking for a permanent solution for the 800,000 Indians who have been displaced from estates since the 1970s and 350,000 stateless Indians," he added.
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| Posted: 01 Nov 2012 05:02 PM PDT PKR's Rafizi Ramli reveals documents allegedly showing that 1,014 hectares of land is controlled by Negeri Sembilan MCA chairman Yeow Chai Thiam. Patrick Lee, FMT More than a thousand hectares of Negeri Sembilan jungle is, according to PKR, in the hands of a private company and the land is said to be worth just RM10. PKR strategic director Rafizi Ramli showed a March 4, 2004 letter where the 1,104 hectares at Serting Ulu, Jempol, was to be allocated to Asli-YNS Sdn Bhd for growing rubber. The letter appeared to be issued by the Negeri Sembilan State Secretariat to the state's Land and Mines Director and the Jempol District Land Administrator. Parts of the letter were blackened out. "Even though the name of this company gives the impression that it is a joint-venture with the state, a search at the Companies Commission of Malaysia, revealed that it is owned and controlled by state MCA chairman, Senator Dr Yeow Chai Thiam," Rafizi told reporters. He was referring to the Jeram Padang Selatan Forest Reserve, near Bahau in Jempol. Previously, FMT reported that the area had been classified as a Permanent Forest Reserve since Aug 30, 1918. Documents provided by PKR showed that Asli-YNS Sdn Bhd appeared to have an issued shared capital of RM10. It had two directors: Yeow and a Yan Sien Wee. Only half the story Yeow, it appeared seemed to own half of the company's shares, or RM5. The CCM documents showed that the company was registered in Feb 20, 2004. To this, Rafizi said: "I would love to be that someone who could, with RM5, get 1,104 hectares of forest land." He added that this appeared to contradict Menteri Besar Mohamad Hassan's statement that the Jeram Padang Selatan Forest Reserve still belonged to the state government, through Yayasan Negeri Sembilan (YNS). "Mohammad only presented half of the story. He said by the state policy that any degazetted reserve would be given to YNS…he didn't say what happened from YNS onwards," Rafizi said. On parts of the letter that was blackened out, the PKR leader said that Asli-YNS was only the first of four companies involved in the matter. "I hope the other three companies will panic a little. One by one, you can trace them back to the leadership of Umno-Barisan Nasional," he said.
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| BAFIA charges against Rafizi should stay, say NFCorp lawyers Posted: 01 Nov 2012 04:56 PM PDT
Ida Lim, The Malaysian Insider The National Feedlot Corporation's (NFCorp) lawyers said today that the court charges against PKR's Rafizi Ramli for allegedly breaching banking laws should stay, saying that such breaches such not be allowed "under the pretext of whistleblowing". On August 1, Rafizi (picture) was charged with violating the Banking and Financial Institutions Act (BAFIA) by exposing confidential banking details of NFCorp, in a case that has highlighted the importance of protecting bank customers' data and also caused renewed scrutiny of the country's whistleblower protection laws. The NFCorp runs the National Feedlot Centre (NFC), a RM250 million federal-funded cattle-farming project that has been at the centre of a major national scandal. "If BAFIA is allowed to be breached under the pretext of whistle blowing, the very stratum of banking collapses," Shafee & Co, the law firm representing NFCorp, warned in a statement. In explaining why the BAFIA charges against Rafizi "should stand firm", the law firm claimed that Rafizi had "illegally obtained" certain bank documents. "Rafizi obtained the bank documents without the permission of the account holders, the bank or the permission of Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM). "The Attorney-General and Bank Negara Malaysia should not be swayed by political rhetorics but to investigate Rafizi's absolute breach of BAFIA," it said. "Malaysia's well-respected banking and financial systems should not be compromised whatsoever for political dramas and sensationalism," the law firm said. It added that several leaders in the banking industry, including the Association of Banks Malaysia chairman, had stressed that "client confidentiality or secrecy must be upheld at all cost." Shafee & Co also said that under the Whistleblower Protection Act 2010, a genuine whistleblower should first report to the authorities to allow them to take action.
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| Greek journalist on trial for leaking bank data Posted: 01 Nov 2012 04:32 PM PDT
(AFP) - A Greek investigative journalist went on trial on Thursday for publishing names from an alleged list of Swiss bank accounts that has exposed the debt-plagued government to charges of a cover-up. Costas Vaxevanis, a 46-year-old veteran television journalist who now publishes a magazine, insists he was doing his job while ministers responsible for vetting the list for possible tax evasion did nothing for two years. "We will endure this. Will they?" Vaxevanis tweeted ahead of the trial. Vaxevanis, who was arrested on Sunday, has been charged with breach of privacy and faces a maximum three-year prison sentence if convicted. His lawyers, who reject the charges as "vague", have said that a number of people whose names Vaxevanis published will testify in court in his defence. The head of the International Federation of Journalists, Jim Bumelha, said he had testified on Vaxevanis' behalf and called the trial an "absurd farce". "We were all astonished (by the arrest)," he told reporters. Vaxevanis has accused the Greek state of hypocrisy and says the justice system is bowing to a corrupt political system. "Our politicians declare themselves to be democrats. I see no evidence of this," he wrote in the Britain's The Times newspaper on Thursday. "I wonder if Greek justice will show that the law safeguards the public interest and freedom of speech... in journalism you must do what you think is right without worrying about the consequences," he wrote. Vaxevanis' "Hot Doc" magazine on Saturday published the names of more than 2,000 Greeks, allegedly from a controversial list of HSBC account holders that was originally leaked by a bank employee and passed to Greece in 2010 by France's then finance minister Christine Lagarde. Viewing the list as stolen data that could not be used against potential tax evaders, the Greek authorities took no action for two years. When the case resurfaced last month, it took several days for officials to even locate a copy of the so-called "Lagarde List". Among those named are prominent businessmen, shipowners, lawyers, doctors, journalists and a former minister, as well as companies, housewives and students although no deposit sums were published. The data has been the subject of intense discussion, with the government facing calls to use it to crack down on potential tax cheats as the country grapples with a massive debt crisis. On Thursday, a special economic prosecutor asked parliament to investigate whether previous finance ministers could be faulted for failing to take action on the list, news reports said. Officially, the prosecutor asked lawmakers to "investigate politicians of the period in question," a justice source said. Evangelos Venizelos, the leader of the socialist Pasok party who was formerly finance minister, is among officials who could be called to testify. Venizelos has already told a parliament committee that he had ordered the finance ministry's tax police to investigate, a claim which the department's chief at the time denies. The first recipient of the data in 2010, ex-finance minister George Papaconstantinou, said he did not know what had happened to the original version of the list, raising speculation that it could have been tampered with. As a result, current Finance Minister Yannis Stournaras has asked France to re-send the list. Vaxevanis says he received the information in an anonymous letter whose sender claimed to have received it from a politician. On Wednesday, police arrested another journalist who claimed to have in his possession a list of finance ministry documents allegedly stolen by hackers from the state general accounting office.
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| Fresh from RM2.2b deal, ex-CJ’s wife’s firm plots route to listing Posted: 01 Nov 2012 04:16 PM PDT
(The Malaysian Insider) - Emrail Sdn Bhd is set to list on Bursa Malaysia through a reverse takeover of a dormant cash-rich entity, just months after the government was forced to defend its decision to give the company, owned by Umno lawyer Datuk Hafarizam Harun and the wife of former Chief Justice Tun Zaki Azmi, the RM2.2 billion deal to build the Kinrara-Damansara Expressway. The shareholders of Emrail and Premier Naflin Bhd, a company with RM115 million in hand and no business since last October, announced yesterday that a deal had been been struck which would see the former take over the latter's listing status. Premier's major shareholders are Tan Sri K.R. Somasundram and the National Land Finance Co-operative Society Ltd. Besides Hafarizam, the other directors in Emrail now are Tan Sri Hari Narayanan and Toh Puan Nik Sazlina Mohd Zain, Zaki's wife. In February, Hafarizam told The Malaysian Insider that any suggestion of a deal struck because of his role in the Perak constitutional crisis in 2009 was "tainted with mala fide (bad faith) and intended to bring me and Tun Zaki into public odium, scandal and disrepute." Hafarizam, who is the ruling Malay party's legal adviser, denied that the highway concession award was given as a reward to him and Zaki allegedly for their roles in the 2009 Perak crisis that saw the state government switch from Pakatan Rakyat (PR) to Barisan Nasional (BN), which is held together by Umno. Zaki declined to comment when contacted. Emrail and Zabima Engineering Sdn Bhd had been awarded the lucrative RM2.2 billion contract to build the Kinrara-Damansara Expressway (Kidex), Hafarizam confirmed then. The editor of the Malaysia Today website claimed in an article published in February under the title "Episode 9: The reward for giving Perak back to Umno" that Harafizam and Zaki, who retired on September 9 last year, were awarded the highway contract via Emrail. The new highway, which will be a tolled road, will link Kinrara and Pusat Bandar Damansara and will divert traffic on the LDP. In February, Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin also denied allegations that the deal was given to companies linked to the Umno lawyer due to political reasons. According to The Edge Financial Daily today, the expressway project is not expected to take off until after the general election which is only expected after Chinese New Year. The newspaper also reported that yesterday's announcement stated that a special purpose vehicle (SPV) would initially be set up to take over Premier's listing status.
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| ‘Voters unfazed by Pakatan woes’ Posted: 01 Nov 2012 03:37 PM PDT He believes voters are too keen to see the end of BN to pay attention to the bad press. Hawkeye, FMT Pakatan Rakyat remains on the road to electoral victory despite reports of trouble within and between the parties making up the alliance, according to PAS Supporters Assembly Adviser Hu Phang Chaw. Speaking to FMT, he said he based his confidence on impressions he had gained from the ground in his travels around the country. "The winds of change are blowing, most profoundly in Sabah and Sarawak," he said. "Pakatan also senses this in other hardline BN states such as Johor and Pahang. If these states are moving away from BN, we can expect at least a similar movement in such borderline states as Malacca and Negri Sembilan." He conceded that all three Pakatan parties—PAS, DAP and PKR—were currently troubled by infighting and that there were differences between the parties themselves, but he said these were not serious enough to sidetrack them from the march to Putrajaya and less significant than the electorate's determination to be rid of Barisan Nasional. "People have just had enough of BN," he said. "They want a change, period." Lately, BN-friendly news organisations have become more energetic in playing up reports that put Pakatan in a negative light. These include speculation about the health of the Kedah and Kelantan menteri besar, an alleged friction between the Penang Chief Minister and one of his deputies, and an alleged splitting of ways between Selangor Menteri Besar Khalid Ibrahim and Selangor PKR chief Azmin Ali. Hu said the truth or falsehood of these allegations had little bearing on the public's impression that a Pakatan government would be a better choice than BN. "The so-called silent majority are whispering to Pakatan leaders that they want a change in Putrajaya," he said. He also said Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak's decision to put off calling for the 13th general election was working to Pakatan's advantage. The delay was allowing Pakatan to reach out to more people, he said, adding that attendances at Pakatan public functions were becoming bigger by the day. PAS vice-president Sallehuddin Ayub was more cautious in his assessment of Pakatan's chances. He said it was "a bit too early" to predict victory, but agreed with Hu that signs from the ground indicated a mood for change. "There are growing signs that victory is attainable," he said.
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| Al-Arqam's shadow cabinet uncovered Posted: 01 Nov 2012 12:26 PM PDT Khatijah Am, known to her followers as Ummu Jah, had been living in self-imposed exile in Mecca for the past few years. (NST) - PLOT: 41 ministries, including for souls, death, holy sex THE banned Al-Arqam movement, led by the founder's wife, Khatijah Am, is said to have formed a "shadow cabinet" with 41 ministries, including the ministry of the netherworld (kementerian alam ghaib). This was part of its plot to overthrow the government and form an Islamic state, according to information compiled by intelligence agencies. Also listed in its shadow cabinet were the ministries of true souls and sects (roh suci dan tariqat), death and the hereafter (kematian dan akhirat) and family and holy sex (keluarga dan seks suci). Intelligence sources said Khatijah, who is the widow of Ashaari Muhammad and has been living in Mecca after his death, had been holding monthly meetings with "top leaders" of the sect in Malaysia via video conferencing. A source said 54 meetings, dubbed "roh parlimen" (soul parliament) by Khatijah, had been held so far. In their "parliamentary meetings", which had begun in May 2010, Khatijah had assumed the position as their "prime minister". "To ensure that Al-Arqam leaders and followers stayed with the movement and follow her orders, Khatijah claimed she received direct orders from her late husband," a source said. "She had been involved in running the movement even when Ashaari was still alive. Ashaari suffered a mild stroke in 2005." The source added that Khatijah, known to followers as Ummu Jah, had been living in self-imposed exile in Mecca for the past few years. The group, the source said, had received funding from more than 30 welfare homes in Malaysia run by their proxies. Some homes run by key personnel in Al-Arqam were registered with the Welfare Department and received government funding. "These welfare homes received donations, not only from the government, but private companies and unsuspecting individuals as well," said the source. "From our intelligence reports, only a small portion of the donations received were used for the homes while the remaining went to Khatijah's accounts," the source said, adding that Khatijah lived lavishly in a mansion rented for 340,000 riyal (RM276,000) a year. The mansion, called RSA Palace, has a conference room, an elevator, gymnasium, sauna and a swimming pool. The source said the movement collected an average of RM800,000 in donations every month. Meanwhile, Islamic Development Department (Jakim) director-general Datuk Othman Mustapha said they were collecting evidence on the group's activities. "We found that the group, through its company, still continues with its deviant teachings. All the claims that Ashaari is Imam Mahdi and Ummu Jah can communicate with her late husband are blatant lies. "We hope those with information on their activities will come forward to assist in our investigations." Al-Arqam was decreed a deviant sect in 1994 by the National Fatwa Council after it was found to have practised Aurad Muhammadiah teachings which was described as misleading Muslims from the true Islamic beliefs.
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| Posted: 01 Nov 2012 12:18 PM PDT Just a story? Hang Tuah holds childhood friend Hang Jebat after being forced to end his killing spree. Photo by Photo by P3rSeUs via Flickr. (The Oxonian Globalist) - A "historic" hero faces review in the evolution of an egalitarian multi-ethnic society In the cosmopolitan entrepôt of 15th century Malacca, a city on the west coast of today's Malaysia, a Malay warrior slew his closest – yet increasingly seditious – friend, to emphasize his own loyalty to the Sultan. Some 500 years later, this story of Hang Tuah – immortalised in his Hikayat Hang Tuah – is causing intellectual, political and ethnic unease in contemporary Malaysia. Having been celebrated in film and taught in schools as the locus of Muslim-Malay mores, the warrior's story was categorically refuted in January by Professor Tan Sri Khoo Kay Kim, historian and Chancellor of KDU University College, as nothing more than a myth. All Historians Now In the last year, the Malaysian education system has undergone major review. In April the National Education Dialogue was created to gather perspectives from all levels of society on how to improve teaching and learning. Encouraged by the Minister of Education, and in conjunction with UNESCO, this dialogue aims to cultivate a new generation of globally competitive Malaysians. In the midst of discussions, History, a subject pursued by a very small minority, is enjoying heightened attention. In May 2011, the Ministry of Education declared that it should be a "must-pass" subject in secondary schools from 2013, while scholars and NGOs concurrently launched a campaign for "A Truly Malaysian History". Its spokesman, Dr Lim Tek Ghee, Director of the Centre of Policy Initiatives, called for immediate actions to "ensure a broad and balanced perspective of major civilisations and events", for "accurate historical facts of Malaysia's historical development" and for the "fair recognition to the contribution of all communities". All this seems reasonable. Nonetheless it raises questions about the inclusion in school textbooks of the Hang Tuah story – a melange of fact and fiction, suffused with the supernatural, and hitherto intrinsic to Malay, but not national Malaysian, identity. As soon as Professor Khoo aired his views, Facebook and Twitter erupted in furious debates. One tweet pointed out how Chinese-sounding Tuah's name is. Another questioned the written record of Adam and Eve. Academics, such as the National Laureate, Dr Muhammad Salleh, retaliated with assertions that Tuah was an irrefutably historical figure, appearing 128 times in six chapters in the Malay Annals. Meanwhile, a group claiming to be the Hang Tuah's descendants announced that only they knew the 'real account' of the famed admiral, based on ownership of an ancient Jawi script passed though the generations. Nation and Narration After independence in 1957, there was a struggle for post-imperial control in the new Malaysia. The Malays, under the auspices of (UMNO), have been the dominant political body of the last 40 years, with bumiputera status since the 1970s (after the racial riots of 1969). As "sons of the soil", they have enjoyed advantages in education and politics, to the chagrin of other ethnic groups. The myth of Hang Tuah, along with his maxim, "Malays will never vanish from the face of the earth", had since gained rising resonance. Though the story has provided a moral reference point, teaching humility and bravery. On a darker level, it has fuelled nationalist convictions. Following the country's Islamisation in the 1980s under Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad, the Hang Tuah story became ever more sacrosanct in national history teaching. The process of Islamisation – consolidating links with the wider Islamic world, solidifying the predominance of Muslim values in public life, and improving the economic position of the Malays (while, for example, curbing the establishment of non-Muslim places of worship) – provoked the reassertion of racial identity. Paradoxically it emulated the model of colonial Malaya, when the British sought to separate the Malays, Chinese and Indians into distinct groups to cement their own authority. Even amid recent Bersih (literally, 'clean') demonstrations in Kuala Lumpur in April, where Malaysians of all races demanded electoral reform, the Hang Tuah story was invoked. The opinion of Mohammad Salim, a 51-year old fish breeder from Lingga has been particularly highlighted in the local press. Like other Malays living on the island, he endorsed the race "advancement" efforts of Mahathir and of the present Prime Minister Najib. Salim envies his privileged fellow Malays on the paeninsula, and tells them to take strength from Tuah's words, rather than engaging in public protest. Read more at: http://toglobalist.org/2012/11/the-once-and-past-king-2/ |
| Chia link will not cost BN, unlike NFC scandal, says Nazri Posted: 01 Nov 2012 11:51 AM PDT  (The Malaysian Insider) - Nazri pointed out that he does not drive the Hummer, but travels in his own car, which he said uses the number plate "WVJ 6". "Wealth, victory, justice," he said, to describe what the plate initials stand for. "Some say W is for wisdom... but I don't want that. Datuk Seri Mohamed Nazri Aziz denied today that allegations of his son's link to Sabah timber trader Michael Chia would cost Barisan Nasional (BN) politically like the National Feedlot Centre (NFC) scandal. "It doesn't bother me at all. That (NFC case) is husband and wife...what he does, he doesn't tell me. "It is different from husband and wife," the outspoken minister told reporters when approached in Parliament. Nazri was defending himself against allegations by PKR's Rafizi Ramli, who had accused him of conflict of interest in his alleged defence of Chia, the businessman who was accused of attempting to smuggle RM40 million to Sabah Chief Minister Datuk Musa Aman. Rafizi had asked if Nazri's alleged "relentless" defence of Chia was because his son, Nedim, had been using the businessman's half a million ringgit Hummer. Despite refusing to confirm or deny whether his son was indeed using Chia's car, Nazri said it was not a problem and has no connection to his integrity as a minister. "Why should it be a problem? It is between him (Nedim) and Michael (Chia). Ask him (Chia) if it is a problem," he said. Nazri pointed out that he does not drive the Hummer, but travels in his own car, which he said uses the number plate "WVJ 6". "Wealth, victory, justice," he said, to describe what the plate initials stand for. "Some say W is for wisdom... but I don't want that. "That is why I can afford things... but certainly, it is not NFC's money," he said, in another swipe at the cattle-farming scandal. Nazri insisted that the latest episode surrounding his alleged link to Chia would not hurt BN in any way in the coming polls. Read more at: http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/chia-link-will-not-cost-bn-unlike-nfc-scandal-says-nazri/ |
| Malaysian employers practise racial bigotry, study shows Posted: 01 Nov 2012 11:40 AM PDT  File photo of a Workers' Day rally in Kuala Lumpur. Two academics found that there is racial discrimination in the hiring process based on an experiment they had conducted.(The Malaysian Insider) - Malaysian employers tend to favour Chinese job applicants over their Malay counterparts, a recent university study has shown, indicating racial discrimination underscores the hiring process in the private sector labour market. In their joint research, Universiti Malaya (UM) senior lecturer in development studies Dr Lee Hwok Aun and Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) research fellow Dr Muhammed Abdul Khalid found that fresh Chinese graduates are more likely to be called for a job interview based on their resumes compared to Malays. "Our findings suggest that employers are generally predisposed favourably towards Chinese, substantially due to compatibility factors and unobservable qualities not revealed in job applications, and are more selective towards Malays, which results in fewer but considerably qualified applicants getting callbacks," the duo stated in an abstract of their seminar paper being presented at UM today. The two academics said they had conducted a field experiment by sending made-up resumes of fresh Malay and Chinese graduates to real job advertisements. From their research, Lee and Muhammed Abdul found that while both Malay and Chinese graduates who listed Chinese-language proficiency and stated that they graduated from a certain university were likely to increase their chances to be called for an interview, yet employers — especially those that were Chinese-controlled or foreign-run — were significantly inclined to pick the Chinese applicant. They noted that the racial discrimination was sharper in engineering jobs than in the accounting or finance sector. They also found that in the engineering industry, Malays were most likely to be rejected by foreign-controlled companies, followed by Malay-controlled companies and lastly Chinese-controlled firms. However, they said their data does not directly show the motif of the racial discrimination in the hiring process based on the experiment they had conducted. Lee and Muhammed Abdul are presenting their paper, titled "Does race matter in getting an interview? A field experiment of hiring discrimination in Peninsular Malaysia", at UM's Economics and Administration Faculty at 10am. Malaysia's mushrooming local higher education institutions churned out a total 184,581 graduates last year, according to the latest statistics released on the Higher Education Ministry's website. Of that figure, 44,391 people or 24 per cent are unemployed. The Najib administration has set aside some RM500 million in its Budget 2013 to spend on jobless youths to make them marketable. Read more at: http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/malaysian-employers-practise-racial-bigotry-study-shows/ |
| Posted: 01 Nov 2012 11:31 AM PDT  Nathaniel Tan (fz.com) - "In my particular case as well, the government and police appear to be sending a signal that while irresponsible bloggers roam free, responsible bloggers who moderate their comments and put a name to their writing are more likely to end up as targets. This policy could not possibly be more ill-formed and counterproductive." PETALING JAYA (Nov 2): On July 13, 2007, blogger Nathaniel Tan was arrested due to an anonymous comment on his blog posting, believed to be information derived from confidential government documents. For four days, he was remanded at the Dang Wangi district police headquarters and pressed on the same line of questioning pertaining allegations in the comment made on Feb 10, 2007, linking the then-deputy internal security minister Datuk Mohd Johari Baharum to a graft allegation. Besides being arrested, Tan's desktop computer, laptop, mobile phone, CDs and some documents, were also seized from his house. Tan was interrogated by the cybercrime division on grounds of publishing accusations based on documents protected under the Official Secrets Act 1972 (OSA) as the identity of the commentator remained unknown. He was released without being charged. However, he might not be as fortunate in the event something similar occurs again. In April, the Evidence Act was amended to include Section 114A which, among others, presumes owners of registered networks, devices, websites and portals to be the publishers of any seditious or offensive content until proved otherwise, and they will be held liable for said content. The provision came into effect on July 31 despite fierce opposition that the law stifles Internet freedom and was vulnerable to abuse as it covers a broad scope of wrongdoings. Some of the more grievous concerns raised against Section 114A are the fact that it shifts the burden of proof on the accused, akin to prosecution against individuals in drug-related offenses. Tan escaped the ordeal of having to go through a trial, not just because there was no evidence to show that he violated Section 8 of the OSA which deals with "wrongful communication" of "official secrets", but also the lack of a precise legislation to nail him for the anonymous content on his website. But for him, the four-day detention was a good enough experience to make sure that he moderates all comments on his blog. "Although, the original comment in question was actually longer, I had already deleted parts of it I found to be without evidence long before my arrest," he said relating his experience to fz.com in an email interview recently. At that time, in dealing with the police Tan noted that "the police did not understand how the Internet works" as he was the "best suspect" to prove their case. "I fear greatly that my arrest, despite the non-existent ties between the accusations against Johari and myself, portend badly for Malaysia's ability to deal with true cybercrime. "In my particular case as well, the government and police appear to be sending a signal that while irresponsible bloggers roam free, responsible bloggers who moderate their comments and put a name to their writing are more likely to end up as targets. This policy could not possibly be more ill-formed and counterproductive," he said in a statement released right after his release. Coming back to consequences of the new provision, Tan opined that it is meant to intimidate online activists in Malaysia considering the evolution of technology today. "Any friend can 'borrow' your smartphone and so on. It is impossible to say for sure who made a posting on your Facebook wall or wrote a tweet under your account. Read more at: http://fz.com/content/tripped-blog-comments |
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