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• Where is the oil fund?
• Ahmad is not "Safe"
• Why I am suitable for Pekan
• Kohilan, three MIC reps gave nod to Batu Caves project
• Sultan regrets Nurul’s remarks
• Why so kaypoh one?
• Anwar challenges Najib to contest in Marang
• Wanita Umno desak Anwar perjelas isu Melayu bebas beragama
• Bersih not looking for an Arab Spring, Ambiga tells CNN’s Amanpour
• And whose fault is this?
• Man alleged to have insulted Johor ruler re-arrested under different charge
• Nurul Izzah ready to meet JAIS over religious freedom issue
• Cops probing The Malaysian Insider over coverage of royal Facebook slur
• Jais boleh bertindak terhadap Nurul Izzah
• Nurul Izzah mahu saman
• Kase dedah bukti baru
• Formula to win over Sabah
• For Selangor DAP, the fight is also within
• ‘Peaceful revolutions’ underway in Malaysia, Singapore
• Selayang Council turns blind eye to Freedom of Information Act
• Selayang Council defied the DOE
• Clearing the air
• Resistance grows within BN against AES profits
• Man gets speeding ticket due to AES blunder
• Anwar 'not democratically elected'
• PERKASA calls on Bumiputeras to reunite
• Penentangan dalam BN meningkat terhadap keuntungan AES
• Gold investment probe: Many paid but did not get their gold
• Soi Lek sombong untuk terima hakikat hudud
• Ibrahim Ali: Nurul Izzah ‘budak mentah’
• Seeking Authorities' Help - a Win-win Situation
• Same difference
• Dark (K)Nights in Malaysia (Part 1)
• PAS Perak tawar khidmat guaman percuma
• MRT aims to up Bumi contracts to RM9.145b
• Don’t be taken for another ride, Indians told
• Prominent Kuantan doctor rubbishes concerns over Lynas’ radioactivity
• DAP admits Pakatan uncertain about retaining Selangor
• PI Bala threatens to bare all if MACC keeps mum
• Emotions
• Malaysia – the Islamic state
• Nurul: I never condoned apostasy
• PKR to lodge MACC report against Nazri
• Hiring in Malaysia – from the prism of race
• India's 'Assange' crusades against corruption
• Christian Cemetery stinks to high heavens
• Non-Muslim religious leaders give a big ‘no’ to hudud in Malaysia
• Zaid quits as Kita chief, cites health problems as the reason
• GE13: Targeting Perak
• Hudud PAS: Soi Lek sudah rasa tertekan

Where is the oil fund? Posted: 06 Nov 2012 11:51 AM PST How many more financial scandals that have emptied our national coffers can Malaysia afford? By Chua Jui Meng, FMT The RM250 million Cowgate fracas has hardly settled and now we have the RM40 million Sabah Umno crony scandal. If the National Feedlot Corporation (NFC) had not been hijacked, low-income Malaysians today would be enjoying affordable beef. We will not be paying about RM27 for a kilogramme of beef now when it was only about RM7 per kg in 2000. The NFC project would have been successful if the RM250 million had been distributed to 1,000 experienced cattle breeders nationwide, with each getting RM250,000 to expand their herd of cattle. What knowledge or credentials do Shahrizat Abdul Jalil's husband and her children have to justify them to be given the project allocation? Now we have Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Nazri Abdul Aziz's defence of Sabah Umno crony timber tycoon Michael Chia. After defending Chia in Parliament, saying there was nothing wrong with Chia carrying RM40 million in a suitcase for Sabah Umno, we are shocked by his son Nedim's connection with Chia. Nedim was seen driving a more than RM500,000 Hummer registered in the name of Michael Chia. Not only that, pictures of Nedim wearing a Richard Mille Tourbillon (model RM 002 V2) watch worth RM1,072,000 have surfaced in social network Facebook. What is happening to Malaysia and its ruling lawmakers? Scandals that expose their enormous wealth are surfacing regularly while our RM502 billion federal debt continues to climb. How many more financial scandals that have emptied our national coffers can Malaysia afford? Petroleum fund Petronas was set up in 1974 and its first CEO Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah recently revealed that there were plans for the establishment of a Tabung Warisan Petrolium (National Petroleum Heritage Fund) for the future of Malaysians when our oil wells run dry. Has there been any such oil fund set up? As far as I know there has never been a disclosure by the government of the existence of such a fund. With the billions or even trillions of ringgit in oil revenue over some four decades, there is absolutely no excuse that is acceptable to Malaysians for this tragic betrayal of the people's trust by our "oil sheikhs … Mahathir, Abdullah and Najib". Norway, where they have oil in the North Sea, the country's oil fund known as Norway Pension Fund stands at US$656 billion or RM2 trillion. And the country has a population of only five million people. UAE-Abu Dhabi Investment Authority's oil-revenue sovereign wealth fund is at US$627 billion or RM1.9 trillion. Almost all oil producing countries have established their own oil funds for their peoples' future but not Malaysia. This is a serious indictment of the present regime. Instead, after 55 years, the corrupt BN government has given us a RM502 billion federal debt that is fast growing. The Petroleum Act 1974 must also be amended to remove the prime minister's absolute powers over Petronas and its finances. Now, no one has the right to question the prime minister's decision. Only the prime minister, not even his deputy, is privy to Petronas' accounts. Living in debt Pakatan Rakyat has pledged to make Petronas accountable to Parliament and this should lead to the establishment of the long awaited National Petroleum Heritage Fund. Read more

Ahmad is not "Safe" Posted: 06 Nov 2012 10:17 AM PST   My views herein are based on my personal experiences and knowledge during my time as the lawyer for the current Sultan of Johor. I verily believe that the Johor Palace has a big say in Ahmad's arrest and they are interfering with the Johor Police in this matter. The Police in Johor has to bow to the Palace in matters relating to the Johor royalty. They have"no choice", they cannot say no.   Kamal Hisham Jaafar Dubai, United Arab Emirates I am making this press statement in response to the re arrest of AHMAD ABD JALIL by the JOHOR police on Monday  Nov 5, the same day after the Johor Magistrate freed him from a three day remand order.   It was reported by The Malaysian Insider today that Ahmad's father, Abd Jalil, informed them that he still feared for his son's safety, complaining that he was in the dark as to what would happen next. In the report  by The Malaysian Insider, Abd Jalil pointed out that since the Magistrate had freed Ahmad from remand, the police should not have carted his son back to a lock-up.  It was further reported by The Malaysian Insider that even then, the youth was brought to court by three men, only one of which was dressed in full police uniform. The others, he said, were in plainclothes. It was also stated that when Ahmad was freed, the driver, a big guy dressed in a red shirt, looked particularly unhappy. The driver pulled aside the inspector and they had a discussion for a while before they took Ahmad back to their car, instead of releasing him to Ahmad's family.   "That was when we were told that they were acting on orders from above," Abd Jalil said to The Malaysian Insider.  My views herein are based on my personal experiences and knowledge during my time as the lawyer for the current Sultan of Johor. I verily believe that the Johor Palace has a big say in Ahmad's arrest and they are interfering with the Johor Police in this matter. The Police in Johor has to bow to the Palace in matters relating to the Johor royalty. They have "no choice", they cannot say no.  The palace normally gives its ORDER and LODGES its police reports through the Sultan's ADC, DSP Sugumaran, thus making Sugumaran, the complainant on behalf of the palace. Sugumaran will go out of his way and not within his job scope as he will communicate directly with the investigating officers and telling them about the Sultan or the Tunku Mahkota's directives. The Palace has too much power and this makes the police officers in Johor unhappy. What worries me is the Palace's unruly behaviour, who wants to make the "accused" or "victim" suffer and tormented physically and mentally with so many scary ways of which these will also affect the family members. What the palace wants is to feel "the proud power of winning, the feeling of "what we can do," and making the victim feeling so small, being a loser and begging for forgiveness and if needed, to kiss the Sultan and/or Tunku Mahkota's feet. I really hope that Ahmad need not go through all this experience. I have knowledge of several incidents not favouring the complainant or the witness or when someone that the palace is of the view has crossed the line. One which I will disclose here is the incident where the Investigating Officer, Inspector Fahmi who was physically fit in the morning when he appeared in court but  later in the afternoon with swollen eyes after being beaten by people from the Palace.  Another example, about 2 years ago a close relative of the palace was charged in the Johor court for beating a complainant with a metal object in the compound of the Johor Bahru Central Police Station in the presence of 2 police officers while the complainant was making a statement. The incident that involves the Negeri Sembilan royalty in 2008 is another example how powerful the Johor palace is. The people involved in making the Johor royalty escape the punishment now, those who gave instructions, those who tempered and destroyed the evidence, knew what really happened. You can lie now but you know very well what happened and you will be punished when your time comes.  Those who have experienced what I have gone through with the Johor royalty will know how powerful the Johor palace is and what they are capable of doing. Therefore, I strongly urge that the administration of the Johor Police force be changed immediately if the Royal Malaysia Police wants the people to have faith in the Johor Police again. I have also made an application to the police that due to the death threats I have received, my statement be recorded/taken outside Malaysia and the statement recorded/taken by the police from Bukit Aman. Meanwhile, I am still hoping that whatever cases that the Johor Police has against me, whether I am being called to give statements or whether instructions have been given to charge me even though I have NOT given any statement, all these files to be transferred to Bukit Aman. I have full confidence that the Police in Bukit Aman will never be influenced by the Johor palace. The Police in Bukit Aman will never take any instructions or order or directives from the Johor palace and the Police in Bukit Aman will carry out their duties without fear or favour. Justice Not Only Must Be Done But Must Be Seen To Be Done.

Why I am suitable for Pekan Posted: 06 Nov 2012 10:12 AM PST   Hadi will face a tough time in Pekan, and I wonder why he should be put there at such risk. He is PAS President and for the sake of its own long-term viability, PAS cannot afford to have a President who loses in an election. That sort of risk, however, can be undertaken by someone who is not interested to be a Minister or national leader, and who is willing to contest just to move the country forward on the right footing. That person must also have the capacity to debate the Prime Minister on issues that are important to the country. Zaid Ibrahim  When a nice journalist from The Star asked me why I had decided to resign as KITA chief, I said that I wanted to focus on the General Election and leave the running of the party to all my friends. My health dictates that I do not suffer too much stress. I also said that in case Dato' Seri Abdul Hadi Awang declined to contest against Prime Minister Dato' Sri Najib Tun Razak in Pekan, then I would gladly do so. This is not a desperate act to look for a seat to contest as some have claimed. It is also not true that I have applied to PKR or any Opposition party to be the Pekan candidate. I have said it before and I will say it again: I will not apply to any political party to be a candidate. I made this statement to tell the Malaysian public that I want to help the Opposition in any way I can. My party is too small and new to give me a credible platform. Hadi will face a tough time in Pekan, and I wonder why he should be put there at such risk. He is PAS President and for the sake of its own long-term viability, PAS cannot afford to have a President who loses in an election. That sort of risk, however, can be undertaken by someone who is not interested to be a Minister or national leader, and who is willing to contest just to move the country forward on the right footing. That person must also have the capacity to debate the Prime Minister on issues that are important to the country. I am interested to take on the Prime Minister because he represents all that is wrong with Malaysia today.  Read more at: http://zaiduntukrakyat.com/index.php?mact=News,cntnt01,detail,0&cntnt01articleid=354&cntnt01origid=58&cntnt01returnid=80

Kohilan, three MIC reps gave nod to Batu Caves project Posted: 06 Nov 2012 10:10 AM PST   (The Sun Daily) -  It's official - all 19 members who attended the full board meeting of the Selayang Municipal Council voted in favour of approving the Dolomite Avenue Park project in Batu Caves in 2007. Despite earlier denials and assertions by some councillors that they were neither party nor privy to the approval process, minutes of the meeting held on Nov 29, 2007 - obtained by theSun - show otherwise. Deputy foreign affairs minister Datuk A. Kohilan Pillai, who was a councillor between 1997 and 2008, had voted in favour of the project. So did the three councillors from the MIC – Rajakupal Sinnathamby, Jayakumaran Govindasamy and Rajandran Muniandy. Both Gerakan, of which Kohilan is a member, and the MIC, have recently accused the current Pakatan-led Selangor government of approving the project. On Oct 26, former MIC president and works minister, Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu, spearheaded a demonstration at the Sri Subramaniar Temple at Batu Caves - which is beside the project site - calling for a stop to the project. Kohilan, who had joined the scores of protesters, has since vehemently denied his involvement in the project's approval, claiming that only a "planning permit" was issued during his tenure. Such a permit is also referred to as a "development order" which allows immediate development. Kohilan has reportedly claimed that the application from Dolomite was basic and did not indicate details. But documents show that the application was submitted with detailed layout and building plans. The minutes also show that approval was given for dual-development - 18 units of three-story shop-lots and two tower blocks – one of 25-storeys and another of 29. In a twist of irony showing that local councils can work efficiently if they want to, council president Datuk Zainal Abidin Azim issued the go-ahead on Nov 30 – just 24 hours after the full board endorsed the approval. The minutes also showed that approval was "subject to conditions" and these included those recommended by the Geosciences and Minerals Department which has since briefed the state government on non-compliance. It is learnt that the department indicated that the developer had failed to comply with some of the conditions set, especially the construction of the Geobrugg that should have been done before the work on the shop lots had begun. Yesterday, theSun reported that the council had also defied objections from the Selangor Department of Environment (DOE) which had expressed its reservations on development which is in close proximity to the limestone hills.

Sultan regrets Nurul’s remarks Posted: 06 Nov 2012 10:08 AM PST   (The Star) -  The Sultan of Selangor has expressed regret and surprise at a statement by PKR vice-president Nurul Izzah Anwar that Malay Muslims are free to choose their faith under the religious freedom factor. Selangor Islamic Affairs Council (Mais) chairman Datuk Mohamad Adzib Mohd Isa said Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah totally rejected any view that Malay Muslims were free to choose another religion and denounce Islam. In a statement here yesterday, Mohamed Adzib said: "As the adviser to the Sultan of Selangor, Mais will assist him to be cautious, sensitive and firm on anyone who challenges the sanctity of Islam, whether in terms of ideology or practice, particularly in Selangor." Nurul Izzah, who is Lembah Pantai MP, was reported as saying at a forum on Saturday that no one should be compelled to adopt a particular religion and this applied to the Malays as well. Following a public outcry over her statement, she denied she was supporting murtad (apostasy) or encouraging Muslims to renounce Islam. She told reporters at the Parliament lobby yesterday that she was ready to meet the Selangor Islamic Affairs Department (Jais) to explain her remarks. Jais director Datuk Marzuki Husin said the MP's statement was akin to saying all religions are the same. "This is not correct as Islam is not the same as other faiths," he said, stressing that Jais could act against Nurul Izzah if it has information on what she exactly said at the forum.

Why so kaypoh one? Posted: 05 Nov 2012 08:23 PM PST I have not heard one comment from any of these people who appear outraged with what they imagine Nurul Izzah had said. Ibrahim Ali of Perkasa too has whacked Nurul Izzah. So have some co-called scholars. But did you notice one thing? They NEVER mentioned the punishment for someone who leaves Islam. Why do they not have the balls to say it? NO HOLDS BARRED Raja Petra Kamarudin Malaysians have this very kiasu and very kaypoh characteristic. They worry about what other people are doing (or cannot do). For example, most of the comments about Nurul Izzah Anwar's misunderstood and misinterpreted comment regarding freedom of religion come from the non-Malays/non-Muslims.  And you know what? All those who are making these comments were not even there. So how do you know what she said? Yet you make comments as if you were there and you fully understood what she said.  The non-Malays/non-Muslims do not face any problems with their religion. They can worship trees, rocks, goats, cows, pussies, dicks, statues, etc., or even not believe in God if they wish to. No one can do anything about that. It is the Muslims who do not enjoy that same freedom. So why are the non-Malays/non-Muslims talking so much about a problem that does not affect them or involve them? Can you imagine the Malays/Muslims making so many comments about the problem the Hindus are facing when they go to pray at Batu Caves? What problems you face at Batu Caves and what you do at Batu Caves is a Hindu problem. The Malays-Muslims will not masuk campur. Anyway, in the first place, the Malays-Muslims are of the opinion (or misconception, if that word pleases you more) that what the Hindus are doing is wrong. Malays-Muslims consider that as an act of idol worshipping and idol worshipping is forbidden in Islam. So why bother to comment about something you do not believe in anyway? Okay, okay, okay, we must allow freedom of thought and freedom of expression. So the non-Malays/non-Muslims have every right to say what they think. And they think that it is wrong for Malays-Muslims to be denied freedom of religion. If the Malays-Muslims want to leave Islam then they should be allowed to do so. And since the Malays-Muslims do not have that freedom, then the non-Malays/non-Muslims must speak up and whack Islam. But that is just it. Did anyone force you to convert to Islam? Are you even a Muslim in the first place? If you are not a Muslim then why do you bother about what Islam does and does not allow? It does not affect you one bit. And have you stopped to think that maybe the Malays-Muslims are not unhappy about this? You, the non-Malays/non-Muslims, are so unhappy that the Malays/Muslims cannot leave Islam. So you whack Islam. But the Malays-Muslims can accept that. It is the non-Malays/non-Muslims who cannot accept that. Why? Hindus are forbidden from eating beef, just like Muslims are forbidden from eating pork. Is this not denying Indians their right to freedom of food? Should the Muslims condemn Hinduism and label it as an outdated religion from the Dark Ages? In today's day and age no one should be denied their right to eat whatever they want to eat. Why use a law from the Dark Ages to control Hindus as to what they can and cannot eat?  Why are the Hindus so stupid? In the old days you needed cows as beasts of burden. So you needed to ban the killing of cows or else the people would starve if there were no beasts of burden. Today you don't need cows. You can use tractors and lorries to do that work. So why can't Indians or Hindus kill the cows and eat the meat? Sounds like a stupid argument, does it not? Well, no more stupid than the non-Malays/non-Muslims trying to teach the Malays-Muslims what 'proper' Islam should be.  Anyway, all this Islam-bashing only works in Umno's favour and most likely the Malays-Muslims will demonstrate their disgust in the coming general election. Then, when Pakatan Rakyat fails to march into Putrajaya, I will write another "Ha, ha, ha…I told you so" article. Trust me to rub salt into your wounds. I love doing that. Nevertheless, just for the record, let me stress here that I am a strong supporter of freedom of thought and freedom of expression. Take note, though, that freedom of expression does not quite mean freedom to mock or freedom to vilify, which is what many of you do and you call it freedom of speech. Even sex with an underage girl is considered rape so you can't hide behind the concept of freedom of sex. Freedom of sex comes with conditions -- meaning between two CONSENTING ADULTS. Those are the two key words -- consenting and adults. If not then it would be rape. So make sure you understand what freedom of thought and freedom of expression really means. Many of you are confused about the concept. Anyway, back to the issue I want to talk about today. I said I am a strong supporter of freedom of thought and freedom of expression. And this is a problem that Muslims face and which Muslims must address. Let me repeat that. This is a problem that Muslims face and which Muslims must address. Muslims are not allowed freedom of thought and freedom of expression. And this is why Nurul Izzah is currently in hot soup. She said something, and the media misinterpreted (or twisted) what she said. I have heard what she said. And what she said was correct. She did not say that she supports Muslims becoming apostates. She did not say that she supports Muslims leaving Islam to become, say, Christians. Personally, she upholds Islamic values and teachings. However, the reality is, in this day and age, people are able to think for themselves and invariably people will follow what they think is correct, even if that 'correct' thing to these people is to leave Islam. Hence what do we do? If people still leave Islam do we round them up and cut off their heads in a public square? What do we do? In the real world people do leave Islam so that is something we need to live with even though we may be opposed to it.  Is not Nurul Izzah just being practical? You may not like it, but it happens. The question is what action do you take? Why not the various muftis and scholars (ulamak) then tell us what to do. Let us hear these muftis and ulamaks clearly state that all those Muslims who leave Islam must be rounded up and be put to death. I have not heard one comment from any of these people who appear outraged with what they imagine Nurul Izzah had said. Ibrahim Ali of Perkasa too has whacked Nurul Izzah. So have some co-called scholars. But did you notice one thing? They NEVER mentioned the punishment for someone who leaves Islam. Why do they not have the balls to say it? Can you now see why I say that Malays-Muslims are great hypocrites? They do not dare say that apostates must be put to death. Why do they not say it? Idiots! Nurul Izzah then quoted Tariq Ramadan. And she quoted what Tariq Ramadan said about there not being any compulsion in religion, which is a verse from the Qur'an. Would any mufti or ulamak like to dispute that? If so, say so now, or else forever keep your dirty mouth shut. Actually, my bone of contention is not with the mufti or ulamak. Most of them are hypocrites anyway so why waste our time with them? They make so much noise but they stop short of telling us what should be done about apostates. My bone of contention is with the politicians. If the politicians did not play up this issue then the whole thing would be a non-issue. It is because this has been turned into a political issue that we now have a serious racial-religious problem in Malaysia. And all politicians -- Malays/Muslims plus non-Malays/non-Muslims -- are to be blamed for this because everyone is doing it. Read the statement below:  Timbalan Presiden PKR Azmin Ali pula berkata masyarakat beragama Islam di negara ini masih lagi terikat dengan undang-undang syariah dan itu tidak boleh dipertikaikan. So there you have it. Azmin Ali, Ibrahim Ali, Hasan Ali, Baba Ali, or whoever, they are all the same. They all say that Muslims are bound by the Sharia and hence Sharia laws cannot be disputed. This means Muslims cannot leave Islam. Azmin Ali represents PKR and Pakatan Rakyat. And PKR's and Pakatan Rakyat's stand is the same as Umno, Barisan Nasional, Perkasa, or whatever. As far as the Sharia is concerned, both sides of the political fence are unanimous in their views. So what more to talk? Whether you vote Barisan Nasional or Pakatan Rakyat the Sharia cannot be disputed and Muslims cannot leave Islam. So maybe the non-Malays/non-Muslims can stop whacking Islam on grounds that Islam does not allow Muslims to leave Islam because Pakatan Rakyat also shares this view. Yes, I know what you are now going to say. You are going to say it is political suicide for Pakatan Rakyat to state its stand. So better Pakatan Rakyat just keep quiet and not lose the election.  Okay, I can buy that. Let's just keep quiet and pretend so that Pakatan Rakyat does not lose the election. That is not hypocrisy. That is…err...political expediency. So why talk about the Islamic State then? Why talk about Hudud then? You talk about nine very sensitive things but you refuse to talk about the tenth thing lest you lose the election. Kan ke bodoh tu?

Anwar challenges Najib to contest in Marang Posted: 05 Nov 2012 08:07 PM PST He says the PM should contest in Marang as PAS president Abdul Hadi had offered to stand in Pekan, held by Najib. (FMT) - Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim today issued a challenge to Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak to contest in the Terengganu parliamentary constituency of Marang held by PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang in the next general election. He said the prime minister should contest in Marang as Abdul Hadi had offered to stand in the Pahang parliamentary constituency of Pekan held by Najib. Asked whether Abdul Hadi would definitely contest in Pekan, Anwar, when approached at the lobby of Parliament House, said: "We have yet to discuss the matter. He (Abdul Hadi) had said that he would abide by the decision of PAS. Let's wait for the party decision." Abdul Hadi had reportedly said that he would contest wherever the party wanted him to, including in Pekan. Najib had said yesterday he did not think that Abdul Hadi would contest in Pekan.

Wanita Umno desak Anwar perjelas isu Melayu bebas beragama Posted: 05 Nov 2012 06:16 PM PST (Bernama) - Wanita Umno hari ini mendesak Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim memperjelaskan dakwaan bahawa pakatan pembangkang akan memberi kebebasan beragama kepada semua termasuk orang Melayu jika menang pilihan raya umum ke-13. Ketuanya Datuk Seri Shahrizat Abdul Jalil berkata maklumat itu juga mendakwa agama bayi tidak akan ditulis pada sijil kelahiran, sebaliknya mereka boleh memilih agama masing-masing apabila berumur 18 tahun. "Jadi saya nak tanya Anwar selaku Ketua Pembangkang, adakah ini benar," katanya kepada pemberita selepas melawat mangsa banjir di Dewan Orang Ramai Dengkil, di sini. Beliau berkata perkara itu antara yang didakwa dirancang pakatan pembangkang untuk dilaksana jika mereka menguasai kerajaan pusat pada pilihan raya umum nanti. Shahrizat berkata demikian ketika diminta mengulas mengenai kenyataan anak Anwar, Nurul Izzah yang juga Naib Presiden Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) bahawa kebebasan beragama seharusnya terpakai kepada semua termasuk orang Melayu. Kata Shahrizat beliau tidak terperanjat dengan kenyataan Nurul Izzah itu kerana Wanita Umno telah lama mendengar desas-desus perancangan pembangkang berhubung isu tersebut. Shahrizat berkata sebagai seorang Melayu beragama Islam, beliau amat terguris dan bimbang dengan perancangan itu. "Mungkin ini usaha untuk tambat hati kaum-kaum lain dan saya percaya kaum-kaum lain juga tidak setuju dengan cara ini kerana ia akan membawa kepada perpecahan orang Melayu dan penghakisan pengaruh Islam di negara ini," katanya. Shahrizat turut meminta umat Islam di negara ini agar menimbang sebaik-baiknya perkara itu.

Bersih not looking for an Arab Spring, Ambiga tells CNN’s Amanpour Posted: 05 Nov 2012 06:08 PM PST To be honest, as far as our movement is concerned, we're not — we're not worried about who wins. We're worried about the process. Clara Chooi, The Malaysian Insider The Bersih 2.0 movement does not want to cause an Arab Spring in Malaysia, Datuk Ambiga Sreenavasan told CNN in a rare interview on international television aired here this morning. She stressed that the election watchdog group she heads only wants a clean polls process to ensure a democratically-elected government. Ambiga told CNN's Christiane Amanpour during the New York interview that Bersih 2.0 is not opposed to the possibility of the present government returning to power after the next polls, provided that its leaders are elected fairly. "Well, let me tell you where we're coming from. We don't want an Arab Spring," the activist said to the renowned CNN chief international correspondent. Ambiga was being interviewed alongside another pro-reform fighter, Ukraine's Eugenia Tymoshenko, the daughter of the jailed former prime minister Julia Tymoshenko, on "Amanpour", the nightly foreign affairs programme on CNN International which Amanpour anchors for. Both were described by Amanpour as "brave women" and "brave voices for democracy". "We want to choose our leaders through clean and fair elections. We want to do it through the ballot box, which is why the government really, if they want peaceful transition of any sort — it can be the same government," Ambiga said, according to a transcript of the interview available on CNN.com. Amanpour had asked Ambiga if she felt that Malaysia would witness the same uprising seen over the past two years in the Middle East, pointing to the string of pro-democracy protests that the prominent lawyer has led since 2007. "The process is important because what it needs to reflect is the will of the people. It's about legitimacy. It's about honouring the right of the voter to vote," she said. The Arab Spring or the Arab revolution has seen rulers forced from power in several countries across the Arab world including Egypt, Tunisia, Libya and Yemen, in a wave of anti-government street demonstrations. "It can be the same people coming in," insisted Ambiga, stressing again that Bersih 2.0 does not want a Malaysian version of the Arab Spring. "They have to allow it to happen through clean and fair elections. That's what we're asking for. We want to bring change through the ballot box, if there is to be change at all," she said. READ MORE HERE

And whose fault is this? Posted: 05 Nov 2012 05:21 PM PST   So, no, whatever is happening in the country is not Umno's fault. It is not the fault of the Malays or the Muslims either. It is the fault of the non-Malays and the non-Muslims from West Malaysia and East Malaysia who collaborate with Umno to deny Malaysians their right to think and their right to express what they think. THE CORRIDORS OF POWER Raja Petra Kamarudin (The Malaysian Insider) - Following attacks on Nurul Izzah Anwar for her statement that allegedly supports religious freedom, the PKR vice president today said she is ready to give her statement to the Selangor Islamic Affairs Department (JAIS). The Lembah Pantai MP also said she will take legal action on those who had hurled accusations against her, and will leave the issue to the country's legal system. "I'm ready (to be called by JAIS)...(but) on lawyer's advice, I will take legal action," she said. ***************************************** (The Star) - Police have re-arrested a 27-year-old man alleged to have posted insulting remarks on his Facebook page against the Johor Sultan. State police chief Deputy Comm Datuk Mohd Mokhtar Mohd Shariff said the suspect was detained again after police failed to get an extension on the first remand order from the court. He added that police have opened two investigation papers against the suspect. ***************************************** (The Malaysian Insider) - The Johor police have started criminal defamation investigations against The Malaysian Insider and Malaysiakini for their coverage of last week's arrest of a man who allegedly insulted the Johor Sultan on his Facebook page. Johor CID deputy director Asst Comm Nor Azizan Anan said the probe was following two police reports lodged by state police on articles carried by the two news portals regarding the arrest, Berita Harian reported today. ***************************************** You have read the three news items above, right? Now, in case you do not yet understand what is going on in Malaysia, allow me to enlighten you a bit. I know that many Malaysians are brain-dead so unless I help walk you through the issue this whole thing would be lost on you. The issue is simple, really. When the mainstream media reports that you said something, you are in deep shit. Action will be taken against you super-fast. You might say that the mainstream media lies, it never tells the truth, it cannot be trusted, and so on. That will still not save you from the long arm of the law. Hell, I should know. When the mainstream media reported that I had made an allegation against 'First Lady' Rosmah Mansor regarding her alleged involvement in the Altantuya Shaariibuu murder, I was arrested and charged in court. The fact that I never made such an allegation but actually said that someone else (Lt. Kol. Azmi Zainal Abidin) had made that allegation did not save me. If the mainstream media said I said it then I said it. Plain and simple! Then when I gave an interview with the mainstream media to explain what happened and I stressed that I was arrested and charged for something that I did not do (meaning I did not make any allegation against Rosmah Mansor), the mainstream media reported that I had done a U-turn and that I now withdraw the allegation. And that got me into a heap of other problems. So, can we believe the mainstream media or can we not believe it? In my case the mainstream media report was to be believed. Then I suppose in all those other cases the mainstream media reports are to be believed as well. You have to make up your mind. Do you accept what the mainstream media says or do you not? One day you appear to accept what they say and the next day you reject what they say. In short, you accept and reject things at your convenience. It is no longer about the truth. It is about what fits in to your agenda. Okay, never mind, whether the mainstream media lied or not is not as important as the next issue. And the next issue is that Malaysia does not allow freedom of thought, freedom of opinion, freedom of expression, etc. So that means you are not allowed to think and certainly not allowed to say what you think. Doing so is a crime and you can get arrested, put on trial, and sent to jail. And there are certain taboos or sacred cows that if you 'touch' you will get into trouble. The Monarchy/Rulers, Islam, the Muslims, Malay privileges, the National Language, etc., are at the top of this taboo list. You 'touch' these issues and you die. Okay, now tell me, whose fault is this? Yes, that's right, it's the fault of Umno. It's the fault of the Malays. It's the fault of the Muslims. Am I correct? Hmm…I can just imagine most of you reading this now jumping up and down excitedly like what the Malays would call 'kera kena belacan'. Actually, that is not right. No, it is not the fault of Umno, the Malays or the Muslims. How can it be Umno's fault, or the fault of the Malays or the Muslims? I mean, do you really think that Umno, the Malays, or the Muslims, have ABSOLUTE political power? They don't. And look at the four graphics below to see what I mean. The first graphic shows that out of 505 state seats contested in the 2008 General Election, BN won 307 and PR won 197. In the Sarawak State Election last year (graphic number 4), BN won 55 seats against only 15 by PR and one independent. Now, out of a total of 362 state seats won by BN, how many were won by Umno? In Sarawak, not a single seat was an Umno seat. Look at the pie chart (graphic number 2) and the third graphic. Umno controls only about one-third the seats in Parliament, which it won with less than 30% of the popular votes. How can Umno be in power with only one-third the seats and less than 30% of the votes? Okay, for the benefit of those of you who are brain-dead -- and there are a lot of those types of people reading Malaysia Today -- Umno DOES NOT have ABSOLUTE political power and it CANNOT form the government with only one-third the seats and less than 30% the votes. So, no, whatever is happening in the country is not Umno's fault. It is not the fault of the Malays or the Muslims either. It is the fault of the non-Malays and the non-Muslims from West Malaysia and East Malaysia who collaborate with Umno to deny Malaysians their right to think and their right to express what they think. Am I angry with Umno? Of course I am not. Umno is a political party. It is the job of a political party to exploit any issue that can be exploited for political gain. That is what politics is all about. Umno does not hide the fact that it is a party that upholds Ketuanan Melayu and that it will not tolerate anyone who comments unfavourably on issues related to the Monarchy/Rulers, Islam, the Muslims, Malay privileges, the National Language, etc. Umno is honest about its 'struggle'. So why get angry with people who are honest about what they are and then demonstrate that they are honest about what they are? The people I am angry with are the dishonest hypocrites who say one thing and then do the opposite. These are the non-Malays and the non-Muslims who talk a lot and claim the moral high ground but help Umno with only one-third the seats in Parliament and less than 30% votes to deny Malaysians their right to think and their right to express what we think.  What ABU! ABU bullshit! You make it appear like everything wrong with Malaysia is the fault of Umno, the Malays or the Muslims. Everything bad that happens in the country is the fault of Umno, the Malays and the Muslims. Yes, Umno all on its own and with merely a few seats in Parliament that cannot even give them a simple majority in Parliament is to blame for everything that is wrong with Malaysia. Blame Umno. Blame the Malays. Blame the Muslims. The non-Malays and the non-Muslims are not to blame. The non-Malays and the non-Muslims have nothing to do with this.  It sometimes puzzles me that Umno with only one-third the seats in Parliament can form a government and end up controlling almost two-third the seats in Parliament. Magical, don't you think so? I think what is even more magical is how the non-Malays and the non-Muslims can shift the blame entirely on Umno, the Malays and the Muslims as if they are not equally guilty of denying Malaysians freedom of thought and freedom of expression. The Malays-Muslims, in particular those from Umno, are very open about what they stand for. The non-Malays/non-Muslims, however, pretend a lot. They pretend they are not to blame whereas without them Umno would be an opposition party and not the ruling government. The non-Malays/non-Muslims are so full of shit.

Man alleged to have insulted Johor ruler re-arrested under different charge Posted: 05 Nov 2012 03:43 PM PST (The Star) - Police have re-arrested a 27-year-old man alleged to have posted insulting remarks on his Facebook page against the Johor Sultan. State police chief Deputy Comm Datuk Mohd Mokhtar Mohd Shariff said the suspect was detained again after police failed to get an extension on the first remand order from the court. He added that police have opened two investigation papers against the suspect. "We are investigating the case under Section 233 of the Communication and Multimedia Act as well as under the Sedition Act. "The first remand was under the Communication and Multimedia Act but the suspect is now re-arrested under the Sedition Act," he said.

Nurul Izzah ready to meet JAIS over religious freedom issue Posted: 05 Nov 2012 03:31 PM PST Mohd Farhan Darwis, The Malaysian Insider Following attacks on Nurul Izzah Anwar for her statement that allegedly supports religious freedom, the PKR vice president today said she is ready to give her statement to the Selangor Islamic Affairs Department (JAIS). The Lembah Pantai MP also said she will take legal action on those who had hurled accusations against her, and will leave the issue to the country's legal system. "I'm ready (to be called by JAIS)...(but) on lawyer's advice, I will take legal action," she said. "My lawyer will take the next action, I am no longer allowed (to) issue statements," she said in a press conference at the Parliament lobby today. Opposition Leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim described the issue raised against his daughter as a political trick to shift attention from the abuses of power by the Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition and its mainstay party Umno. "This issue of religion is not for play. If Umno wants to use religion, if JAIS truly (fights for Islam)...take action against Muslims involved in gambling, statements that are twisted (disesatkan), but no. "(But) religion is used as Umno's political toy," he told reporters at a press conference today. The Permatang Pauh MP also slammed Umno's religious scholars for attacking Nurul Izzah over her alleged support for pluralism, but keeping their silence on many religious issues within Umno. "Cruelty (kezaliman), bribery, abuses (penyelewengan) by Umno, Umno's religious teachers don't dare to touch, they use religious pluralism generally. "Religious pluralism, if they belittle (meremehkan) Islam, means rejecting laws (menolak hukum) and saying all religions are the same. "Issues of religion, faith, we (PR) do not budge, but this is only distracting the view because Umno religious teachers do not dare to talk about insults to religion, cruelty and bribery," he stressed. Nurul Izzah has been under attack for allegedly expressing her support for freedom of religion for all, including Malays, in a forum last Saturday. But she has reportedly denied that she is supporting apostasy among the country's Malay-Muslim community. Anwar also supported Nurul Izzah's move in bringing the matter to court to enable legal action against those who had made the accusations against her.

Cops probing The Malaysian Insider over coverage of royal Facebook slur Posted: 05 Nov 2012 03:16 PM PST Clara Chooi, The Malaysian Insider The Johor police have started criminal defamation investigations against The Malaysian Insider and Malaysiakini for their coverage of last week's arrest of a man who allegedly insulted the Johor Sultan on his Facebook page. Johor CID deputy director Asst Comm Nor Azizan Anan said the probe was following two police reports lodged by state police on articles carried by the two news portals regarding the arrest, Berita Harian reported today. "On the arrest, The Malaysian Insider and Malaysiakini published articles on the investigation and arrests last Saturday and Sunday. "Following the publication, the Johor police lodged two reports on the articles and an investigation is being carried out under Section 500 of the Penal Code," he was quoted as saying in the Malay daily. ACP Azizan said the authors of the articles and those named in the reports will be summoned for questioning. Section 500 of the Penal Code, which outlines the penalty for defamation, stipulates that "whoever defames another shall be punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend to two years, or with fine, or with both." Ahmad Abd Jalil (picture), a 27-year-old quantity surveyor, was detained by police at his office on Friday night under the Sedition Act for a Facebook posting that allegedly insulted the Johor Sultan. The Malaysian Insider reported the arrest and subsequent events following his detention on Saturday, quoting details from Ahmad's lawyer Mohd Zakwan Adenan and a sibling who refused to be named. On Sunday, this news portal carried another report on the incident, this time quoting the Ahmad's father Abd Jalil Abd Rahman, who expressed his family's fear over his son's safety while under police remand. Yesterday, Abd Jalil told The Malaysian Insider that his son was released from remand under orders from a Johor magistrate but was later rearrested and placed back into police custody, this time for another probe under a different law. "Legally, Ahmad has been FREED by d magistrate. But d POLIS wants 2take him back to IPK. We are insisting that Ahmad follow us. Police still...?" Abd Jalil had said in an SMS. IPK refers to "ibu pejabat polis kontinjen" or the Johor police contingent headquarters, where the 27-year-old Ahmad has been held for the past few days. English-language daily The Star had yesterday quoted acting Johor CID chief ACP Abd Aziz Ahmad as saying in a statement that Ahmad's offensive posts were published on October 21 and had implied that Sultan Ibrahim was unfit to be the state ruler. According to the news report, Ahmad is also being investigated under the Communications and Multimedia Act.

Jais boleh bertindak terhadap Nurul Izzah Posted: 05 Nov 2012 02:39 PM PST Kenyataan Nurul Izzah bahawa rakyat tidak harus dipaksa mengamalkan ajaran tertentu termasuklah orang Melayu adalah salah, kata pengarahnya Datuk Marzuki Husin. Fazy Sahir, FMT Jabatan Agama Islam Selangor (Jais) akan mengambil tindakan ke atas Naib Presiden Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR), Nurul Izzah Anwar sekiranya mempunyai maklumat berhubung kenyataan pemimpin itu dalam satu forum di Subang Jaya Sabtu lepas. Pengarahnya Datuk Marzuki Husin menyifatkan kenyataan Nurul Izzah bahawa rakyat tidak harus dipaksa mengamalkan ajaran tertentu termasuklah orang Melayu adalah salah. "(Kenyataan itu) serupa juga dengan kenyataan semua agama adalah sama. Ia salah, mana boleh semua agama sama. Islam lain, Tuhan sudah kata Islam adalah sebak-baik agama. "Kalau ada rakaman itu minta dipanjangkan kepada kita. Tak semestinya ada laporan, maklumat sudah cukup, kita boleh bertindak. (Setakat ini), kita tak dengar maklumat itu lagi," katanya pada sidang media di pejabat Jais di sini semalam. Kelmarin media melaporkan Nurul Izzah ketika menjawab soalan peserta forum Negara Islam: Versi Mana; Siapa Bertanggungjawab? iaitu sama ada orang Melayu perlu diberikan kebebasan beragama seperti orang bukan Melayu. Nurul Izzah yang juga Ahli Parlimen Lembah Pantai menjawab: "Apabila anda bertanya saya, tiada paksaan dalam beragama… mengapa sesetengah pihak rasa bersalah, perkara ini (kebebasan beragama) hanya terpakai kepada orang bukan Melayu, sepatutnya diguna pakai secara sama rata." Badrulamin langgar fatwa Sementara itu, Marzuki menjelaskan Ahli Majlis Pimpinan Pusat PKR, Dr Badrulamin Bahron ditahan kerana disyaki membantu,  menyokong dan menghadirkan diri dalam majlis sambutan ulang tahun kelahiran pengasas dan pemimpin Al-Arqam, Ashaari Muhammad, pada Rabu lalu. Beliau berkata, kehadiran Badrulamin dalam majlis itu sekaligus melanggar Seksyen 12(C), Enakmen Jenayah Syariah Selangor, iaitu melanggar fatwa mufti. "Bila dia (Badrulamin) hadir dia sudah terikat dengan enakmen," katanya. Jais juga tidak menolak kemungkinan pengikut ajaran Al-Arqam berselindung di sebalik nama syarikat Global Ikhwan Sdn Bhd (Global Ikhwan) dan siasatan lanjut sedang dijalankan. Al-Arqam diasaskan oleh Ashaari Muhammad, atau lebih dikenali sebagai Abuya. Global Ikhwan pula diasaskan pada 2009 selepas pihak berkuasa mengenakan tekanan ke atas Rufaqa Corporation Sdn Bhd yang ditubuhkan oleh kumpulan sama pada 2006.

Nurul Izzah mahu saman Posted: 05 Nov 2012 12:10 PM PST   (Sinar Harian) - Naib Presiden PKR, Nurul Izzah Anwar mahu mengambil tindakan perundangan ekoran laporan media beliau mengeluarkan kenyataan rakyat tidak harus dipaksa mengamalkan ajaran tertentu termasuk kepada orang Melayu. "Peguam akan mengambil langkah seterusnya," ujar Nurul Izzah menerusi laman mikro Twitter milik beliau. Jabatan Agama Islam Selangor (Jais) semalam memaklumkan mungkin akan memanggil Ahli Parlimen Lembah pantai itu untuk membantu siasatan. Pengarah Jais, Datuk Marzuki Hussin berkata, tindakan itu hanya boleh diambil sekiranya pihaknya menerima maklumat berhubung perkara tersebut. "(Kenyataan itu) serupa juga dengan kenyataan semua agama adalah sama. Ia salah, mana boleh semua agama sama. Islam lain, Tuhan sudah kata Islam adalah sebaik-baik agama. "Kalau ada rakaman itu minta dipanjangkan kepada kita. Tak semestinya ada laporan, maklumat (sudah) cukup, kita boleh bertindak. (Setakat ini), kita tak dengar maklumat itu lagi," katanya. Beliau berkata demikian ketika diminta mengulas mengenai kenyataan Nurul Izzah yang didakwa membuat kenyataan itu sebagai menjawab soalan peserta sama ada orang Melayu perlu diberikan kebebasan beragama sama seperti orang bukan Melayu dalam satu forum di Subang Jaya, Sabtu lalu. Terdahulu media melaporkan, Nurul Izzah dipetik sebagai berkata: "Apabila anda bertanya saya, tiada paksaan dalam beragama… mengapa sesetengah pihak rasa bersalah, perkara ini (kebebasan agama) hanya terpakai kepada orang bukan Melayu, sepatutnya diguna pakai secara sama rata." Bagaimanapun, beliau dilaporkan tidak menyatakan orang Melayu sepatutnya diberikan hak dari segi undang-undang berkaitan kebebasan beragama. Nurul Izzah menerusi blog beliau, www.nurulizzah.com berkata, beliau mengucapkan ribuan terima kasih atas pertanyaan lanjut yang diterima beliau ekoran kenyataannya di dalam forum "Islamic State: Which version? Whose responsibility?" sebagai seorang panelis. "Sewaktu sesi soal jawab, salah satu soalan ditanya kepada saya berkait isu paksaan dalam agama melibatkan masyarakat Melayu. "Jawapan saya menegaskan ungkapan – "Tidak ada paksaan dalam agama (Islam)…." – daripada ayat suci Al Quran, Surah Al-Baqarah, ayat 256. Ungkapan ini merangkumi seluruh umat manusia. "Namun ditambah, saya berpegang pada pendirian umum sedia ada, iaitu setelah memeluk Islam, seorang Muslim tertakluk dengan Syariat Islam; sebagaimana seorang warganegara tertakluk dengan Perlembagaan Persekutuan,"katanya. Menurut pemimpin PKR itu lagi, beliau kesal terhadap percubaan memutarbelitkan kenyataannya yang kelihatan seolag-olah meremehkan soal aqidah "atau mudah menerima orang Islam yang memilih untuk murtad." "Saya cenderung mendukung program pendidikan dan dakwah untuk memperkukuh aqidah dan meningkat kefahaman terhadap Islam. "Saya berdoa agar Allah SWT memberi petunjuk dan hidayah kepada semua, demi kesejahteraan bersama," tulis beliau lagi. Ekoran kenyataannya Nurul Izzah turut dikecam oleh Pertubuhan Pribumi Perkasa Malaysia (Perkasa) Pahang yang menganggap beliau sebagai menggadai agama. Ketua Penerangannya, Muhammad Faiz Hashim berkata, kenyataan itu tidak wajar dikeluarkan seorang Islam seperti Nurul Izzah, sebaliknya beliau perlu mempertahankannya.

Kase dedah bukti baru Posted: 05 Nov 2012 12:08 PM PST   (Sinar Harian) - "Salah satu saman yang diterima adalah di Kilometer 6.6 SKVE, menunjukkan pemandu terbabit melakukan kesalahan Seksyen 79 (2) Akta Pengangkutan Jalan 1987, atas kesalahan gagal mematuhi isyarat lalu lintas dan had laju yang ditetapkan 80km sejam. "Sedangkan lokasi yang dimaklumkan dalam laman web JPJ, menunjukkan had laju kilometer 6.6 SKVE yang ditetapkan adalah 90km/sejam.  Kempen Anti Saman Ekor (Kase) sekali lagi mendesak kerajaan menarik balik saman Sistem Penguatkuasaan Automatik (AES) yang dikeluarkan, terutama di Kilometer 6.6, Jalan Kajang Puchong (SKVE). Penasihat Undang-Undang Kase, Zulhazmi Shariff berkata, pihaknya berjaya mengesan beberapa bukti menunjukkan ada kelemahan perlaksanaan AES ini. Menurutnya, sebelum ini Pengarah Penguatkuasa Jabatan Pengangkutan Jalan (JPJ) Jaafar Mohamad memberitahu AES mempunyai kelonggaran (buffer speed limit) sebanyak 10km/sejam. Bagaimanapun, Kase mendapati pemandu yang didakwa menerima saman bawah had laju yang ditetapkan JPJ. "Salah satu saman yang diterima adalah di Kilometer 6.6 SKVE, menunjukkan pemandu terbabit melakukan kesalahan Seksyen 79 (2) Akta Pengangkutan Jalan 1987, atas kesalahan gagal mematuhi isyarat lalu lintas dan had laju yang ditetapkan 80km sejam. "Sedangkan lokasi yang dimaklumkan dalam laman web JPJ, menunjukkan had laju kilometer 6.6 SKVE yang ditetapkan adalah 90km/sejam. Ini bukan buffer, tetapi pengurangan had laju, sepatutnya apabila ada yang memandu lebih 101km/sejam barulah disaman," katanya pada sidang media di lobi Parlimen semalam. Menurutnya, saman AES lebih bercelaru apabila penerima saman terbabit diminta hadir ke Mahkamah Majistret Sepang, bukannya Kajang. Dalam perkembangan sama, Pengerusi Kase, Datuk Mahfuz Omar berkata, kenyataan dikeluarkan  Ketua Pengarah Jabatan Keselamatan Jalan Raya (JKJR) Leslie Leon kelmarin membuktikan AES didakwa ada kelemahan.

Formula to win over Sabah Posted: 05 Nov 2012 11:57 AM PST   (fz.com) - Opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim had promised to let SAPP contest two thirds of the seats in the Sabah state assembly, while national based opposition parties will contest two thirds of the Parliamentary seats.   Sabah Progressive Party (SAPP) vice-president Datuk Dr Chua Soon Bui, in revealing this, said the party is going along with this formula after reaching a consensus with Anwar, who she assumes will go back to negotiate with the Pakatan Rakyat (PR) partners.   "Anwar is recognised as the spokesman of PR coalition. Obviously, when we are negotiating, they are willing to seek a formula, it should be a win-win situation for all," the Tawau MP told fz.com in an exclusive interview recently in parliament.   When asked when this consensus was reached, Chua said the parties have been talking from the beginning of this year, but negotiations are still on going, because the political scenario is dynamic.   "We are not sure if there are any more parliamentarians or state assemblymen leaving BN, as it will change the balance of the negotiation. Anyway the main negotiation that we are doing with PR is (with) PKR, and Anwar is leading PKR. So hopefully we can reach a final consensus just before the election," the affable politician said.   Currently, the national-based and local-based opposition parties are in negotiation to come up with a formula that would satisfy every party. However, the likelihood that an amicable solution would result is not very strong, as there are many political considerations in the Land Below the Wind.   These include the State Reform Party (STAR) Sabah, led by the Kadazandusun strongman Datuk Dr Jeffery Kitingan, which is reportedly eyeing the rural seats, and has gone on record to say the party will contest all the state seats.   Also, DAP and SAPP are eyeing similar urban and Chinese majority seats. Furthermore, it is unsure what role the two BN MPs - Datuk Seri Lajim Ukin (Beaufort) and Datuk Seri Wilfred Bumburing (Tuaran) - who quit Umno and Upko respectively to join Pakatan Rakyat in Sabah.   To Chua, the opposition should have a common goal - to fight against BN - and also a common vision as to what to do for the people.   She feels that the opposition front already share a common ideology and vision, and the parties merely need to work out a formula as the two MPs had changed the equation.   She also hopes that leaderships of all parties could recognize the difficulties in challenging BN and choose winnable candidates.   'BN is arrogant'   When asked if she was planning to contest in the next election, Chua brushed it aside, saying that it is the prerogative of the party president Datuk Seri Yong Teck Lee, and the important thing is to strengthen the party's network. The party has two MPs and two state assemblymen (the two other state assemblymen opted to remain as BN independents).   Chua ventured into politics in 1994 and become one of the pioneers of the SAPP which was registered in 1994. She witnessed the party became a partner of BN Sabah, before it pulled out of the alliance in 2009, citing loss of confidence in the leadership of Prime Minister and BN chairman Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.   She was elected in 1995 GE and 2008 GE on the BN ticket and enjoyed the allocations and help of government agencies until she left the coalition.   According to Chua, Sabah BN is different now, and has become very arrogant.   "They think by putting a lot of pressure on people, they will still gain," she says with a shake of her head.   Among the tactics used by the BN, Chua says, is to go to the rural folk and tell them that they will only get something vital, say water tanks, if they hang up the BN flag. This sort of pressure will have adverse effect, she points out. Read more at: http://fz.com/content/formula-win-over-sabah

For Selangor DAP, the fight is also within Posted: 05 Nov 2012 11:42 AM PST The poor turnout at the Selangor DAP convention last weekend was a missed opportunity to rally the troops to defend the premier state against a hungry opposition.  The fact that Teng himself did not bother to attend and the flimsy excuse he made for not turning up says it all. Teng is apparently cheesed off with her because she has refused to discuss the issue of election candidates at state party meetings. His team feels that big decision on candidates should be shared by both factions. He also claimed that she holds pre-council meetings and, as a result, the actual meetings end up dealing with inconsequential matters. Joceline Tan, The Star  TERESA Kok is known as the "Sassy MP" and her Facebook page shows her posing with a dragon head. She is also known as DAP's Iron Lady in Selangor where she is the state party chairman. Technically, that means she is the most powerful woman in the party in Selangor. But last Sunday, DAP's Iron Lady was put on the defensive over the poor turnout at the Selangor DAP convention. Of the 1,153 delegates, only 311 or 27% showed up for the annual meeting. The minimum quorum is 25% and party leaders were left struggling to explain the numbers. Many of them said this was usually the case in a non-election year for the party and delegates think it would not make a difference whether they are there or not. Yet, this is as good as an election year with the general election so near. DAP is spearheading Pakatan Rakyat's defence of Selangor, the party is the leader of the pack and the coalition is depending on DAP to deliver the bulk of the votes. Size matters in politics and Kok ought to have used this final state convention before the polls as a show of force that the party is hungry, ready and able to hold on to Selangor. A huge turnout would have provided a more convincing backdrop to her rah-rah speech that her party wants to win another eight state seats. Sadly, she ended up talking big to a small hall. Kok did not appreciate the questions raised about the low turnout and she attempted to brush it off in a rather casual manner, attributing it to some delegates being "lazy," the rainy weather and that delegates had activities in their constituencies. But there is another reason there is obviously some degree of sabotage going on. Kok, who is Seputeh MP and Kinrara assemblywoman, is a popular figure in Selangor but she does not exactly have full control over her party. She has had problems consolidating the different factions in her party since becoming state chairman. She does not have the personality or the skills to manage the overnight success of the party. For instance, Pandamaran assemblyman and state exco member Ronnie Liu has his own faction and is still very much a tai-kor or big brother figure in Selangor. He had even tried to replace the people whom Kok had nominated as municipal councillors several months ago. Another faction led by State Speaker Datuk Teng Chang Khim is said to regard Kok as a puppet whose strings are being pulled by PJ Utara MP Tony Pua. Pua is the deputy state chairman but they call him the "de facto chairman". Kok's image also took a knock when a sacked local leader in Selangor Tan Tuan Tat he insists he resigned went public with his criticism of her leadership. Sacked party members can hardly be expected to say nice things but Tan was merely articulating what people in the party had been gossiping in private that Kok's rise in the party was because she was a loyalist of secretary-general Lim Guan Eng, the multiple salaries she is earning from her multiple positions and her limited leadership skills. Then, there is the lingering unhappiness over whether she really deserves to be the Selangor chairman. In the 2010 state party election, Kok's Unity Team was pitched against Teng's Rainbow Team. Teng came in at fourth spot in the 15 seat line-up whereas Kok trailed in at the 11th spot. But there was a lot of backroom horse-trading and Kok managed to secure the chairmanship by getting eight of the 15 office bearers on her side. As they say in politics, the best man does not always win. Teng's people have always suspected Teratai assemblywoman Jenice Lee as the one who gave Kok the crucial vote and they were delighted when Lee was ousted as the Selangor DAPSY chief last Saturday. But the point is many people thought that her 11th position was an indication that she does not enjoy as much grassroots support as Teng, yet she became the boss and is holding some of the most lucrative posts in the Selangor government. Given the history, it is inevitable that onlookers saw it as a reflection of the way people in the party feel about her.  The fact that Teng himself did not bother to attend and the flimsy excuse he made for not turning up says it all. Teng is apparently cheesed off with her because she has refused to discuss the issue of election candidates at state party meetings. His team feels that big decision on candidates should be shared by both factions. He also claimed that she holds pre-council meetings and, as a result, the actual meetings end up dealing with inconsequential matters. But Klang MP Charles Santiago defended Kok as a consensus builder and said she had reached out to bring together the warring factions in Klang. "Sometimes, you cannot please everybody. Even what you eat and wear can become an issue. She has been moving around and she's trying her best," said Santiago. Overall, the convention was a missed opportunity for the DAP leaders to rally the troops for battle. DAP is the party in power in Selangor yet the mood at the convention was not that of a party ready for the mother of all battles. It was rather too subdued and the fighting spirit was not there. Kok has no excuses actually because she has all the resources at her disposal. She is not only Selangor chairman, she is also the national organising secretary as well as the national secretary for the party's women's wing. She has expressed confidence that most people in Selangor still want Pakatan but said that chances of winning would be jeopardised if Umno scares the Malay ground by using the religious and race card among Malays. Instead of blaming Umno, Kok should take a good hard look at her own party organisation. Political parties rise and fall not only on the strengths and weaknesses of their opponent but also on their own strengths and weaknesses. There is still time to assess the party's readiness for the election and do what needs to be done. The blame game is sounding like an old story.

‘Peaceful revolutions’ underway in Malaysia, Singapore Posted: 05 Nov 2012 11:11 AM PST For most of its history, Malaysia has been guided by the desire for "equality of outcomes". It has been trying to redistribute the fruits of growth in a more equitable fashion by giving some people—the majority Malay Muslims, the so-called bumiputeras—more opportunities than others. Singapore has been guided by the desire for "equality of opportunities", with little concern for outcomes. Both countries have pursued their philosophies with determination; now both see the systems faltering.  Sudhir Thomas Vadaketh, SingaporeScene   Malaysia and Singapore are witnessing two slow, quiet, largely peaceful socio-political revolutions that will ultimately change the complexion of the region. For decades, the vast majority of Malaysians and Singaporeans appeared relatively content with their respective ruling parties—the Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition and the People's Action Party (PAP). Their consistent electoral success was built on a combination of rapid economic growth and iron-fisted political control. As living standards got better, most people in the two countries were happy to live their lives quietly under the democratic radar. But over the past decade, a combination of forces—including policy missteps by the ruling parties, the emergence of more credible opposition candidates, and the widening of political space through the Internet—has blown the lid off these hitherto politically apathetic countries. In both Malaysia and Singapore, authoritarian states are making way for more democratic participation. Ordinary people, who for long took their electoral rights for granted, have now realised that their voices and votes do actually make a difference. Civil society is being forced to evolve at warp speed. Private and public actors are adapting to new ways of communicating on a multitude of new platforms. Hence the BN's and PAP's 50 odd years of dominance is ending. In Malaysia, the revolution is a few years ahead: after its next general election, which must be held by June 2013, there is an outside chance that the opposition Pakatan Rakyat (PR) coalition will be governing the country. Across the border, though the PAP still appears very much in control, it is licking its wounds after its worst ever electoral performance last year. Though unthinkable just a few years ago, political observers today have a new favourite pastime: speculating when the PAP might lose power. A minority believes it could happen as soon as the next election, due by 2016. A big reason for these parties' relative decline is that Malaysians and Singaporeans have grown increasingly disillusioned with their respective socio-economic models. For most of its history, Malaysia has been guided by the desire for "equality of outcomes". It has been trying to redistribute the fruits of growth in a more equitable fashion by giving some people—the majority Malay Muslims, the so-called bumiputeras—more opportunities than others. Singapore has been guided by the desire for "equality of opportunities", with little concern for outcomes. Both countries have pursued their philosophies with determination; now both see the systems faltering. Malaysia's pursuit of "equality of outcomes" has created some serious problems, not least the ethnic tensions in society today. Furthermore, the noble ideal of wealth equality has frequently been hijacked by corrupt elements, undermining the policy's effectiveness. Singapore's desire only for "equality of opportunities" has led to gross inequality—or very different "outcomes"—in the country. And with that, it has become harder and harder to guarantee "equality of opportunities"—a rich family's child will always be much better positioned for success than a poor family's child. As Malaysia and Singapore embark on their next stage of development, they face pressures to become a bit more like each other. Malaysians are yearning for more "equality of opportunities" and Singaporeans, "equality of outcomes". This is not just theoretical fluff. These guiding philosophies have influenced how millions of Malaysians and Singaporeans think and interact with each other. In Malaysia, for instance, there are Chinese and Indians who look down on the Malays around them because they are perceived as dependent on government help. Meanwhile, there are a fair number of Malay nationalists who continue to regard Chinese and Indians, some of whose families have been in the country for more than four generations, as second-class citizens. The bumiputera policies also feed the idea that economic opportunity and wealth is a zero-sum game, played out amongst different ethnic groups, based on luck and timing. An Indian church warden in Kuantan, Pahang, likened the process to the spokes on a revolving bicycle wheel. "The Malay bicycle spoke is up now, so the Indian one must necessarily be down," he told me.  He believes it is impossible for all ethnic groups to develop together; the Indians must simply sit tight and wait for their chance again. Hence, by mandating this wealth transfer to the bumiputeras, Malaysia has unwittingly cultivated the idea that in order for one race to progress, another one must be subdued.

Selayang Council turns blind eye to Freedom of Information Act Posted: 05 Nov 2012 11:06 AM PST   (The Sun Daily) - The tenets of the Freedom of Information Act (FOI) mooted and approved by the Selangor state government last year have landed with a thud even before they can take off. While the legislation allowing access to government information has been presented as the "product of the people's power", the people are powerless even with existing legislation which provides for access to basic information. Even existing guarantees in some pieces of legislation before the advent of the FOI are being ignored and a culture of "don't let them know" has pervaded. Take the local councils, for example. Ratepayers and understandably, their legal tenants are entitled to inspect minutes of meetings of the council. This is enshrined in the Local Government Act. However, the Selayang Municipal Council thinks otherwise. It has taken upon itself to deny a request for the minutes of the meeting where the controversial Dolomite Avenue Park project was approved. Who supported the move, who objected or who abstained from voting are now national secret – no thanks to some bumbling council official whose interpretation of the clause is somewhat left to be desired. Unequivocally, the law states: "The minutes of all proceedings of the local authority shall be kept at the office of the local authority and shall at all reasonable times be open to the inspection of any Councillor or rate-payer of the local authority area and of any officer of the Government of the Federation or of the State in which such local authority area is situate, any of whom may at all reasonable times make a copy of any part thereof without fee…" Therefore, what authority does anyone have to prevent a lawful request? The council's corporate communications officer Jamaliah Ahmad repeatedly said: "The minutes are confidential and no one from the public can view or access them. Only the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission is allowed to access the documents." The law is silent and does not consent or oppose any party to the information. To take it upon themselves to state that only anti-graft officers are eligible is self-defeating and makes it unworthy of being stipulated in writing. When specifically referred to the clause, she refused, insisting that no access would be given and the catchword was: "Only the MACC officers have access." So, what do the champions of information freedom in the state capital think about one arm of their government? Why waste time, effort and money on an FOI Act when even the simplest of clauses cannot be interpreted correctly?

Selayang Council defied the DOE Posted: 05 Nov 2012 11:03 AM PST (The Sun Daily) - The Selayang Municipal Council (MPS) defied objections from the Selangor Department of Environment (DOE) in giving the go-ahead for the controversial development of the Dolomite Park Avenue project in Batu Caves in 2007. Even before the land was cleared for development, the council had been alerted to the geological and natural sensitivity of the nearby limestone hills and surrounding areas. Yet, the council chose to ignore such views which are critical when approving development projects. A copy of the DOE letter to the council dated Jan 24, 2007 has been made available to theSun. In the letter, which was copied to the developer, the DOE identified the problems and justified its stand on the project. The key phrase in that letter read: "Jabatan ini tidak menyokong pembangunan di atas memandangkan ianya berpotensi menimbulkan tanah runtuh dan sebagainya." (This department does not support this development as it has the potential to create landslides and other problems.) However, the DOE said that an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) was not necessary as the development covers about 3ha – far below the minimum area of 50ha required by the law. The council had consulted nine related agencies to provide their input on the proposed development. Even the Geosciences and Minerals Department (JMG) had its reservations and asked that five conditions be fulfilled (see box). Despite such strong objections, the council gave the go-ahead and approved the construction of 18 units of three-storey shop lots and two tower blocks – one of 25-storeys and another of 29. The construction of the shop lots has since been completed, some of which have been sold and occupied.   According to planning experts, the mere construction without the developer having met the conditions, especially in the wake of the "non-support" from the DOE, should have dissuaded the council from issuing any development order. The developer, Dolomite Industries Company Sdn Bhd, submitted its plans to the council in June 2006. In an unprecedented move, within four weeks, the council sought the views of nine government agencies – unusual for councils which usually take months to get files moving. The Selangor Town Planning Department in a letter dated Aug 25 stated it had no objection as the development "had potential to be incorporated in the overall development of the neighbourhood"(see chronology). Having received feedback from the agencies, including the reservations from both the DOE and JMG, the One-Stop Centre (OSC) committee, which had been set up by the council, approved the project in a meeting on Sept 27, 2007. It is not immediately known if the comments from these two departments were considered, but according to documents made available to theSun, three councillors – Datuk Raja Paduka Wan Mahmood Pa'wan Teh, Yuszahari Mohd Yusoff and Soohaimi Abd Rahman – attended the meeting together with representatives from the departments of the council. Conspicuously present were chief clerks of the Planning and Buildings Divisions. All decisions made by the various sub-committees of the council including the OSC have to be endorsed at the council's full board meeting which is attended by all 24 appointed-councillors. It is not known when the council met but on Nov 30, 2007, council president Datuk Zainal Abidin Azim wrote to Dolomite enclosing the Development Order.

Clearing the air Posted: 05 Nov 2012 11:01 AM PST   (The Star) - While Malaysia is still using PM10 as a parameter to measure particulate pollution, much of the developed world has moved away from this to something that is even more closely correlated with public health: PM2.5, or particulate matter that is equal to or less than 2.5μm. There are still no standards here for ultra-fine dust that could be inhaled. IT happens like clockwork every few months, when the winds do not favour Malaysia: smoke haze gets blown across from Sumatra or Kalimantan to engulf us and we all become very interested in the latest API figures. The Air Pollutant Index, or API, represents the air quality for the past 24 hours. It is calculated after measuring levels of major pollutants in the air; these include fine dust particles, sulphur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide, ozone and carbon monoxide. These are measured on a continuous basis at 51 locations throughout the country. We tend to fuss over air quality only when the skies are grey. However, that does not mean that there is nothing to worry about when there is no haze, for research shows that the appearance of the sky is not the only thing to look out for when it comes to determining whether the air is safe to breathe. Much of the hazard is invisible to the eye. Haze is essentially fine particulate matter which is generated locally, as well as carried into our atmosphere by winds. Up to 2000, the ambient air quality guidelines issued by the World Health Organisation (WHO) did not provide specific guidelines for particulate matter, which can be inhaled by humans. However, by 2005, WHO revised its guidelines after collating enough evidence that links the fine dust pollution with health effects. The pollutant comes from man-made sources (typically from the combustion of fossil fuels, open burning and various industrial processes, like cement manufacturing) as well as natural ones, which include sea sprays (salt particles), dust carried by strong winds (like during dust storms), and volcanic eruptions. For a few decades, the most common method of determing particulate pollution is by monitoring levels of fine particulate matter that measure up to 10 micrometers (μm) or 10 microns, commonly referred to as PM10. A micrometer is a millionth of a metre, and the average strand of human hair is about 100μm, while a bacteria measures around 10μm. Minute particles While Malaysia is still using PM10 as a parameter to measure particulate pollution, much of the developed world has moved away from this to something that is even more closely correlated with public health: PM2.5, or particulate matter that is equal to or less than 2.5μm. PM2.5 is regarded as more dangerous because they penetrate deep into the lungs, even reaching the alveoli (air sacs), which is the part of the lungs where the exchange of oxygen and carbon dioxide takes place. If enough fine particulates get sucked into the alveoli, then the lung function of that person will be impaired, causing shortness of breath, among other complications. And when these fine particulates accumulate in the alveoli, there is no way for the body to expel them, unlike for larger ones, which can be cleared by blowing the nose or through expectoration. Research accumulated by the US Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) has shown that air with high levels of particulates can aggravate symptoms related to asthma, and add further stress on cardiovascular systems. In severe cases, PM2.5 increases damage to red blood cells in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. PM2.5 is now an accepted air quality indicator in many developed countries. For example, the USEPA has set its National Ambient Air Quality Standard limit for PM2.5 at 15 microgrammes per cubic metre of air (μg/m3) for the annual average and 65 μg/m3 for the 24-hour average. The European Union has set 25 µg/m3 (annual average) as a target in 2010. Getting into the act Malaysia is rather late in the game when it comes to measuring levels of PM2.5, with the Government getting into the act only last December when five air quality monitoring stations were fitted with equipment to measure fine particulate matter. The stations are in Putrajaya, Banting (Selangor), Cheras (Kuala Lumpur), Langkawi (Kedah) and Kuching (Sarawak). Not surprisingly, PM2.5 was detected in all five stations. The Department of Environment (DOE) did not reveal the levels but in an e-mail reply toThe Star, said that in urban areas, the ratio between PM2.5 and PM10 was generally above 0.5 while in suburban and rural areas, the ratio was 0.5. In other words, for every gramme of PM10 recorded in urban areas, more than half would consist of PM2.5. Drawing from available data on PM10, like for example, in Petaling Jaya of Selangor, it can be seen that the city's long-term mean for PM10 is 36.2μg/m3 – which already fails to meet WHO's 2005 guideline for PM10, which is at 20μg/m3. By working backwards, it should mean that the levels of PM2.5 should easily exceed 18μg/m3, which again fails WHO's guideline of 10μg/m3. A DOE study in 1996 showed that motor vehicles contributed 82% to air pollution, while other significant sources include power stations (9%), industrial fuel burning (5%), industrial production processes (3%), domestic and commercial furnaces (0.2%), and open burning at garbage dumps (0.8%). Studies by local academicians pointed out that the source of particulate matter in the Klang Valley comes mainly from the transport sector, especially from diesel vehicles. Conventional diesel, while packed with lots of energy, is actually quite a dirty fuel as it contains a high amount of sulphur, which aids in the formation of particulates during the combustion process. Due to the nature of diesel combustion in older types of internal combustion engines, a significant amount of particulate matter is produced, unlike in petrol engines. Hence, it is quite common to see smoke emitted from vehicles or equipment that are powered by diesel such as buses, lorries, locomotives, mobile generators, farm equipment (tractors), construction equipment (concrete mixers, excavators), and even boats. According to United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the Partnership for Clean Fuels and Vehicles (PCFV), lowering the sulphur content in diesel will allow the introduction of newer emission control technologies that in turn should substantially lower emissions of particulates from diesel engines. (PCFV, a partnership between governments, the private sector and non-governmental organisations, assists developing countries in reducing urban air pollution through the promotion of clean fuels and vehicles.) Low-suphur To overcome the problem of particulate pollution from diesel, many developed countries are using a cleaner form of diesel called ultra-low sulphur diesel, which generally contains not more than 50 parts per million (ppm) of sulphur (some countries go as low as 10ppm of sulphur). Malaysia, however, is still using relatively high-sulphur crude oil that it imports, while exporting the more valuable low-sulphur crude. The most recent update of diesel fuel and vehicle emission standards took place in 2009, when Malaysia finally adopted Euro II (already considered antiquated in the developed world – Singapore adopted it back in 2001). The Euro II regime still allows up to 500ppm of sulphur in the diesel to be sold at the pump. While most Asian countries have adopted the PM10 standard in differing degrees, more is needed in the development of a PM2.5 standard, as well as the tightening of fuel standards. Merely reporting PM10 levels (as in the case of Malaysia) is no longer adequate as it does not give a complete picture of the hazards faced by people. According to the Clean Air Initiative for Asian Cities (CAI-Asia), an organisation formed to help Asian countries achieve better air quality and more liveable cities, while the phase-out of lead from fuel has been "remarkable", there has been much feet-dragging when it comes to lowering sulphur levels. It is understood that Malaysia has shifted the implementation date for Euro IV diesel several times, with the latest target moved to 2015. Among Asian countries, Singapore, Japan and Hong Kong are the most progressive when it comes to using cleaner diesel (Euro IV), while India, China and the Philippines are deemed to be well on their way there. Singapore, which already gives daily reports on PM2.5 levels, will adopt the Euro V standard for new diesel vehicles by January 2014 and will mandate oil companies to sell only near sulphur-free diesel (with less than 0.001% sulphur) by next July. Beyond measuring and reporting ambient PM2.5 levels, there is also a need to determine the exact sources of these fine particulates. "We need to know how much PM2.5 a bus is emitting per kilometre travelled, or how much PM2.5 is emitted from a factory smokestack," said air quality researcher Prof Mohd Rashid Mohd Yusof, who heads Universiti Teknologi Malaysia's Air Resources Research Laboratory. Undoubtedly, meeting Euro IV targets will entail substantial investments by refineries and oil companies, but the resulting improvements in vehicle emissions will be substantial. Using clean diesel will enable the introduction of the latest high-tech diesel cars from Europe that are equipped with diesel oxidation catalysts (that would otherwise be poisoned by high sulphur levels). Last, but not least, lowering fuel sulphur also makes it possible for some older diesel vehicles to be retrofitted with emission control technologies, and this is a strategy that is used in many urban centres where air pollution is a problem. On its part, DOE said that it is in the process of developing new ambient air quality standards that will include PM2.5 under its Clean Air Action Plan. "Under the schedule of implementation of the plan, the monitoring of PM2.5 will be incorporated into the existing network of air quality monitoring stations by 2016," said director-general, Halimah Hassan, in an e-mail statement. Based on the experience of other countries, it is clear that cleaner air cannot be detached from the tightening of both ambient air quality standards, as well as the mass adoption of cleaner fuels. With the number of vehicles here on the rise, it is only logical for levels of PM2.5 to increase if nothing is done quickly to curb it. Within this context, waiting for another few years seems so awfully far, especially when urban dwellers are forced to breathe in high levels of PM2.5, with or without episodes of haze.

Resistance grows within BN against AES profits Posted: 05 Nov 2012 10:59 AM PST   (The Malaysian Insider) - A whopping 2.72 million speeding tickets will have to be issued in each of the next five years for the two concession holders of the controversial Automatic Enforcement System (AES) cameras to just recoup their reported RM700 million investments. And considering the authorities had only collected an average of about 25 per cent of all traffic summonses a year — which increased to 65 per cent only after a general discount was offered last year — the two companies will have to issue far more summonses to account for the poor collection. Such calculations have led to apprehension on the part of a growing number of Barisan Nasional (BN) politicians who are concerned about the profit motive that is built into the concession agreements. "The privatisation of the AES could be seen as attempting to make profits because some (cameras) are placed in inappropriate places," Umno's Seri Gading MP Datuk Mohamad Aziz told The Malaysian Insider. The two firms awarded the contract to implement the enforcement system — ATES Sdn Bhd and Beta Tegap — will spend between RM300 million and RM400 million each to set up traffic cameras at 831 "black spots" nationwide. Both ATES and Beta Tegap are entitled to RM16 per valid summons for the first five million issued. They will then split the remaining revenue evenly with the government up to a cap of RM270 million each. The firms will each receive 7.5 per cent from the remaining revenue and the government will keep the rest. Based on the business model, both companies will collect RM80 million each for the first five million summonses issued by each company. This works out to a total collection of RM160 million. Under the second tier of the agreement, the companies will get a total of RM540 million, bringing the total amount due to the two companies to RM700 million. Based on the even split in revenue with the government, the RM540 million figure represents 3.6 million summonses of RM300 each. To hit the RM700 million break-even mark, a total of 13.6 million summonses of RM300 each for speeding and other major offences will have to be issued via the AES cameras Read more at: www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/resistance-grows-within-bn-against-aes-profits

Man gets speeding ticket due to AES blunder Posted: 05 Nov 2012 10:53 AM PST   (The Sun Daily) - A blunder by the AES (Automated Enforcement System) control centre in Perak caused a factory manager in Penang to be erroneously slapped with a speeding summons, Sin Chew Daily reported yesterday. To rub salt into the wound, state Road Transport Department (RTD) officials he approached gave him the runaround and eventually told him to write to their director-general to resolve the matter. Factory manager CK Leong, who drives a black Toyota Harrier with plate number PKR 181, received the summons on Oct 18 stating that his vehicle was captured going at 145kmph at Km204.6 of the North-South Expressway at 12.34pm on Oct 10. Upon checking the summons, he found that the actual vehicle caught speeding was a white Toyota Camry with the number plate PKR 1811. The ticket indicated that Leong must settle the compound fine of RM300 by Dec 11, failing which he will have to appear at the magistrate's court in Taiping on Jan 7. Leong, 34, said he approached the local RTD office but none of the officers knew how to deal with the matter although he brought his vehicle along and pointed out to them the glaring error in the AES summons. The officers gave him the address of the RTD director-general in Putrajaya and told him to write to explain his case. An irate Leong told a press conference at Bukit Mertajam on Sunday that apart from writing to the RTD chief, he had also lodged a police report. Padang Lalang assemblyman Tan Cheong Heng said it was a clear case of human error committed by the AES control centre in Perak which obtained Leong's particulars from the RTD's database. He said the centre should have checked and compared the colour and make of Leong's vehicle with the speeding car before sending out the summons notice.

Anwar 'not democratically elected' Posted: 05 Nov 2012 10:51 AM PST (New Straits Times) - Parti Keadilan Rakyat de facto chief Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has been urged to publicly declare that he is not a democratically-elected leader, but a "chosen" one as he was appointed by his wife Datin Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, who is party president. Perkasa information chief Ruslan Kassim said Anwar was lying to the United States and other foreign organisations when he claimed he was championing democratic rights. Ruslan claimed that by doing so, Anwar had conned several international institutions into funding PKR through Suaram, an alleged opposition-friendly human rights watchdog. "Anwar must explain to US Ambassador to Malaysia, Paul W. Jones and Suaram's financiers that he did not obtain his position in PKR via the democratic process. "Anwar was not elected (into power) and it is so hypocritical when he says he fights for democratic rights," Ruslan said in a statement yesterday. He claimed that until today, Jones was still unaware that Anwar's position in PKR was a courtesy appointment by Dr Wan Azizah. Suaram is believed to have received RM21 million from Washington-based National Endowment for Democracy (NED), RM774,000 (between 2008 and last year) from New York-based Open Society Institute (OSI) and RM21,400 from the German embassy in 2010. NED, on its website, said "it is a private, non-profit foundation dedicated to the growth and strengthening of democratic institutions around the world". "NED claims to promote democracy, but it is bizarre that it was willing to fund Anwar's political activities through Suaram as PKR is clearly practising nepotism, which is against democratic principles," Ruslan added. He further claimed that OSI was indirectly funding PKR as it was a party which had shown support for the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender community in Malaysia. "OSI has been fighting for same-sex marriages in the country with the help of Suaram, and Perkasa views this as an attempt to compromise Malaysia's image as a conservative Muslim country."

PERKASA calls on Bumiputeras to reunite Posted: 05 Nov 2012 10:49 AM PST   (Borneo Post) - "It is because of BN that the word 'Bumiputera' exists. Bumiputera means the rights of the Malays and the indigenous. If another party takes over, the word 'Bumiputera' will be buried.' he said this in his speech at the first annual PERKASA Sabah Conference here on Sunday. PERKASA Malaysia president Datuk Ibrahim Ali warned that the Malays and Muslim Bumiputeras in the country would lose power if they were divided. "When they are no longer in power, not only will the rights of bumiputeras disappear, but the word 'Bumiputera' will cease to have meaning," he said.   He pointed out PERKASA is not a political party but it was established to fight for the rights of the nation's most favoured race, hence providing plenty of support to the Barisan Nasional (BN) government to continue its struggle.   Ibrahim added that the Bumiputeras in Sabah needed to give full support to BN because PERKASA would use BN to further its goal.   "Let us Bumiputeras reunite. We unite under PERKASA and why choose BN? Why not choose another (party)? For that answer, let's look at history.   "It is because of BN that the word 'Bumiputera' exists. Bumiputera means the rights of the Malays and the indigenous. If another party takes over, the word 'Bumiputera' will be buried.' he said this in his speech at the first annual PERKASA Sabah Conference here on Sunday.

Penentangan dalam BN meningkat terhadap keuntungan AES Posted: 05 Nov 2012 08:27 AM PST Sebanyak 2.72 juta saman perlu dikeluarkan dalam setiap lima tahun akan datang bagi dua pemegang konsesi kontroversi kamera Penguatkuasaan Sistem Automatik (AES) untuk menampung kembali pelaburan RM700 juta mereka. Leslie Lau dan Md Izwan, TMI Mengambil kira pihak berkuasa hanya mengumpul purata kira-kira 25 peratus daripada semua saman trafik setahun – meningkat kepada 65 peratus hanya selepas diskaun ditawarkan tahun lepas – kedua-dua syarikat akan perlu mengeluarkan lebih banyak lagi saman untuk menampung pungutan saman yang lemah. Pengiraan sedemikian telah menyebabkan kebimbangan ahli politik Barisan Nasional (BN) yang semakin meningkat tentang motif keuntungan dalam perjanjian konsesi telah ditandatangani. "Penswastaan AES boleh dilihat sebagai percubaan untuk mengaut keuntungan kerana ada sesetengahnya ia diletakkan di tempat yang tidak sepatutnya," kata Ahli Parlimen Umno Sri Gading, Datuk Mohamad Aziz kepada The Malaysian Insider. Dua syarikat yang menerima kontrak untuk melaksanakan sistem penguatkuasaan tersebut – ATES Sdn Bhd dan Beta Tegap kedua-duanya – akan membelanjakan diantara RM300 juta dan RM400 juta untuk memasang kamera trafik di 831 "lokasi hitam" di seluruh negara. Kedua-dua Ates dan Beta Tegap berhak menerima RM16 bagi setiap saman sah bagi lima juta pertama dikeluarkan. Mereka kemudiannya akan membahagikan baki hasil sekata dengan kerajaan sehingga masing-masing mendapat sebanyak RM270 juta. Kedua-dua syarikat akan mendapat 7.5 peratus daripada baki keuntungan dan kerajaan akan menyimpan selebihnya. Berdasarkan model perniagaan ini, kedua-dua syarikat akan mengumpul RM80 juta bagi setiap lima juta pertama saman yang dikeluarkan oleh setiap syarikat. Ini membolehkan sebanyak RM160 juta dikumpulkan. Di bawah peringkat kedua perjanjian itu, syarikat akan mendapat sejumlah RM540 juta, menjadikan jumlah diterima kedua-dua syarikat kepada RM700 juta. Berdasarkan pembahagian keuntungan dengan kerajaan, angka RM540 juta mewakili 3.6 juta saman RM300 setiap satu. Untuk mencecah RM700 juta keuntungan diatas modal, sejumlah 13.6 juta saman RM300 setiap satu bagi kesalahan memandu laju perlu dikeluarkan melalui kamera AES. Kedua-dua syarikat akan mempunyai lima tahun untuk mendapatkan 13.6 juta saman titik pulang modal sebelum keseluruhan sistem dikembalikan kepada kerajaan. Bagi memastikan syarikat mendapat keuntungan daripada perjanjian dengan kerajaan, mereka hampir pasti perlu mengeluarkan lebih daripada 13.6 juta saman setahun. Semua saman tambahan itu akan menyebabkan kedua-dua syarikat masing-masing menerima potongan 7.5 peratus.  Mengandaikan kedua-dua syarikat telah mensasarkan jumlah keuntungan sebanyak RM100 juta selepas lima tahun, yang akan menjadi 7.5 peratus daripada RM1.4 bilion daripada saman berjumlah RM300 setiap satu. Ini memerlukan 4.6 juta saman lagi, menjadikan jumlah 18.2 juta saman bagi kesalahan memandu laju dan lain-lain kesalahan serius untuk kedua-dua syarikat mendapatkan RM50 juta setiap satu dalam keuntungan selepas lima tahun. Menurut anggaran persekutuan dalam Bajet 2013, kerajaan menjangkakan untuk melihat tambahan RM1.02 bilion pendapatan daripada penguatkuasaan AES, tetapi tidak dinyatakan berapa banyak yang akan dibayar kepada kedua-dua syarikat. Walaupun pembela penguatkuasaan AES menyerang pengkritik kerana tidak bertanggungjawab ke atas isu-isu keselamatan jalan raya, beberapa ahli politik BN seperti Mohamad kekal bimbang tentang kemungkinan pengundi digunakan untuk membayar untuk keuntungan kedua-dua syarikat "Kita perlu tangguhkan (pelaksanaan AES) agar rakyat tidak tertekan," katanya. "Apabila sudah bincang dan diperhalusi barulah dilaksanakan."  Timbalan Presiden Gerakan Datuk Chang Ko Youn berkata beliau menerima bahawa sektor swasta akan membuat keuntungan dari mana-mana kontrak. "Tetapi terma perlu berlaku adil kepada kerajaan dan pembayar cukai," katanya kepada The Malaysian Insider. Kebimbangan ahli politik BN tentang pengenalan AES boleh difahami oleh kerana pilihan raya akan berlangsung hanya beberapa bulan lagi. Ahli-ahli politik Pakatan Rakyat (PR) sudah mula menggunakan sistem kontroversi AES sebagai bahan kempen, dan pengumuman semalam bahawa perangkap kelajuan polis akan dikekalkan bersama-sama dengan kamera kelajuan boleh membuat perkara ini lebih sukar bagi BN kerana ia mahu mengekalkan kekuasaan di Putrajaya. Negeri yang diperintah PR telah memberi notis bahawa mereka akan menghalang pemasangan kamera AES yang memerlukan permit daripada majlis tempatan, untuk mengambil kesempatan dalam usaha populis disasarkan daripada rasa tidak puas hati awam. Ahli politik BN dan penyokongnya telah menuduh PR tidak bertanggungjawab dan mengatakan AES bertujuan untuk memastikan keselamatan jalan raya yang lebih baik. Akan tetapi penentang sistem AES telah menegaskan bahawa penentangan terhadap kamera kelajuan baru adalah hasil daripada syak wasangka kerana penguatkuasaan telah diswastakan kepada sebuah syarikat yang mengambil keuntungan daripada saman dikeluarkan kepada pemandu. Terdapat juga kebimbangan semakin meningkat di kalangan ahli-ahli politik BN yang berkeras AES boleh menyebabkan BN menanggung akibat dalam pilihan raya – perlu dipanggil dalam tempoh enam bulan akan datang. Read more

Gold investment probe: Many paid but did not get their gold Posted: 04 Nov 2012 08:06 PM PST (The Star) - Seized records have revealed that many investors who had paid had yet to receive any delivery of gold, prior to the joint raids by Bank Negara, the police, the Ministry of Domestic Trade, Cooperative and Consumerism and the Companies Commission of Malaysia on four companies suspected of conducting illegal investment schemes using gold. In a joint statement giving an update on their ongoing probe, they said that, in some cases, the investors had been waiting for more than five months after making payment. "The total amount of gold seized during the raids from all the companies is approximately 142.7 kilogram, and monies in bank accounts and cash amounts to RM101.92mil," the statement said. Investigations also revealed that these companies kept poor records with some of them maintaining different versions of financial records for different purposes. "These companies have also failed to submit audited accounts with the Companies Commission of Malaysia for the last few years, as required by law. "For businesses, especially those that involve large numbers of clients and monies, it is imperative to maintain accurate records of all business transactions to avoid financial mismanagement or misrepresentation of the true financial situation of the company," the statement said. "The enforcement agencies are aware of the plight facing affected investors and every effort is being made to determine the whereabouts of any monies and assets of the companies. "A dedicated team has been established to track the movement of monies and other assets. International accounting firms have also been appointed on a full time basis to assist in the investigations. "The scope of the investigation is international. "In this connection, the enforcement agencies are actively collaborating with their foreign counterparts to obtain evidence in several other jurisdictions to assist in the investigations," the statement said. On Oct 5, gold trading firms Pageantry Gold Bhd, Caesar Gold Sdn Bhd and Worldwide Far East Bhd were jointly raided for suspected offences that include illegal deposit-taking, money-laundering, tax evasion and avoidance and false description. Three days earlier, Genneva Malaysia Sdn Bhd had been raided.

Soi Lek sombong untuk terima hakikat hudud Posted: 04 Nov 2012 07:18 PM PST (Harakah) - Kenyataan terbaru Datuk Seri Dr. Chua Soi Lek, Presiden MCA bagi mempertahankan kenyataannya berkenaan dengan Hudud baru-baru ini menggambarkan kesombongan beliau untuk menerima hakikat kebenaran Hudud yang diperjuangkan oleh PAS. Demikian ditegaskan Ketua Penerangan Dewan Ulamak PAS Pusat, Ustaz Nik Muhammad Zawawi Salleh dalam satu kenyataan, hari ini. Berikut adalah kenyataan penuh beliau. Kenyataan terbaru Datuk Seri Dr. Chua Soi Lek, Presiden MCA bagi mempertahankan kenyataannya berkenaan dengan Hudud baru-baru ini menggambarkan kesombongan beliau untuk menerima hakikat kebenaran Hudud yang diperjuangkan oleh PAS. Beliau berkata bahawa penentangannya terhadap Hudud bukan menentang dan menghina agama Islam tetapi apa yang ditentang adalah Hudud PAS. Jelasnya, beliau tidak boleh menerima penerangan yang diberikan bahawa Hudud yang diperjuangkan oleh PAS adalah undang-undang Syariah yang diambil daripada al-Quran dan as-Sunnah serta ijtihad para Ulamak muktabar. Menghina Hudud adalah menghina Islam kerana Hudud adalah sebahagian daripada Islam. Menghina Hudud juga adalah bermakna menghina Rasululullah yang membawa risalah Hudud. Datuk Seri Dr. Chua telah silap apabila memahami Islam hanyalah pembinaan masjid, institusi Tabung Haji, penubuhan dan implementasi pusat zakat dan kutipannya, pembinaan sekolah-sekolah agama, perbankan Islam, penerapan dasar-dasar Islam dalam kerajaan dan lain-lain sebagaimana dakwaannya. Islam tidak sempit sebagaimana dakwaannya tetapi Islam adalah cara hidup yang mengatur kehidupan manusia sama ada dalam bidang sosial, ekonomi mahu pun politik. Termasuk ajaran Islam ialah hukuman Hudud. Datuk Seri Dr. Chua sebenarnya telah terpengaruh dengan pemimpin-pemimpin UMNO yang menyempitkan Islam dan melabelkan enakmen Hudud di Kelantan dan Terengganu adalah Hudud PAS. Pemimpin-pemimpin UMNO seharusnya bertanggungjawab di atas kekeliruan yang ditimbulkan ini sehingga menyebabkan Datuk Seri Dr. Chua berani untuk menghina hukuman Hudud. Mereka lebih sanggup untuk menjual agama demi untuk kepentingan politik mereka. Apa yang lebih dikesali lagi, Ulamak UMNO tidak berjaya menerangkan kepada Datuk Seri Dr. Chua tentang kebaikan hukuman Hudud. Walaupun beliau mengakui bahawa telah berjumpa dan menerima penerangan daripada Ulamak UMNO, nampaknya beliau lebih berani untuk menghina Rasulullah dan Islam melalui Hudud selepas pertemuan tersebut. Datuk Seri Dr. Chua juga dilihat cuba untuk mengheret sama DAP agar menghina Hudud. Umum mengetahui bahawa DAP tidak dapat menerima perlaksanaan Hudud di Malaysia tetapi tidak bermakna mereka harus menghina Hudud. Mereka menghormati perjuangan prinsip PAS. Hasil kerja dan usaha PAS menerangkan tentang hukuman ini, DAP akhirnya dapat menerima bahawa Hudud adalah sebahagian daripada Islam dan tidak boleh dihina walaupun mereka tidak bersetuju untuk dilaksanakan. PAS akan sentiasa memberikan penerangan agar bukan Islam menerima kewajipan umat Islam untuk beramal dan melaksanakan Hudud dalam kehidupan mereka. Justeru, Dewan Ulamak PAS Pusat menyeru agar Datuk Seri Dr. Chua tidak sombong untuk meminta maaf terhadap umat Islam terhadap keceluparan beliau menghina Rasulullah dan Islam melalui Hudud. Beliau perlu menerima bahawa Hudud adalah sebahagian daripada Islam dan Hudud yang diperjuangkan oleh PAS adalah berdasarkan kepada al-Quran, as-Sunnah dan ijtihad para Ulamak muktabar, bukannya Hudud yang direka oleh PAS.

Ibrahim Ali: Nurul Izzah ‘budak mentah’ Posted: 04 Nov 2012 07:10 PM PST Timbalan Presiden PKR Azmin Ali pula berkata masyarakat beragama Islam di negara ini masih lagi terikat dengan undang-undang syariah dan itu tidak boleh dipertikaikan. Jamilah Kamarudin, FMT Naib Presiden PKR Nurul Izzah Anwar didakwa gagal memahami undang-undang syariah Islam apabila menyentuh isu hak kebebasan memilih agama. Ahli Parlimen Pasir Mas Datuk Ibrahim Ali berkata, Nurul Izzah sepatutnya memahami Islam secara mendalam sebelum membuat sebarang kenyataan kerana bimbang boleh menggugat akidah. "Saya anggap Izzah budak mentah. Mungkin dia terpengaruh dengan ajaran bapa (Anwar Ibrahim) yang mendukung amalan pluralisme. Saya minta PAS tarbiyahkan budak ini," katanya kepada pemberita di lobi Parlimen hari ini. Beliau berkata, kenyataan tersebut cenderung untuk meraih keuntungan politik dan menggesa Majlis Fatwa mengambil tindakan tegas terhadap isu ini. Nurul Izzah dalam forum "Islamic State: Which version? Whose responsibility?" Sabtu lalu dilapor berkata tiada seorang pun boleh dipaksa untuk menerima ajaran agama tertentu dan perkara itu juga terpakai untuk orang Melayu. Kenyataannya diputarbelitkan Namun pemimpin Pakatan Rakyat mempertahankannya dan menganggap kenyataan Nurul Izzah itu telah diputarbelitkan. Ahli Parlimen PAS-Shah Alam Khalid Samad berkata apa yang cuba disampaikan Izzah adalah kebebasan memeluk Islam atas pilihan sendiri. "Mesej Izzah adalah jangan anggap kita Islam kerana kita (baka) Melayu. Islam adalah pilihan bukan kerana keturunan," tegasnya. Timbalan Presiden PKR Azmin Ali pula berkata masyarakat beragama Islam di negara ini masih lagi terikat dengan undang-undang syariah dan itu tidak boleh dipertikaikan. "Nurul Izzah tak nyatakan sedemikan. Dia dah buat penjelasan…itu bagi bukan Islam kerana kita tak boleh paksa orang bukan Islam masuk Islam," katanya. Ahli Parlimen Lembah Pantai itu pagi tadi mengeluarkan kenyataan menafikan gambaran beliau cuba menggalakkan murtad. "Saya sama sekali tidak menggalakkan atau menerima murtad. Saya berpegang pada pendirian umum sedia ada iaitu setelah memeluk Islam seorang Muslim tertakluk dengan syariat Islam; sebagaimana seorang warganegara tertakluk dengan Perlembagaan Persekutuan. "Saya kesal kerana ada usaha kalangan yang cuba memutarbelitkan kenyataan saya, seolah-olah saya meremehkan soal aqidah atau mudah menerima orang Islam yang memilih untuk murtad," katanya.

Seeking Authorities' Help - a Win-win Situation Posted: 04 Nov 2012 06:31 PM PST   Mothers (from left) Che Surin. Lim and Shanthi had relied on their Genneva Malaysia income as gold traders to feed their families. — Picture by Choo Choy May  Whatever the reason the company was raided, over 300,000 livelihoods are in the hands of the Central Bank. We seek the Central Bank's help to strive their utmost best to mediate this critical situation peacefully with empathy and compassion. Shereen Lim  My heart goes out to many families who are now in fear, worry and grief. Their dreams have turned into nightmares. Whatever the reason the company was raided, over 300,000 livelihoods are in the hands of the Central Bank. We seek the Central Bank's help to strive their utmost best to mediate this critical situation peacefully with empathy and compassion. It is very noble for the Central Bank to protect the public, in this context with their sincerity and conviction, and we wish to appeal to the Central Bank to resolve this situation with a WIN-WIN settlement. It is crucial that the Central Bank give priority by speeding up Genneva Malaysia's issue as over 300,000 of us are now suffering financially & emotionally. Evidently Genneva Malaysia has always meet their obligations and commitments with all their consultants and customers. We were a OneGenneva Happy family before the raid. OBJECTIVES A) To seek the Central Bank's help by permitting Genneva Malaysia to operate while the Central Bank:      - Continues to have dialogue with Genneva Malaysia which was already on-going for the last 8 months,      - to advise and guide them as well as to educate them for a WIN-WIN situation. B) As for money laundering, this issue originally meant for terrorists. Question: Should it be exercised towards trading houses? If so:     - We would like to seek the Central Bank to address this grey area immediately; be it gold, wine, properties etc.     - To seek the Central Bank to formulate a clear rule so no party is victimized otherwise all trading houses are powerless     - As this is a vast undertaking by the Central Bank which can be considered a very subjective rule, we seek justice that the Central Bank may help us address this issue so that we can put the "trauma" behind us.

Same difference Posted: 04 Nov 2012 06:20 PM PST   "I'm certain that she is ignorant, this is why she made such a statement. Her statement has clearly deviated from the maqasid syari'yyah and can be categorised as deviating from Islamic principles. I feel she has been talking without sufficient religious knowledge. It is more honourable for her to retract the statement altogether without twisting it, as God is all merciful," Religious scholar Ustaz Fathul Bari Mat Jahaya was quoted in Berita Harian today. THE CORRIDORS OF POWER Raja Petra Kamarudin Malaysia Today's readers have a serious problem in trying to understand the difference between partisan, non-partisan, bipartisan, etc. And that is why many of them fall into the 'either you are with me or you are against me' rut made 'popular' by US President Bush. How would you take it if a Muslim who propagates the concept of an Islamic State says to you that 'either you are with me or you are against me'? If you do not support the concept of an Islamic State then you are the enemy of Islam and being an enemy of Islam that can be regarded as a declaration of war and anyone who declares war against Islam can be lawfully killed. According to the doctrine of 'either you are with me or you are against me' that would certainly make sense. It may not make sense to non-Muslims or to those who are opposed to an Islamic State but then these people are the enemies of Islam anyway so who the hell cares what they think? Yes, if we support President Bush then we support the concept of a powerful nation having the right to invade another country just because the US does not like its politics. Basically, might is right. Those who control the guns control the world and dictates what the world can and cannot do. Brunei refuses to hold democratic parliamentary elections and refuses to abolish its outdated system of absolute monarchy. Should Singapore bomb and invade Brunei so that democracy can be installed in that Sultanate? Indonesia discriminates against the Chinese and murdered 500,000 Maoist Communist supporters. Should China send a few nuclear bombs to Indonesia to teach it a lesson even though those Indonesian Chinese are Indonesians and not Chinese citizens or of Chinese ethnicity? What about Saudi Arabia and all those other kingdoms, sheikhdoms, emirates, etc? They too do not practice democracy a la the west. Should the US bomb and invade those countries so that the citizens of those countries can hold free and fair elections and elect the government of their choice? If democracy can be forced down Iraq's throat surely the same should be done to those other autocratic monarchies in the Middle East as well. Okay, so we do not support the idea of a powerful nation being allowed to bomb and invade another nation just because the US does not like its politics. If we support that idea then no country is safe. Anyone who is not pro-US (or worse, anti-US) can get bombed into the Dark Ages with a great loss to property and lives. Who appointed the US the policeman of the world anyway? Must the world do things only the American way? Is the US the trustee of morality and anything considered immoral by US standards must be solved by military action? If we do not support America's action then does that mean we are pro-Saddam Hussein? Saddam just did what Hitler did and if we do not support what Hitler did then surely we cannot support what Saddam did, especially what he did to his own citizens of Kurdish ethnicity. Saddam embarked on ethnic cleansing just like what Hitler did. So how can Hitler be wrong and Saddam be right? Okay, so we do not support Saddam. But then we do not support what the US did either. So what is our stand then? We must either be pro-Saddam or pro-Bush. We can be against both. Either Saddam is right or Bush is right. Both cannot be wrong. Hence it is our duty to support one and oppose the other. My stand is clear. I do not support both. While I do not support what Saddam did to his own people I also do not support the idea that might is right and a powerful nation can legitimately bomb and invade another country. There are many evil regimes in this world. Iraq is not the only one. But why bomb and invade only those evil regimes that are anti-American and then support, uphold and defend other evil regimes that are pro-American? (And this is the basis of America's foreign policy). Is it possible to be opposed to both? Are you obligated to support one above the other? Well, it all depends on whether you are sincere in your 'struggle' and whether your struggle is based on principles or you have other personal and ulterior motives in mind. Most times our struggle is not based on sincerity or principles but is motivated by personal gain (parochial, ethnic, racial, religious, etc., included). And this is what we are seeing in Malaysian politics. The Member of Parliament for Lembah Pantai, Nurul Izzah Anwar, has just attracted some controversy regarding her statement about freedom of choice -- which can also be said to be about freedom of religion. (Read the news report by Malaysian Digest below). The issue is: do we have freedom of choice or do we not have the freedom to choose? In short: is Malaysia a democracy or is Malaysia a theocracy? It is either one or the other. It cannot be both at the same time. This faux pas, as some view it, (or misquote, as Nurul Izzah explains it) is going to be used against her. Trust me on that. Was she misquoted? Was she misunderstood? Did Nurul Izzah do a U-turn? Or are Malaysians not prepared to allow freedom of choice? Now, this is not about Barisan Nasional versus Pakatan Rakyat. Just for purposes of this article let's not be partisan. Let's look at things as if we are not supporters of either Barisan Nasional or Pakatan Rakyat. I know most Malaysian brains have not developed to the level where you can do that. But try anyway, sort of like hypothetically speaking. I say this is not about Barisan Nasional or Pakatan Rakyat because there are Muslims in both Barisan Nasional and Pakatan Rakyat, as there are non-Muslims. Malays, Chinese, Indians, and 'lain-lain' are in both Barisan Nasional and Pakatan Rakyat. So this cannot be about Barisan Nasional versus Pakatan Rakyat. Now, I have been talking about change for quite some time now. Hence our struggle, at least as far as I am concerned, is about change. But are you also talking about change? I hear some of you screaming ABU (Anything But Umno). I hear some of you screaming that we must vote for Pakatan Rakyat. I hear some of you screaming that 55 years of BN is enough. Okay, whatever it may be, those are merely the means to an end. We change the government because we seek change. We are not changing the government just for the sake of changing the government. There must be an endgame and changing the government is just the means to that end. But are we going to see that end? Will changing the government achieve the change that we seek? That is the fundamental question and the question we must address before we take this to the next level, which is the change that we are looking for. Nurul Izzah talked about freedom of choice. And now she is getting whacked for that. So now she has to explain herself or even do a U-turn and retract that statement. The issue is not whether she did say it or she did not say it or whether she was misquoted or misunderstood. To me that is not important. What is important is even if she did say it what is wrong about her saying it? Nurul Izzah was talking about freedom of choice. Was she wrong? Does Pakatan Rakyat or PKR, the party she represents, not support freedom of choice? It appears like Nurul Izzah is going to have to fight this controversy all on her own. No other opposition leader is going to come to her defence. PKR, DAP and PAS are not going to get involved. Let me be clear on this. Pakatan Rakyat is not supporting or is opposing freedom of choice. Pakatan Rakyat is going to remain neutral. Pakatan Rakyat is not taking sides in this issue. Pakatan Rakyat is not for or against freedom of choice, which means that Pakatan Rakyat does not have a stand. Okay, back to the issue of change. I am talking about change. Change means to deviate from what is. Change means to discard the old ways in favour of the new ways. Change means you have freedom of choice. Change means not being forced to do something that you do not wish to do. Change means to be allowed the freedom you do not currently have. So why is Pakatan Rakyat keeping mum? We want to know whether Pakatan Rakyat supports change. We want to know whether this change includes freedom of choice. We want to know whether Pakatan Rakyat's policies are opposite to Barisan Nasional's or exactly the same as Barisan Nasional's? Currently it appears like there is no difference between Pakatan Rakyat and Barisan Nasional. Currently it appears like Pakatan Rakyat and Barisan Nasional share the same policy. Currently it appears like Pakatan Rakyat, just like Barisan Nsional, does not support freedom of choice. In that case are we really talking about change? Explain to me what you mean by change because I do not quite understand what you mean by it when both Barisan Nasional and Pakatan Rakyat do not support freedom of choice. Pakatan Rakyat and Barisan Nasional appear very united on this issue. That would mean we will not be seeing change never mind who we vote for. ******************************** Fathul Bari Claims Nurul Izzah 'Ignorant', Lacks Religious Knowledge (Malaysian Digest) - Parti Keadilan Rakyat vice president Nurul Izzah Anwar has come under fire over her statement allegedly supportive of freedom of choice for Muslims in selecting their religion. The statement, made at a forum on Saturday, has since drawn heavy criticism from certain quarters, including Muslim scholars. Religious scholar Ustaz Fathul Bari Mat Jahaya said ignorance was to blame for her statement. "I'm certain that she is ignorant, this is why she made such a statement. Her statement has clearly deviated from the maqasid syari'yyah and can be categorised as deviating from Islamic principles." "I feel she has been talking without sufficient religious knowledge. It is more honourable for her to retract the statement altogether without twisting it, as God is all merciful," he was quoted in Berita Harian today. Fathul Bari, who is also Umno Young Ulama (Ilmu) working committee secretariat chairman, said her statement goes against what has been repeated by Nurul Izzah's father, Opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim on maqasid syari'yyah or the key reasons why the Al-Quran was passed down, which are religion, mind, life, property and dignity. "Nurul Izzah should have referred to PAS ulama first. Even the Opposition leader himself always spoke about maqasid syari'yyah," he said. Fathul Bari said Nurul Izzah's statement could have implications on Muslims in the future, resulting in Muslims not placing religion as the most important subject, and steer towards pluralism ideology. "How can we say religion is free and open, or place Islam on the same level as other religions. If this happens, think of why Islam is enshrined in the constitution and what is the purpose of the Malay rulers," he said. Meanwhile, Puteri Umno chief Datuk Rosnah Abdul Rashid Shirlin said Nurul Izzah's statement can create unease within the Muslim community. "Imagine, even with enforcement, there are Muslims who become murtad. The situation will be worse if there is absolute freedom," she said. She said, in matters of faith, it is clearly stated that Muslims should do all they can to preserve Islam and not place it in a vulnerable position. Nurul Izzah, however, has since denied that she had trivialized the issue of Islamic faith and that she supported apostasy. The Lembah Pantai MP said she was disappointed that certain quarters were twisting her statements on the subject of religion being forced onto Muslims in Malaysia. She said she had attended a forum titled 'Islamic State: Which Version? Whose Responsibility?' as a panellist on Saturday. In the question and answer session, one of the questions posed to her was on the issue of Islam being imposed on Muslims. "My answer stressed on the phrase 'there is no compulsion in Islam'. This was taken from verse 256 of the Surah Al-Baqarah in the Al-Quran. The phrase applies to all mankind," she said. Nurul Izzah added that she holds firm to the belief that after embracing Islam, a Muslim is bound by Syariah law, just as how a citizen is bound by the Federal Constitution. "I am disappointed that there are efforts to twist my statement as if I had trivialised faith or easily accepted how Muslims can become apostates," she said, adding that she has always been supportive of educational programmes to strengthen one's faith and increase understanding of the religion. Malaysiakini had on Saturday quoted Nurul Izzah as saying that people should not be compelled to adopt a particular religion, with the same applying to Malays. "If you ask me, there is no compulsion in religion... how can anyone say sorry, this (religious freedom) only applies to non-Malays, it has to apply equally," she was quoted as saying. The report also quoted her as saying that her secondary school education, set amidst a Catholic school backdrop, did not influence her. "Even me, being schooled in Assunta (secondary school) with a huge cross in the hall and an active singing Catholic society did not influence me," she was quoted as saying. However, the report said she stopped short of saying that Malays should be legally granted religious freedom, saying: "I am, of course, tied to the prevailing views."

Dark (K)Nights in Malaysia (Part 1) Posted: 04 Nov 2012 05:52 PM PST When politics and power are concerned, we must reflect on the possibility that truth is something that must be discarded at times without which chaos would reign.  Alwyn Lau What's arguably the most anicipated movie event in Malaysia this year? Batman. What's the most anticipated event in the country per se? The coming General Elections. In this piece, I hope to look at the two recent Dark Knight instalments and extract insights relevant to Malaysia, our politics, our hopes and, importantly, our fear. The Dark Knight (2008), like many of Christopher Nolan's movies (e.g. The Prestige, Inception), is predicated on fundamental lies. The movie depicts a world which needs to be lied to; a society which cannot face a full-blown encounter with the truth. Hence, the hero – Batman himself – embodies deception in its purest. He has a secret identity known to less than a handful of people. The secret identity itself is based on people's uncanny fear of bats i.e. of a mammal with wings often used to cloak itself. Yet it's not simply that Batman has to maintain a lie. In order to save society, the District Attorney Harvey Dent had to pretend he was Batman; Dent had to lie to the city in order to save the city itself. In the end, of course, Batman returned the favour by willingly taking on the role as baddie, as Dent's killer, in order that the city would have a hero to celebrate. Dent (a good guy turned bad) was venerated and Batman (a great guy turned bat) was vilified – this was the solution the city had to be fed. The 'Dark Knight', thus, refers to the falsely incriminated hero who takes on the sins of the real criminals so the city could continue life as normal believing in lies. It's the 'bogeyman' a country needs to believe has been adequately dealt with so it can feel secure in itself. In Malaysia one name comes quickly to mind: the Communists. To this day, one could argue that the Communists are indeed the dark knights of our country. From the very start, their cause for the poor(er) working classes in British Malaya. Their presence galvanized labourers to speak up as a collective, to fight for causes and issues largely ignored by a ruling class more concerned about protecting their business interests. The British colonial leaders, however, sought to derail a potential working class revolution by demonizing all Left-leaning political groups and transferring power to the very group who would ensure that colonial interests are sustained after Independence i.e. the aristocrats and business folks. Afterwards, a convenient story was told of how cruel the Commies were and how close Malaysia was to being overwhelmed by the Red Terror if not for the patriotic stalwarts from UMNO and so on. Hence, Malaysia's myth of origins. Our society needs to keep on hearing this lie failing which we may actually question the role of groups like UMNO in 'liberating' Malaysia. Our society needs to believe that Communism is bad in whatever form it comes – and that a profit-making system, by contrast, will always be great and 'all-natural' no matter how many rivers are polluted and forests rendered bare – lest the every-spiraling yearning after money is, gasp(!), questioned. Our society needs to see in Communism nothing but terror and mass poverty because without this 'Satan' of political groups, we may actually be forced to take a good hard look at the multitudes in ACTUAL poverty as a direct result of Capitalism itself. Our society needs to vote Commies out because this way we can continue believing that Democracy truly is nothing but the best and fairest political system created by Man (if not God himself) and it has no complicity whatsoever with an economic system which generates waste, slums, debt and greed. Batman's arch-villain, the Joker, on the other hand, is all about truth. He sought to expose the truth of Batman's identity, of love and dilemmas (was Rachel Dawes more worth saving than Harvey Dent?), of the superficiality of noble intentions (could a public figure/hero turn bad over the death of a loved one?), of human self-centeredness (could a group of people willingly blow up another group to save themselves?) and, most critically, the truth of what it takes for society to police itself. Towards the movie's end, Batman realized that the only way to apprehend the Joker was to rely on mass surveillance, effectively ending the privacy of Gotham's inhabitants. That is the price and the ground of peace – an exceptional act which takes the form of violence. In Malaysia, such political 'exceptions' are very familiar, aren't they? The standard roll call of anti-democracy laws - The Security Offenses Act (formerly known as the ISA), the Sedition Act, the Peaceful Assembly Act,and most recently, Section 114A of the Evidence Act – are, in essence, legal acts of violence towards the people. To protect national harmony, we need the threat of personal disharmony (in the form of many nights in a 6-by-8 feet cell). Nolan also presents a stark and awkward contrast between the candor of evil and the superficiality of the good. The Joker never takes anything personally – perfect candidate for Prime Minister? Batman takes justice too personally – perfect example of a political whiner? The Joker uses anarchy to expose the lies the people tell themselves (of goodness, of heroes, etc.). Batman uses and perpetuates a lie – himself! – so people can continue believing in the illusory motifs of hope and justice. Batman wears a mask and disguises his voice. The Joker wears make-up, which is to say that he turns his face into a mask i.e. the Joker becomes the mask he wears which is about as close to the truth as anybody can get (simply reflect on how many personalities we 'put on' in our everyday dealings; the Joker, really, has only one face and is entirely transparent). Of course, the Joker – unlike Batman - doesn't bother to fake his voice. Could the painful message of the movie therefore be that, in a world as messed up as ours, we often yearn to be lied to almost as desperately as we yearn for justice? That we are as ill-equipped to handle transparency and truth as we are frantic in demanding them? When politics and power are concerned, we must reflect on the possibility that truth is something that must be discarded at times without which chaos would reign. Political governance is inseparable from the sacrifice of truth, the betrayal of heroes and the elevation of falsehood. Political maturity, hence, is not simply the ability to expose socio-political lies but to decide which lies have to endure and be endured. Does all this simply translate into the boring fact that all politicians must lie? No, it means that in radical politics truth often takes the form of fiction. Justice may have to look like injustice. True democracy may, in other words, resemble its violation. Enter … Bane. To be continued ....

PAS Perak tawar khidmat guaman percuma Posted: 04 Nov 2012 05:47 PM PST   Muhammad Faeez Azahar IPOH: PAS Perak menerusi Jawatankuasa Strategik dan Isunya hari ini menyatakaan kesediaannya untuk memberi khidmat guaman secara percuma kepada mangsa kesalahan Sistem Penguatkuasaan Automatik (AES). Timbalan Pesuruhjayanya, Ustaz Misbahul Munir Masduki berkata, ini adalah respon daripada kenyataan Menteri Besar Perak, Dato' Dr Zambry kadir yang enggan menangguhkan sistem pemantauan trafik itu. Menurut Misbahul, tawaran tersebut adalah untuk rakyat Negeri Perak yang telah menerima notis saman tersebut tanpa mengira bangsa, agama mahupun parti politik. Katanya, barisan peguam daripada Jawatankuasa Strategik dan Isu akan mengelola proses saman tersebut. "Tawaran ini adalah untuk mangsa saman AES yang inginkan pembelaan dan mempertahankan haknya dan kami secara terbuka akan membantu mereka tanpa sebarang caj guaman," katanya dalam sidang media di Pejabat PAS Perak hari ini. Hadir sama ialah Ahli Jawatankuasa Strategik dan Isu, Safarizal Saleh serta barisan peguam iaitu Zamri Ibrahim dan Fitri Asmuni. Misbahul Munir menjelaskan, PAS Perak telah menyediakan perkhidmatan talian secara hotline kepada mangsa sistem tersebut. "Kepada yang inginkan bantuan guaman bolehlah menghantar butiran kepada pihak kami di talian 0133493848. "Kami sekali menggesa kerajaan negeri Perak untuk menanggungkan perlaksanaan sistem tersebut seperti yang dilakukan oleh negeri-negeri yang ditadbir oleh Pakatan Rakyat kerana ianya jelas ditentang oleh rakyat yang melihatnya sebagai cara kerajaan membolot duit rakyat," tegas beliau. Sementara itu, Zamri Ibrahim yang juga Pengarah Jabatan Undang-Undang dan Hak Asasi Manusia Dewan Pemuda PAS Perak (Juham) berkata, berdasarkan penelitian pihaknya, saman yang dikeluarkan mengelirukan kerana menggunakan seksyen79(2) yang tiada kena mengena dengan had laju. Menurutnya, kesalahan had laju mempunyai seksyen khusus yang termaktub didalam Akta Pengangkutan Jalan. Kata beliau, tawaran ini juga telah dibuat oleh Pengerusi Kempen Anti Saman Ekor (KASE), Dato' Mahfuz Omar baru-baru ini diparlimen dan pihaknya telah meneruskan usaha yang dilakukan itu untuk membela mangsa sistem yang mendapat bantahan ramai itu. Zamri berkata, pihaknya telah menerima banyak respon daripada rakyat yang telah menerima saman tersebut dan secara keseluruhannya tidak berpuas hati dan ingin mencabar di mahkamah. "Pihak kami akan memaklumkan kepada semua mangsa saman yang telah menghantar butiran kepada kami untuk mengadakan perjumpaan serta memberi taklimat tentang proses tersebut," jelasnya lagi.

MRT aims to up Bumi contracts to RM9.145b Posted: 04 Nov 2012 04:27 PM PST (Bernama) - Mass Rapid Transit Corporation Sdn Bhd (MRT Corp) expects to raise the target of contracts worth for Bumiputera contractors for the MRT Sungai Buloh-Kajang line to RM9.145 billion by year-end. The earlier estimation was RM8.56 billion. MRT Corp Director of Stakeholders and Land Relations, Haris Fadzilah Hassan, said contracts worth RM8.82 billion have been awarded to Bumiputera contractors to date. "This amounts to 45 per cent of the total value of contracts awarded thus far, exceeding the initial 43 per cent target," he told a media briefing. As of today, 53 work packages worth RM19.8 billion have been tendered out, with 22 work packages awarded to Bumiputera contractors, he said. "Another 32 packages are expected to be disbursed by year-end. The Bumiputera portion is about RM321 million of the packages," he added. All Bumiputera work packages are subjected to competitive bidding and bidders are given the same project information and evaluated on the same basis. To win the awards, the companies have to satisfy stringent evaluation criteria. This is to ensure that companies with extensive experience and technical know-how are picked. "All tenders go through a thorough evaluation process. Tender evaluations go through several stages starting with the Tender Evaluation Committee followed by the Working Committee and the One-Stop Technical Committee (OSTC). The final approval is given by the One-Stop Procurement Committee," he explained. Haris said the committees look at various factors including technical capabilities, track record and financial strength. "Key to this is to find a fit that will ensure the project gets the best technical input from a capable contractor, while maintaining costs," he added. Haris said Bumiputera contractors that have been awarded contracts in the Line 1 project, would be considered for the Line 2 and Line 3 projects. Meanwhile, Haris said MRT Corp will award 250 work packages worth RM200 million for the Bumiputera contractors class D,E, and F in 2015. When the Line 1 project is almost complete, these contractors will be called to bid for contracts like landscaping and turfing, he added.

Don’t be taken for another ride, Indians told Posted: 04 Nov 2012 04:08 PM PST (The Star) - The co-operation between Pakatan Rakyat and the Hindu Rights Action Force (Hindraf) will not solve problems affecting the Indian community, said Malaysian Associated Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MAICCI) chairman Datuk K.K. Eswaran. "As far as Hindraf is concerned, they are already broken up. Indians have been taken for a long ride' once and I hope they will not be taken for a second ride. "The Opposition (parties) are opportunists," he said when asked to respond to reports claiming that Hindraf would be working with Opposition parties in the general election in a bid to solve the woes of the Indian community. It was reported that Hindraf chairman P. Waythamoorthy had met Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim at his office in Parliament in search of a permanent solution to the various problems faced by the community. Eswaran said that under the leadership of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak, all Malaysians, including the Indian community, had not been left out as the country progressed towards becoming a high-income and developed nation. "PKR and DAP claim they are democratic but the top posts of the all the parties are held by close family members," he said. He also challenged Pakatan to allow more seats to be contested by Indian representatives if it was sincere in helping them.

Prominent Kuantan doctor rubbishes concerns over Lynas’ radioactivity Posted: 04 Nov 2012 04:02 PM PST (Bernama) - A prominent Pahang doctor has rubbished concerted "lies" spread by the Opposition among local residents on radioactive concerns from the recently completed RM2.5bil Lynas rare earth plant here, saying that the anti-Lynas campaign was purely politically motivated to win votes in the coming general election. Datuk Dr Looi Hoong Wah, a consultant physician with 40 years of interest in nuclear medicine and particle physics, said the anti-Lynas activists had been brainwashing the people here for the last two years despite the fact that there would be "absolutely no radiation waste or any toxic waste whatever" from the plant. Lynas' safety was verified by six independent bodies, including the United Nations' International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the world's highest authority for atomic energy. "The substance they bring in is just nothing but rare earth oil containing a tiny bit of weak radioactive thorium 232. "That is an extremely weak sort of radioactive substance and it has a very long life of tens of billions of years. "And all this anti-Lynas people say...oh our great-great grandchildren are going to suffer for 14 billion years. This is absolutely rubbish," he said. Dr Looi said if one were to look at the half-life of radioactive material (the time required for a quantity to fall to half its value), the longer the half-life, the less dangerous it would be. "For instance, if half of a house is burned down in 14 billion years, will it cause any problem? No, it won't cause any problem because there is only a tiny fire, whereas if it is burned down in 40 minutes, then a lot of people will get killed or injured. "The same thing with lead, the one we use in our car batteries. It has a long half-life as well of 19 billion years. "Because it has such a long half life, it is practically non-radioactive when you use it in your cars. So thorium is very weak radioactively," he said Asked how he got interested in nuclear science and particle physics, Dr Looi said he developed an interest when he was a medical student in Manchester about 40 years ago as one of his tutors was a nuclear physicist. He said he had put thorium in his hand without any side-effects till today because thorium, when released outside connected with electrons to produce helium gas, just like the one used to fill balloons, which was completely harmless. Dr Looi reckoned that it was purely for political reasons that the Opposition was trying to work everybody up about the Lynas plant in Gebeng. "The thorium 232 or decay products produce only a tiny bit of electron, which is electricity. "It doesn't cause any problem. You find that Lynas' radiation, once you are outside of the boundaries of the plant, the radiation is zero. "There is no instrument on this earth which is sensitive enough to pick it up," he said. Dr Looi said the disinformation on the Lynas bordered on ridiculous assertions because even in a human body there was radioactivity as well due to potassium, which doctors give to patients to control the intake of salt in hypertension and other cases. "Even in our body, we have about 4,400 becquerel (Bq) whereas the Lynas waste and ore contain less than 6 Bq per gram. "This is already 124 times more than the Lynas worst case scenario. So why complain about a Lynas plant in Gebeng here where there are 124 Lynas plants in your body producing radioactivity?" he added. Asked on the effects on workers, he said what they could possibly get was only less than 20 percent of the permitted dosage. Dr Looi also quoted Dr Nick Tsurikov, the international radiation specialist, as saying that there was no radiation risk whatsoever as far as the Lynas plant was concerned. He also said that opposition to the plant should take into account that more than 1,000 quality jobs were at stake and these are people with families for them to put food on the table. "Once you have a rare earth plant around, (other) companies will come, like Siemens (which) is planning to come in and make use of the rare earth. They will produce thousands more jobs because of the spill-over effects," he said. Dr Looi appealed to non-governmental organisations and the Opposition to "wake up" and realise that the Lynas plant would be of great benefit to the country. "You can brainwash people for some time but you can't brainwash them forever," he said.

DAP admits Pakatan uncertain about retaining Selangor Posted: 04 Nov 2012 03:52 PM PST Zurairi AR, The Malaysian Insider DAP leaders are bracing themselves for a tough fight in Selangor in the coming general election, and have suggested that race politics may have gained enough of a traction among the rural Malay crowd to potentially give an edge to the opposition Barisan Nasional (BN). The sentiment seems apparent during the Selangor DAP convention yesterday where, instead of trumpeting their confidence over staying in power in Pakatan Rakyat's (PR) prized state, leaders told delegates not to rest on their laurels or take their past victory for granted. Far from the usual anti-BN theme that usually dominates the meets of PR parties, the mood at the Kelana Jaya Sports Complex was more introspective than it was fiery as leaders repeatedly reminded members to get ready for what is expected to be the greatest political battle in Malaysian history. When approached on the sidelines of the convention, Selangor DAP chairman Teresa Kok and her deputy Tony Pua agreed that PR's biggest hurdle was to break into the rural Malay vote bank where Umno has parked most of its election machinery. "Most people would like us to come back to Selangor, but then if Umno keeps playing this religious and race card among Malay ground, twist and turn our statements, use scare tactics ... this might jeopardise our winning chance," Kok said. "We have the edge, but I can't be certain that we will win," Pua confessed. In Election 2008, Selangor, the wealthiest state in Malaysia, fell into the hands of PR parties. The loss of Selangor, along with four other states — Penang, Perak, Kedah and Kelantan — came as a rude shock to BN, the only multi-party coalition that has ruled Malaysia since independence. Since then, the ruling pact has been working feverishly to recapture its coveted two-thirds parliamentary majority, with a keen eye particularly on the prized jewel of Selangor and is said to have made inroads among the Malay and rural voters. For the fledgling PR, much of its hopes lie in Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim, the first-term Selangor mentri besar whose squeaky clean track record it hopes will help convince voters that its rule is a corrupt-free administration. "The clearest, and (what we have done) most significantly better is the eradication of corruption among high officials. We don't have corrupt government, we don't have corrupt MB," Pua said. "For the urban ground, the non-Malay ground, they believe in what we say. They have seen Penang, and how we've performed," Kok added.  "The Malays have also seen that we've never run them down, we've never marginalised Islam, and so on. "We are not the best government maybe, but we have always tried our very best to perform while in government." However, this may not be enough to woo the rural and Malay electorate. READ MORE HERE

PI Bala threatens to bare all if MACC keeps mum Posted: 04 Nov 2012 03:34 PM PST (Malaysiakini) - Private investigator P Balasubramaniam has threatened to expose more details of attempts to bribe him in relation to his 2008 statutory declaration (SD) linking Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak to murdered Mongolian national Altantuya Shaariibuu. In a letter to the Malaysian Anti Corruption Commission (MACC) that Malaysiakini has sighted, Balasubramaniam who is in hiding in India said the information he possesses is already in the hands of foreign journalists and would be released if the commission continues to do nothing. "My lawyer is holding everything for me. Also foreign journalists have everything. (They are) just waiting for my instructions and then (they) will release everything. "By then (it would be) too late. As I said, please inform me or my lawyer within seven days, otherwise I am not responsible for what happens," he wrote. In the letter dated Nov 2, Balasubramaniam expressed frustration at MACC's inaction. "Why is the MACC not doing anything about my case since 2008? Is it because it involves the prime minister? "My case is very clear, you don't have to investigate much. I have already given you all the evidence you need," he wrote. He noted that the MACC had initially asked for an interview with him in London, but had not turned up at the last minute. Subsequently, Balasubramaniam said he had answered all of MACC's questions which were couriered to him. "You will recall that I assisted you by answering all your questions and had my affidavit affirmed and sworn before a notary in London as you requested. "My lawyers then personally delivered this affidavit to your office in Putrajaya in August 2010," wrote the PI. 'Bribed to implicate PKR' Balasubramaniam claims that some people had bribed him to get him to implicate PKR leaders, including party de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim, of paying him to commit perjury in his 2008 SD linking Najib with the murdered translator. He said he was approached by the same people - businessman Deepak Jaikishan and a police officer by the name of Suresh - who had threatened and subsequently paid him a substantial amount, to sign a second SD to say that his first sworn statement was made "under duress'. A key figure in the Altantuya murder controversy, Balasubramaniam fled to India with his family after signing the second SD. Balasubramaniam later said that since then, Deepak and Suresh again approached him in April last year to bribe him to implicate PKR leaders. In his letter to MACC, he complained, "I have given you enough time (to act), so far nothing has happened, zero. "I am sitting here in India and cannot come back to Malaysia as I am afraid for my safety. I have got no job. How long do you think I can survive?" he wrote.

Emotions Posted: 04 Nov 2012 03:24 PM PST KTEMOC KONSIDERS Malaysians are very emotional about their politics, particularly in their political allegiance. For most of us, it's either black or white, with no shades of grey in between. One either loves or hates a political party, and one either loves or hates a political leader. UMNO or PKR supporters wakakaka It's called tribalism, and of the most acute Mrymidon-ish kind. But it's a more recent political phenomenon in Malaysia, coming into prominence after, I suspect, the acrimonious Mahathir-Anwar split. Hence I see it'll be unlikely for Malaysian politics to develop into a mature 2-party system, let alone ever entertain that nebulous word 'bipartisanship'. But there are other forms of emotions (including wakakaka-ism) that would rack us from time to time. Let me provide the following examples from my personal experience: (a) Malaysiakini - 'Scorpenes to prevent repeat of 1511 attack on Malacca' My emotion: First I guffawed at the ludicrousness of such an assertion. Then I cringed (and still do) with shame and embarrassment that such a moronic absurd statement could come from the mouth of Malaysia's top naval man, RMN chief Laksamana Abdul Aziz. Portuguese man-of-war How the f* did we go so very wrong in the development of our military officers? As Sakmongkol AK47 wrote in The Malaysian Insider's The Navy Chief and the MCA Aryan Race: "We must remember to sack the imbecilic navy chief when PR takes over the government. [...] The reason given by the navy chief must be taken as signs of incompetence spawned by an inept and corrupt government." I like Sak's use of the word 'imbecilic' to describe that half-baked sailor and his half-past six nonsense. (b) Malaysiakini - DAP's war truck goes missing in Johor DAP truck named 'Afonso de Albuquerque', wakakaka  My emotion: Ashamed that some people would resort to this sort of childish hooliganism. But DAP should take comfort that the truck was probably requisitioned as an essential war requirement for the defence of our shores ... against those marauding Portuguese, wakakaka. (c) The Malaysian Insider - Arrested youth's family fear Johor palace interference, urge cops to help My emotion: Oh no, not again. But then, where is Dr Mahathir when you need him, wakakaka. F* you ungrateful bastards, wakakaka (d) The Malaysian Chronicle - 'Bin' & 'Binti' RUSE to force Islam on bumiputra Christians in Sabah & S'wak? My emotions: What! Then snatching dead bodies, now snatching live ones! The word 'bin' (from 'ben') is of Middle-Eastern origin, where we had: Yeshua ben Yosef (Isa bin Yusuf - I hope you recognize this name; if you don't, ask my blogging mateys Susan Loone or Lucia Lai), Jaazaniah ben Shaphan (taken from Ezekiel 8:11, Orthodox Jewish Bible), and a relatively more recent one, David ben Gurion, etc. I wonder whether they were Muslims? READ MORE HERE

Malaysia – the Islamic state Posted: 04 Nov 2012 03:19 PM PST A dark humour piece on a perceived puritan Islamic state which PAS is insistent on championing one day in the future. Iskandar Dzulkarnain, FMT The Muslims in this country have certainly come of age. Lovingly protected by the government against the pitfalls of sin and eternal damnation, today a growing majority of Muslims are attracted to the beautiful notion of being governed by the hudud penal code and becoming a true Islamic nation. It is wonderful to know that a Muslim NGO has called for the banning of Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan's "My Name Is Khan" movie which confuses Muslims as it promotes liberal Islam and religious pluralism. It has also warned Malaysian broadcasters against airing the hit film and called for the blocking of the distribution of the film CD. Malay right-wing group Perkasa also called for Muslims nationwide to boycott award-winning singer Jaclyn Victor for singing the Malay-language Christian song "Harapan Bangsa". PAS Youth has done its bit to ban Valentine's Day, a well-known Western celebration and live concerts which promote a loose lifestyle. And now it wants to meet the King, because the MCA president refuses to apologise for purportedly insulting Islam. PAS is also ready to hold a discussion with former Perlis mufti Prof Madya Mohd Aszri Zainul Abidin on the "Ayatollah" issue should it ever come to power. Malay bibles have been banned in the Peninsula and the government is serious to disallow Allah's name to be uttered by non-Muslims. Maybe, the time is ripe for the Muslims in this country to have an Islamic state. Umno and PAS Umno has been instrumental in the past to Islamise this nation, and it is satisfied that Malaysia is already a thriving Islamic state. It has even planned a mandatory mosque law to build a mosque in every new housing estate. PAS, however, feels that more should be done and that the hudud penal code be part and parcel of an Islamic state. Both parties agree that Muslims in Malaysia are weak and open to the temptations of the world. Some form of "state control" is needed to ensure that Muslims do not breach religious etiquette or go over the line. Weak Muslims cannot be allowed to go through life without the state monitoring their progress and to provide them spiritual guidance. Many believe that only an Islamic state will pave the way for them to exercise and exert control over the Muslims' social, mental and spiritual upbringing. Muslims cannot carry on living a liberal and pluralistic lifestyle like what they are doing now. Something must be done to arrest the hedonistic lifestyle of the current Muslims and a puritanical Islamic way of life must be implemented. Of course, it is not political. Islam is above politics. Whoever wins the election will still ensure that the Islamic agenda is on course. One day in the future, PAS may have no choice but to reunite with Umno to form an Islamic state and enforce an Islamic way of life which includes the hudud penal code. The idea of a Malaysia for Malaysians, where the various races coexist together in peace and harmony and striving to become a developed first world nation, will not be part of this equation. To prevent further Muslim confusion, an affirmative Muslim Agenda is necessary to ensure that Muslims in this country conform fully to the Islamic code. Under Islamic governance, the issue of hypocrisy or exploitation of religion for political gain does not arise. The perfect role model to emulate will be Saudi Arabia as a puritanical Islamic state free of liberalism and pluralism, and where the Muslims journey on their lifetime pilgrimage. A dress-code A strict dress code will be enforced. The "burqa" – a gown that covers a woman's body from head to toe – should be considered, and an instant ban on shorts. With the women fully covered, there will be an instant reduction in sexual crimes, harassment or abandoned foetuses. Prostitution, close proximity and rape will become a thing of the past. Muslim men will be able to contain their sexual desires and concentrate on their work and their religious obligations without any distraction. Muslim men may never see the face of another Muslim woman again for the rest of their lives, except for their wives. The need to spend on expensive cosmetics and latest fashion will be void. Muslims will abandon the silly art of dating, or subscribing to love and romance. Women of child- bearing age will be encouraged to get married without delay. If they find difficulties in getting a partner, the option of being second wives should be considered. Women should not be subjected to sexual urges and impure thoughts unnecessarily while remaining single. It will be apt to follow Saudi Arabia's policies to disallow women from appearing in public without a related male accompaniment. Women should also be discouraged from driving or working in public. House keeping and caring for the children should be a priority. Without a women workforce, there will be ample job openings for Muslim males. Restrictions for Muslims Entertainment outlets like cinemas, snooker parlours, massage health centres, hair dressing saloons, pubs and discos, betting outlets, bars and cabaret should carry warning signs barring Muslim patrons. Moral squads should be planted in all hotels, nature parks and gambling outlets to nab unsuspecting offenders MAS should go liquor-free with family friendly seats and male/female seats clearly marked to prevent the opposite sex from mingling. All transport modes should follow a strict segregation code. That includes ferries, trains, buses, cinemas, concert halls, cashier counters in supermarkets, departmental stores and even taxis should have clear signs to segregate the opposite sex. Hotels nationwide should go alcohol-free, so as not to deter Muslims from working in such outlets. Wholesome entertainment Television, too, should be limited to "For Muslims Viewing" Astro Channels package, with programmes that meet religious guidelines. All movies, sit-coms, comedies or cartoons must espouse wholesome family values. Programmes that contain Western values, liberal or pluralism should be banned. Moreover, it is pointless to ban live shows if we continue to be exposed to them on TV. News, music videos and side-views that do not conform to the standard should be filtered for consumption. Computer games, Play-stations and online games should be severely restricted as it doesn't provide intrinsic value and are littered with western influences. Karaoke could be allowed as wholesome family entertainment, as long as the music content does not contain elements of love and romance, rock, heavy metal and disco. Access to the Internet should be severely restricted, as it contains a Pandora's box of disinformation that may confuse and corrupt the minds of Muslims. It will not be in the interest of Muslims to surf the world wide web uninhibitedly without strict parental controls. Smartphones with Internet capablilites and MMS should only be restricted to high-ranking officials in the civil service, police and military intelligence who need access to such high-tech devices. Apple Ipads, too, are dangerous devices in the inexperienced hands of the weak Muslims. READ MORE HERE

Nurul: I never condoned apostasy Posted: 04 Nov 2012 03:09 PM PST The PKR vice president says that a Muslim must adhere to the syariah code, similar to the rule that Malaysians must adhere to the provisions of the Federal Constitution. G Vinod, FMT PKR vice president Nurul Izzah Anwar today denied voicing support for Muslims to leave their religion as reported by the media several days ago. "Once you become a Muslim, you are bound to the Islamic principles enshrined under the syariah code, just like Malaysians are bound to the provisions of the Federal Constitution," she said in a statement today. Two days ago, Nurul was reported as saying that religious freedom should be accorded to everyone, including the Malays, in a forum titled "Islamic state? Which vision? Whose responsibility." "How can anyone say (freedom of religion) only apply to the non-Muslims, it has to be applied equally. "In Quran, there is no specific term to the Malay as how it should be done,"she was reported as saying when asked on whether Malays should be allowed religious freedom. Nurul, who is also Lembah Pantai MP, said that she was merely quoting a verse from Surah al-Baqarah of the al-Quran which guarantees religious freedom to all mankind. "And I also mentioned that I support education process to Muslims for them to better understand their religion and strengthen their faith to Islam," she said. Nurul criticised certain quarters who tried to portray her as being apostasy-friendly with her statement at the forum. "I regret the fact that some people had tried to spin my words by saying I'm dismissive on matters of faith and I can easily accept apostasy," she said.

PKR to lodge MACC report against Nazri Posted: 04 Nov 2012 03:06 PM PST MACC will be asked to probe on the use of the Hummer SUV belonging to timber tycoon Michael Chia by Nazri Aziz's son. PKR claims it amounted to conflict of interest  Teoh El Sen, FMT A report will be lodged with the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) later this afternoon against Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Nazri Aziz on the ongoing controversy surrounding the RM40 million "donation" to Sabah Umno. The report, which will be filed by PKR 's strategy director Rafizi Ramli, would touch on the Hummer SUV which Nazri's son, Nedim, has been allegedly using. Last week, Rafizi came up with evidence supposedly showing that the black Hummer, worth more than RM459,000, was being used by Nedim, and that it belonged to timber tycoon Michael Chia. Rafizi claimed that the links between Chia and Nazri amounted to conflict of interest, given that the minister had recently made statements in regard to a probe involving the businessman. "If this is not bribery, I don't know what it is. At the very least, ethically there is a question of conflict of interest where he [Nazri] should take moral and political responsibility for it," Rafizi said last week. Nazri had admitted to having links with Chia; however, he has repeatedly denied that his friendship with the latter had in any way influenced his job as a minister. Nazri had also denied receiving money from Chia after Raja Petra Kamarudin alleged in his blog Malaysia Today that Nazri and his son received RM3 million and a sports car respectively from Chia. The interest in the scandal largely revolves around Chia, who was reportedly detained at an airport in Hong Kong in 2008 with RM40 million worth of cash on him. Chia is linked to Sabah Chief Minister Musa Aman, and he had reportedly told Hong Kong's Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) when he was arrested that the money was for Musa. Interest in the issue was rekindled recently when Nazri told Parliament that the money was a political fund meant for Sabah Umno and that the ICAC had cleared Musa of any wrongdoing. Later, Nazri stated that contrary to previous reports, Chia was never arrested by the ICAC. READ MORE HERE

Hiring in Malaysia – from the prism of race Posted: 04 Nov 2012 02:52 PM PST Ice Cream Seller Having just read an article about the findings of a study that was conducted regarding the hiring preferences and practices of employers in Malaysia, I would like to comment on this subject that we often avoid for whatever reason. As someone who counts 30 plus years in commerce & industry, I have been immersed in this process from the very bottom to the very top. As I type, I am enroute to Kathmandu to interview candidates for work in Malaysia. A human trafficker no less. Why are we going to the Himalayas to bring poor peasants to toil in our hot humid country - to be later abused by our cops, RELA, immigration 'officers', employers and other Malaysians, including managers, supervisors, migration agents, etc? Why are we not taking (to start with), local Indians to work in our factories when they seem to be the ones in greatest need of gainful employment? Lets look at how employers tend to view local Indians. For the English educated, there is consensus of their flair for the language (look at the litigation lawyers in the country). But that is at the professional level. The view of employers (rightly or wrongly) is that Indians tend to be more talkative than others (more so amongst themselves), their EQ may not be comensurate with their IQ, they tend to have a 'victim' mentality and at the same time can have a fiery sense of pride. Often seen as argumentative by the others. Generally considered loyal but as others in the Gen Y group, this is diminishing as a trait. Thanks to the NEP, they are no more fluent in English (urban excepted). Their Malay language skills may be quite good but what commercial value really does this have? On the contrary, the Chinese speaking Indians seem well embraced by Chinese employers. As for the Chinese, what the employer sees is amongst others: someone with better self control & discipline, more suited to detailed work but perhaps not so adept in social skills when put in a cross cultural environment. Their EQ is generally viewed positively and for Chinese employers, they tend to see Chinese candidates as more likely to be loyal. Again, this fades with the onset of the Chinese Gen Y. If the NEP is considered a fence, the Chinese employer views a Chinese prospect as being from the same side of the fence. They are CONSIDERED more suited for analytical type of work though this view is not necessarily cast in stone. Employers view Chinese candidates as more pragmatic and best suited for "greasing" the machinery of commerce, politics and government whenever called for. Finally, but not least, the Malays. Let's ignore the government view as there is only one seeming set of views judging by the civil service makeup. Employers in the private sector (excluding GLCs - as they are as good as or bad as the civil service, depending on how one looks at it) view them variously. These include the view that they are easy going, polite but volatile if rubbed the wrong way. There is concern from the employer's point when it comes to religion. Can the Malay leave his religion outside the door when he/she comes to work or does it come as a package deal? Because the private sector (excluding GLCs again) are largely non-Malay (and by extension, the segment that did not seem to benefit from the NEP) there is a widespread view that Malay staff will carry with them all that was wrong with the NEP – monolingual, poor English skills, insular in outlook, placid and having qualifications that often fit neither here nor there. (This is by no means an exhaustive list). At the same time, I will acknowledge that on least three occassions, I have put my life in the able and competent hands of three different Malay doctors (though all three are pre-NEP products and would have made it even without the NEP. In fact the NEP has done a great disservice to them being mistagged as NEP products). As employers we often find many very good Malay staff but in the last 20 years, the same staff have found themselves – at different times - trapped in the dilema of conforming to peer pressure to conform to certain relatively new norms versus their inate sense of just wanting to be themselves. Increasingly, where suitable female Malay candidates are available, they are preferred to males. (Like it or not, this probably stems from the numerous negative role models on display from very public figures – from politicians, political wannabes to pampered sports personalities). Today, if you walk into a large private sector company, the scenario is likely to look something like this : Accounts Dept – predominantly Chinese and nearly all female. The HR and Admin Depts – either Malay or Indian or both. The Sales/Marketing Depts – mostly Chinese (unless your customer  is the Government or GLCs). The cleaners – either Malay/Indonesian or Indian. The dispatch riders – Malay with a smattering of Indians. The drivers of the bosses – Indians or Malays. Extend this scenario to outlets like KFC, Pizza Hut, Burger King, McDonald's where the  counter staff are almost entirely Malays. In Indian eateries - it is Indians from India. In Chinese eateries – Burmese, Nepalese and anyone accept Malaysian! When we have different medium schools available for Tamils, Chinese, Muslims (sekolah agama) and the others - either  national government or private schools- the parameters are set for differentiation for our young. Add to that, the  residential secondary schools that cater primarily to Malays The hiring arena has certainly evolved a long way from 30 years ago and indeed much has transpired in the process. It is a great pity that one individual was allowed to orchestrate this process almost unfettered during this time. Like making a wrong turn on a long expressway, we need to wait till an exit appears to correct the journey. In the meantime, endure the ride or stop the car, get out and walk.

India's 'Assange' crusades against corruption Posted: 04 Nov 2012 02:41 PM PST Arvind Kejriwal has shaken the political establishment with a string of accusations against top leaders and businesses. Sudha G Tilak, Aljeeza In a country where accountability and transparency are often thought of as the first causalities of holding public office, Arvind Kejriwal, a mechanical engineer and former bureaucrat from Haryana, has blown the whistle on India's corrupt. In the last fortnight, he has released details and levelled charges four times against top Indian politicians and the country's biggest business conglomerate. "We want to turn the power structure upside-down and make the powerful accountable," Kejriwal, 44, a thin man with a moustache and piercing eyes, said. India's middle class population, which prefers to bemoan the state of chaos and corruption in the nation, have found in Kejriwal a person who is not afraid to bring forth allegations of fraud to the doorstep of India's leaders. It's been a long and busy day for Kejriwal following his string of revelations and corruption charges in the past fortnight on many of India's leading political and business figures. He disengages from throngs of his followers of the India Against Corruption (IAC), a people's organisation he founded in 2006 encouraging public engagement. "People of this country are fed up, and the conditions are right for a movement to set things right," he said in an exclusive interview with Al Jazeera. Targeting the mighty Charging the country's most powerful with corruption, Kejriwal has discomforted the government. "They have found the ground beneath their feet shaken", he exclaimed.  However, he is wary of the title India's Julian Assange, the founder of the whistle-blowing organisation WikiLeaks now wanted by the US government for making top secret government documents available to the public, which some have bestowed upon him. "It's not about sensational exposures," he said. "The intent is to bring a radical change in politics and accountability." Kejriwal's accusations are based on government documents he says are proof of corruption, which he had obtained using the Right to Information Act, under which any citizen may compel the government to share information. On October 5, Kejriwal made a public accusation against Robert Vadra, son-in-law of Congress party president Sonia Gandhi. He claimed that Vadra had purchased property worth millions of dollars with "interest free unsecured free loan" by DLF, India's major construction company. DLF's market value dropped in a single day to the tune of $580m following the accusation. A week later Kejriwal pinpointed financial irregularities to the tune of Rs 71 lakh ($130,000) by the Zakir Hussain Memorial Trust, a non-governmental organisation for the disabled that is headed by federal minister Salman Khurshid and his wife Louise. He took to the streets with his followers saying the Khurshids had misappropriated funds allocated for the physically challenged to distribute tricycles and hearing aids for the needy across 17 districts of Uttar Pradesh. A Comptroller and Auditor General's Report (CAG) had earlier reported the irregularities too. Then, on October 17, Kejriwal targeted the opposition party, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). He accused party president Nitin Gadkari of land grabbing by colluding with the ruling party in the western state of Maharashtra, and exploiting poor farmers to further his business interests in real estate. And most recently, on October 31, Kejriwal accused India's Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and the country's largest business empire Reliance Industries Limited (RIL)'s chairman of malpractice. He alleged the government of going soft on RIL, allowing them to amass undue profits beyond its contract to develop the country's key natural gas field in the Krishna Godavari (KG) basin. He also said the RIL was responsible for the unnatural rise in prices of gas at "three times higher than normal". Pursuing the truth Despite strong denials from those who stand accused, Kejriwal's revelations have undoubtedly stirred the establishment. Anna Hazare, right,  was Kejriwal's mentor, but the two have parted ways now [AP] Robert Vadra, Sonia Gandhi's son-in-law, has denied the charges brought against him; DLF has also denied offering favourable discounts for purchase of property. Gandhi, for her part, has remained silent on the matter, refraining from making any public statements. Kejriwal brushed aside the defences of Vadra and senior Congress leaders, saying their clarifications were "half-truths and lies". For their part, Salman and Louise Khurshid made a televised appearance denying the charges of misappropriating funds, and are seeking defamation damages to the tune of Rs 100 crore ($20m). In response, Kejriwal decided to take the matter further and staged a massive rally in Farrukhabad, Khurshid's constituency, on November 1, urging voters not to re-elect him. Opposition leader Gadkari and representatives of RIL have also issued statements denying Kejriwal's charges. Critics say that Kejriwal has been acting like a political novice by releasing a slew of allegations that may not come to much. Khurshid, for once, has said that Kejriwal was "an ant taking on the might of an elephant". Kejriwal accepts that survival in Indian politics against established political behemoths requires "strategic planning", acknowledging that his "timing could have been planned better". While Kejriwal admits he is still learning, he believes that the truth will prevail. "Remember they may have survived for many decades in politics, but we too are formidable foes in pursuing truth," he said. READ MORE HERE

Christian Cemetery stinks to high heavens Posted: 04 Nov 2012 02:35 PM PST Terracotta Christians in the Federal Capital of Kuala Lumpur observed their annual 'All Souls day' on 2nd November 2012 with their noses plugged and all because of the utter insensitivity of the local authorities. Anyone who visited the Cheras Christian Cemetery in Kuala Lumpur would have felt insulted and you cannot blame them if they registered their disgust and hurt feelings by casting their votes for the Opposition. BN leaders therefore cannot accuse the Christians of being 'ungrateful'. Here is yet another benchmark of an insensitive leadership: How could the authorities set up a bay for their garbage trucks just beside the graves – as well as entering and leaving the depot using the same road and entrance/exit that Christians use to visit the graves? At least a dozen garbage trucks were seen parked in the vicinity of the graves. How on earth can any normal human being stand by the tombstone so close to the garbage bay and observe their obligations for the departed? And the stench filled a wide expanse of the cemetery grounds despite the fact that flower stalls were decked all along the path and thousands of petals and garlands graced the tombstones; and certainly the oozing liquids on the narrow paths between the graves spilling from the DBKL 'truk sampah' vehicles that kept driving in and out was just too much to bear. What kind of policy is this? Do we have no respect for the dead? Are we so short of land for the garbage vehicles that even a Christian cemetery is not spared? Where is our sensitivity? Or are the authorities sending a subtle message of discrimination? It is no surprise when the Christians visiting the cemetery lean to the other extreme questioning if the same would also happen to the burial grounds of other faiths? These are the questions the family members who paid their respects to their deceased loved ones are asking. And are the BN leaders going to charge the Christians of non-patriotic line of questions? Or would some UMNO aligned political group charge that the Christians are rousing religious sensitivities by asking these questions? Have the heads of the Christian faith questioned and or appealed to the authorities not to turn the burial ground into a garbage truck depot? If they have not, then they are also party to this totally disrespectful and hurting act. However if the Christian leaders have send in their appeals, then it is definitely an act of ill-will on the part of the authorities. Where in the world would local authorities also seemingly raid and occupy burial grounds with their stinking, oozing garbage trucks? Anyone reader can name one? Wonder what have the BN leaders who keep proclaiming that only they know what is best for Malaysians of all faiths have got to say? Or is this act also another of the BN's "promises fulfilled" agenda?

Non-Muslim religious leaders give a big ‘no’ to hudud in Malaysia Posted: 04 Nov 2012 10:59 AM PST (The Star) -- Hudud will affect non-Muslims in the country if it is implemented, said a Hindu leader. Hindu Sangam president R.S. Mogan Shan said non-Muslims were already affected by existing Islamic laws, especially when it involved married couples and if one converted to Islam. He cited the case of S. Shamala, whose husband became a Muslim and converted their sons without her knowledge or consent, leading to a long custody battle in court. In an interview with the Free Malaysia Today news portal, Mogan said that while he respected Islam's position as the official religion of the country, he did not agree with hudud being implemented in the country. On Oct 25, Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Datuk Seri Jamil Khir Baharom told Nibong Tebal MP Tan Tee Beng in the Dewan Rakyat that hudud would not affect non-Muslims. He had said the Syariah Court only has jurisdiction on Muslims as stipulated under the Federal Constitution. Mogan said Hindu Sangam was handling about 1,000 cases involving overlapping jurisdiction between Syariah and civil courts. Malaysian Gurdwara Council president Jagis Singh said under Islamic law, non-Muslims were only known as protectorates (a weak faction protected by a stronger force). In such situation, he felt the non-Muslim's testimony would have little value. He said that implementation of hudud would be unconstitutional as the highest law of the land, the Federal Constitution, guaranteed Malaysians equality before the law. Brickfields Buddhist Mahavihara vice-president Premasilaka K.D. Serisena said hudud is a criminal justice system and with its implementation, a dual criminal justice system would be created.

Zaid quits as Kita chief, cites health problems as the reason Posted: 04 Nov 2012 10:54 AM PST (The Star) -- Datuk Zaid Ibrahim has resigned as president of Kita but claims he still retains control of the party. Party secretary Masrum Dayat, who has taken over as president, said Zaid submitted his resignation letter on Saturday. "However, he is still a central committee member and an ordinary Kita member," he said, adding that Zaid cited health problems as the reason for his resignation. Masrum takes over the post with immediate effect. Zaid, when asked about his resignation, replied through SMS saying "Yes". He, however, added that the party remained "under my control". When asked under what capacity would he remain in control of the party, Zaid said: "Position is not as important as influence." It was reported that Zaid was believed to be suffering from a heart ailment, which has left him unwell lately. In his last post on his blog on Oct 24, Zaid said: "On the advice of my doctor, I've been avoiding stressful activities for several months." He also said quitting his post as Kita president would facilitate him contesting under the Pakatan Rakyat banner, preferably against Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak in Pekan. However, he said, he would only consider doing so if PAS president Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang opted not to contest for the seat. Hadi was recently reported to have said he would stand wherever the party sent him, even Pekan.

GE13: Targeting Perak Posted: 04 Nov 2012 09:07 AM PST Let us not be greedy. Let us leave Gerik and Lenggong for BN. Sakmongkol AK47 Where to attack in Perak? Many of us like to know where we can hit BN where it hurts. This is the first of several articles, where I have identified the places I think are worthwhile to mount our attacks. Let us start with Perak. If we focus our attacks on Larut, Parit, Tapah, Pasir Salak, Bagan Datok and Tanjung Malim, we will leave only two seats for BN to win in Perak. That will be Gerik and Lenggong. In an earlier article, I said, BN will win only 7 parliamentary seats. Let us make that 2. The more important strategy is to take the federal seats to allow PR to form the federal government. States that do not fall under PR will run to form state coalition governments.  Najib says melancholically in Penang that he does not mind other people taking over his PMship- but he fears under Pakatan, the country will go bankrupt. Come on Mr PM, it is not like you are the only person who can do the job of PM and it is not that only Barisan can run the country. You have spent more than you earned for the last 16 years since 1998.  I have said it before and now will repeat- if Najib can become PM, so can everyone else. Read more

Hudud PAS: Soi Lek sudah rasa tertekan Posted: 04 Nov 2012 09:04 AM PST (Harakah Daily) -- Mursyidul Am PAS, Tuan Guru Datuk Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat, menyifatkan kenyataan Presiden MCA, Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek, dalam sebuah akhbar mingguan hari ini kerana sudah merasai tertekan dengan kemarahan umat Islam. Mengambil tempoh waktu tertentu akhirnya Presiden MCA membuat kenyataan baru untuk mengelak daripada dirinya terus dikecam.  "Dia sebenarnya rasa tertekan…tersinggung dengan kritikan umat Islam sendiri sebelum ini berhubung tindakannya mempertikaikan hukum hudud dan sebagainya. "Dia kata dia tidak hina Islam, tetapi pertikaikan hukum hudud PAS, mana boleh jadi begitu sedangkan hukum hudud itu sendiri adalah Islam," ujarnya.  Sambungnya, sebagai contoh andainya ada orang menentang hanya satu dari yang terkandung dalam undang-undang Malaysia, ertinya orang terbabit telah menentang negara ini. Pada masa yang sama Menteri Besar Kelantan itu juga berkata, Soi Lek seharusnya mempersoalkan 'mana hukum hudud Umno' dan bukannya memperosalkan hudud yang diperjuangkan PAS.  Katanya, sekiranya tiada hukuman itu yang dibentangkan oleh Umno, sudah bererti apa yang diusahakan PAS adalah ajaran Islam. Beliau berkata demikian kepada Harakahdaily, ketika ditemui di pejabatnya tengah hari tadi bagi mengulas kenyataan Soi Lek yang mendakwa beliau tidak menghina Islam, cuma persoal hudud PAS.

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