Malaysia Today - Your Source of Independent News
Malaysia Today - Your Source of Independent News |
| Should Indians even trust Najib? Posted: 23 Dec 2012 01:44 PM PST Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak's conditional 'if' over the condo project on Batu Caves temple grounds is typical of arrogant BN and spineless MIC. Toffee Rozario, FMT Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak recently lined up the present and past MIC top brass to convince the Indians that the condominium project in sacred Batu Caves would be halted "if" Barisan Nasional wrested Selangor. The same BN government, which approved the condominium project with the full knowledge of its MIC members who sat at the various meetings, is pointing the finger at Pakatan Rakyat (current Selangor government). Frankly, there is no real motivation for the MIC to ask Najib to put a stop to the destruction of this temple, first, on the grounds that it is sacred to the Hindus, and secondly and more importantly, on the grounds that it is a national monument. But all that is not important to the MIC and the BN now. What is important to them are their seats in the Selangor State Legislative Assembly. And that is the sole reason MIC supports Najib's "if". As prime minister Najib has the power to intervene and protect a "national monument", there is no need for the "if." "If" is found only in the dictionary of fools; are all Indians to be made fools of? Is Najib really sincere? Why wait till the election is over and set it as a condition on a minority community to win the state for him? Where is the sincerity if it is conditional? Do the Indians make the majority of the voting population in Selangor? How can the Indians and in particular the Hindus (as there are Muslims, Christians and Sikhs among the Indians) ensure a BN victory? Even if BN wins the state, will Najib say that it was not won on Indian vote alone and let the condominium project continue? Would Najib also turn around and claim BN lost because the Indians voted against him? You can do anything with a minority, and the Indians are a minority this BN government never treated well at all. Quarries paid BN millions Let's talk history. History has proven the Selangor BN government to be callous and arrogant. Dolomite Industries has been blasting the site since way back in the 1970s. It was given the approval to build the condominium by the previous BN government. The quarrying approval was known to MIC councillors and Public Works Department authorities who had allowed other quarries to also blast away rocks in the area. Now let's talk money. In the 1970s, the Selangor BN government was reportedly paid some 300,000 sterling pounds (British currency) a year for quarrying rights by the quarrying companies. The BN government then was not bothered about the Hindus and their interests because the quarries brought in more money. In the mid 70s Sahabat Alam Malaysia (SAM) initiated a "Save Batu Caves Campaign" which was almost immediately supported by the Malaysian Nature Society, The Environmental Protection Society and the Batu Caves Protection Society. In 1978, at the eleventh hour the Ministry of Science, Technology and Environment submitted an urgent report to the Selangor government warning that serious damage would befall the caves if immediate action was not taken as cracks had began to appear in the caves. Two years after that report was sent to the Selangor BN government, the blasting was ordered to halt in June, albeit prolonged delays. By then more cracks had appeared on the caves and stalagmites had begun falling. But the companies appealed and despite knowing the extent of damage, the Selangor BN government gave them an additional six-month extension. There was no concern about the temple or the fact that hundreds of thousands of Hindus considered the caves sacred. The quarries brought in money and that was what mattered.
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| Year end visits to Sabah by Najib, Anwar Posted: 23 Dec 2012 01:40 PM PST It is learned that both have scheduled their final visits to the politically volatile state on Dec 28 and Dec 29 respectively. Luke Rintod, FMT KOTA KINABALU: Come year-end, the country's top two 'rivals' in Malaysian politics – Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak and opposition supremo Anwar Ibrahim – will once again slog it out in Sabah. It is reliably learned that both have scheduled their final visits to the politically volatile state on Dec 28 and Dec 29 respectively. Besides wooing potential voters here, the duo will be also be fighting for the spaces in the local newspapers. Media editors here have spoken of the "interesting" heat emanating from the political slugging and its reach to voters across the vast state of Sabah. Sabah is equivalent to the combined size of nine smaller states in the Malayan Peninsular. The state is frankly a logistical nightmare and poor communication in Sabah has made it favourable to politicians to get maximum coverage in local newspapers. Anwar, it is learned, would fly in from Jakarta and will visit Kuala Penyu and possibly another area during his visit. Najib meanwhile is expected to officiate the annual congress of a tiny Barisan Nasional (BN) component, Parti Bersatu Rakyat Sabah (PBRS), which faces annihilation in rural town of Pensiangan in the 13th general election. According to those in the know, Najib is also scheduled to appear in Papar. This would be Najib's seventh visit to Sabah this year. It is a record unsurpassed by all the previous five premiers and telling of the political situation in the peninsular. At stake in Sabah are 26 parliamentary seats, including the sole seat in Labuan, and 60 state seats, of which the Umno/PBS-led Sabah BN controls 23 and 57 seats respectively. Pre-Christmas visit The last time Najib was in town was about a week ago where he went to Sandakan to officiate the annual congress of another BN minor partner, Liberal Democratic Party (LDP). In Sandakan, he feted the Christian community to lunch in a bid to stop the decreasing support for BN from that community. The community has been under extreme pressure from the Najib's administration. The "Alkitab" or Bible issue is still hanging, while Najib's own Muslim groups of supporters had been pressuring him not to retract a certain edict or fatwa in as many as 10 states that bars Christians from using many Malayanised Arabic-rooted words that include Allah, bait Allah, solat, kiblat, rasul, firman Allah, kaabah and even iman.
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