Malaysia Today - Your Source of Independent News
Malaysia Today - Your Source of Independent News |
- Musa-Phang altercation intensifies
- HK’s ICAC gags future talk on RM40m Sabah Umno case
- MACC to deepen probe
- The tale of Pakatan hypocrites and stateless Indians
- Is GE13 really do or die for BN and PR?
- The journey in life is never a straight line (PART 16)
- Deepak: Anwar is not behind me
- ‘Rosmah told me to look for Bala’
- Sultan Selangor benci dituduh orang Umno
- PAS: Sorry, we can't use MCA’s benchmark for public decency
- CID chief denies home minister meddles with police
- Overzealous officials on ‘khalwat’ trail
- Is piggy-backing an indecent act?
- MIC men accused of roughing up Jui Meng
- Why reveal now, Musa?
- PKR still waiting for MIC defectors
- Businessman denies ex-IGP’s allegations
- Ravi Shankar dies at age 92
- No ‘political tsunami’ in Sabah, says PBS
- It’s PAS that BN fears the most
- Playing race, religion card could backfire
- Karpal calls on Hadi to announce PAS' stand on gender segregation issue
- JP Morgan: Better for Barisan to stay in power
- The Curse of Marina Lee Abdullah?
- Karpal minta Hadi buat kenyataan pendirian PAS mengenai pengasingan gender
- DAP’s Lims sweat over dissenters
- Lajim offers assistance to graftbusters
- The journey in life is never a straight line (PART 15)
- Teen summoned for frolicking in park upset and embarrassed
- Rolling out a dirty carpet
- The PAS factor in DAP polls
- Insider — but not so correct — info
- Don’t confuse the people, ex-IGP tells cops
- We were only chatting, says two men in car
- Non-Muslims not targeted by Kelantan government, says PAS
- Voters must decide on ‘frogs’
- Give credit where it’s due
- Paper trails show Musa-Chia link
- Getting entangled in ‘if PR wins’ scenarios
- MP slams daily over 'khalwat manipulation'
- Who is Capt. Joseph Lakai?
- Lynas hits another bump in Malaysia
- The semblance of change
- Penang Lang must defend Penang at all cost
- Musa Hassan tells Robert Phang: apologize, or I’ll sue you
- ‘Black knight’ Musa vs ‘White knight’ Ramli
- Musa reveals more, implicates businessman
- Act fast against ‘Little Napoleons’, DAPSY tells PAS
- The Star just as racial as Utusan, says DAP MP
- Umno smiles as PAS grapples with moral policing issue
| Musa-Phang altercation intensifies Posted: 12 Dec 2012 10:14 AM PST
(The Sun Daily) - WITH an American multi-national, its consultant and a retired police head honcho as key players, the bout is bound to be spell-binding. Pepper it with intrigue, power-peddling, intimidation, lobbying and mud-slinging and that would result in an extraordinary sight for those on the ringside seats. It is only "Round One" and the gloves have already come off, with bystanders baying for blood. The ongoing spat between the former inspector-general of police, Tan Sri Musa Hassan and former Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) advisory panel member Tan Sri Robert Phang took a dramatic turn at a media conference yesterday, with confessions and admissions which make compelling reading, interpretation and elucidation. Phang conceded that he is still a consultant on the payroll of Motorola Technology Sdn Bhd which had won a contract to upgrade the communication system used by the Royal Malaysian Police. This was in response to Musa's claim that Phang threatened a high- ranking police officer and had him removed from his post. Musa claimed that the police officer, who holds the rank of Senior Assistant Commissioner and a PhD holder, had refused to comply with a request to commission a multi-million ringgit project for Motorola in which Phang was involved in 2009. "I deny that I have caused this officer's transfer within 24 hours," said Phang. Phang was adamant, stating that he only became a consultant after Motorola had won the contract. However, when asked what capacity he was in when present at the press conference organised by Motorola on Feb 26, 2008, he quipped: 'I was there to promote Malaysia as an investment destination." He maintained that at that time, he had no official links with the company. But Phang admitted that he met the officer in question at meetings at the Home Affairs Ministry on issues about the supply of equipment to the police in 2009. "I was there in my capacity as consultant," reiterating that he was there after Motorola had won the contract in 2008. But Musa contradicted Phang's assertion, saying that the contract was awarded in 2009. He was quoted as saying that Motorola had obtained a project "to upgrade the police communications system from the analogue to the digital system in 2009". "I was informed by sources that the police were asked to commission the project when it was incomplete. If the project was not commissioned, (the company) would not be paid. So Phang asked a police officer to commission it, but that officer rejected this because it was incomplete. He threatened the officer saying that, if he refused (to commission the system), he would be transferred out," Musa was quoted as saying on Monday. For good measure, Phang added that he did not know how the deal was secured but said: "Motorola got the contract not because of Robert Phang." Going on the defensive under intense questioning by the media, Phang admitted he was an MACC advisory panel member while being Motorola's consultant but declared there was no conflict of interest. In an hour-long press conference, Phang produced three-year-old press clippings and a statutory declaration signed by Musa's former ADC, ASP Noor Azizul Rahim Taharim. Then, he declared his involvement: "I was the one together with Datuk Ramli Yusoff (former Commercial Crimes Division chief) who helped draft and prepare the document." (The statutory declaration made on Aug 28, 2009 outlines the wrongdoing allegedly done by Musa when he was the police chief).
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| HK’s ICAC gags future talk on RM40m Sabah Umno case Posted: 12 Dec 2012 10:07 AM PST
(The Malaysian Insider) - Hong Kong graftbusters have cautioned Malaysia's opposition leaders against publicising any future developments in the RM40 million Sabah Umno case, warning that compromising confidentiality could jeopardise their probe as well as the safety of those involved. In keeping with their own secrecy rule, officials from the renowned Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) also refused at their meeting with PKR yesterday to confirm or deny if they planned to reopen the controversial case, which has been linked to Sabah Chief Minister Datuk Musa Aman. Rafizi Ramli, who led PKR's delegation to Hong Kong, said the officials had merely offered their undertaking to carefully peruse all the documents he had surrendered to them as evidence before contacting him again. "They said they will go through everything in great detail and contact us for the next step. They would not say if the case will be reopened," he told The Malaysian Insider in a phone call from Hong Kong. But despite the ICAC's secrecy, the PKR strategy director insisted that yesterday's meeting had been fruitful, adding that the agency's advice to keep things secret could only mean that it views the matter seriously. He said PKR agreed to proceed in cloak-and-dagger fashion to respect the ICAC's processes and to ensure that should the agency decide to reopen its books on the case, their public statements would not ruin its investigation. "So if we are coming again to Hong Kong, with witnesses, or without, the advice is that we do not announce it in the media. "This could be good for Musa, in a way, since we cannot shed too much light on the investigation... but we will find a way to keep things alive politically without compromising the ICAC's work," Rafizi said. Read more at: http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/hks-icac-gags-future-talk-on-rm40m-sabah-umno-case/
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| Posted: 12 Dec 2012 10:05 AM PST
(The Star) - The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) is deepening its investigations into the Talamgate controversy after recording the statement of MCA Young Professionals Bureau chairman Datuk Chua Tee Yong. An MACC spokesperson confirmed that Chua's statement was recorded during the session, where the Deputy Agriculture and Agro-based Industries Minister also submitted his findings of discrepancies in the Talamgate controversy to the MACC. "I have submitted to the MACC my findings about the debt recovery exercise, most of which have been presented in the media. "I have also provided MACC with other documents which have not been disclosed until now. "However, I cannot divulge the contents as these are now in the hands of the MACC," Chua said after the three-hour interview at the MACC headquarters here yesterday. Chua said that had the White Paper on the issue been able to provide comprehensive details of the debt settlement, he would not have been called to the MACC to provide more information on the matter. He added that even Bursa Malaysia was looking into the Talam issue, citing a report from Bursa Malaysia which stated that Talam's debt and penalty interest amounting to RM236mil owed to Kumpulan Hartanah Selangor Bhd (KHSB) had been reduced to RM115mil. In the Nov 28 announcement, KHSB auditor AKN said further investigations were needed to find out if proper procedures had been followed, including compliance with the Main Market Listing Require-ments. On Dec 2, Chua had called on the Selangor government to rewrite its White Paper on the debt recovery exercise involving Talam Corp. This followed a recent statement by Kumpulan Hartanah Selangor Bhd (KHSB) to Bursa Malaysia which Chua said had shown discrepancies in the exercise involved. He said the report revealed that the amount owed to KHSB by Talam Group had been reduced from RM236mil to RM115mil, but was not reflected in the White Paper and the KPMG audit report engaged by the Selangor government. Chua had denounced the White Paper tabled at the Selangor state assembly as a "Grey Paper", maintaining that there were still questions left unanswered by the state government. In July, Chua had questioned how an exercise to recover the RM392mil debt owed by Talam to state-linked entities ended up in questionable deals worth more than RM1bil. The RM1bil deal includes Talam assets acquired by the Selangor government at RM676mil to offset the debt and a RM392mil grant obtained by the Mentri Besar Incorporated to facilitate the debt recovery exercise.
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| The tale of Pakatan hypocrites and stateless Indians Posted: 12 Dec 2012 09:54 AM PST
These questionable characters assume that Indians in Malaysia will actually believe their rhetoric and vote them in for the next GE. In reality, the poor Indian old folks and affected people that were employed for the rally were the ones hoodwinked by these characters for their own individualistic agendas. Santara John Chua Jui Meng, having served party politics for nearly 40 years, happens to be the longest serving Health Minister in Malaysian history. Chua has never seen the limelight for the right reasons prior to 2008 since quitting MCA and joining PKR in 2009. He said verbatim that he preferred a two party system but in reality it is a well known fact that Chua quit because he failed to become the MCA president. And after so many years of doing nothing for the Indians, what made him turn towards the Indian plight now? What was the logic behind his dramatic presence at the protest in JPN Putrajaya today? Is he taking advantage of the situation to garner Indian votes in Segamat where he is expected to contest? But can anyone be worse that this politician from Klang? Despite his political affiliation, many neutrals and even those on the BN side have always regarded him as a decent and good man. But little do people know that in this politician exists the devil of hypocrisy. A few days back, he urged Prime Minister Najib to mobilise a special team to ensure stateless Indians are registered immediately. In making that call, Charles Santiago completely concealed the fact that he had engaged the SITF, the special unit Najib formed under his department to look into documentation issues among Indians, the very special unit Charles Santiago engaged many months ago to resolve documentation problems of people who approached him. Short-term memory lost, oh YB? Or are you feeling guilty that you engaged them? The other drama queen MP of Kapar who tirelessly rallied to gather people for the protest rather than serving his constituents stated his mother and mother-in-law were victims of statelessness. Was he so committed and busy as a Parliamentarian that he didn't get time to seriously look into the matter and assist them through the proper channels? Maybe he didn't have the time since he was too busy hitting the streets with Surendran for rallies and protests rather than doing things the right way. How can his constituents expect him to take care of their needs? These questionable characters assume that Indians in Malaysia will actually believe their rhetoric and vote them in for the next GE. In reality, the poor Indian old folks and affected people that were employed for the rally were the ones hoodwinked by these characters for their own individualistic agendas. So look at yourself in the mirror before you speak of others!
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| Is GE13 really do or die for BN and PR? Posted: 11 Dec 2012 10:06 PM PST
Right now, everyone is trying to be on their best behaviour as they have their eyes on the ball. The aim is to defeat BN and to take over Putrajaya. But, as mentioned earlier, defeat always leads to finger-pointing and bickering. If PR fails to win in the election, we could very well see the splintering of the opposition pact. Oon Yeoh, The Sun Daily There's no question the upcoming 13th general election is a critical one, and perhaps the most important so far in our country's history. In the last general election, the Opposition made a serious dent in the government's armour and is now poised to seriously challenge it for control of Putrajaya. It's no exaggeration to say that we are at a crossroads. To borrow a phrase from former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, voters will have to decide on whether to stick with the devil they know or the angel they don't. Choosing the former means opting for evolution, or gradual change; choosing the latter means opting for revolution, or radical change. The choice is a stark one not a subtle one, and there is a lot at stake. But is it a "do or die" situation for either side? If you listen to the rhetoric from both camps, it sure sounds like it. But will defeat be the end for the loser? Let's look at some scenarios, starting with Barisan Nasional (BN). BN suffered its biggest setback in the 2008 general election when it lost five states (though it later regained one through some crossovers) and its traditional two-thirds majority in Parliament. Umno, the leading component in BN, managed to weather the political tsunami better than MCA, MIC and Gerakan, its key coalition partners. But it did result in a leadership change in Umno and correspondingly, the government. If BN were to lose in the election, there will be massive changes on almost every front. Such a dramatic reversal of fortune could be a storm the coalition might not be able to weather. It's not difficult to imagine some key components leaving the coalition because defeat often leads to a lot of finger-pointing and bickering. Umno itself would probably be racked with infighting. In such a scenario, you could envision the crumbling of BN. But there is an alternative scenario. An unprecedented defeat in the polls could be the very wake-up call that BN needs, and an opportunity for a new generation of politicians to rise up and re-energise the coalition. It could be a perfect example of creative destruction, of a Phoenix rising from the ashes. What about Pakatan Rakyat (PR)? Its leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has said that this is his last election. If that's not mere rhetoric, one can't help but wonder if the opposition coalition would be able to survive both the loss of the general election and the departure of its leader, who is commonly viewed as the glue that holds the coalition together. Although DAP and PAS have learned to work together – and quite well too, in the case of Perak – fissures could erupt anytime, especially over the issue of hudud. Right now, everyone is trying to be on their best behaviour as they have their eyes on the ball. The aim is to defeat BN and to take over Putrajaya. But, as mentioned earlier, defeat always leads to finger-pointing and bickering. If PR fails to win in the election, we could very well see the splintering of the opposition pact. But what's more likely to happen is that the old guards will not fade away but perhaps take a back seat and become advisers to the younger generation. There is certainly no shortage of young, capable and dynamic leaders in PR. They might not have much political experience, which is why the old guards are still needed, but they have the energy and determination to trudge on for another five years until the next battle. So yes, while political decimation is certainly a possibility for both BN and PR in the event of a defeat in this most critical of elections, but I am convinced the two-party system is here to stay and most likely what we will see happening in the vanquished coalition are fresh, new faces rising to the top. And that's not a bad thing.
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| The journey in life is never a straight line (PART 16) Posted: 11 Dec 2012 07:56 PM PST
There was a gap of about eight months between the August 1986 general election and the April 1987 Umno party election. And we were all told to take leave from our businesses to focus full-time on the Umno party election. I left the running of the business to my wife, Marina, and hit the road to prepare the groundwork for the mother of all battles looming over the horizon -- the contest between Team A and Team B. NO HOLDS BARRED Raja Petra Kamarudin With the 1986 general election out of the way, it was now time to decide who the boss was. And this was what the real objective was all about, the Umno party elections. The 1986 general election was not the prize. That was merely the foundation stone to the real prize, the leadership of Umno. And this was where the dirty tricks and the money politics would come in handy and would be extremely crucial. This was where the cheques would be cashed. The Umno party election was by far more brutal and more intensively fought than the general election. By comparison, the 1986 general election was almost like a walk in the park. And the 'debts' from the 1986 general election would now have to be paid in full in 1987. There was a gap of about eight months between the August 1986 general election and the April 1987 Umno party election. And we were all told to take leave from our businesses to focus full-time on the Umno party election. I left the running of the business to my wife, Marina, and hit the road to prepare the groundwork for the mother of all battles looming over the horizon -- the contest between Team A and Team B. And did it prove to be the mother of all battles! Never before had so much money been spent on a party election. Never before had threats as well as blackmail been used to the extreme to make people do the bidding of those who aspired for power. Never before had Umno been brought to the brink of destruction and which it never really recovered from ever since. The 1987 party contest changed Umno for good and introduced a new culture into Umno that transferred the party from the hands of the nationalists into the hands of the capitalists. Basically, Umno was transformed from a party of intellectuals and educators into a party of business taukays. Umno became what MCA always was -- a money party. Umno sent shivers down MCA's spine because Umno became more money-driven than even MCA itself. The new Umno culture became: money talks, bullshit walks. And it has remained that way ever since. Umno would never be brought back to what it was when it was first formed in 1946. Umno became 'Umno baru' in 1987 even before Umno Baru was legally and officially registered in 1988. And this is what many did not grasp at that time. When we, those from the business community, were 'press-ganged' into joining the campaign, we created more damage than good. Basically, we did not have any sentimental attachments to Umno. We did not care what happened to Umno. In fact, we did not have any love for Umno because most of us loved PAS more (at least those of us in the ABIM 'gang'). We just wanted to win even if in the process that saw the destruction of Umno. And, boy, did we win! And, boy, did Umno get destroyed! I suppose PAS has to thank us for that. We went in to Umno and we just bombed the whole party to pieces. No doubt our team won. But the price they paid for that is that Umno lost. Team A was headed by Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad with Tun Abdul Ghafar Baba as his Deputy and Anwar Ibrahim as his Youth Leader. Team B was headed by Tengku Tan Sri Razaleigh Hamzah with Tun Musa Hitam as his Deputy and Najib Tun Razak as his aspire-to-be Youth Leader. And the rest of Umno was split almost 50:50. Our job was to ensure that Najib changed sides. And to do that we had to get Najib's boys in Umno Youth into Anwar's pocket. Anwar offered Najib a deal. Anwar would vacate the Umno Youth Leader's post and hand it to Najib uncontested. Anwar would then contest the Umno Vice Presidency. But Najib would have to openly throw his lot behind Team A. In the beginning, Najib refused. However, Najib is not much of a fighter so it was not that difficult to 'persuade' him to change sides. Just threaten Najib that if he did not join Team A then he would have to fight for the Umno Youth Leader's post. It would not be handed to him on a silver platter. That was enough to make Najib change sides. Then we had to get the Youth Leaders from the various states to join Team A. Sabah had no Umno divisions yet at that time so the two biggest states were Perak and Johor. Hence Ramli Ngah Talib (an 'Old Boy' of the Malay College Kuala Kangsar) and Muhyiddin Yassin, the Menteris Besar of Perak and Johor respectively, would need to be roped in. Anuar Musa from Kelantan, Hanafiah Man from Kedah, Hamzah Zainuddin from Perak, Bakar Dewa from Johor, Zubir Embong and Rahman Bakar from Terengganu, etc., were summoned for a meeting. In that meeting they were asked to state their stand. Do they support Team A or Team B? At first most of them were wishy-washy. They did not dare commit themselves. The sentiments they expressed was that it was going to be a tie and that Dr Mahathir, because of the very narrow win of a couple of votes, might decide to throw in the towel and hand the party to Tengku Razaleigh. Unless they were sure that Dr Mahathir was going to stay on they would rather not openly declare their stand. I reported this to Pak Wan (Datuk Dr Wan Ismail, Anwar Ibrahim's father-in-law) who brought me to meet Dr Mahathir's Political Secretary, Datuk Noor Azam. Noor Azam was furious. All these people came up because of Dr Mahathir. And now they dare not state their stand as to whether they support Dr Mahathir or Tengku Razaleigh. I told Noor Azam it would help if Dr Mahathir can declare that even if he wins by just one vote he will still not resign. That would give everyone the confidence to support him. The rumour being spread is that unless Dr Mahathir gets a clear majority he is not going to stay on. That night, Dr Mahathir made the announcement and the doubters swung over to Team A. We spoke to Tan Sri Mohammad Tajol Rosli Mohamed Ghazali about forming a 'cheering squad'. It was agreed that we would infiltrate the Umno general assembly with about 200 to 300 'observers' and they would all be placed in the front row. Then, as Dr Mahathir delivers his speech, these 'observers' would stand up and shout 'Hidup Mahathir!' The delegates would then join the chorus. Dr Mahathir was not told of this plan because we wanted it to look genuine. Halfway through his speech, we interrupted him with shouts of 'Hidup Mahathir!' Dr Mahathir was caught off guard when almost the whole hall stood up to join the chorus, even those who supported Tengku Razaleigh. Dr Mahathir stopped his speech and sat down without continuing. He knew that we had clearly won the day. Team B was in panic. The Umno Permanent Chairman, Tun Sulaiman Ninam Shah, then ruled that the voting would be held immediately. There were loud protests from Team B because after Dr Mahathir's speech it was supposed to be the tea break. That would have given Team B time for a last minute campaign before the voting. Sulaiman ruled that the voting will be held immediately and anyone who left the hall would not be allowed back in to the hall to vote. Hence they must vote before leaving the hall. "Vote first and then you can go for tea. The tea is not going to run away," said Sulaiman. Team A pulled through with a slim 3% majority. In the next episode I will talk about how we almost kicked Dr Mahathir out the night before the party election but was prevented by Anwar from doing so. TO BE CONTINUED
The journey in life is never a straight line (PART 1) The journey in life is never a straight line (PART 2) The journey in life is never a straight line (PART 3) The journey in life is never a straight line (PART 4) The journey in life is never a straight line (PART 5) The journey in life is never a straight line (PART 6) The journey in life is never a straight line (PART 7) The journey in life is never a straight line (PART 8) The journey in life is never a straight line (PART 9) The journey in life is never a straight line (PART 10) The journey in life is never a straight line (PART 11) The journey in life is never a straight line (PART 12) The journey in life is never a straight line (PART 13) The journey in life is never a straight line (PART 14) The journey in life is never a straight line (PART 15)
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| Deepak: Anwar is not behind me Posted: 11 Dec 2012 07:48 PM PST Disputing the so-called video evidence, the carpet dealer says the conversation was taken out of context and he challenges those responsible to release the entire footage. Leven Woon, FMT Carpet dealer Deepak Jaikishan today denied that his recent revelations about Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak and wife Rosmah Mansor were engineered by Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim, saying that his mention of the latter in a video footage was taken out of context. Speaking to FMT today, he claimed that his detractors cooked up a story from the video footage that showed him mentioning several PKR leaders, including Anwar. The footage (photo: below) has been widely circulated by pro-Umno bloggers. "I did not say that I met Anwar," he said. "What I said and what was written (in the blog) are two different things." He challenged the person who recorded the video to release the entire footage and the transcript of what he had said. Last week, pro-Umno blogger Papa Gomo posted a two-minute clip in which Deepak is seen speaking to a few people off camera. Aside from Anwar, Deepak also mentioned Subang MP R Sivarasa and PKR vice-presidents N Surendran and Nurul Izzah in the video. "So he said I give you the place, whatever you want to do I help you, but you have to help me lah. Of course it is understood lah," said the man in the video. The video, according to Papa Gomo, was proof that Deepak had met with Anwar before he began his attacks against Najib and his wife Rosmah Mansor on Nov 27.
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| ‘Rosmah told me to look for Bala’ Posted: 11 Dec 2012 06:18 PM PST Deepak Jaikishan alleges that the PM's wife rang him at about 6pm on the day private investigator P Balasubramaniam made the first statutory declaration. Leven Woon, FMT Carpet dealer Deepak Jaikishan today claimed that Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak's wife Rosmah Mansor told him to look for private investigator P Balasubramaniam on the day the latter's statutory declaration (SD) was made public. Revealing the identity of "the female friend" whom he mentioned at his recent press conferences, Deepak claimed that Rosmah called up many people for favours on the day Balasubramaniam disclosed his first SD, which linked Najib to the murder of Mongolian national Altantuyaa Shaariibuu. "At about 6pm or 7pm that day, Rosmah called me, asking me to help resolve the matter. I don't know Bala in person, but we have a mutual friend," he told FMT. The well-connected businessman repeated his earlier claim that Rosmah was rushing because one of the five individuals involved in the murder case was going to come forward to speak against Najib. Although he did not mention the date, it is likely that the incident took place on July 3, 2008. Deepak said he managed to get hold of the private investigator within a few hours of Rosmah's phone call but the latter was sceptical over what he said. "He asked to meet with Najib. I went to Najib's house to discuss this, but Najib did not want to see him. "Then Rosmah proposed to have Najib's brother Nazim to meet him." Deepak said a meeting between him, Balasubramaniam and Nazim was later held at The Curve, where Nazim asked the private investigator what he wanted in return for making the second SD. He said Nazim took Balasubramaniam to the Hilton Hotel in Kuala Lumpur after the meeting. He claimed that Najib had arranged for a senior lawyer who is now a Tan Sri to prepare the second SD for Balasubramaniam. 'My biggest mistake' Deepak said he now regretted getting involved in the case. "It was the biggest mistake I have made," he said, adding that he could have saved himself a lot of trouble if he had, like the other friends Rosmah had called, refused to do help her out. The 40-year-old businessman claimed Balasubramaniam was speaking the truth in the first SD. Asked how he knew that the premier and his wife were involved in the murder of Altantuya, he said: "I think this is pure fact. I was involved in the case. I knew that." He claimed that when Rosmah was asking for his "favour" in the phone call, he already knew the nature of the "favour" because there were already news reports of Balasubramaniam's SD on the Internet. Deepak said his friendship with Rosmah, whom he once referred to as "Elder Sister", deteriorated following a land dispute involving him and Umno senator Raja Roopiah Abdullah.
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| Sultan Selangor benci dituduh orang Umno Posted: 11 Dec 2012 05:58 PM PST
Mohd Rashidi Hassan, Harakah Daily Kepimpinan PAS Selangor menyambut baik dan amat menghargai titah Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah bahawa baginda bukan Umno, tidak menyokong Umno dan sangat benci mendengar tuduhan bahawa baginda merupakan orang Umno. Pesuruhjaya PAS Selangor, Dr Abdul Rani Osman sewaktu berbicara dengan penulis berkata, beliau menjunjung kasih terhadap baginda dan mahu hasrat Sultan dipatuhi semua pihak.
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| PAS: Sorry, we can't use MCA’s benchmark for public decency Posted: 11 Dec 2012 05:18 PM PST
(Harakah Daily) - MCA and its mouthpiece The Star's allegation that non-Muslims had been fined in Kelantan for committing the Shariah offence of khalwat or close proximity between Muslims of opposite sex, is again slammed by PAS, describing the latest anti-PAS propaganda as an act of desperation. "This issue is part of MCA's political agenda to regain lost ground among non-Muslims because MCA is trying to survive in the political chess with DAP," said PAS secretary general Mustafa Ali.
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| CID chief denies home minister meddles with police Posted: 11 Dec 2012 05:10 PM PST
(Malaysiakini) - Federal police CID director Mohd Bakri Zinin today denied former inspector-general of police (IGP) Musa Hassan's claim that the home minister meddled with police affairs, and went on to stress that the police has never practise favouritism in their investigations. Malay daily Berita Harian today reported Bakri as saying that every aspect of an investigation carried out by the police is done according to the law and without interference from other parties. "The police always ensure that each aspect of an investigation that is carried out does not breach the boundaries of the law as the investigations are determined according to the crime committed by the offender. "Hence, in its execution, there is no interference whatsoever from any individual or parties that will influence the investigation," he is quoted as saying after chairing a meeting for of CID heads yesterday. Bakri said this when asked about Musa's recent allegation that Home Minister Hishammuddin Hussein had issued orders to junior officers and a district police chief without his knowledge during his tenure as the nation's top cop. Bakri said that he believes Musa was not referring to criminal investigations, as such allegations do not exist in the CID. "On what angle do you (reporters) mean? If it's from the policy'angle, I can't comment. However, as for the question of investigation, it is based on the perception of the case investigated by us and nothing else. "We don't play favouritism when dealing with investigations as we can't do that in the criminal context. We investigate a criminal case by following the laws and the offence committed. So how does the element he (Musa) allege exist?" Bakri said.
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| Overzealous officials on ‘khalwat’ trail Posted: 11 Dec 2012 04:56 PM PST
Religious departments across the country have many and varied responsibilities. Arguably one can say there are far more pressing matters than making sure couples don't smooch. The second issue is about the existence of these laws themselves. And just to be crystal clear they exist in Pakatan states and Barisan states too. This is not a party political issue. This is an issue about the role of the Islamic departments in the nation. Azmi Sharom, The Star AREN'T there more important issues to make a big deal of? Seriously, is this khalwat thing really of national interest? First off, there is no way a non-Muslim can be charged for khalwat. It is a syariah offence and thus simply does not apply to those who do not profess the religion of Islam. So the incessant use of the term khalwat to describe the "offence" that these non-Muslim people have been charged with in Kelantan is inaccurate. The term may spice the story up somewhat, but the real "offence" is that of "indecent behaviour". Secondly, and this is the subtext, I have seen in the reporting of this issue, is that this is a problem caused by PAS. Come on, are our memories so short? A few years ago there was a non-Muslim couple fined for indecent behaviour or something like that in Kuala Lumpur; hardly a PAS bastion. Therefore any attempt at making this a political party issue is totally missing the point. It is not. The real issue here I submit is two-fold. Firstly, it is about overzealous civil servants who obviously have taken it upon themselves to be the moral guardians, nay, moral guardian superheroes, of this country. What can one say about such folk? Some people just love throwing what little authority they have around. However, what is more important is the second issue which is systemic. Fix the system, and the first problem will disappear too. The second issue is about the existence of these laws themselves. And just to be crystal clear they exist in Pakatan states and Barisan states too. This is not a party political issue. This is an issue about the role of the Islamic departments in the nation. Why do we have such laws in the first place? For me, it seems a bit creepy and slightly perverted. I mean, who are these people who go lurking around parks in the dead of night? Do they have to pass a test before they can get the job? Perhaps, they must have the ability to crawl through bushes with minimum sound. Khalwat Ninjas in other words. Frankly, I think that this "job" is demeaning. No matter how you may couch the job description, at the end of the day, you are a peeping tom. Looking at the responsibilities of religious departments across the country, it is obvious that there are many. Arguably, one could say there are far more pressing matters than making sure couples don't smooch. For example, education is a big job for these departments, because it covers not only religious primary and secondary schools but also pre-school. Perhaps it would be better to ensure that these institutions are not only well run and of high quality but that they also prepare their school leavers for the challenges of life in the twenty-first century. And if you really want to nab people, I gather that a lot of divorced fathers are not living up to their end of the bargain and are escaping payment of maintenance and the like. And what about finding new and innovative ways to improve the effectiveness of the tithe collections and distribution? There are also research units in these religious departments and there is a plethora of subjects facing the Muslim community that could do with research. Unemployment, corruption, substance abuse are just some of the ills faced by the Muslim community and work can be done here. And by work I mean progressive forward thinking work, not the usual knee jerk reaction of "these problems exist because people are not religious enough". The Islamic Studies Faculties in our public universities are huge and they produce graduates who are well versed in Islamic law, economics and theology. There is in other words a pool of highly qualified workers who can delve into substantively trying to improve the lot of the community. These are merely suggestions of course but I believe that with focused effort and energy much can be done to have a profound and positive effect on the community. And surely this would make these bodies far more relevant to the development of the nation.
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| Is piggy-backing an indecent act? Posted: 11 Dec 2012 03:59 PM PST
If it is illegal for the Chinese boy to piggy-back his girlfriend, it might be an over-interpretation of the local government law, or the rights of non-Muslims might have been violated if the law is enforced based on a religious perspective. Lim Sue Goan, Sin Chew Daily The fatal point is always targeted when one launches attack against his or her enemy. The recent summonses issued by Kota Baru Municipal Council officers to non-Muslims have been turned into the target of attack by the MCA and the Gerakan. Six Negeri Sembilan Gerakan state assembly members visited the E-Life Hair Salon, where summonses were issued to the female hairstylists for providing services to male customers last month. They were expecting enforcement officers to turn up and issue them summonses. It seems like the issue will continue to develop as the Gerakan has threatened to return to Kota Baru next month with its members in swim suits to swim in a swimming pool. Would the MCA be inspired and holds a sunbathing event or has its male members piggy-back its female members in Kota Baru? Before the hair salon incident is settled, the so-called summonses for indecent behaviours have again issued. Kelantan state exco member Datuk Anuar Tan Abdullah is right, other states are indeed having similar local laws to prohibit indecent conducts in public places. If some people are found to have performed indecent acts, law enforcement officers will then have the right to issue summonses based on the Akta Undang-undang Kecil 1986. However, what is the definition and scope for indecent conducts? This is the focus of debate. On 11 June 2003, a pair of Chinese couple was issued a summon by three Dewan Bandaraya Kuala Lumpur (DBKL) enforcement officers for "indecent behaviour" in the KLCC park and on 2 August, another pair of Chinese couple was also issued a summons for the same offence at the same place. The two officers involved were then suspended for investigation after the incident created an uproar in the society. The then controversial point was whether holding hands an indecent behaviour. Today, the controversial point of the Kota Bar incident is, whether piggy-backing is also an indecent act. As Kelantan PAS Supporters Congress adviser Jeff Lee Weng Chun said, only kissing, fondling, nudity and having sex at open space should be considered as indecent behaviours. So, what is wrong for a non-Muslim to piggy-back his girlfriend while jogging in broad daylight? The 17-year-old Chinese boy also clarified that they were just fooling around and did nothing indecent. If it is illegal for the Chinese boy to piggy-back his girlfriend, it might be an over-interpretation of the local government law, or the rights of non-Muslims might have been violated if the law is enforced based on a religious perspective. Any excessive enforcement of law should be condemned to prevent law enforcement officers from imposing their own values on the public, or restricting non-Muslims with religious ordinance. Another controversial point is, would there be a deviation if law enforcement officers are not required to show evidence when enforcing law? For example, two Chinese men receiving summonses issued by a Kota Baru Municipal Council officer denied that they had performed indecent behaviour and insisted they were only chatting inside a car while watching planes land in the night. One of the men's relatives even claimed that the officer had asked money for "settlement". Jeff Lee also pointed out that the summonses of the two incidents were issued by the same officer, who is an administrative assistant of the council, not a law enforcement officer. The Kelantan state government should clarify the doubts to prove that PAS is ruling fairly. Meanwhile, the Pakatan Rakyat should guide the people to focus on important national issues and it is indeed unwise to leave the growth of local issues!
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| MIC men accused of roughing up Jui Meng Posted: 11 Dec 2012 03:51 PM PST Johor PKR chief was allegedly manhandled after a meeting with NRD offcials in an attempt to resolve stateless Indians issue. K Pragalath and G Lavendran, FMT PUTRAJAYA: PKR vice president Chua Jui Meng who is also Johor PKR chief was allegedly manhandled by MIC members after a meeting with National Registration Department (NRD) officials in Putrajaya this morning. "It is shocking that the police allowed MIC gangsters into a federal government building. There were about 50 MIC members waiting outside the meeting room. "When we stepped out of the room after the meeting, about seven to eight of the MIC goons manhandled Chua, pushing and shoving him," said N Surendran. Surendran, the PKR vice president had earlier led a delegation comprising Chua, Latheefa Koya, Charles Santiago and R Sivarasa to meet NRD director general, Jariah Mohd Said. They were representing hundreds of people in a bid to resolve the issue of stateless Indians. Surendran said a police report will be lodged against the MIC members who roughed up Chua. "We will also release a video which proves the assault," he said. MIC Youth information chief S Subramaniam was quick to deny Surendran's allegation. "We were there as part of a special task force. Chua reacted harshly when one of our members asked what he had done for the community when he was in the cabinet," he said. Chua was Health Minister in the BN government from 1990 to 2004. He joined PKR in 2009.
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| Posted: 11 Dec 2012 03:45 PM PST The rakyat should ask themselves this question: when Musa Hassan was the IGP, what did he do? CT Ali, FMT Following former Inspector-General of Police Musa Hassan's recent exposé of political interference in the police force during his tenure as the police chief, I want to ask you this: when he was the IGP what did he do? What did he do about political interference in the conduct of police investigation? Did he behave like an IGP whose duties were hampered by interference of political forces? Dia tak malu ka (have you no shame), getting so many extensions to your term as IGP from your political masters who were interfering with your duties as IGP? Is Musa saying anything new now? Why not stand up against all this while you were the IGP? Why only now? I have my suspicion of government servants, of which Musa was one, who speak up after their retirement. Why not speak up when you were working under your onerous political masters? Why? Were you worried of lost promotions? Worried about not getting a Tan Sri? No pension? Were you worried of not being IGP anymore? The same goes for Chua Jui Ming and and even the former deputy prime minister and minister of finance of Malaysia – Anwar Ibrahim. It is always after the nasi has become bubur that they wave the white handkerchief and boldly stand up to voice their dissent against the very same political masters that they were once subservient to. Tell something new And Musa tells us that the Special Branch is tailing him. Musa tells us that criminal elements have infiltrated the police force and that politicians interfered with investigations. Aisehman Musa, why not tell us something we do not know?
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| PKR still waiting for MIC defectors Posted: 11 Dec 2012 03:41 PM PST M Ravi tells Muthu Palaniappan to make good on his promise. Zefry Dahalan, FMT PORT DICKSON: Teluk Kemang PKR chief M Ravi today demanded that party colleague M Muthu Palaniappan fulfill his promise to pull in 80 MIC branches into the opposition. Muthu, a former MIC vice president, made the pledge when he defected to PKR early this year. "We are still waiting and I hope he can bring in the former MIC members from the 80 branches to join PKR before the next GE," Ravi told FMT. The 80 branches are all in Negeri Sembilan. Ravi, who is the state assemblyman for Port Dickson, also dismissed speculation that Muthu will contest the Teluk Kemang parliament seat in the coming election, saying the PKR leadership had not given any word to that effect. Referring to an FMT report last week about Muthu's candidacy, he said: "Anybody can declare which seat he wants to contest, but according to the party constitution the candidacy for any seat can only be confirmed and announced by the party president. "Even I can't confirm to defend my Port Dickson state seat as long as I haven't received a confirmation letter from the party president." However, Ravi invited Muthu to lend his experience to PKR's political work in Teluk Kemang. "As an experienced politician and former state exco member, he can play a role as adviser for me and Teluk Kemang PKR. "I'm willing to work together with him for the people of Teluk Kemang." Ravi also called on former Barisan Nasional figures who recently joined PKR not to be greedy for positions. "If a person who joined the party just a year ago is asking for position or GE candidacy, what about the PKR members who have been contributing to the party's struggle since 1998?" he said. "When joining PKR, the ultimate aim should be to uplift the people's welfare and not to get position or candidacy."
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| Businessman denies ex-IGP’s allegations Posted: 11 Dec 2012 03:32 PM PST Robert Phang also rubbishes Musa Hassan's allegation that the former played a role in the transfer of a senior policeman. Teoh El Sen, FMT Businessman and philanthropist Robert Phang today denied the allegations levelled against him by former inspector-general of police Musa Hassan. At a press conference here, Phang said that he had never asked to be an advisor to Musa. He also rubbished an allegation that he had caused a senior police officer to be transferred with regard to a walkie-talkie contract. However, Phang admitted that he was appointed as an independent advisor to a telecommunications company which was awarded a contract with the police. Recounting an incident in 2008 when he "first engaged with" Musa, Phang said he was about to reveal a RM98 million case of police malpractice when Musa called him. "Musa called and told me to call off my press conference. This is interfering with feedom of expression. This is straight up abuse of power," said the former MACC advisor.
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| Posted: 11 Dec 2012 03:24 PM PST
Marina and I went to see him play in Manchester in June last year: Raja Petra Indian sitar legend Ravi Shanker died in a hospital where he was preparing to undergo surgery. (AFP) - Legendary Indian sitar player Ravi Shankar, a major influence on Western musicians ranging from The Beatles to Yehudi Menuhin, has died at the age of 92, officials said today. Shankar, who was the father of the American singer-songwriter Norah Jones, died in a hospital in San Diego where he was preparing to undergo surgery, according to Indian television news channels. Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh expressed his sadness over the death and hailed Shankar as "a national treasure and global ambassador of India's cultural heritage". "Mourn (the) passing of a musical genius and gentle soul," Nirupama Menon Rao, the Indian ambassador to the United States, said on her Twitter feed. Shankar, who was living in California when he died, was born into a high-caste Bengali Brahmin family in the Hindu holy city of Varanasi in northern India on April 7, 1920. He taught close friend the late Beatles George Harrison to play the sitar and collaborated with him on several projects, including the groundbreaking concert for Bangladesh in 1971. The Beatles called him "The Godfather of World Music".
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| No ‘political tsunami’ in Sabah, says PBS Posted: 11 Dec 2012 03:18 PM PST Anwar Ibrahim is inconsequential in Sabah and his feud with Umno won't affect the state, says PBS. (FMT) - KOTA KINABALU: Parti Bersatu Sabah (PSB) has dismissed its former ally's claim that the KadazanDusun and Murut (KDM) communities in Sabah are no longer with Barisan Nasional. Rebutting former Upko deputy chief Wilfred Bumburing's views, PBS information chief Johnny Mositun said there would be no "political tsunami" in Sabah. He said that playing up the prospect of a political tsunami in Sabah was "another lie made up by the opposition". "The fact is the issues that led to the erosion of support for BN in the 2008 general election did not have an impact on Sabah or Sarawak. It is no different today. We remain staunchly pro-BN. "His [Bumburing's] claims are fanciful and not substantiated by facts, " he said. Bumburing recently said that the KDMs in the state were shifting their alliances away from BN and that Sabah would experience the same "tsunami" felt by Peninsular Malaya in 2008. He made these claims during a DAP organised dinner last Thursday in Labuan. In his speech, Bumburing, who is Tuaran MP, said he has been travelling extensively in Sabah since July (after his defection from Upko) and was confident that KDM allegiance to BN was shifting rapidly. Bumburing's tour around Sabah was to promote his own platform, Angkatan Perubahan Sabah (APS), which he claimed stood for Sabah rights and Sabah for Sabahans. APS is aligned to peninsula-based Pakatan Rakyat. Mositun yesterday claimed that ties between BN partners PBS, Upko and PBRS were "intact" and that they were collectively confident that KDMs were still with the coalition. Commenting on Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim, he said the former deputy prime minister was not a factor in Sabah and that his feud with Umno had "negligible" effect on Sabah. He said it is the local issues which would determine how the people will vote in the next general election. That being the case, then key local opposition groups – Jeffrey Kitingan's State Reform Party (STAR) and Sabah Progressive Peoples Party (SAPP) – are on top it. Many here see Sabah at a crossroads again. The last time it was there was in 1985 when PBS roared in to wrest the reins from Berjaya. The rumblings of dissatisfaction are similar but the roar this time is coming from the STAR, which is eyeing the KDM seats. STAR is confident of taking away at least 10 seats from the BN bank. But speculations are rife that the numbers could go up to 14. And this is not counting the other parties which are also confident of winning some seats. Sabah has 60 state seats which will be up for grabs in the 13th general election.
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| It’s PAS that BN fears the most Posted: 11 Dec 2012 11:50 AM PST
Those Chinese who are thinking of booting out BN by only voting for PKR and DAP but leaving out PAS are stupid. Selena Tay, FMT By strongly attacking PAS during the recent Umno general assembly, it shows that Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak is afraid of the power of PAS. It is now obvious that the 13th general election will not be held in December. One whole year the silly guessing game went on and on and in the end came to nothing. In regard to the polls date, PAS Bukit Gantang MP Mohamad Nizar Jamaluddin is of the view that Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak has still not decided yet. "Parliament automatically dissolves on April 28 next year and after that, two months extension of time is given. This will bring us to June 28. The 13th general election may very well be held on June 28 if Najib thinks that he will lose," said Nizar sarcastically. PAS secretary-general Mustafa Ali guessed that the polls will be held after the Chinese Lunar New Year, either on Feb 24 or March 2 as it will be difficult for the Chinese working in Singapore to obtain leave as their leave was utilised for the Chinese New Year. Be that as it may, Najib's silly polls date guessing game has now backfired on him as the latest revelations by Musa Hassan and Deepak Jaikishan have put him in a tight spot. Of course, he does not have to answer them but their revelations have served to delay the polls date further and now it has fallen into the abyss of uncertainty. Barisan Nasional's economic experts must not think that the polls delay will have no effect whatsoever on the local investment climate. Those who think that it has no impact on the foreign direct investment (FDI) are surely living on planet Pluto. Who wants to invest in a climate of uncertainty? It is bad enough that the global investment climate is not that healthy either. Weak commander If BN wins the 13th general election, you can bet your bottom dollar that this silly game will again be played before the 14th general election. The prime minister is thinking of his own political survival only. He is a weak commander. How so? Simply because he refuses to debate with Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim. In Chinese culture, we want to see the martial arts skills of a one-to-one fight. And that is why MCA president Dr Chua Soi Lek dares to debate with Penang Chief Minister, Lim Guan Eng. Chua wants to show off his kungfu skills. As for Najib, how can he command the army if he lacks the courage to debate? This is like a battle scenario. If the commander is afraid, then the war generals and the soldiers will lose confidence because they can always sense the fear of the commander. At the height and in the heat of the battle, the commander is indecisive in giving orders. He may shout to his troops to go forward but he himself is firmly ensconced way at the back. What will the soldiers do then? Simple – they will just abandon the battle. Of course, in the present political scenario, BN can still win due to the dirty voter rolls and the re-delineation of parliamentary and state seat boundaries. The power of PAS By strongly attacking PAS during the recent Umno general assembly, it shows that Najib is afraid of the power of PAS. When it comes to mobilising people for rallies, for example the Bersih rallies, PKR and DAP need to rely on PAS. Those Chinese who are thinking of booting out BN by only voting for PKR and DAP but leaving out PAS are stupid. Without the power of PAS, BN cannot be toppled. This is because it is mainly PAS which is going head-to-head against Umno. And therefore now the PAS state government in Kelantan is being sabotaged in order to give bullets to MCA to woo the Chinese voters. Thus in the seats where Malays are the majority, the non-Malays must vote for PAS. That can be the swing factor. Read more at: http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/opinion/2012/12/12/its-pas-that-bn-fears-the-most/
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| Playing race, religion card could backfire Posted: 11 Dec 2012 11:45 AM PST There are more pressing demands for Malay voters. (fz.com) - "Economic issues are more important to me. As for the status of bumiputeras and religion, it's all in the constitution and it is unlikely to change whoever comes to power" Playing the race and religion card to win Malay support may not prove to be the winning hand in the lead up to the next general election, political observers say. This is mostly to do with the more pressing demands of Malay voters and how non-Malay voters could react to politicising race and religion. Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia's Prof Datuk Mohammad Agus Yusoff said religion and race issues are not currently at the forefront of Malay voters' minds. "Urban voters are feeling the pinch in terms of cost of living and job opportunities. Religion and racial issues don't concern them much. "These issues may work for some rural Malay voters but it is certainly not their main thing anymore," said Agus, who is an associate professor in political science. But this certainly does not mean that issues of race and religion will be conspicuously absent from the campaign. Over the years, Malaysia's political scene has been studded with highly charged racial and religious issues. These include public discussions over bumiputera special rights, issues surrounding conversions into Islam, apostasy and whether non-Muslims can use the word Allah to describe god. Matters involving faith and race still do matter to some voters. Two Malay voters who spoke to fz.com for this story illustrate the diversity in voter demands and underscores how voter behaviour is influenced by the complex intertwine of ethnicity, class, location, age and socio-economic background. Mismilimi Sairan is your quintessential rural Malay voter. She is a mother of nine who raised her family in an oil palm settlement set up under the Federal Land Development Authority (Felda) in Johor. Mismilimi is probably used to voting for the incumbent since she hails from Johor, the traditional stronghold of Umno. Asked what her main considerations at the ballot box are, the 59-year old answers: "I don't know. I never had any criteria for candidates so when I vote, I just vote". But when prodded on possible issue choices – bread and butter issues, governance, religion – Mismilimi quickly says that religious issues are important to her. Contrast Mismilimi's voting preference with that of Khairil Rizal Ahmad, a 27-year-old first time voter who lives in Kuala Lumpur. Khairil Rizal said he is more concerned with economic issues and what policies a candidate will support. Khairil Rizal also said he prefers to evaluate a candidate's merit instead of voting based on a candidate's party. "Economic issues are more important to me. As for the status of bumiputeras and religion, it's all in the constitution and it is unlikely to change whoever comes to power," he added. Non-Malay voters watching Political analyst Ooi Kee Beng maintains that race and religious factors may turn out to be less important as Malaysia's landscape moves toward a battle between Malays of different political persuasions. Malay voters, especially the urban and semi-urban voters, are said to be split as they have been courted by Umno, PAS and PKR. In this scenario, invoking race and religion could inadvertently spook the non-Malay and non-Muslim voters. "Hudud and all those religious issues are making some Chinese voters a bit nervous of course. But people do remember that it wasn't PAS that started the Islamisation of the entire country. "So trying to win points on race and religion may backfire," said Ooi, the deputy director of the Singapore-based Institute of Southeast Asian Studies. It is interesting to note that in recent months the issue of hudud law and PAS's governance of Kelantan have been played up instead by the non-Malay component parties of Barisan Nasional (BN). BN component parties like MCA and Gerakan used issues such as hudud law implementation and Islamic state as a way to discredit DAP for aligning itself with PAS under the Pakatan Rakyat (PR) banner. In crafting his key messages, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak has been careful to balance the delicate issue of bumiputera rights and his message of inclusivity under the 1Malaysia concept. In fact, it was Perkasa, a non-governmental organisation fronted by independent Member of Parliament Datuk Ibrahim Ali, that was the loudest voice championing bumiputerarights after the 2008 general election. Scrutinising the policies put forth by both BN and PR, it appears that the main battleground will be fought on issues of bread and butter and governance.
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| Karpal calls on Hadi to announce PAS' stand on gender segregation issue Posted: 11 Dec 2012 11:44 AM PST (Bernama) - DAP chairman Karpal Singh has called on PAS president Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang to publicly make the party's stand on the by-law on gender segregation issue, and not to leave the matter to the Kelantan exco. Karpal, who is Bukit Gelugor Member of Parliament, said the silence by the Kelantan exco to review the by-law on gender segregation that forbids non-Muslim women to cut hair of non-Muslim men, and vice versa in salons in Kota Baru did not speak well of a responsible government. "PAS leaders should realise that silence is not the way out and it only aggravates the position. The by-law should be outlawed without further ado," he said in a statement here Tuesday. Karpal said the justification on enforcement of the gender segregation made by the Kota Baru Municipal Council was publicly announced by the State Local Government, Cultural and Tourism Committee chairman Datuk Takiyuddin Hassan on Nov 24. "To him (Datuk Takiyuddin Hassan) the ruling was a non-issue and he said the by-law was introduced in 1991 in line with the PAS state government's slogan 'Growing with Islam' that applied to both Muslims and non-Muslims, and in 1999, stricter conditions were imposed by the council," he added. However, Karpal said the justification certainly evoked fear on the part of non-Muslims that attempts were being made to apply Islamic law to them, which would ultimately mean the introduction of hudud to non-Muslims. He said the vehement public justification by Takiyuddin of the by-law was obviously the cause of the silence on the part of the Kelantan state exco to review it. "The last that the DAP would want to do would be not to scuttle efforts by the opposition pact in its quest to capture Putrajaya in the coming election," Karpal said. "However, that the objective cannot, and must not, mean sacrificing principle at the altar of political expediency. The DAP is committed to opposition to any attempts to extend Islamic law to non-Muslims, whether directly or indirectly," he added. He said PAS must respond quickly on the issue, in view of the upcoming polls.
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| JP Morgan: Better for Barisan to stay in power Posted: 11 Dec 2012 11:43 AM PST
(The Star) - The equities market and economic outlook in 2013 will be positive if the Barisan Nasional continued to remain in power, says investment bank JP Morgan. JP Morgan Securities (M) Sdn Bhd executive director of equity research Mak Hoy Kit (pic) opines that there would be "some risk" if the Opposition were to take over the Government. He said the Barisan's Economic Transformation Programme (ETP), government infrastructure programmes and rail-related projects would kick off if the political status quo remains. "We are now Neutral' on Malaysia because of the general election overhang. Investors will be worried if the Opposition wins. When there is uncertainty, investors typically act negatively," he said yesterday. JP Morgan is also positive on the construction sector, and sees this as a domestic growth opportunity with some RM160bil worth of rail projects up for grabs next year. On the oil and gas sector, with Petronas committing to some RM300bil capital expenditure over the next five years, Mak is expecting to see more contract wins and an increase in earnings of the local oil and gas players. Mak sees the ETP creating some 452,066 jobs by 2020, per capita income growing to US$15,000 (RM45,000) from US$6,700 (RM20,000) in 2009. It was recently reported that Eastspring Investments Bhd Chief Investment Officer (Equities) Yvonne Tan Hong Yean cautioned that foreign funds might opt to stay out of Malaysia if there was a change in government.
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| The Curse of Marina Lee Abdullah? Posted: 11 Dec 2012 01:54 AM PST
KTEMOC KONSIDERS I came across this info in RPK's The journey in life is never a straight line (PART 15):
According to RPK who helped his MCKK matey Anwar Ibrahim* in the 1986 general election campaign in Terengganu, Rahman Bakar was selected to contest against Pak Haji Hadi Awang in Marang in 1986, and the UMNO man won, satisfying I suppose, Anwar's personal animosity against the PAS leader. * Anwar was then the powerful UMNO Minister of Education, a ministerial appointment mandatory for ascending to the PM post. I wonder whether the animosity between Anwar and Pak Haji had (or should it be grammatically 'has') to do with the known history of Anwar Ibrahim being (once) groomed to be the leader of PAS. Yes, kid you not!
Thus Dr M wasn't the only one who had an eye on the ABIM firebrand and his silvery-tongued manmanlai. Naturally his highly vocal (is there any other way to describe Anwar, wakakaka) ABIM leadership and credentials brought him to the notice of PAS' (late) president Dato' Ustaz Hajji Fadzil bin Muhammad Noor, a known moderate, who was soimpressed by the younger man that the Ustaz wanted him to be his successor as President of PAS. Just imagine that if Anwar had not joined UMNO, today the PAS President would be Ustaz Anwar Ibrahim and not Pak Haji Hadi Awang. What a thought! 'cuse me while I have a tot or two of Scotch (naturally Johnny Walker Double Black) wakakaka. But in that head-hunting episode, it was Dr Mahathir who won against PAS (Ustaz Fadzil Noor) for the affection of Anwar, a man then known for his ABIM anti-establishment (meaning anti-UMNO) crusade.
I wonder whether Anwar had left ABIM for UMNO in a flash ... ZOoooooommm ... to join parachute into the most powerful political organization in Malaysia? Probably from his change of allegiance to UMNO, many people including and especially his former mates in ABIM (except those who followed him into UMNO wakakaka) knew Anwar loves political power more than the political cause he was espousing as ABIM's Chief. Of course he claimed he would reform UMNO from within. During his 16 years in UMNO he shot across the political landscape of power, lighting it up in meteorite fashion to become the very powerful DPM, and the publicly known heir-anointed to Dr Mahathir to become the Prime Minister of Malaysia, an appointment he wouldn't have (theoretically) achieved, as RPK wrote, if he had become only the PAS president after Ustaz Fadzil Noor.
And in those 16 years in UMNO, as DPM and at times acting PM, did he exhibit any inclinations, even a mere subatomic iota, of reforms, or even voice same, as he had promised when he leapt from ABIM into UMNO? Nay, nary a squeak nor a peep! And when he was booted out from UMNO, he made that 16-year record of non-achievement as an UMNO minister even worse by blaming everyone else except himself, and only bleating reformasi when he was no longer in a position of power. Anwar even dared claim to have been helpless to make changes while in government. Former Bar president Zainur Zakaria sneered at Anwar's pathetic excuse - read Zainur Zakaria Zapped AAB & Anwar Ibrahim for more.
Anyway, from my personal observations it's more than political power per se that Anwar loves - oh, he loves that, there's no doubt. But apart from power per se and the associated considerable trappings for a DPM, I think he enjoys public adulation, and if not public adulation then at least supporters' adulation more. Eager hands raided the ossuary for me to be laid As stepping stones for the progress of a demigod On Ardha-Matanga, 4 tasks & seven white trunks Saluting Brahma, walking to Amarawati by a lake (extracts from my poem Murdering Altantuyaa Shaariibuu Again)
Yes, according to the gospel by kaytee wakakaka, Anwar has a weakness for admiration, adulation and adoration from people, but I believe, more than would be considered normal. To his ears, thunderous applause (wakakaka) must be sheer delightful music. He made it ... oh well ... almost. They say, what goes up must come down again (unless of course, in going up 'whatever' has achieved escape velocity - well, let's see what happened and will happen). It's possible that a Western educated person, especially in the classics, would make a comparison between Anwar Ibrahim and Achilles on many aspects, and though I agree, would argue only up to a certain point.
Both shot up like blazing stars, both were stop in their tracks at near the pinnacle of their glories, though in this, Achilles knew his fate, for he had personally chosen, when asked by the gods, to blaze up in glory but die young instead of becoming an average king to die at a ripe old age. I believe Anwar also shares another commonality with Achilles - he has an Achilles heel and I posted on this in July 2008 in a piece titled The Achilles heel of Anwar Ibrahim. The part I want to extract for your perusal pertains to his Achilles heel:
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| Karpal minta Hadi buat kenyataan pendirian PAS mengenai pengasingan gender Posted: 11 Dec 2012 01:38 AM PST
(Bernama) - Pengerusi DAP Karpal Singh meminta Presiden PAS Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang menyatakan secara terbuka pendirian PAS mengenai isu pengasingan gender, dan bukannya menyerahkan perkara itu kepada exco Kelantan. Karpal, yang merupakan anggota Parlimen Bukit Gelugor berkata sikap berdiam diri exco Kelantan dalam mengkaji semula peraturan mengenai pengasingan gender yang melarang wanita bukan Islam memotong rambut lelaki bukan Islam, dan sebaliknya di salon di Kota Baharu tidak menunjukkan kerajaan yang bertanggungjawab.
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| DAP’s Lims sweat over dissenters Posted: 11 Dec 2012 01:27 AM PST
Those familiar with the inner workings of DAP know too well that public displays of dissent against the party leadership have proven fatal to careers in DAP for some of the brightest young talents, such as current Wangsa Maju independent member of parliament Wee Choo Keong. Shahrum Sayuthi, NST All eyes will be trained on DAP this weekend as delegates, some severely critical of the party for failing to live up to its "democratic" name by twice delaying party polls, head into its congress in Penang to vote on who will lead the charge into the 13th general election. The cynics are not too optimistic that there would be anything new. It's hard to blame them as past experiences point to the central executive committee (CEC) line-up to be likely dominated by personalities aligned to party adviser Lim Kit Siang and his son, secretary-general Guan Eng. That the party had chosen to settle the issue of leadership so close to the general election seems to suggest an initiative to endorse the current batch of party leaders. It could very well be a means to snuff out any hints that the party suffers from a paralysis of democratic leadership due to the dominance of a few individuals, particularly the Lims. Those familiar with the inner workings of DAP know too well that public displays of dissent against the party leadership have proven fatal to careers in DAP for some of the brightest young talents, such as current Wangsa Maju independent member of parliament Wee Choo Keong. Wee was expelled from the party in 1998 following clashes with Lim Kit Siang and his lieutenants. The status quo, however, may be broken this time. Tongues are wagging that the results of the party's just-concluded women and youth wings' elections on Sunday intimate a shift of attitude at the grassroots level. Several candidates, considered by observers as proxies of top party leaders, including Guan Eng, had suffered losses to those who were aligned to "rebels" known for working more independently outside the CEC. Enroute to capturing the Youth Wing's top post, Bahau member of parliament Teo Kok Seong defeated Canning assemblyman Wong Kah Woh. Teo was backed by Negri Sembilan DAP chief Anthony Loke, who was the outgoing youth chief, while Wong was strongly lobbied by the powerful Perak DAP cousins, Ngeh Koo Ham and Nga Kor Ming, who are known to be close allies of Guan Eng. Teo's victory not only strengthens Loke's position in Negri Sembilan, where DAP is hoping to put up a strong showing in the general election, but also paves the way for the Rasah MP to win a seat in the CEC at the party's polls. Guan Eng's stature suffered a serious beating at the Youth Wing's polls when his political secretary, Ng Wei Aik, who is Komtar assemblyman, lost the important secretary post to Tan Hong Pin, the Johor youth chief. Tan is "the right hand man" of Johor DAP chief Dr Boo Cheng Hau, who is well-known for his independent stance and, unsurprisingly, not at all close to Guan Eng and his circle of supporters. The Johor opposition leader, highly popular among members, had been locked in a public internal battle against a group of party leaders in the state known to be backed by Guan Eng's faction. With his protege winning such an important post in the youth wing by beating Guan Eng's man, Dr Boo is expected to not only retain his CEC post, but probably even climb further up in the party's hierarchy, thus offering a serious alternative for the party's future leadership. Attempts to confine changes to within the circle of the Lim family's proxies also appeared to meet with resistance when even the highly prominent Teresa Kok lost to incumbent women's wing chief Chong Eng, who is Bukit Mertajam MP. Kok, despite the strong backing of the party's top echelon and her impressive credentials as the party's national organising secretary, Seputeh MP and Kinrara assemblyman, failed to impress the women delegates who preferred the older Chong at the party's first-ever women's wing's elections. Against this backdrop of simmering dissent against the party leadership's status quo, some surprises are likely this weekend. Former party vice-chairman Tunku Abdul Aziz Ibrahim is convinced that the results of the DAP youth and women's wings' polls justify the existence of differences of views within the party, especially on where members' loyalty should be placed. "It also shows that party members have their own views of the Lim family's domination of the party and the way it is being treated like a family property." Tunku Aziz, who was pressured to quit the party for his dissenting views on the Bersih 3.0 rally earlier this year, insists that there is "a lot of unhappiness" in the party. Nonetheless, he cautions that the dissenting faction in DAP still faces an uphill task to initiate changes within the party, despite their expected strong showing at the party polls. "The Lim family and their supporters will definitely fight back and, as proven in the past, DAP members with differing views will have to suffer for it."
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| Lajim offers assistance to graftbusters Posted: 10 Dec 2012 07:30 PM PST
(The Sun Daily) - Beaufort MP Datuk Seri Lajim Ukin has declared his willingness to assist any investigations into corruption allegations involving awarding of timber licenses to "well connected" individuals in Sabah. "I believe (that) my knowledge, experience and insider information on the workings of Umno and government at the state and federal level can assist the investigation," said Lajim in a statutory declaration made at the Kota Kinabalu High Court on Monday. Lajim, a former Umno Supreme Council member, had left the party in July to be a PR-friendly independent MP and was later stripped of his position as deputy housing and local government minister. A copy of the statutory declaration was also uploaded onto PKR's strategic director Rafizi Ramli's official website. "Timber has long been been a lucrative source of financing for politicians and government officials in Sabah. "From my own experience as Sabah deputy chief minister, I have had suspicions that timber licenses were granted to personalities close to top government officials and politicians in the state," he said. Explaining further, Lajim said this allows individuals involved to sell timber at below market-value and receive the difference in the form of kick-backs, credited into various accounts overseas, and eventually transferred back to benefit local politicians and officials. Lajim's declaration forms a part of new "evidences" which will be submitted by Rafizi and a delegation from his National Oversights and Whistleblower centre, to Hong Kong's anti-corruption authorities, urging them to reopen investigations into alleged ties between timber trader Michael Chia and Sabah chief minister Datuk Seri Musa Aman. Musa's alleged ties with Chia was first exposed by whistle-blower site Sarawak Report in April, after the latter was caught trying to leave the Hong Kong International Airport with RM40 million in Singapore currency. Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Datuk Nazri Abdul Aziz had told Parliament in October that "no elements of corruption" was found against Musa after anti-graft authorities in both countries have ceased their probe into the case. It was then reported that Chia had allegedly told the Hong Kong Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) that the RM40 million belonged to Musa, but Nazri subsequently said the money was only a "contribution" to Sabah Umno. In response, Lajim sworn that throughout his term as member of Umno Sabah liaison committee, he was never aware of any discussions to solicit the RM40 million "donation" or any declaration that the sum was received.
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| The journey in life is never a straight line (PART 15) Posted: 10 Dec 2012 04:27 PM PST
It was agreed that Anwar would meet up with Bakar Daud and Rashid Ngah and that I would arrange to bring them down to Kuala Lumpur for that meeting. I would also speak to Awang Jabar (who was very critical of Anwar) and get him to 'turn'. As for Zubir Embong and Rahman Bakar, they would send Hamzah Zainuddin (the present Deputy Minister for Plantation Industries and Commodities) to personally handle them. NO HOLDS BARRED Raja Petra Kamarudin Once Tok Guru Abdul Hadi Awang became a 'permanent fixture' of Masjid Mujahidin in Damansara Utama, the mosque began to expand rapidly. The old wooden structure was no longer big enough to accommodate the much-enlarged congregation. An expansion programme was now in order. But the land that the mosque sat on did not belong to the mosque. It belonged to the Fire Department and was merely 'on loan' to the mosque. And one of the terms of the 'loan', other than they would have to return the land to the Fire Department if they asked for it, was that the structure built on the land must be 'temporary', which means wooden. So they first had to apply for that land. Only then could they submit the architect's plans to build a permanent or concrete structure. And, quite surprisingly, the government approved the application and gave the Fire Department an alternative piece of land in Taman Tun Dr Ismail to build their new fire station. Other than approve the land, the government even offered to give the mosque some funds. The mosque committee, however, rejected the government offer. They wanted funding to be totally from the public. They did not want one Sen to be from the government. Even if they did take any government money the funds would only be used to build the detached toilets. Umno was not too happy with the whole thing, though. And during the Umno meeting that was chaired by Dr Ibrahim Saad, Anwar Ibrahim's Political Secretary, they urged the Selangor Religious Department to demolish the wooden mosque and deny them permission to build a new concrete mosque. The Selangor Religious Department summoned the mosque committee for a meeting, as they had been instructed to do, but the officer just winked and told them to proceed with the construction of the new mosque. The Selangor Religious Department was on the side of the mosque -- or rather they were pro-Ustaz Hadi Awang people. One day, in the mid-1980s, and a couple of years after PAS (meaning Hadi Awang) had been 'exported' to Kuala Lumpur, Anwar Ibrahim, then the Education Minister, visited Kuala Terengganu. I was jogging along the road in front of the Sultan's Palace when this very official looking car horned and someone inside waved at me. I did not know then that it was Anwar Ibrahim. The following day the Director of the Terengganu branch of the National Archives (Arkib Negara), Zainol Abdul Rahman, an ABIM activist, dropped into my office. It seems he was also in the car the day before when Anwar told his driver to horn me. Zainol said that Anwar told him to get in touch with me to get my help to campaign in Terengganu. But why should I want to help Umno campaign in Terengganu? My alliance was with PAS, not Umno. No, not campaign for Umno. Campaign for Anwar. But why does Anwar not join PAS? Then we can campaign for him. Well, because if Anwar joins PAS he can never become Prime Minister. To become Prime Minister he needs to be in Umno and to rise up the ranks within Umno. I went down to meet Anwar in his office in Kuala Lumpur. "What the hell are you doing in Terengganu?" Anwar asked me. "I cannot penetrate even a single bahagian (division) in Terengganu. Why aren't you people doing your work? Help me penetrate Terengganu." "Terengganu has only eight bahagian," I told Anwar. "How many do you want to penetrate?" "Even if you can give me just one I am happy." "I will give you four," I replied. "Kuala Terengganu, Marang, Dungun and Hulu Terengganu. Is that enough? Four out of eight, that's half of Terengganu." Anwar smile. Maybe he thought I was being sarcastic. "But there will be a price to pay. Are you prepared to pay that price?" "Speak to Pak Wan," Anwar replied. Pak Wan, or Datuk Dr Wan Ismail, is Anwar's father-in-law, Dr Wan Azizah's father. I met up with Pak Wan and briefed him on my plans. We need to seek out Menteri Besar Wan Mokhtar Ahmad's enemies and personalities who are ketua bahagian (division heads) or warlords in their own right. Three such people would be Bakar Daud of Kuala Terengganu, Awang Jabar of Dungun and Rashid Ngah of Hulu Terengganu. Then we need to seek out ambitious youth leaders who are in a hurry to go up the ladder. Two such people would be Zubir Embong of Kuala Terengganu and Rahman Bakar of Marang. The youth leaders must not, however, 'disturb' the old guards or warlords. Hence the old guards would contest state seats while the young chicos would contest parliament seats. And they must be promised 'positions' if they throw their lot behind Anwar. Pak Wan brought me to meet Syed Ibrahim Syed Mohamed (READ ABOUT HIS MYSTERIOUS DEATH HERE) and Ahmad Sebi Bakar, the CEO of TV3 (READ MORE HERE). It was agreed that Anwar would meet up with Bakar Daud and Rashid Ngah and that I would arrange to bring them down to Kuala Lumpur for that meeting. I would also speak to Awang Jabar (who was very critical of Anwar) and get him to 'turn'. As for Zubir Embong and Rahman Bakar, they would send Hamzah Zainuddin (the present Deputy Minister for Plantation Industries and Commodities) to personally handle them. It was also agreed that Hamzah and I would fly to Terengganu with RM250,000 in cash to hand to our 'kuda' (horses). Hamzah would come out with half that amount, RM125,000, and I would have to fork out the other half. Hamzah, my wife Marina, and I then flew to Kuala Terengganu with two bags of cash. We met up with our 'kuda' and handed them the money. It was further agreed that Zubir Embong and Rahman Bakar would be given parliamentary seats to contest. Anwar would make sure of this. Zubir would contest the Kuala Terengganu seat while Rahman the Marang seat. I was not too happy with this, though, because that would mean we would have to defeat my Tok Guru, Hadi Awang, if we wanted Rahman Bakar to win. But Anwar was adamant. "Make sure Zubir Embong and Rahman Bakar win," Anwar instructed. "Do whatever needs to be done." It was common knowledge that Hadi Awang and Anwar Ibrahim hated each other. Hence to Anwar this was also personal. I sat down with Pak Wan and Ahmad Sebi to sort out our 'Dirty Tricks Department'. It is not going to be easy for Zubir and Rahman to win the Kuala Terengganu and Marang seats respectively unless we 'played dirty'. And we would have to be real dirty to defeat Hadi Awang, the 'Giant of Marang'. They told me the game plan and I did not like it. As much as Anwar wanted Zubir and Rahman to win, Hadi Awang was my Tok Guru. They could not expect me to sabotage my own Tok Guru. I begged to be exempted from all involvement in their game plan. I had reached the limit as to what I would do for Anwar and betraying my own Tok Guru was beyond the limit I was prepared to go -- especially the dirty tricks they were going to employ. I met up with Mustafa Ali to inform him about what was going on. I also told him what the game plan was and how they were going to do a dirty on PAS. I asked him what he would like me to do about it. Mustafa Ali told me to 'stay in Anwar's camp'. "Infiltrate their group and report back to me daily what they are up to," Mustafa Ali said. "You can serve us better as our spy in Anwar's camp." I did just that. I also handed PAS a bag of cash to 'redeem my sins'. That was the best I could do under the circumstances although the amount was not that large. Zubir Embong and Rahman Bakar both won the 1986 general election. And that earned Rahman Bakar the title of 'Giant Killer' -- he had defeated Hadi Awang. Anwar appointed Zubir Embong the Chairman of Bank Simpanan Nasional, a Director of Pewaja Steel Sdn Bhd and a Director of TNB Berhad. Rahman Bakar was appointed the Chairman of Lembaga Kemajuan Ikan Malaysia (LKIM) from 1987-1990 and the Deputy Chairman of Mara from 1990-1995. I felt real bad about my role in defeating Hadi Awang in 1986. In the 1990 general election, I refused to help them. Once was enough. Anwar bumped into me in Kampong Kerinchi in Lembah Pantai during the 1990 general election campaign and scolded me. "What are you doing here?" he asked me. "You are supposed to be in Terengganu helping Zubir Embong and Rahman Bakar." My wife, Marina, was pissed big time -- mainly because Anwar scolded me in public in front of so many people. "That bastard is never going to become the Prime Minister," Marina said. "You just watch. Record that in your diary. He is going to fall. Record that in your diary." In the 1990 general election, both Zubir Embong and Rahman Bakar were defeated. And Anwar blamed me for it. The report that was sent to Anwar was that I had sabotaged Zubir and Rahman out of spite. In the meeting in Anwar's house, they whacked me. I, of course, had my spy there so I received a full report as to who said what about me. Thus ended my relationship with Anwar, at least for the next eight years until 1998 when he was produced in court with that now very famous black eye. Oh, I later caught up with one of those who were in that meeting in Anwar's house and who had whacked me and had said all sorts of nasty things about me. This incident was in the Kuala Terengganu airport, which was crowded with people. I grabbed the chap by the throat and dragged him outside the airport. All those Datuks, which included the State Secretary, State Financial Officer, etc., were stunned and just watched. Even the airport security just stood there to watch. "I was told you said all sorts of nasty things about me in that meeting in Anwar's house," I told him. He practically went down on his knees to beg me not to beat him up. I had in an earlier incident chased three Umno Youth chaps so by then my reputation as someone who will not hesitate to whack the daylights out of you if you cross me was already well-known. Marina gave me a dirty look so I released the chap. I then warned him that the next time he badmouths me in any meeting in Anwar's house 'tiada maaf bagi mu'. Later on, during an Umno Youth Terengganu meeting chaired by Wan Mokhtar, Umno Youth was told that Raja Petra must be kicked out of Terengganu. Around three years later, I did just that -- I left Terengganu for good. And imagine my satisfaction 15 years later in 2009 when I returned to Kuala Terengganu to campaign for PAS during the by-election and we managed to wrest that seat from Umno. A month after that, I left Malaysia to 'migrate' to Manchester. TO BE CONTINUED The journey in life is never a straight line (PART 1) The journey in life is never a straight line (PART 2) The journey in life is never a straight line (PART 3) The journey in life is never a straight line (PART 4) The journey in life is never a straight line (PART 5) The journey in life is never a straight line (PART 6) The journey in life is never a straight line (PART 7) The journey in life is never a straight line (PART 8) The journey in life is never a straight line (PART 9) The journey in life is never a straight line (PART 10) The journey in life is never a straight line (PART 11) The journey in life is never a straight line (PART 12) The journey in life is never a straight line (PART 13) The journey in life is never a straight line (PART 14)
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| Teen summoned for frolicking in park upset and embarrassed Posted: 10 Dec 2012 03:49 PM PST
(The Star) - The 17-year-old teenager, who was issued a summons for allegedly giving his girlfriend a "piggy-back ride" at a public park, is upset and embarrassed following the incident. The teenager, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said he had a tough time explaining to his mother that he was innocent and that he and his 15-year-old girlfriend did nothing indecent. The teenager was given the summons for allegedly "piggy-backing" his girlfriend while jogging at Taman Tunku Anis at about 5.30pm on Oct 20. "The incident was traumatic for me and my girlfriend because although I am not an expert in council by-laws, I think what I did was merely having fun with my girlfriend. It was far from an offence. "We were just fooling around in broad daylight like any other teenager but the officer who approached us said it was improper for us to act like that in public. "He continued giving us a lecture on morality and when I thought that we would be let off with a warning, he issued us with the summons," he said yesterday adding that he was now in Kuala Lumpur after completing his SPM examinations. Summonses had also been issued to two non-Muslim men were for allegedly embracing each other when they were found in a car parked near the Sultan Ismail Petra Airport at midnight on Oct 31. Both have denied the allegations. The action against the four led to an outcry by various groups which likened it to imposing the Syariah law of close proximity or "khalwat" on non-Muslims. The teenager also claimed he had argued with the officer as it was unfair to penalise someone when a verbal warning would suffice. "When I got home that day, I showed the summons to my mother. "She was very upset at first but when she saw the nature of the offence written in the summons, she believed that I had done nothing wrong. "My mother thinks I should not have been issued with the summons and that is why she has brought up the matter with lawyers to ask their opinion on the matter," he added. He said the news about the incident spread and many assumed that he was involved in "hanky-panky business" with his girlfriend. "All my friends wanted to know what happened in the park. But when I told them that my girlfriend was merely on my back, they did not believe me and after seeing the summons, my friends will now think twice about hanging out with their girlfriends anywhere. "They are now afraid to even go to the park with their girlfriends," she added. He said he had been under some stress during the SPM examinations because of the incident. "But I believe I did okay because my conscience is clear and my family is with me," he said.
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| Posted: 10 Dec 2012 03:40 PM PST A carpet trader has reignited a firestorm with his promise to reveal more dirt about the behind-the-scene dealings surrounding the murder of Mongolian national Altantuya Shaariibuu. Free Malaysia Today Call it tragedy, comedy or tragicomedy, the Deepak drama has been unfolding on the national stage to the entertainment or horror of the audience. Here is a cast of characters that makes interesting reading for their role – direct or indirect – in a story that refuses to fade from national memory. It is a dark tale of murder, intrigue, conspiracy, threats, money – all the baser instincts that drive humans to commit deeds most foul. There is carpet trader Deepak Jaikishan, the bit player, who, seemingly stricken by conscience, dusted off the cover on Altantuya Shaariibuu and revealed his role in this sordid affair. According to his own admission, he was the one who persuaded private investigator P Balasubramaniam to retract his first statutory declaration about the murdered Mongolian national. He claimed he did it "on the behest of a female friend" and to protect the "interests of Najib Tun Razak". His confession whipped up a storm and threw the spotlight again on the scene of infamy. Balasubramaniam had made a second declaration which reversed the first one, which meant letting Najib off the hook. Najib, then the deputy prime minister, even swore on the Quran at a mosque that he did not know the Mongolian woman and had nothing to do with her murder. His political career emerged unscathed from the storm swirling around him and he went on to become the most powerful man in the country. A statutory declaration is a legal document and is similar to a statement made under oath. What is written in the document is as good as speaking the truth. Balasubramaniam's first declaration contained the most explosive revelation. In it, he implicated Najib in the murder of Altantuya, a tragic figure in the play. Deepak's admission of his involvement reopens the case because it implies that Najib is not innocent. The link to the murder meant that Najib knew the victim. Najib was the defence minister at the time when Malaysia was negotiating to purchase two French submarines. Altantuya, who was said to be working as a French translator, came onto the stage to allegedly help the Malaysian government buy the submarines worth some RM3.4 billion. She was reportedly playing the role of a broker with the French company for Abdul Razak Baginda, the political analyst, and Najib's close friend. Deep suspicion The Mongolian woman was supposed to pocket a hefty RM540 million in commission. She returned to Malaysia to allegedly hound Abdul Razak – her lover – for payment. Balasubramanaim was then hired by Abdul Razak to keep tabs on Altantuya's movements when she was in Kuala Lumpur. But she met a horrible death – blown to smithereens in a jungle clearing in Shah Alam. Who murdered her? This is what Deepak wants to know – and this is also what the whole country wants to know. Although two former policemen, once the bodyguards of Najib's wife, Rosmah Mansor, were found guilty of the heinous crime and were sentenced to death, the verdict did nothing to erase the deep suspicion surrounding the circumstances of Altantuya's death. What possible motive could have driven the two cops, who never knew Altantuya in all their born days, to snuff out her life in such a cruel manner? Abdul Razak, who was charged with abetting them, was let off without his defence being called but the nagging question remains: was there a conspiracy to cover up the blood stain?
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| Posted: 10 Dec 2012 02:59 PM PST
With the party's national election looming, DAP leaders are increasingly under pressure to stop being in denial mode over PAS' policies and start speaking out against their Pakatan coalition partner's Islamist agenda. "One thing is for sure. Whoever has been consistently against speaking up against Islamisation is going to get the our vote and whoever has been a consistently an apologist for PAS is going to get the door," said a veteran DAP delegate. Baradan Kuppusamy, The Star INCREASINGLY, PAS' excesses are having a harmful effect on the DAP whose leaders find themselves under heavy pressure to account for them. PAS' recent actions against non-Muslim couples for sitting in cars, walking in the park or having their hair cut by the opposite sex are some of the excesses that call the lie on DAP claims that PAS is moderate and liberal. DAP leaders have moved from an outright denial of PAS' excesses to lately claiming that overzealous officials in Kelantan are "sabotaging" Pakatan Rakyat with their summons' action and gender segregation. By extension they are saying that PAS itself is alright, but it is the officials who are spoiling the party's chances and hampering the coalition's march to Putrajaya. This comes at a bad time for the DAP, which finished elections for its Wanita section and Youth wing with focus shifting to the national election for 20 seats in the central executive council (CEC) next week. As the enlarged party hits the home run for the national election, chairman Karpal Singh, who is contesting, is figuring large for his strong opposition to PAS' policies. His opposition to hudud laws, criticism to gender segregation and summonses issue to non-Muslim couples have made Karpal a popular figure in the elections although state warlords are opposed to his "one-man one-seat" rule. Other DAP leaders have started to speak up against PAS, warning that these matters are better resolved quickly or the party risks jeopardising its ties with Pakatan. Some DAP leaders might be engaged in "electioneering" by voicing opposition to PAS' policies and at the same time upholding the rights of mainly Chinese delegates. Many contesting veteran leaders are unsure of how the votes will go in the party that has nearly trebled its base since 2008. But there are larger issues at stake in the sudden spate of DAP leaders speaking up against PAS' policies besides elections. They are genuinely exasperated with PAS for its sudden turnaround from advocating liberal policies to a return to harsh hudud laws at its recent Muktamar. PAS spiritual adviser Datuk Nik Aziz Nik Mat also dropped a bombshell by coming out strongly for hudud. That statement threw water over many DAP leaders, who secretly hoped for PAS to at least keep its liberal stand until the general election. With pressure mounting from non-Muslims, who are genuinely concerned over various PAS' policies, DAP leaders are under severe pressure. Party elections have made matters worse with delegates watching which leader would be for political expediency and who would be defending non-Muslim rights. DAP leaders are also opposed to the Nov 30 destruction of a Hindu shrine in Sungei Pelek where all of DAP's town councillors in the municipality have absolved themselves of any involvement, privately putting the blame on a PAS person for ordering the destruction. The shrine issue is deeply felt among DAP Indian members, who form about 20% of the delegates, and they are beginning to speak out against PAS for endorsing it, especially after MIC took up the issue. "One thing is for sure. Whoever has been consistently against speaking up against Islamisation is going to get the our vote and whoever has been a consistently an apologist for PAS is going to get the door," said a veteran DAP delegate. Gone are the days when the DAP leaders went around mouthing Islamic verses and the DAP rank and file applaud it, he added. "Today, delegates are all for cooperation with PAS but they want DAP leaders to speak out against its Islamist policies. "They want our leaders to tame PAS and keep non-Muslim rights intact," said the Perak delegate. In this respect Karpal's consistent opposition to PAS' policies has the DAP delegates' respect and admiration. "We are all for cooperation with PAS but PAS must know its limits in a multi-racial society," said a Negri Sembilan delegate. DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng broke his long silence and urged PAS to immediately resolve the summons issue to "avoid jeopardising ties with Pakatan Rakyat". Another longtime PAS apologist - Rasah MP Anthony Loke - has also caught on, urging PAS not to damage its "moderate" reputation. These DAP leaders fail to realise that a religious party like PAS has no concept of moderation or liberalism. PAS takes its rules from established religious edicts and if there is dispute, and there are many, they have a Ulama Council to rule. DAP leaders are finally learning that sleeping with a religious party for political expediency comes with a heavy price – you cannot control what PAS is going to say or do next and there comes a time when you cannot keep on apologising any longer. In this respect Karpal, who is alone among DAP leaders for his principled stand and consistent opposition to hudud and PAS' religious edicts, is rightly admired by the party delegates.
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| Insider — but not so correct — info Posted: 10 Dec 2012 02:53 PM PST
A sensational new website called 'DAP Insider' has emerged overnight as the campaign for the DAP election gathers momentum ahead of the national congress this weekend. But even without the website popping up at this time, it is widely known by now that Kok and Pua, who are the Selangor chairman and deputy chairman, respectively, have ganged up to make sure that former Selangor strongman Ronnie Liu does not make it into the 20-seat CEC or central executive committee. Joceline Tan, The Star THE undercurrents in the DAP election are bubbling to the surface and a new website has emerged that has its guns turned on certain personalities in the party. Titled "DAP Insider – Be The First To Know" (dapinsider.com), the week-old website is a sensational collection of articles about who is trying to finish who off in the party election in Penang this Saturday as well as spilling secrets about the internal DAP politics in Selangor. To date, the No. 1 target of the English language website seems to be Selangor chairman Teresa Kok. Kok, who holds a string of positions in the party and government, is seen as the most powerful woman in DAP. Unfortunately, that also makes her the object of much jealousy and envy. The secondary target seems to be PJ Utara MP Tony Pua who is being portrayed as the puppet-master pulling the strings behind Kok. The website portrays Kok and Pua as a Machiavellian pair trying to eliminate people who are not in their camp. It is all very entertaining although it is best read with a pinch of salt. But even without the website popping up at this time, it is widely known by now that Kok and Pua, who are the Selangor chairman and deputy chairman, respectively, have ganged up to make sure that former Selangor strongman Ronnie Liu does not make it into the 20-seat CEC or central executive committee. These two powerful figures see Liu as a black sheep and a liability to the party. Sources said that if they succeed, it would give the leadership a basis to drop Liu in the general election. However, some say this type of campaigning may backfire because some delegates get turned off by negative canvassing. "It is okay to campaign for support for yourself. Go ahead, tell everybody why you deserve to be in but when you run down the other person, it can blow up in your face," said a Selangor DAP figure. Liu, who is also a state exco member, is fighting for his survival. He was in Perak and Johor last week, meeting with delegates to persuade them to support him. He needs to win a CEC seat to stay in the reckoning as an election candidate and he is lobbying to move from his state seat in Pandamaran to the Serdang parliamentary seat. Kok also wants to get rid of Datuk Teng Chang Khim who is the Selangor vice-chairman and State Legislative Assembly Speaker. However, according to the website, Teng is seen as a voice of conscience in the party and is harder to take on. But Kok will go for him next if she succeeds in eliminating Liu. Another amusing posting in the website is titled "Skyfall – Karpal's Last Stand". Unfortunately, Karpal is no James Bond and according to the posting, this may be Karpal's last stand because he is up against some very powerful forces in the party. However, the website was wrong about the Dapsy contest last Sunday. It had predicted that Perak's Wong Kah Woh would win the Dapsy chairmanship but the winner was Negri Sembilan's Teo Kok Seong. The contest, which had been dubbed the "North versus the South", saw the South beating the daylights out of the North. Every single name on Teo's cai dan or menu was voted in. It was a delicious victory for Teo and his mentor, the outgoing Dapsy chief Anthony Loke. It also speaks volumes of Loke's organisational skills and his growing clout in the party. "The campaign was intense but it was conducted in a healthy manner. I think Dapsy has shown the way forward," said Loke. Wong took his defeat like a gentleman and both the winner and loser even hugged each other. However, the other big casualty, Ng Wei Aik, looked shell-shocked after losing to a relative unknown Tan Hong Pin for the Dapsy secretary's post. Ng probably did not imagine that he would lose because he enjoys an exceptionally high-profile as the political secretary to Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng. The irony here was that Tan used to work for Johor DAP chairman Dr Boo Cheng Hau who has a history of disagreements with Lim. Ng's loss had less to do with his boss than with his own controversial personality. Ng, who is also Komtar assemblyman and Penang DAP secretary, is hard-working and gets things done. Unfortunately, he tends to be over-zealous and often puts his foot in his mouth. He was the early favourite to win because he had raised his profile by lobbying to be made the Speaker at a number of the party's state conventions. He should regard this as a wake-up call because his defeat suggests that the younger delegates are quite discerning and are not bowled over by those with high-level connections. It also lends credence to Internet gossip that the Little Napoleons on Komtar's 28th floor are not well liked by people inside and outside the party. There were 46 candidates vying for 15 committee posts in Dapsy and several big names ended up in the bottom 10. Among them were Miri MP Ling Sie Kiong, Subang assemblyman Hannah Yeoh, Kampung Tunku assemblyman Lau Weng San and Meradong assemblyman Ting Tze Fui. The Dapsy election outcome has raised questions over whether there might be more surprises in store at the CEC election. About 700 or 28% of the 2,500 delegates scheduled to vote at the CEC election this weekend are first-time and younger delegates and party leaders are wondering what sort of impact they will bring.
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| Don’t confuse the people, ex-IGP tells cops Posted: 10 Dec 2012 02:49 PM PST
(The Star) - Police have been urged to divulge the "true" crime statistics instead of merely highlighting the reduction in street crime. Former Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Musa Hassan said "creating a false reality" would only confuse the public, resulting in decreased confidence in the police. "The police should show the complete statistics. It is not logical for crime to be down when cases are being reported everyday," he said. "The statistics are all on street crime but what about serious crime such as house break-ins, robberies and vehicle thefts? "I am not saying that the police are trying to manipulate facts but at least be transparent with such statistics," he said at a press conference organised by the Malaysian Crime Watch Task Force (MyWatch) at a hotel here yesterday. Musa also urged the police to strategically deploy personnel in crime hotspots to increase their effectiveness. "What is the use of patrols when crimes are still occurring?" He added that "quality was more important" as there was no point in having numerous patrols if these were not effective. "I love the police force," Musa said. "I want to see it improve for the safety and benefit of the people." On allegations by a businessman that he, as well as MyWatch, had been bankrolled by the underworld, Musa said: "If he has a grudge against me, then just focus on me. Don't involve this NGO." Musa said he would give the businessman three days to apologise or he, together with MyWatch, would take legal action.
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| We were only chatting, says two men in car Posted: 10 Dec 2012 02:45 PM PST No loitering: The area around Kota Baru airport where the two men were summoned. (The Star) - The two men in Kota Baru who were issued summonses for indecent behaviour insist they were only chatting inside a car. The men claimed a Kota Baru Municipal Council officer had demanded money from them so the matter could be resolved, reported Sin Chew Daily.  Dubious document: The summons issued to the two men. One of the men's relatives claimed at a press conference that the officer had asked RM500 for "settlement" before reducing it to RM200. The relative, who declined to be named, alleged that the officer only decided to issue them with summonses when the two men, aged 27 and 43, refused to pay him. It was earlier reported the council had issued summonses to the two non-Muslim men for allegedly embracing each other in a car parked near the Sultan Ismail Petra Airport at midnight on Oct 31. The duo claimed they were watching planes land in the night when they were approached. The relative said the two men would not pay the fine even if it was reduced to 10sen. He hoped the council would investigate the matter for corruption and abuse of power. The other summonses were issued to a 17-year-old teenager for allegedly giving a piggy-back ride to his 15 year-old girlfriend while jogging at Taman Tunku Anis at about 5.30pm on Oct 20. PAS Supporters Congress has produced copies of the summons and claimed the officer involved had no power to issue it. Congress adviser Jeff Lee Weng Chun said the officer was an administrative assistant who had abused his power.
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| Non-Muslims not targeted by Kelantan government, says PAS Posted: 10 Dec 2012 02:35 PM PST
Ida Lim, The Malaysian Insider PAS secretary-general Datuk Mustafa Ali today disagreed that non-Muslims are targeted by the PAS-led Kelantan state government in its enforcement of local council laws, saying that they "don't have to fear". Last weekend, The Star had reported that Kelantan enforcement officers had fined four non-Muslims for khalwat (close proximity), a crime under syariah law applicable only to Muslims; but PAS had quickly pointed out the summonses were for indecent behaviour, an offence under local council laws that is enforceable on all. Mustafa (picture) was asked if non-Muslims would feel targeted by the Kelantan state government even when it is enforcing local council laws and not Islamic laws. He disagreed, pointing out that such local council laws are enforceable on both non-Muslims and Muslims, while Muslims could also be liable under Islamic laws. "This is all MCA's political agenda," he said at a press conference at the PAS headquarters here. He said that the indecent behaviour fines, which were issued in October, were being used by the MCA to gain political mileage and attack the Chinese-based party's political foe DAP ahead of the 13th general election. "So this thing, MCA just wants to make a political score against DAP. "For us, this matter that was mentioned incorrectly by The Star, by MCA has created a perception that's not correct, created confusion; MCA made a statement that's not accurate," he said. He said that allegations of the Kelantan enforcement officers soliciting bribes of RM500 from two of the non-Muslims to "settle" the indecent behaviour fines were not true, saying that reports to the relevant authorities should be made if the claims are true. "(That's) not correct, we checked. If true, take legal action. If true, make complaints to police, report to police...We also don't want if this officer is not right." Recently, non-Muslim hairdressers in Kelantan were reported to have also been slapped with fines for having customers of the opposite gender, breaching a local council by-law that bars women hairstylists from working on men and vice-versa — sparking a storm over the position of Islamic laws. In the run-up to the 13th general election, the BN coalition has increasingly tried to discourage non-Muslim voters from voting for Pakatan Rakyat by saying that PAS would implement the Islamic penal code, hudud, and create an Islamic state.
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| Posted: 10 Dec 2012 02:24 PM PST Are the voters willing to tolerate politicians and public personalities who defect? Asks an Umno man. Hawkeye, FMT Voters must decide in the general election if they are willing to tolerate politicians and public personalities who defected from either side of the political fray, said an Umno leader. In Malaysian politics, there is a long line of those who can be classified as "katak" (frog). It starts with Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim, who joined forces with Umno's arch rivals just days after suffering a fallout with the Umno leadership, said state Umno liaison committee deputy chairman Musa Sheikh Fadzir. He said such leaders have selfish aims and survived politically based on public empathy and Malaysia's inclination to often support the underdog. He said they vented their frustration on Umno or Barisan Nasional and when they were no longer entertained, they defect to the other side. Nothing which they have done or plan to do has the interest of the people at heart. It is just all about their own selfish aims and an undying thirst for power until they become consummate political animals, he said. Rubbishing the opposition's contention about mooting an anti-party hopping law, he said PAS was pinching any personality willing to join them even if they could be tainted with issues. Outright betrayal Musa said those who defect to either side politically should look at the common villagers who stayed loyal to Umno or BN, despite remaining poor or continue to struggle in life. "That is the measure of loyalty. We should have such attitude ingrained in the hearts and minds of every politician before they began on this endeavour of service to the community," he added. He said the most effective way to overcome defections, which is an outright betrayal, is for the voters to reject such persons. Musa was responding to reports that the former long-serving Penang Malay Chamber of Commerce president Abdul Rahman Maidin has handed over a membership form to join PAS. Abdul Rahman made the pledge to PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang last month in a brief ceremony in Johor. The Penang-born businessman is considered a heavyweight in the corporate circles, having once helmed the government-linked company-Malaysian Resources Corporation Bhd (MRCB). Musa also took a dig at his elder brother Abdul Kadir Sheikh Fadzir, an ex-senior Umno leader and former Cabinet minister, who has been seen at various PAS gatherings. It is believed that Abdul Kadir is trying to warm up to the Islamist party but so far, there is nothing formal about him joining them.
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| Posted: 10 Dec 2012 02:19 PM PST When Anwar was finance minister, Dr Mahathir was the prime minister. So, should not Mahathir be credited for the good economic performance instead of Anwar? By Raja Petra Kamarudin, FMT FMT columnist Selena Tay recently wrote an article called 'Political blockbuster: Dragon vs Dinosaur'. In that article, she compared Malaysia's economic growth during the time when Anwar Ibrahim was the finance minister from 1992 to 1997 to the time when Najib Tun Razak is prime minister from 2009 to 2011. Basically, what the columnist says is that Malaysia performed better when Anwar was the finance minister compared to when Najib is prime minister. Note, and I repeat, the analysis that Selena did compares Anwar as finance minister to Najib as prime minister. Now, when Anwar was finance minister, Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad was the prime minister. So, should not Mahathir be credited for the good performance instead of Anwar? Okay, let us assume that Mahathir had no hand in this. Let us assume that it was the finance minister, Anwar , who should be credited for this good performance. However, during that same period, 1992 to 1994, Malaysia also lost RM30 billion 'playing' the Forex market. So, who is to be blamed for this? Since the good economic performance of the country during the period when Anwar was the finance minister must be credited to Anwar, should not Anwar, therefore, also take the blame for whatever bad that happened? In this case, no! The RM30 billion Forex losses are Mahathir's fault. Mahathir was the prime minister so he must take all the blame — just like Najib, the present prime minister, must take all the blame for whatever happens to Malaysia today. Who, therefore, is at fault here? Najib is both finance minister and prime minister. When something bad happens to Malaysia we blame Najib. But do we blame him because he is the prime minister or because he is the finance minister?
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| Paper trails show Musa-Chia link Posted: 10 Dec 2012 02:16 PM PST Rafizi says his team will meet again with the ICAC tomorrow to hand over documented proofs. Syed Jaymal Zahiid, FMT PKR said today it has paper trails showing alleged corrupt money transfers between Sabah Chief Minister Musa Aman and several timber concessionaires including businessman Michael Chia. Its director of strategy, Rafizi Ramli, revealed the documents to the press today showing fund transfers between 2005 and 2008 from supposed logging firms to overseas accounts linked to Chia. Rafizi will lead a second team to meet with Hong Kong's graft-busters tomorrow. The documents included copies of telegraphic transfer credit receipts indicating payment of hundreds of thousands of US dollars to Chia's HSBC account in Singapore, which the PKR whistleblower said would likely be payments from timber kickbacks. The money transfers were described as "deposit for concession". Rafizi pointed out that Sabah timber laws expressly state that any matter related to logging activity was the sole jurisdiction of the state government, led by its chief minister. "These transaction slips all show the transfer of money to Chia's accounts from these firms linked to Sabah timber concessions, apart from further transfers made to purchase luxury items for Chia's wife or cars, or transfers to Musa's son," he said. Fall-out partners? The papers were said to have been provided by Chia's own partners in Hong Kong due to a possible fall-out, he added. "These are documents that only they would have access to as they are from these British Virgin Island (BIV) offshore accounts. We cannot access them on our own. "I trust that they are genuine and this is what we will surrender to the ICAC tomorrow," he said at the party's headquarters here. He claimed the partners are ready to testify and meet with the island state's Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) should it open another probe on Musa and Chia. Recently, the government claimed Musa had been cleared of any wrongdoing by the ICAC after it found insufficient evidence to link him to the RM40 million "donation" money to Sabah Umno.
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| Getting entangled in ‘if PR wins’ scenarios Posted: 10 Dec 2012 01:33 PM PST Umno has been giving the impression that if BN loses, the rakyat will suffer tremendously. In past general elections, there was never a "if the opposition wins" notion. In recent months, however, including at the recent party general assembly, Umno has been giving the impression that if BN loses, the rakyat will suffer tremendously, in a bid to convince the voters – old and young, the Malays, Chinese, Indians, Ibans, Kadazans and others. Azam Aris (fz.com) AS a journalist, your friends and contacts think you are always in the know about many things – politics included. When will the 13th general election be held? Will there be a change in government? There are two questions I am frequently asked these days. Compared with a year ago, the first question is obviously much easier to answer as the window for the general election to be held is getting narrower by the day. March – after the Chinese New Year holidays – is now the favourite month. Will there be a change in government? This is a tricky one. While I have my preference, I would put it this way: Since independence in 1957, this is the first general election the Umno-led Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition is contesting where the feeling – among some in its ranks – is that it could really lose. This is also the first time some within the opposition, in the form of the Pakatan Rakyat (PR) coalition, believe they could really form a new federal government. Umno, after having been on the defensive earlier, issued a stern warning to the opposition during last month's general assembly that it is as "united and strong" as ever and ready to continue ruling the nation. And the party faithful are not only talking about winning but also getting back BN's two-thirds mandate in Parliament that it lost in the 2008 election. While this may reflect the self-confidence of the delegates and party members, it is the big "if PR wins" catchphrase – followed by various negative scenarios painted by past and present leaders – that makes many voters think Umno is a party that is not certain of a BN victory. In past general elections, there was never a "if the opposition wins" notion. In recent months, however, including at the recent party general assembly, Umno has been giving the impression that if BN loses, the rakyat will suffer tremendously, in a bid to convince the voters – old and young, the Malays, Chinese, Indians, Ibans, Kadazans and others. The other scenarios it paints if PR were to win are: the country will become bankrupt, there will be racial riots like in May 1969 and the Malays will lose power and become beggars in their own country. Umno also warns that Islam will be marginalised, the nation will lose its sovereignty as it will be pawned to foreign powers, the stock market will plummet and foreign direct investment will slow down. To some political observers, resorting to fear tactics and political scaremongering are an indication that it is not a confident Umno that is entering the ring. Such tactics have been part and parcel of election campaigns in the past, but never so blatantly. Will the country go bankrupt? Rhetoric aside, this is unlikely if PR or BN can manage the nation's finances and resources well and keep debt under control. In fact, the notion that "Malaysia could go bankrupt" came from the government itself. It was Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Datuk Seri Idris Jala who issued a warning that the country risked going bust by 2019 if it did not cut subsidies and rein in borrowings. Will there be racial riots like those in May 1969? Why should they happen when no responsible Malaysian wants them to happen? Aren't politicians responsible for raising such a possibility? To most voters today – those born after 1969 as well as the older generation – it was an unfortunate event in our history, a lesson learnt, and one that needs to be avoided. When asked by an audience at a forum organised by a Malay daily on the possibility of another May 13 should PR win the polls – as alleged by certain quarters in Umno – former inspector-general of police Tan Sri Musa Hassan ruled it out. According to him, the factors that contributed to the 1969 racial riots, such as communism, no longer exist. Communism is dead and buried in this country, but try telling that to the politicians who still propagate the idea that the communists are out to destroy the nation and that some of them can be found within the opposition. Will the Malays lose power? Umno might, but the Malays and bumiputeras – the largest community in the country – will still be well represented by PAS, PKR, the bumiputera parties of Sabah and Sarawak and Umno itself in Parliament – where the seat of democracy lies. They can still work together to pursue the common interests of the community, notably those that are protected by the Constitution. How about the Malays becoming beggars in their own country? I am still trying to figure this one out because how could that happen when Malays remain the dominant force in the political equation? As for the risk that Islam will be marginalised – by whom? How could that happen, given the position the religion holds in the Constitution, Muslims making up the majority of the population and having the highest birth rate, as well as the mutual respect we have for each other's religions? So if most of Umno's "if PR wins" scenarios are unlikely to happen, why harp on them to the extent of overshadowing the good points the party raises in the political campaign? Why give the opposition a chance to say Umno is not a changed party and will never be, contrary to what its president and Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak is portraying?
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| MP slams daily over 'khalwat manipulation' Posted: 10 Dec 2012 01:29 PM PST
(fz.com) - Liew claimed that The Star was exploiting a situation where not many of its mostly non-Muslim readers could distinguish between hudud (Islamic criminal law), Islamic family laws, khalwat (close proximity) and municipal council's indecent behaviour rule. DAP MP Liew Chin Tong today accused The Star newspaper of allowing itself to be used as a "cheap tool for a political party pursuing its racialist agenda". "The Star's further exploitation of the Kelantan summons for indecent behaviour issue on its front-page today entitled "Khalwat issue heats up" is a clear proof that a very desperate Barisan Nasional will do anything to manipulate facts and concoct stories," Liew said in a statement. "Of the three pages of reporting under six different headings in The Star today, only the part involving PAS Supporters Congress advisor Jeff Lee Weng Chun was new. "The rest were regurgitation of earlier news reports, even after PAS secretary-general Datuk Mustafa Ali categorically denied that there were any khalwat cases involved," he added in his statement titled "When the election is around the corner, MCA-owned The Star is no better than Umno-owned Utusan Malaysia." Liew claimed that The Star was exploiting a situation where not many of its mostly non-Muslim readers could distinguish between hudud (Islamic criminal law), Islamic family laws, khalwat (close proximity) and municipal council's indecent behaviour rule. "By lumping all together, The Star wants to paint a picture to its mostly non-Muslim readers that PAS is an extremist party in the hope of frightening non-Muslim supporters of PAS and Pakatan Rakyat. "It's a shameful, immoral and devious act of The Star to allow itself, a daily mainstream newspaper, to become a cheap tool for a political party pursuing its racialist agenda," he said.
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| Posted: 10 Dec 2012 01:02 PM PST Hakim Joe On the 7th of December 2012, a Captain Joseph Lakai published an article titled "1976 plane crash: The unanswered questions" on FMT News (http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/opinion/2012/12/07/1976-place-crash-the-unanswered-questions/). This article was picked up by Malaysia Today and published on the same day (http://www.malaysia-today.net/mtcolumns/special-reports/53185-1976-plane-crash-the-unanswered-questions). On the FMT article, the online news portal stated that the article is a testament of "A test pilot offers a peak into why the fatal 1976 plane crash which killed Sabah chief minister Fuad Stephens and several state cabinet members is seen as a conspiracy by locals." (Note the incorrect spelling of the word "peak"). Is this the same Joseph Wilfred Lakai who is the Vice Chairman of Sabah Progressive Party (SAPP)? On the 11th of August 2012, Malaysia Today published an article titled "13,215 days ago" (http://www.malaysia-today.net/mtcolumns/guest-columnists/51063-13215-days-ago). Please read both articles before making any comments. However, do take special note of the uncanny similarities between the two articles (word for word). Additionally do count the days between the exact date of the crash (6th June 1976) and the publication dates. Number of days between 6th June 1976 and 11 August 2012 is 13,215 days. Number of days between 6th June 1976 and 7 December 2012 is 13,333 days. Both articles stated 13,215 days. Is Capt. Joseph Lakai using the pseudonym "Hakim Joe"? (As in Joe is the short form of Joseph). I can assure you that Hakim Joe is definitely not Capt. Joseph Lakai. Now you can comment all you like. (St Low [MTadmin] - agrees with Hakim Joe and have taken Captain Joseph Lakai's name out of the article on MT and replaced it with Hakim Joe.)
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| Lynas hits another bump in Malaysia Posted: 10 Dec 2012 12:49 PM PST (The Age) - Lynas has been forced into its fourth trading halt in a month after the Malaysian government called on the Australian rare earths miner to export all its waste generated by the plant.
The miner requested the halt ahead of an announcement by the company following comments by four Malaysian government ministers released yesterday demanding that Lynas remove all the residue or face having its temporary licence revoked.
"Should Lynas fail to comply with this condition, the Atomic Energy Licensing Board (AELB) is empowered under section 22 of the Atomic Energy Licensing Act 1984 (Act 304), to suspend or revoke the TOL and order Lynas to cease operations," the statement released by the Ministry of International Trade and Industry said, the New Straits Times newspaper reported.
"The government will not compromise the health and safety of the people and the environment, in dealing with the issue of Lynas." Advertisement
Shares in Lynas's closest rival, the US-based Molycorp, surged 20 per cent in New York in reaction to the news – the biggest one-day jump since it listed.
The statement followed local reports that Lynas's Malaysian managing director, Mashal Ahmad, had said the waste products from the Kuantan plant could not be exported because of international laws, the Times stated.
But Lynas said yesterday in Malaysia the reports were inaccurate and that it would convert the residue into a commercially safe product called Synthetic Aggregate, which would then be exported to other countries.
The Australian company has faced political and legal troubles in Malaysia over the Lynas Advanced Materials Plant (LAMP). Lynas started production at the controversial plant in late November.
A Lynas spokesman declined to provide further comment ahead of the company's announcement.
Lynas has shot to prominence as Australia's challenge to China's monopoly on global production of rare earths, a group of metallic elements of strategic importance due to its vital role in the manufacture of rechargeable batteries, wind turbines and tablets.
Shares in Lynas have plunged more than 60 per cent since February as a result of the extended delays and uncertainty surrounding the project. Lynas shares last traded at 60.5 cents.
Before the latest setback, there were signs the company had turned a corner after what the company said were decisive court victories over Malaysian activists.
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| Posted: 10 Dec 2012 12:43 PM PST
If we do see a change of government come the next general election, what happens the day after? Do we suddenly become race blind and see each other just as Malaysians? Do we accept that traffic fine and not try to bribe that police officer? And, do we take a taxi home and not get behind the wheel of a car while intoxicated? Adam Netto Recently, while planning a night out with a German friend of mine, the topic of drink driving in Malaysia, specifically in Kuala Lumpur, came up. As I tried my best to answer the various questions leveled at me like, "Don't you have strict laws prohibiting this?" or "Are taxis really expensive in Malaysia?" It dawned on me. The answer is simple. We are selfish. Basically, we want the comfort of driving to the bar/club, we want to drink and be merry like everyone else and once the night is over, we want to drive home regardless of the danger we pose to other motorists. And that, in my opinion, is the problem with most Malaysians today. We scream for change but we are not prepared to do so ourselves. We blame the present government for the racial nature of our politics today but we still inquire about the race of a criminal as if that played a role in his/her crime. We blame the present government over the rampant corruption in everyday life but still offer the police officer a bribe instead of taking the fine. We dislike the system where contracts, scholarships etc. are not always awarded based on merit but have no problems using our very own contacts to further personal interests. If we do see a change of government come the next general election, what happens the day after? Do we suddenly become race blind and see each other just as Malaysians? Do we accept that traffic fine and not try to bribe that police officer? And, do we take a taxi home and not get behind the wheel of a car while intoxicated? Maybe it is time we stop screaming and heed the words of Mahatma Gandhi, who said, "Be the change we want to see in the world".
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| Penang Lang must defend Penang at all cost Posted: 10 Dec 2012 12:39 PM PST
Your PM is blackmailing and using his 'legal' bribery 'I help you, you help me' bribing his way to recapture Penang. Penangnites must not fall into this dangerous trap. Malaysia For All Your Prime Minster has proven beyond doubt that he is a very weak and incapable leader. His daily speeches, a multitude of plea, threat, admission, omission and deceptive promises that allowed one to see how a man looks like when the fear of losing power is imminent.His latest trip to Penang on the 8th December 2012 was to galvanize support to retake Penang in the next General Election with more ambiguous speeches and deceptive promises. Every Malaysian must ask this question "Who is paying for all the extravagant expenses of your PM playing Santa Claus Merry going round the country"? What kind of leadership is he trying to prove, a leadership for all Malaysians or just to those who like and support his Umno coalition BN? He made a call to Penangnites to ensure a BN victory only then will they get to have (mind you, only pledges) 20,000 affordable homes and monorail. Is he a real joker PM or what? Can I put three questions to him. What has Umno/BN done during their 50 years of taking power in Penang when these affordable homes and monorail were much needed back as early as the late 90's? Is your PM trying to say that there will be no help from the Federal government if Penang is still under Pakatan Rakayat? If that is the case, can Penangnites insist that they will not pay their taxes directly to Federal government but instead to the State government?
Read more at: http://www.ousel.blogspot.com/2012/12/penang-lang-must-defend-penang-at-all_10.html | ||||||||||||
| Musa Hassan tells Robert Phang: apologize, or I’ll sue you Posted: 10 Dec 2012 02:49 AM PST
(Malaysian Digest) - Malaysian Crime Watch Group (MyWatch) today demanded an apology from Tan Sri Robert Phang for alleging that the NGO was linked to criminal syndicates. MyWatch patron, Tan Sri Musa Hassan has given Phang three days to do so before legal action is taken against him.
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| ‘Black knight’ Musa vs ‘White knight’ Ramli Posted: 10 Dec 2012 02:33 AM PST The former IGP took a swipe at his critics for portraying him as the bad cop out to destroy the PDRM. Teoh El Sen, FMT Former Inspector-General of Police Musa Hassan today lashed out at his critics, especially his former colleagues Ramli Yusuff and Mat Zain Ibrahim, suggesting that they have strong backing from powerful figures. "I think this Ramli, he has strong influence with IGP [Ismail Omar] and the police," he told a press conference here. "From the outside, it seems like he's the white knight, saviour of PDRM [Royal Malaysian Police]… while I'm the black knight who is destroying PDRM… the picture has been painted as such," he said when asked about Ramli's unending crusade against him. Musa, the patron of the new anti-crime NGO MyWatch, said that he suspects that Ramli has the backing of certain powerful figures that he did not name. "I just want to know who is behind him… who has given him this platform to attack me," he said. Musa maintained that he had no links with underworld figures, a claim that Ramli, retired Commercial Crimes Investigation Department (CCID) director, has repeated, and instead asked the latter himself to answer to the public. "He should answer to the public… how he owns so much riches and wealth when he was still in service. Even I don't have so much…" Musa said despite the courts clearing Ramli of failing to declare some RM27 million worth of assets, for him, it was still an unresolved question. How could a police officer only holding the post of CCID director amass such money? he asked. Asked if he was implying Ramli was linked to "undesirable individuals", Musa said: "It is hard for me to answer. Because those who have wealth of that nature will have some links somewhere." He also denied former KL CID chief Mat Zain's claim that he (Musa) had fabricated evidence, relating to three reports on the injuries Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim received while in police custody in 1998. Mat Zain had said: "I state, yet again, that I am willing to declare under oath in any judicial proceeding or before any judge that there was indeed an agreement between [Attorney-General Abdul] Gani [Pattail] and Musa to use Dr Abdul Rahman [Yusof] to fabricate the three so-called special reports on the injuries Anwar received while in police custody in 1998." Musa said he has no knowledge about any such reports, declaring that he has no power to order any doctor to do anything. "He [Mat Zain] is the one who investigated the case. He should have the reports," he said. He said Mat Zain, along with Ramli, was trying to discredit him. "They are plainly trying to stop me from speaking out. These people are back in operation. They have to say something. They know I can't stand this kind of things, so this is a preemptive strike by them," Musa said. "Let me ask them now: who are the real kingpins? Why have there been no actions [taken]?"
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| Musa reveals more, implicates businessman Posted: 09 Dec 2012 05:46 PM PST The ex-IGP claims that former MACC advisor Robert Phang was involved in a communication devices deal for the police which did not meet specifications. Teoh El Sen, FMT Several senior policemen were transferred out of the Bukit Aman Logistics Department (Communications Division) and put in "cold storage" for refusing to approve a technically unsound project involving walkie talkies worth almost RM1 billion. It is learnt that the project was mooted towards the end of 2008 and involved the replacement of more than 30,000 new walkie-talkies for beat policemen, stations and vehicles nationwide, including Sabah and Sarawak. However, problems arose a year or two after the project, which was a direct negotiation contract, took off as the implementation of the devices were allegedly not according to specifications. One of the problems was the apparent lack of coverage or "black spots" in certain areas around the country such as in certain buildings, and in one case very little coverage along the East-West highway despite being promised otherwise. The other issues, which "deviated from the agreed specificaitons", include a recording system which sometimes records when nobody speaks and vice versa; and also incidents where the walkie talkie transmits by itself. However, despite the flaws, sources said that those within the Home Ministry and top ranking policemen were constantly pressuring a team of technical experts to sign the acceptance of the equipment before the issues were smoothed out. "[Former inspector-general of police] Musa Hassan did not agree to a project that was not done properly but they used KDN [Home Ministry] to force the technical team to do whatever the company wanted. They were under tremendous pressure," said a source with direct knowledge of the deal. "By mid 2010, when the first phase was being put out in the Klang Valley, we already noticed that all these problems were surfacing, but they were swept under the carpet. "They realised that if they signed the project, we will go to jail. So better transfer," added the source. Investigate Ismail Speaking to FMT on this, Musa said when he was still IGP, he kept a close watch on the project to ensure that the equipment was what the police needed. However, he claimed, other parties' interests crept in after he left. Musa said that prominent businessman and former MACC advisor Robert Phang was a consultant for the project and acted as a go-between the police and the provider, a multinational telecommunications company. "Because he was close with the police. So at that time, I believe that there were some government officers in the ministry who was involved in the company. "Since it was approved by the government, I had to carry it out. But I made sure that the technical team that overseeing the project does not compromise to ensure that it is up to specifications and to ensure that this communication can be used throughout Malaysia without any hiccups. "So after I left… I was not quite happy because it was still not up to specifications. I was informed that it would not work well and that is why the technical team refused to sign the commission so that money can be paid," he told FMT. However, Musa alleged that even Phang threatened the team. "The team received a call from him saying that if you don't sign it, you will be transferred out." True enough, he added, at least three officers ranked DSP, Supt and SAC were then given letters of transfers out of the department. "So the team refused to sign, and they were called by the IGP. The present IGP [Ismail Omar] asked them to commission it… because they need the government to pay the money… I don't know how many million. So they got transferred and now it actually went through. "Officers who have the capability and technical expertise in communication are being put in cold storage by this businessman. That's how good his connections are. He is very close to the IGP now… very friendly with the home minister," said Musa. Musa said that he wanted the authorities to investigate Ismail for possibly abusing his powers and Phang for allegedly abetting the former.
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| Act fast against ‘Little Napoleons’, DAPSY tells PAS Posted: 09 Dec 2012 05:40 PM PST
Ida Lim, The Malaysian Insider Kelantan's strict law enforcement on non-Muslims are worrying Pakatan Rakyat (PR) fans, the DAP's Anthony Loke said today and urged his Islamist Pakatan Rakyat (PR) partner to probe the delicate issue swiftly before support slides ahead of elections. The MCA is using the PAS-led state government's alleged crackdown on misbehaving non-Muslims as election fodder against the federal opposition pact, the DAP Socialist Youth's (DAPSY) outgoing chief. "Those are the issues that rightly or wrongly will affect confidence of non-Muslims towards Pakatan Rakyat, in particular towards PAS," Loke, the outgoing chief for the DAP told a news cconference today. "It will be fully utilised by MCA to attack the DAP and Pakatan Rakyat so their agenda is to frighten off non-Muslims to rethink their support for Pakatan Rakyat." "We sincerely hope and call upon PAS leadership to give serious attention to these issues and must be dealt with immediately." When asked whether these issues will erode voters' confidence, he stressed that action should be taken immediately. "There are some serious concerns. I wouldn't say it eroded the support but I would think there are serious repercussions if those issues are not dealt with. He said the party's top leadership have assured that Islamic rules do not apply to non-Muslims, but did not discount the possibility of sabotage in the Kelantan local councils. "But I think at the implementation level, the local government level, we cannot rule out that there may be some sabotage happening within local council... Do not let all these little Napoleons derail our agenda." Yesterday, The Star reported that Kelantan enforcement officers had fined two non Muslim couples for khalwat, a crime under syariah law, but PAS had quickly pointed out the summonses were for indecent behaviour. Recently, non-Muslim hairdressers in Kelantan were reported to have also been slapped with fines for having customers of the opposite gender, breaching a local council by-law that bars women hairstylists from working on men and vice-versa — sparking a storm over the position of Islamic laws. But Loke today said that some of these issues could be solved "amicably". "For example, the hair salon issue, we have conveyed to PAS our suggestion that they have to review by-laws, there should not be segregation in hair salons." He said that DAP has suggested to PAS that special sections be set up in hair salons for Muslim women, which were done in some salons in Seremban. The Rasah MP said this would create a win-win situation, where both hair salon owners and the sensitivities of Muslims women will be taken care of. Loke said these issues have been used to distract voters from "real issues" such as corruption, environmental issues like the Lynas rare-earth plant, and good governance. As the 13th general election draws near, the ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition has increasingly tried to scare non-Muslim voters from voting for PR by saying that PAS would implement the Islamic penal code, hudud, and create an Islamic state. Malaysia practises a dual-track court system but Syariah laws can only be enforced on Muslims; non-Muslims are exempt.
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| The Star just as racial as Utusan, says DAP MP Posted: 09 Dec 2012 05:36 PM PST
(The Malaysian Insider) - A DAP lawmaker accused MCA-owned daily The Star today of exploiting the strict enforcement of Islamic law on non-Muslims in PAS-led Kelantan to stoke racial sentiments in a bid to serve its political masters ahead of key national polls. Calling it a "shameful, immoral and devious act", Bukit Bendera MP Liew Chin Tong lashed out at the English-language daily for what he termed relentless and lop-sided coverage of the ongoing storm over the enforcement of Islamic law on non-Muslims in the state, after local council officers reportedly cracked down on non-Muslims for allegedly violating local by-laws regulating decency. "The Star is looking down at its readers, just like the racially-charged Utusan Malaysia, exploiting a situation where not many of its mostly non-Muslim readers could distinguish between hudud (Islamic criminal law), Islamic family laws, khalwat (close proximity) and municipal council's indecent behaviour rule," he said in a statement. The prominent coverage of the issue in The Star showed it was subservient to its partisan owner and was bent on conveying to its mostly non-Muslim readers that "PAS is as an extremist party" and aimed at scaring off non-Muslim support for Islamist PAS and the Pakatan Rakyat (PR) pact. "That is a well-known MCA's tactics and strategies to win election for its political master Datuk Seri Najib Razak," Liew said. The 35-year-old warned PR parties that the ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) parties and the media they controlled were looking to exploit weaknesses within the pact, echoing his DAP colleague, Anthony Loke's warning yesterday that the MCA is using hudud as election fodder to scare off non-Muslim voters. He called on all PR state governments to "beware of Little Napoleons in our respective states and local governments attempting to plant the seed of doubt among the people to discredit Pakatan Rakyat as a credible national alternative". "It is now well known that the next election will very much be decided by whether non-Malay swing voters were prepared to vote for PAS and whether Malay-Muslim swing voters were prepared to support DAP in the context of the Pakatan Rakyat coalition," Liew said. The opposition lawmaker urged PR to work together and not lose sight of its national goal, which he said can only be won if the majority of four million middle ground voters continue to back the pact. "Let us return to Middle Malaysia," he added. The Star reported last week that Kelantan enforcement officers had fined two non-Muslim couples for khalwat, a crime under syariah law, but PAS had quickly pointed out the summonses were for indecent behaviour. Recently, non-Muslim hairdressers in Kelantan were reported to have also been slapped with fines for having customers of the opposite gender, breaching a local council by-law that bars women hairstylists from working on men and vice-versa — sparking a storm over the position of Islamic laws. In the run-up to the 13th general election, the BN coalition has increasingly tried to discourage non-Muslim voters from voting for PR by saying that PAS would implement the Islamic penal code, hudud, and create an Islamic state. While non-Muslims are exempt from Syariah laws, Malaysia's dual-track court system has resulted in overlapping gray areas that have impinged on their constitutional rights.
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| Umno smiles as PAS grapples with moral policing issue Posted: 09 Dec 2012 04:12 PM PST The stability of support for Kelantan PAS is under threat. Hawkeye, FMT KOTA BARU: Recent indications of PAS' indecisiveness in handling the issue of moral policing has boosted Umno's confidence in improving its electoral performance in Kelantan. It is learnt that PAS supporters are deeply divided over the issue. One side feels that PAS should defend the application of syariah-inspired by-laws on non-Muslims. The other side calls for a reprimand, if not punishment, of local authorities for their excess of zeal at the expense of support from non-Muslim voters. The issue's potential to threaten the stability of support for Kelantan PAS is best summed up by businessman Hussein Ahmad, who operates a string of kopitiam outlets here. Alluding to the claim by Kelantanese that their state is the cradle of Malay culture, he said: "The cradle is rocking too hard, and the baby is wailing." He believes PAS' indecisiveness over the issue of moral policing is inevitable given the factionalism within the state administration that has been apparent to some political observers for some time. He believes too that this is all brought about by the twin factors of Menteri Besar Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat's declining health and his deputy Ahmad Yakcob's lack of talent for administration. Political sources have said that PAS' top leaders want Nik Aziz to remain as Menteri Besar despite his offer to resign. They see him as an indispensable asset for political support because he commands deep respect across the political and racial spectrums. They want him to continue leading Kelantan while they work out a succession plan, which is a difficult task given the factionalism in PAS, at least at the state level. This is all good news, of course, to Umno, which has recently been waxing optimistic about its electoral chances in Kelantan. Umno currently occupies only six of the 45 seats in the Kelantan legislature. Umno Kelantan treasurer Hanafi Mamat says his party is now confident of winning 25 seats in the coming election and that Barisan Nasional may even be able to deny Pakatan Rakyat its two-third majority in the state. Economic changes "We're not over-confident, though," he told FMT, but he added that young voters in the state were increasingly showing they wanted changes, especially in the economic sphere. "The young generation is keen to know about job creation, economic management and the way forward. "The issue of corruption may not be a big issue here as the people here are a pious lot and would not cave-in to such sinful acts. "The new support for Umno may not be enough to enable BN to take the state from PAS, but is significant compared to 2008."
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