Malaysia Today - Your Source of Independent News
Malaysia Today - Your Source of Independent News |
- PSM supports Hindraf Blueprint
- How to vote: Guide for first-time voters
- Game of ‘Sabotage 24/7′ in Selangor
- RCI: 'Money was their master'
- Sugumar's family will not participate in sham inquest - New evidence proves it was murder
- Johor Sultan raps those who claim cops cannot be trusted
- PM announces election for September 14
- Jakim, NGO lancar kempen ‘Jerat Valentine’s Day’
- The road to renewal
- My Jihad Ad Campaign Launches In Washington, D.C. (PHOTOS)
- Hot : Astro PRIMA dikecam kerana SAHARA
- Zaid Ibrahim quits politics
- HINDRAF might join forces with BN – S. Thiagarajan
- 8 Realities Why the Malaysian Government should fund Higher Education
- UndiMsia! “Aku Peduli Apa” videos go live!
- Son of Lynas CEO charged with insider trading
- Inilah sikap cybertrooper UMNO
- Only in Malaysia : Tayar Untuk Disewa Harian (Sehari RM300) Untuk Tujuan Pemeriksaan JPJ dan ...
- Response to statements by Tunku Aziz and Anthony Loke
- My Bible, My faith, My church
- Man Utd world’s first team to top US$3b in value
- Guan Eng pours scorn on ‘BN’ A-G
- Why quiet about Dr M’s confession?
- MyWatch chief: Cop threatened to shoot me
- Mahathir: When will we regain our sanity?
| PSM supports Hindraf Blueprint Posted: 29 Jan 2013 11:59 AM PST
Dear Waytha, HINDRAF BLUEPRINT Parti Sosialis Malaysia (PSM) having studied the Blueprint put out by Hindraf would like to express our support in principle to the below 6 issues raised by Hindraf. 1. Hundreds of thousands of internally displaced estate workers. PSM is against any policies which are discriminative based on race. We call for affirmative actions to be taken irrespective of race and religion to uplift the poor and marginalised in the country. We also endorse Hindraf's call for a Ministry of Minority Affairs as we agree with Hindraf that institutional racism exists in our society and that it needs to be identified and addressed in a conscious and concerted fashion. Institutionalised racism will not disappear just because there is a change in government. PSM had also previously supported the Social Inclusion Acts promoted by SABM (Saya Anak Bangsa Malaysia) Thank You Dr.Jeyakumar Devaraj
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| How to vote: Guide for first-time voters Posted: 29 Jan 2013 11:56 AM PST
(fz.com) - AS ELECTION day looms closer, it is essential that anyone who has reached the voting age (yes, only those who have officially reached their 21st birthday and who have registered as voters) know the responsibilities that they will be shouldering come the 13th general election. Recent developments and changes rocking the country have also impacted the voting process, with several amendments being introduced by the Election Commission (EC) at the behest of pressure groups such as the Coalition for Clean and Fair Elections (Bersih), as well as following recommendations from the Parliamentary Select Committee on Electoral Reform.These measures include expanding overseas voting beyond civil servants and full time students to those residing overseas (with the exception of several countries), as well as the introduction of the use of indelible ink. There have also been significant changes to the area of postal voting. For the first time, 12 categories of workers under the media industry – including journalists, photographers, editors, graphic designers and other related personnel – are allowed to apply to vote through post. With the many amendments and changes, the process in general can come off as intimidating; hence, the FZ team has put together a step by step chart, detailing the different categories and procedures one would need to take, from the registration process all the way to election day!
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| Game of ‘Sabotage 24/7′ in Selangor Posted: 29 Jan 2013 11:52 AM PST
The ruling Barisan Nasional has increased dubious voters by the thousands in 13 parliamentary seats in Selangor. Selena Tay, FMT
In a slick and covert mission, some smooth operators have managed to shoot up the numbers of the Selangor electoral roll by adding as many dubious voters as possible in order to subvert the vote of genuine Selangorians. Appended below is the information on the increase of dubious voters in these Pakatan Rakyat-held parliamentary seats. The information is obtained from PAS' Harakah daily dated Jan 25 to 27, 2013: 1. Kuala Selangor 10,083 (PAS MP Dzulkefly Ahmad) 2. Selayang 16,189 (PKR MP William Leong) 3. Gombak 15,467 (PKR MP Azmin Ali) 4. Hulu Langat 23,334 (PAS MP Che Rosli Che Mat) 5. Serdang 23,748 (DAP MP Teo Nie Ching) 6. Puchong 19,772 (DAP MP Gobind Singh Deo) 7. Kelana Jaya 13,714 (PKR MP Loh Gwo Burne) 8. Subang 27,765 (PKR MP R Sivarasa) 9. Shah Alam 15,417 (PAS MP Khalid Samad) 10.Kapar 21,606 (PKR MP S Manikavasagam) 11.Klang 11,702 (DAP MP Charles Santiago) 12.Kota Raja 22,256 (PAS MP Siti Mariah Mahmud) 13.Kuala Langat 17,172 (PKR MP Abdullah Sani) This underhand operation to negate the vote of genuine Malaysian citizens reveals the desperation of those who want to win at all costs so much so that they are willing to sell out the nation's rights. In the process, they do not give two hoots about altering the nation's demographics or jeopardising the lives and livelihood of ordinary citizens. The situation will be difficult for us citizens if we do not do something about these dubious voters (most of whom are foreigners with MyKad) and if we do not take pro-active action on polling day. Pakatan leaders have already made countless police reports and filed countless complaints with the Election Commission (EC) but to no avail. The relevant authorities are just not concerned and have turned a blind eye to these reports and complaints. Other problems as well Besides the electoral roll problem, the water problem in Selangor is also an attempt to strike at Pakatan by victimising Selangorians. "If the water pumps are spoilt, then just get them repaired. What has it got to do with the building of the Langat 2 dam? BN is talking nonsense by linking the water pumps problem with the dam," said PAS Pokok Sena MP, Mahfuz Omar. Even the collection of rubbish in Selangor has been sabotaged. It is the game of "Sabotage 24/7" to halt the smooth running of the Pakatan Selangor government's administration. Therefore from the Selangor situation we can see BN's game in attacking Pakatan and the citizens as a whole. Read more at: http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/opinion/2013/01/30/game-of-sabotage-247-in-selangor/ |
| Posted: 29 Jan 2013 11:45 AM PST
(NST) - NO ORDERS GIVEN: Those who issued ICs to foreigners in Sabah did it for money, RCI told KOTA KINABALU: THOSE behind the issuance of Malaysian identity documents to foreigners in Sabah were doing it solely for the money and not under instructions from anyone, the Royal Commission of Inquiry was told yesterday. Several former state National Registration Department (NRD) admitted to selling the documents on their own accord and not under orders from any quarter. Sarawak Special Branch head Datuk Ibrahim Zakaria, who took the stand as the 33rd witness, testified that in 1996, he had been tasked to interview former Internal Security Act (ISA) detainee Datuk Abdul Rauf Sani, who had served as Sabah NRD director from 1990 to 1992. "He (Rauf) had admitted to issuing 6,305 identity cards to foreigners and had collected RM167,300 from it. He also admitted to doing so for personal profit and on his own will without instructions from any quarter." Ibrahim, who was then with Bukit Aman Special Branch, added that Rauf was detained under the ISA for illegally issuing identity cards. Rauf had told the inquiry that blue identity cards were issued to increase the number of Muslim voters in Sabah. He had said the immigrants issued with identity cards were taught how to vote in elections, or risked having their documents withdrawn. Intelligence Technical Unit staff officer of the Kelantan police headquarters, Deputy Superintendent Badaruddin Ismail, told the panel that another ex-Sabah NRD director, Ramli Kamaruddin, had admitted to giving 16,000 receipts known as JPN 1/9 (temporary identity documents) and JPN 1/11 (temporary documents to indicate the holder of an identity document that was reported lost) to foreigners. Badaruddin told the the panel that during his interview with the former ISA detainee, Ramli had charged RM250 for each receipt and had received more than RM1 million from it. Ramli had also said that he did not receive any instruction from anyone, including government leaders, to issue the temporary identity documents to foreigners from 1993 to 1995. Badaruddin told the inquiry that Ramli had distributed the money among subordinates involved in the scam and had used it for his own use. The money was also used to sponsor a sports event in Penang for state NRD employees. Ramli, however, had told the RCI that then deputy home minister, the late Tan Sri Megat Junid Megat Ayub, had ordered him to issue NRD receipts, which matched the names and IC numbers of registered voters, to immigrants. Ramli had claimed that some 200 NRD receipts had been issued in five or six state constituencies before the 1994 state election. The 1994 state election saw Parti Bersatu Sabah winning 25 out of 48 state assembly seats. Ibrahim and Badaruddin were among nine witnesses called to testify. The inquiry resumes today.
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| Sugumar's family will not participate in sham inquest - New evidence proves it was murder Posted: 29 Jan 2013 11:39 AM PST
The testimony given to the police was shocking, and confirms the family's position that Sugumar was killed by police personnel. The witnesses said that a police officer was seen stepping brutally on Sugumar's neck with his booted foot while Sugumar was seen trying to move his head away from under the boot. The police officer continued pressing on Sugumar's neck until he stopped struggling and became motionless. Lawyers for the family of C.Sugumar We refer to the statements on 29/1/13 by Selangor CPO Tun Hisan Tun Majid rejecting a murder investigation into C.Sugumar's death and the A-G's consent to an inquest. The calling of an inquest despite eyewitness evidence suggesting assault and murder is illogical, sinister and unlawful. We state here categorically, that the family of C Sugumar will not participate in this sham inquest. The rejection of a murder investigation and calling of inquest is part of a massive cover-up of Sugumar's death being orchestrated by the police, Home Ministry, A-G and government. On the evening of 29/1/13, three key eyewitnesses who witnessed the assault and murder of Sugumar by police personnel gave their statements to the police. It should be noted that police made no attempt to locate these witnesses despite knowing of their existence. The witnesses came forward entirely of their own accord. The testimony given to the police was shocking, and confirms the family's position that Sugumar was killed by police personnel. The witnesses said that a police officer was seen stepping brutally on Sugumar's neck with his booted foot while Sugumar was seen trying to move his head away from under the boot. The police officer continued pressing on Sugumar's neck until he stopped struggling and became motionless. This evidence was recorded by police yesterday in the presence of lawyers Eric Paulsen and Latheefa Koya. In the light of the above clear evidence, how can the police and A-G justify the holding of a mere inquest? We demand on behalf of Sugumar's family that a murder investigation be opened immediately. The family of Sugumar and the people of this country expect the police and A-G to act fairly and professionally and ensure that justice is done in this case.
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| Johor Sultan raps those who claim cops cannot be trusted Posted: 29 Jan 2013 11:37 AM PST
(The Star) - The Sultan of Johor has lashed out at critics of the police force, labelling them traitors to the country. Sultan Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar said there were irresponsible people questioning police actions to portray it as a force that could no longer be trusted. The Ruler said such accusations were "too much" and only guilty criminals would try to twist facts to escape from being punished. "What is worse is when some of these criminals flee abroad and then make accusations to tarnish their own country. If their allegations are true, prove it and stop being cowards," he said in his royal address when opening the new Kulaijaya district police headquarters, about 30km from here, yesterday. Defending the police force against baseless accusations and allegations, the Ruler said Malaysia, being a sovereign nation, had its laws and all actions taken by any authority, including the police, would be in accordance with these laws. "As such, I hope no quarters will try to question and accuse the police as being one sided," he said. He also commended the Johor police and the government in their efforts to maintain security in the state. Sultan Ibrahim said that the community and the media chose to play up the weaknesses and shortcomings of the force while police successes were merely deemed as "responsibilities". However, he advised the force to continue acting "in a proper manner" and to carry out their duties without fear or favour. He reminded that in a rapidly developing state like Johor, especially with the Iskandar Malaysia project, security should be always be maintained and not turned into an issue that could ruin the state's economic development. "Security is important to an investor who intends to open a business in any country," the Sultan said. He also urged the police to enforce law and order and effectively combat crime. |
| PM announces election for September 14 Posted: 29 Jan 2013 11:33 AM PST
(Sydney Morning Herald) - Prime Minister Julia Gillard has announced the federal election date as September 14 this year. In a surprise move, Ms Gillard broke with tradition to set the election date months before the polling date - effectively setting the country up for a campaign season lasting more than seven months. "Time is not for wasting. So decisions have to be made about how we use our time this year," Ms Gillard said in a speech to the National Press Club in Canberra. It comes as Opposition Leader Tony Abbott launched a mini-campaign, ahead of the first week of parliament this week. This is well before the latest possible election date for the House of Representatives of November 30, 2013. The writs for the election will be issued on August 12, setting up a short parliamentary year until the election. This will see the House of Representatives dissolved and half the Senate up for re-election. Read more at: http://m.smh.com.au/opinion/political-news/pm-announces-election-for-september-14-20130130-2dk4u.html |
| Jakim, NGO lancar kempen ‘Jerat Valentine’s Day’ Posted: 29 Jan 2013 11:30 AM PST
(Bernama) - Jabatan Kemajuan Islam Malaysia (Jakim) akan turun padang bersama kira-kira 250 sukarelawan dari pelbagai pertubuhan bukan kerajaan (NGO), bagi menjayakan Kempen Jerat Valentine Day di sekitar Kuala Lumpur City Centre (KLCC), Bukit Bintang dan Masjid India, Sabtu ini. Ketua Pengarahnya, Datuk Othman Mustapha berkata, program itu bertujuan mendedahkan sukarelawan kepada aktiviti bersemuka dengan masyarakat dalam membina kesedaran bagi membanteras gejala sosial. Menurutnya, cara ini dapat membina keyakinan, keberanian, daya bertindak serta kesepaduan gerak kerja kalangan sukarelawan, membanteras gejala sosial di samping membina kemahiran berkomunikasi dan interaksi mereka dengan kumpulan sasar. Dalam satu kenyataan di sini hari ini, beliau berkata, muzakarah Jawatankuasa Fatwa Majlis Kebangsaan Bagi Hal Ehwal Agama Islam pada 2005 memutuskan bahawa roh perayaan Valentine's Day dan amalannya yang bercampur dengan perbuatan maksiat adalah bercanggah dan dilarang oleh Islam. Katanya, menjelang hari yang disebut Velentine's Day pastinya gejala maksiat dan zina menjadi-jadi terutama di kalangan remaja dan belia sekitar pusat bandar raya.
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| Posted: 29 Jan 2013 11:26 AM PST
(The Economist) - Many blame Islam's supposed innate hostility to science. Some universities seem keener on prayer than study. Quaid-i-Azam University in Islamabad, for example, has three mosques on campus, with a fourth planned, but no bookshop. Rote learning rather than critical thinking is the hallmark of higher education in many countries.
After centuries of stagnation science is making a comeback in the Islamic world THE sleep has been long and deep. In 2005 Harvard University produced more scientific papers than 17 Arabic-speaking countries combined. The world's 1.6 billion Muslims have produced only two Nobel laureates in chemistry and physics. Both moved to the West: the only living one, the chemist Ahmed Hassan Zewail, is at the California Institute of Technology. By contrast Jews, outnumbered 100 to one by Muslims, have won 79. The 57 countries in the Organisation of the Islamic Conference spend a puny 0.81% of GDP on research and development, about a third of the world average. America, which has the world's biggest science budget, spends 2.9%; Israel lavishes 4.4%. Many blame Islam's supposed innate hostility to science. Some universities seem keener on prayer than study. Quaid-i-Azam University in Islamabad, for example, has three mosques on campus, with a fourth planned, but no bookshop. Rote learning rather than critical thinking is the hallmark of higher education in many countries. The Saudi government supports books for Islamic schools such as "The Unchallengeable Miracles of the Qur'an: The Facts That Can't Be Denied By Science" suggesting an inherent conflict between belief and reason. Many universities are timid about courses that touch even tangentially on politics or look at religion from a non-devotional standpoint. Pervez Hoodbhoy, a renowned Pakistani nuclear scientist, introduced a course on science and world affairs, including Islam's relationship with science, at the Lahore University of Management Sciences, one of the country's most progressive universities. Students were keen, but Mr Hoodbhoy's contract was not renewed when it ran out in December; for no proper reason, he says. (The university insists that the decision had nothing to do with the course content.) But look more closely and two things are clear. A Muslim scientific awakening is under way. And the roots of scientific backwardness lie not with religious leaders, but with secular rulers, who are as stingy with cash as they are lavish with controls over independent thought. The long view The caricature of Islam's endemic backwardness is easily dispelled. Between the eighth and the 13th centuries, while Europe stumbled through the dark ages, science thrived in Muslim lands. The Abbasid caliphs showered money on learning. The 11th century "Canon of Medicine" by Avicenna (pictured, with modern equipment he would have relished) was a standard medical text in Europe for hundreds of years. In the ninth century Muhammad al-Khwarizmi laid down the principles of algebra, a word derived from the name of his book, "Kitab al-Jabr". Al-Hasan Ibn al-Haytham transformed the study of light and optics. Abu Raihan al-Biruni, a Persian, calculated the earth's circumference to within 1%. And Muslim scholars did much to preserve the intellectual heritage of ancient Greece; centuries later it helped spark Europe's scientific revolution. Not only were science and Islam compatible, but religion could even spur scientific innovation. Accurately calculating the beginning of Ramadan (determined by the sighting of the new moon) motivated astronomers. The Hadith (the sayings of Muhammad) exhort believers to seek knowledge, "even as far as China". These scholars' achievements are increasingly celebrated. Tens of thousands flocked to "1001 Inventions", a touring exhibition about the golden age of Islamic science, in the Qatari capital, Doha, in the autumn. More importantly, however, rulers are realising the economic value of scientific research and have started to splurge accordingly. Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, which opened in 2009, has a $20 billion endowment that even rich American universities would envy. Foreigners are already on their way there. Jean Fréchet, who heads research, is a French chemist tipped to win a Nobel prize. The Saudi newcomer boasts research collaborations with the universities of Oxford and Cambridge, and with Imperial College, London. The rulers of neighbouring Qatar are bumping up research spending from 0.8% to a planned 2.8% of GDP: depending on growth, that could reach $5 billion a year. Research spending in Turkey increased by over 10% each year between 2005 and 2010, by which year its cash outlays were twice Norway's. The tide of money is bearing a fleet of results. In the 2000 to 2009 period Turkey's output of scientific papers rose from barely 5,000 to 22,000; with less cash, Iran's went up 1,300, to nearly 15,000. Quantity does not imply quality, but the papers are getting better, too. Scientific journals, and not just the few based in the Islamic world, are citing these papers more frequently. A study in 2011 by Thomson Reuters, an information firm, shows that in the early 1990s other publishers cited scientific papers from Egypt, Iran, Jordan, Saudi Arabia and Turkey (the most prolific Muslim countries) four times less often than the global average. By 2009 it was only half as often. In the category of best-regarded mathematics papers, Iran now performs well above average, with 1.7% of its papers among the most-cited 1%, with Egypt and Saudi Arabia also doing well. Turkey scores highly on engineering. Science and technology-related subjects, with their clear practical benefits, do best. Engineering dominates, with agricultural sciences not far behind. Medicine and chemistry are also popular. Value for money matters. Fazeel Mehmood Khan, who recently returned to Pakistan after doing a PhD in Germany on astrophysics and now works at the Government College University in Lahore, was told by his university's vice-chancellor to stop chasing wild ideas (black holes, in his case) and do something useful. Science is even crossing the region's deepest divide. In 2000 SESAME, an international physics laboratory with the Middle East's first particle accelerator, was set up in Jordan. It is modelled on CERN, Europe's particle-physics laboratory, which was created to bring together scientists from wartime foes. At SESAME Israeli boffins work with colleagues from places such as Iran and the Palestinian territories. By the book Science of the kind practised at SESAME throws up few challenges to Muslim doctrine (and in many cases is so abstruse that religious censors would struggle to understand it). But biology—especially with an evolutionary angle—is different. Many Muslims are troubled by the notion that humans share a common ancestor with apes. Research published in 2008 by Salman Hameed of Hampshire College in Massachusetts, a Pakistani astronomer who now studies Muslim attitudes to science, found that fewer than 20% in Indonesia, Malaysia or Pakistan believed in Darwin's theories. In Egypt it was just 8%. Yasir Qadhi, an American chemical engineer turned cleric (who has studied in both the United States and Saudi Arabia), wrestled with this issue at a London conference on Islam and evolution this month. He had no objection to applying evolutionary theory to other lifeforms. But he insisted that Adam and Eve did not have parents and did not evolve from other species. Any alternative argument is "scripturally indefensible," he said. Some, especially in the diaspora, conflate human evolution with atheism: rejecting it becomes a defining part of being a Muslim. (Some Christians take a similar approach to the Bible.) Though such disbelief may be couched in religious terms, culture and politics play a bigger role, says Mr Hameed. Poor school education in many countries leaves minds open to misapprehension. A growing Islamic creationist movement is at work too. A controversial Turkish preacher who goes by the name of Harun Yahya is in the forefront. His website spews pamphlets and books decrying Darwin. Unlike his American counterparts, however, he concedes that the universe is billions of years old (not 6,000 years). But the barrier is not insuperable. Plenty of Muslim biologists have managed to reconcile their faith and their work. Fatimah Jackson, a biological anthropologist who converted to Islam, quotes Theodosius Dobzhansky, one of the founders of genetics, saying that "nothing in biology makes sense except in the light of evolution". Science describes how things change; Islam, in a larger sense, explains why, she says. |
| My Jihad Ad Campaign Launches In Washington, D.C. (PHOTOS) Posted: 29 Jan 2013 11:23 AM PST WASHINGTON –- Ready to see more ads about jihad during your morning commute? "This campaign is about representing our voices, our lives -- our reality," theorganization's website reads. "The purpose of the campaign is to bring forth the mainstream majority of moderate voices that is often squeezed out between two extremes. The simple, yet much ignored fact is that Jihad is a positive, peaceful, and constructive practice." Huffington Post
Just months after controversial anti-Muslim ads went on display, the nation's capital will feature a campaign meant to redefine, in positive ways, the popular understanding of jihad. Four Metro stations -- Shaw-Howard U, Waterfront, Rockville and Dunn Loring-Merrifield -- will host the Council on American-Islamic Relations' My Jihad campaign, a project intended to educate residents on the proper meaning of a term largely understood to have negative and violent connotations. "Jihad is a central tenet of the Islamic creed which means struggling uphill in order to get to a better place," a media release about the campaign explained. "This campaign is about representing our voices, our lives -- our reality," theorganization's website reads. "The purpose of the campaign is to bring forth the mainstream majority of moderate voices that is often squeezed out between two extremes. The simple, yet much ignored fact is that Jihad is a positive, peaceful, and constructive practice." The earlier Metro ads, paid for by the American Freedom Defense Initiative, painted jihad in a different light. "In any war between the civilized man and the savage, support the civilized man. Support Israel. Defeat Jihad," that campaign read. "We're troubled by how the word 'jihad' has been hijacked by people who…have made careers out of pushing anti-Muslim sentiment," Zhara Billoo, executive director of CAIR's Bay Area chapter, told The Huffington Post earlier this month. "For too long people outside the Muslim community have been telling us what our religion really teaches." Using the Twitter hashtag #MyJihad, the organization encourages people to share their struggles -- or rather, their jihads -- online (as one Twitter user wrote, "#myjihad is to greet everyone I meet, even random strangers, with a smile"). Read more at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/01/29/my-jihad-dc_n_2576098.html?ncid=edlinkusaolp00000003
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| Hot : Astro PRIMA dikecam kerana SAHARA Posted: 29 Jan 2013 11:19 AM PST
Tolong jangan anggap Islamik itu hanya semata-mata berkaitan aurat jek oke. Ia lebih luas. Punyala bersepah ustaz dan ustazah di Malaysia, cuba la kalau buat drama tue minta nasihat dan tunjuk ajar sikit dari ustaz-ustaz kita. SozCyili Hentikan drama SAHARA.
 Kami mengecam ASTRO PRIMA kerana menayangkan drama SAHARA yang secara terang-terangan mengeksploitasikan muslimah yang berniqab. Read more at: http://sozcyili.blogspot.com/2013/01/hot-astro-prima-dikecam-kerana-sahara.html
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| Posted: 28 Jan 2013 05:28 PM PST The former law minister who was banking on contesting in 'any urban seat' provided he had Pakatan's support will be focusing on business instead. Anisah Shukry, FMT Former minister and ex-Kita chief Zaid Ibrahim has quit politics and entered the corporate sector in a bid to "try something else". "Yes, I am quitting politics to concentrate on business. But I will continue to write, I will continue to give ideas and suggestions on politics," Zaid told FMT today. It was only last November that the lawyer-turned-politician had told reporters he would contest in any urban seat in the 13th general election, provided he had opposition coalition Pakatan Rakyat's backing. But when asked today whether he would continue to support Pakatan or turn to Barisan Nasional instead, he replied: "I will support whoever does right for the country. "If you do the right thing, I will support, no matter which side you are from." Zaid's abrupt departure from politics comes in the wake of his S$6.9 million (RM17.15 million) purchase of 350 million shares from Singapore-based Ipco International. The Straits Times reported today that Zaid's purchase will give him a 7% stake in Ipco, which has a diversified portfolio of investments. Ipco had said that Zaid "is well-connected in Malaysia and in the region and the company can leverage his extensive connections… and knowledge in the oil and gas industry in order to grow its own oil and gas business" the Straits Times reported. Commenting on this, Zaid said: "[The investment is] just a start, to see how things are. I am trying something else besides politics, so we'll see how far it goes."
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| HINDRAF might join forces with BN – S. Thiagarajan Posted: 28 Jan 2013 04:26 PM PST
(The Kuala Lumpur Post) - HINDRAF, the Hindu Rights Action Force, will not be celebrating the government's decision to lift its four-year ban on it yet because it still wants its 18 demands fulfilled. Hindraf youth chief S. Thiagarajan said yesterday the group did not discount the possibility of working with the Barisan Nasional on issues related to the Indian community if the conditions were favourable. "It is a good start to the year. However, we don't want to celebrate yet because we still want our 18 demands fulfilled by the government," he said. He said Hindraf's stand was if any government, either BN or PR, fulfilled these conditions, then it would work closely with the government. "At the moment, no one from either side have approached us," he said. Thiagarajan said Hindraf leader P. Waythamoorthy would issue an official statement once he returned from abroad. Among the key demands are equal rights and opportunities for all Malaysians and scrap-ping the special privileges and positions of the Malays, which is enshrined in the Federal Constitution. Other bodies related to the Indian community and political leaders felt the ban lift by the Home Ministry was a good sign from government as it gave them a chance to air their views on issues affecting them. Malaysian Indian Progressive Society (MIPAS) president P. Raja Retinam said it was a good decision. "It shows the government has realised and also a signal it is willing to listen to Hindraf's 18 demands and other demands from similar NGOs." He said Hindraf, as the Indian's movement or struggle, would play its role for the community in the coming general election. "During the 2008 poll, 85 per cent from the Indian community voted for PR compared to 2004 when 90 per cent voted for BN. Raja said MIC's problem was they never met with Indian NGOs, they labeled as opposition, like MIPAS, over the community's problems. "They must change their modus operandi as BN may win the next general election but MIC may lose." On Makkal Sakti, he said it did not have the strength to list winnable candidates. "This NGO is now divided into three (PR, BN and Independent representatives). Hindraf is not one entity anymore. "MIC deputy president Datuk S. Subramaniam said the move reflected the government as being more liberal and tolerant. "However, the political stand of Hindraf is not clear. Compared to 2008, Hindraf's influence on the election will be lesser." On Hindraf's demands, he said many issues pertaining to the Indian community were already handled by the government. MIC Senator Datuk Daljit Singh Dhaliwal said the ban lift was good news for Hindraf. "Now, they have the opportunity to work together with the government, but it should be based on guidelines and regulations. "Perhaps, they can work closely with MIC and BN like other NGOs, such as the Indian Progressive Society (IPS), to strengthen Indian unity and work together for MIC's nine parliamentary seats in the next general election." He said when Hindraf held the 2007 rally, they changed scenario for the community by voicing out on jobs and education, among others. "Meanwhile, MIC had started working with the community and most had already supported BN." PPP Youth chief Harridz Mohan said the ban lift would give Hindraf freedom to air their views more appropriately. "We should not ban any organisation in the country. It is like taking away their constitutional rights.' He said the move had nothing to do with the coming general election or gaining support from Indians as the majority of people were back to support the BN. "It also gives more headroom for Indians to play their role in society.Harridz said the two new political parties born out of the Hindraf movement, the Makkal Sakti and Human Rights Party Malaysia, were supporting the ruling coalition. "Despite differences and different political paths, Indians are more united and focused on bringing in the right government, and that is for sure, the BN." He said it was vital for the community to put themselves on one platform to show unity instead in a fragmented manner.
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| 8 Realities Why the Malaysian Government should fund Higher Education Posted: 28 Jan 2013 04:22 PM PST
Investing in education may cost the society tax Ringgits, but the consequences in failing to do so will be devastating. Anas Alam Faizli Education was institutionalized to formalize the process of knowledge acquisition and research in man's quest for understanding. Earliest universities in the history of mankind namely Al-Azhar, Bologna, Oxford, Palencia, Cambridge and University of Naples (world's first public university, 1224) have one thing in common; they were built by notable early world civilizations as institutions of research, discourse, learning, proliferation of knowledge and documentation. This contrasts largely from the role of universities today as institutions of human capital accreditation, qualification, and most unfortunately, business and profits. Ibnu Khaldun, father of historiography, sociology and economics, in his work Prolegomenon (Muqaddimah) argued that the government would only gain strength and sovereignty through its citizens. This strength can only be sustained by wealth, which can only be acquired through human capital development (education), which in turn can only be achieved by justice and inclusiveness for all. Aristotle too proposed "Education should be one and the same for all." A system that discriminates, in our case, based on household economic ability, can and will rile an unhealthy imbalance in the quality of the resulting labour force and society. These form the basis of our argument here. In America, the individual funds his higher education while many European countries have public-funded institutions of higher learning. The latter is the best for Malaysia. Our societal and economic progression (or digression) does not depend on any one factor, but on the interaction of economic, social and political factors over a long period of time. Let's first look at some realities that we need to contend with to understand why the Malaysian government should fund higher education. Reality #1: Society benefits from education We can never truly measure the immense positive externalities derived from an educated society. Outcomes of university education and research continuously found the progress of mankind. In developing Malaysia, higher education is an impetus for establishing a civic-minded society, highly skilled manpower and competitive value proposition for capital and production. Investing in education may cost the society tax Ringgits, but the consequences in failing to do so will be devastating. Walter W. McMahon (economist at University of Illinois) outlined the "private non-market benefits" for degree-holders. These include better personal health and improved cognitive development in their children. Alongside is the "social non-market benefits", such as lower spending on prisons and greater political stability. Reality #2: "Neither here nor there" Malaysia is neither here nor there, and education opportunity is a major contributing factor. Robert Reich, former U.S. secretary of labour and professor at UC Berkeley, made a compelling argument that is very applicable to Malaysia. To attract jobs and capital, nations and states face two choices; one is to build a low-tax but low-wage "warehouse economy" competing on price, another is to compete on quality, by increasing taxes and regulation to invest in human capital for a highly productive workforce. In Malaysia, wage growth caught up with productivity growth only up until the late 1990's. Since 1996, we have been living in the "middle income trap", stunted at the World Bank's definition of upper middle income; neither high nor low income. In fact, for the past 10 years real wage growth has been negative. Having 77% of the Malaysian workforce with only SPM and below qualification is a structural barrier to us crossing over to the higher income group. The labour force is largely unskilled and unable to move their labour services up the value chain where higher salaries are paid. Reality #3: Education is fundamental to a competitive value proposition Another case for education is competitiveness for both FDI and outputs. On the FDI side, our factors of production, in this case labour, needs to be attractive enough. With a labour force that is neither highly skilled nor cheap, our value propositions dwarf next to the likes of Vietnam and Singapore. As a result, technology and automation service the lower-value processes replacing need for labour, while R&D and origination have not caught up due to lack of expertise. Malaysia has been the only country in the region facing net outflow in FDI since 2007. On the output side, our goal to move away from producing lower-value manufacturing and primary goods, into the higher-value services sector too have been held back by limited talent and capabilities. Lack of advanced education is one major factor causing this lack of competitiveness. Reality #4: Efficiency driven economy versus Innovation driven economy A study released by the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) categorizes Malaysia as an efficiency-driven economy, behind innovation-driven economies. We focus on improving existing processes, but we are not out there inventing new things where the big money is. Focusing on the latter is extremely important now more than ever for Malaysia, because we can no longer offer very cheap labour, land and factories to produce mass generic products competitively. The number of researchers in Malaysia for each 1 million population is only 365 behind Japan's 5,416 and South Korea's 4,231. We are in dire need for more trained professionals and innovators, and we could have harvested them from talents that did not pursue tertiary education due to the lack of opportunities. Reality #5: Education is an investment… Like parents investing in their children's future, the state must invest in the population for the future of the nation. An educated society is able to position themselves into higher standards of living characterized by higher income, production of high value goods and services, longer life expectancy, subscription to civic and moral values, political stability, existence of civil liberties and openness to change and development. While highly developed nations like Denmark and the Netherlands invest 11.2% and 10.8% (respectively) of GDP in education, we invested only 4.8% last year (majority on infrastructure and emoluments!). To make matters worse, the education budget education is slashed from RM50 billion to RM37 billion this year! To get an idea of how counter-intuitive this is for a developing Malaysia, even Afghanistan (7.4%), Vietnam (7.2%) and Timor Leste (12.3%) spent more. Currently, about 80% of the bottom 40% income households are only-SPM qualified and below, while only 5% received higher education. The rest never made it to school at all. The reason is crystal clear; it is education that can lift households into higher income thus significantly reducing poverty and its consequences. If this group were to receive higher education, it is the state that ultimately benefits as social capital is returned from the household to the state in increased production and tax income. Social justice is served; while nobody is left discriminated or neglected from being given an opportunity to develop his or her own merits. Reality #6: … with a Positive Net Return-on-Investment (ROI) Entertain this simple simulation: Consider a fresh graduate entering the workforce with a salary of RM2,500, working for 30 years with a modest increment of 5% a year. Upon retiring at the age of 55 years, he would have paid back at least RM290,000 to the government only in income taxes. Even after discounting, payback in taxes is significantly beyond the investment cost providing education. Reality #7: Education correlates with wealth and income Tertiary-educated individuals have an average of RM182,000 in wealth to their name, while SPM holders have only an average RM82,000 in net worth. Degree holders have at least 2.2 times the wealth of SPM leavers. But the tertiary education penetration rate for Malaysia stands at only 36.5%. This is only measured at point of enrolment (not completion)! Not only we are significantly behind "very high human development" nations' average of 75%, we are also behind "high human development" nations' average of 50%. In contrast, 86% of Americans, 84% of Kiwis, 100% of Koreans, 99% of the British, 45% of Thais, and 38.4% of Turks are university-trained. As a result, the bulk of our workforce is unable to position themselves in higher-earning jobs. The bulk of our jobs involve the lower portions of the industry value chains. How are we then to move our economy into higher GNI territory, and inclusively move the majority of our population into higher income brackets? Current practice of relying on one-off mega construction projects will not ensure Malaysia move into high-income status, and stay there for the long run! Reality #8: Education will reduce income inequality Malaysia ranks as the third most unequal nation in Asia, based on a GINI coefficient of 0.4621 (World Bank). Using only GINI, a simple measure of dispersion between the richest and poorest in an economy, we can already see that there are structural problems with the kind of growth that we have been enjoying. A household that earns RM10,000 monthly and above is already considered the top 4% Malaysian households! 60% of the highest earning income households have at least one member that received tertiary-level education. But 60% of the lowest-earning households have only SPM-holders as their most qualified household member. Not coincidentally, only the top 20% income households in Malaysia have experienced substantial income growth. For the remaining 80% it has been moderate. The gap between the rich and poor has been consistently growing from year 1970 until today. Only non-discriminatory access to education for the bottom 40% will arrest the growth of this gap. America perceives that the benefits of tertiary-level education are enjoyed most by the individual himself, thus the individual funds his higher education. The Scandinavians believe that the government should pay for higher education. On one hand, we see a privately funded education system in America, and growing inequality between the relatively richer and poorer households. There is at least $902 billion (NY Federal Reserve) in total outstanding student loan debt in the United States today. In contrast, government-funded higher education Scandinavia ranks as most equal nations in the world. The apparent causal-effect relationship here is hard to dispel. We expect free access to education to allow inter-generational mobility and narrow this inequality gap. If we let economic disability become a prohibitive factor for education, relatively poorer households will never be lifted out of the low-income bracket. One graduate for every Malaysian family We need an education system that is inclusive, does not neglect academically-struggling yet vocationally-advantaged pupils, matches industry requirements, yet streams students into disciplines where they will excel most. Most importantly, the system must not allow students to find themselves at the point of entering the industry, handicapped with a student loan on their shoulders, only to realize that they are not employable. Malaysia has progressed in many aspects by making primary and secondary education free. 100% of Malaysians finish at least primary 6 and 68% finish form 5. The current socio and economic condition in Malaysia now calls to make finishing form 5 legally compulsory and providing free and accessible tertiary education for all. I humbly urge the government, non-governmental bodies, policy-makers, and lobby groups to move towards providing free tuition fees for higher education at all our public universities. Where public universities are unable to cater for surplus of qualified students, it is suggested that the same equivalent amount of tuition fee funding is to be provided for private universities in a staggered manner, so as to ensure education accessibility by all. I also propose the target of one graduate in each of the 6.4 million Malaysian households to ensure inter-generational mobility; that is for at least one child of a self-subsistent fisherman or low-salaried factory worker to uplift the entire family into a higher income bracket. A graduate in each family will be the change-agent that ensures his generation improves the family; via a chain reaction multiplying effect, ultimately affecting the graduate's surroundings. Education is way too important for us to risk any mismanagement, oversight and underfunding. The generations that go through a robustly managed quality education system, or lack of them, will ultimately decide Malaysia's direction and the society that we will live in. Only then we can fundamentally assure that our true north for a high income Malaysia is sustainable, inclusive and is enjoyed by all layers of society - not just for the Top 1%. Let us reflect what Nelson Mandela said for a better Malaysia! "Education is the most powerful weapon you can use to change the world." *Anas Alam Faizli is an oil and gas professional. He is pursuing a post-graduate doctorate and is the executive director of Teach For The Needs (TFTN). ** Datas and figures are derived from EPU, DOSM, HIS 2009, HDR 2011, World databank and BNM. For details, please refer BLINDSPOT (http://www.facebook.com/blindspot.msia)
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| UndiMsia! “Aku Peduli Apa” videos go live! Posted: 28 Jan 2013 04:17 PM PST FM6XXi9HheA UndiMsia! "Aku Peduli Apa" videos go live and we want them to go viral! LoyarBurok Watch them here: Aku peduli sistem pendidikan – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FM6XXi9HheA Aku peduli isu perumahan – http://youtu.be/FM6XXi9HheA Help us tweet this at 11am, 3pm, and 9pm today (29 January 2013). - Use the hashtag #akupeduliapa - Mention @undimsia - Tweet about the stupid things politicians say or the issues you wish your politicians would care about - Include the following URL in your tweets: bit.ly/W81lEl (education) bit.ly/VbyDA9 (housing) Or if you are too lazy to come up with your own tweets, you can always RT the tweets with #akupeduliapa that appears in @undimsia @loyarburok or/and @pusatrakyatlb Read more at: http://www.loyarburok.com/2013/01/29/undimsiaakupeduliapa/
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| Son of Lynas CEO charged with insider trading Posted: 28 Jan 2013 04:13 PM PST
(The Malaysian Insider) - Oliver Curtis, the son of Lynas Corp's chief executive Nicholas Curtis (picture), has been charged in a Sydney court with insider trading, The Australian newspaper reported today. The 27-year-old investment banker was accused of conspiring with John Joseph Hartman, then a portfolio manager at Orion Asset Management, to "front run" share markets over a 13-month period, from May 2007 to June 208, by the use of contracts for difference (CFDs), the daily reported. CFDs are an arrangement made in a futures contract in which the differences in settlement are paid in cash instead of the delivery of physical goods or securities; and give investors all the gains and risks of owning a security without actually owning it. Curtis junior could be jailed up to five years and/or fined A$200,000 (RM640,000) if convicted under the Australian law, the paper reported. No plea was recorded as he was not required to do so. The paper also reported that the younger Curtis was alleged to have bought two BlackBerry smartphones for himself and Hartman, and to have financed trades. The case is set to be brought up for hearing on March 26, the paper reported, adding that Oliver was granted bail and would not have to attend the next court date. He was driven away in a black Range Rover with tinted windows after the case, the paper reported. He is also reported to headline Australia's society news pages. The married Oliver is also reported to have co-founded an investment bank, Riverstone Advisory, with his father, who is currently locked in an uphill public perception battle here over the RM2.5 billion rare earth Lynas Advanced Materials Plant (LAMP) which several grassroots groups in Malaysia and Australia claim pose a health and environmental danger.
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| Inilah sikap cybertrooper UMNO Posted: 28 Jan 2013 04:09 PM PST
Kebanyakan cybertrooper BN adalah tidak beretika dan kuat membuat fitnah. Mereka inginkan Malaysia ini tidak aman dan tertekan dengan isu agama dan perkauman. Anti-tipu Fakta tetap fakta, kebenaran tetap kebenaran, walaupun mengubah suaikan gambah dan melemparkan fitnah terhadap masyarakat Kristian tetap kena tanggung dosa di sisi Allah. u868mLIvuD0 Or watch at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u868mLIvuD0 Ini bukanlah perjuangan dan mempertahankan agama Islam, tetapi ini adalah kebiadapan dan sengaja mengaibkan masyarakat Malaysia yang berbilang agama dan bangsa. Perbuatan demikianlah menjadikan masyarakat pecah belai. Perbuatan inilah memalukan penganut agama Islam di Malaysia. Dalam internet, facebook, apa-apa media sekalipun, kegiatan ini patut dihina dan dicaci masyarakat Malaysia. Kunjungilah facebook yang bernama Ambo Pakoh BN. Anda tetap marah atas perbuatannya. http://www.facebook.com/pages/Ambo-Pakoh-BN/228666897183218?ref=ts&fref=ts
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| Only in Malaysia : Tayar Untuk Disewa Harian (Sehari RM300) Untuk Tujuan Pemeriksaan JPJ dan ... Posted: 28 Jan 2013 03:53 PM PST
Kos menyewa tayar untuk sehari ialah RM300. Selepas pemeriksaan dan diluluskan, tayar ini dipulangkan semula. ExPet Beberapa hari lepas, semasa sedang menunggu isteri yang sedang berurusan di dalam bank, saya mengunjungi booth jualan kereta Toyota yang dibuka di hadapan bank tersebut. Saya dijemput duduk oleh pegawai jualan. Untuk memujuk saya membeli kereta Toyota, pegawai jualan tersebut memberitahu saya, "Ini model Avanza fully-imported, CBU (completely built-up) dari Indonesia. Bukan macam model dulu yang dipasang di sini (Malaysia)". "Ini model Hilux pun fully imported, CBU dari Thailand", boss beliau pula menyampuk. Saya meminta maaf kepada pengendali kenderaan awam sekiranya pendedahan saya ini bakal menyusahkan hidup anda. Mengenali cara kementerian dan jabatan berfungi, saya menjangkakan satu undang-undang baru yang akan menyusahkan anda bakal diperkenalkan, iaitu anda dikehendaki menunjukkan resit sebagai bukti pembelian tayar lori atau bas anda. Setiap kali membeli tayar, anda mesti menyimpan resit ini untuk dibawa bersama dengan lori dan bas semasa pemeriksaan. Resit ini akan dicop supaya ia tidak boleh dipinjamkan kepada pemilik lori dan bas yang lain. Saya tidak menafikan rasuah, penyalahgunaan kuasa dan ketirisan dana boleh menjejaskan kualiti hidup rakyat, tetapi perkara terbesar yang merugikan rakyat ialah apabila kerajaan berlagak pandai dan mencampuri tangan di dalam kuasa pasaran (market forces) pada tempat yang salah. Sepatutnya kerajaan mencampuri tangan (interfere) di dalam kuasa pasaran untuk menyediakan jaringan keselamatan (safety net) kepada golongan tercicir dan tertinggal akibat kerakusan pasaran dan membenarkan rakyat menikmati faedah daripada persaingan di dalam pasaran. Jika kerajaan tidak menjolok tangannya ke dalam lubang pasaran ini, rakyat akan menukar tayar kereta, bas dan lori tanpa disuruh atau dipaksa oleh kerajaan. Ini kerana harga sebenar alat gantian kenderaan rendah dan semakin rendah akibat persaingan dan juga skala pengeluaran yang tinggi. |
| Response to statements by Tunku Aziz and Anthony Loke Posted: 28 Jan 2013 03:47 PM PST
Tunku Zain Al-'Abidin Tuanku Muhriz, The Malaysian Insider I will be writing about the statement by Tunku Abdul Aziz Tunku Ibrahim and the response by Anthony Loke Siew Fook more fully in my usual column on Friday, but for now, I emphasise the following: It is unfortunate that private discussions have been made public. Political parties should be able to freely engage any Malaysian citizen to discuss confidential proposals within the boundaries of the law. I am grateful to Datuk Saifuddin Abdullah, Deputy Minister of Higher Education, for his tweet: "klu x terima, kita senyap jer. Hormatilah privasinya. Mcm meminang x jadi, x perlu heboh." However, now that this has been brought to the public domain, I can confirm that the descriptions of the contents of my conversation with the DAP some months ago are broadly accurate. As it was an informal conversation, no minutes were taken. It should be noted that I have been invited to similar informal and private conversations with representatives of other political parties as well. As I have written in my articles over the past five years, I respect and admire principled and hardworking politicians regardless of the party they belong to. However, in my view, no political party today articulates the vision of our Ayahanda Kemerdekaan with sufficient conviction and consistency for me to consider joining them. It has been alleged that it is improper for a child of a Ruler to participate in party politics. However, five children of Rulers have already done so, namely: a) YTM Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra Al-Haj ibni Sultan Abdul Hamid Halim Shah of Kedah (MP for Kuala Muda 1955-1970 and Prime Minister 1957-1970; Umno and Semangat 46) b) YAM Tunku Panglima Besar Tunku Abdullah ibni Tuanku Abdul Rahman of Negri Sembilan (MP for Rawang 1964-1974; Umno) c) YAM Tengku Sri Paduka Raja Tengku Ibrahim ibni Sultan Ismail Nasiruddin Shah of Terengganu (ADUN for Ajil 1990-1995; Semangat 46 and PAS) d) YAM Tengku Dato' Sri Azlan ibni Sultan Abu Bakar of Pahang (MP for Jerantut 1999-present and Deputy Minister of Transport 1999-2008; Semangat 46 and Umno) e) YAM Dato' Seri DiRaja Syed Razlan Jamalullail ibni Syed Putra Jamalullail of Perlis (MP for Arau 2004-2008 and ADUN for Pauh 2008-present; Umno) Malaysian civil society space has grown significantly in the past few years, and I have long been active in that environment, since before my father was elected the eleventh Yang di-Pertuan Besar of Negri Sembilan. It is in this space that I wish to continue to contribute, particularly through the Institute for Democracy and Economic Affairs (IDEAS) and the various foundations in which I serve.
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| Posted: 28 Jan 2013 03:28 PM PST Perkasa has lighted a fire of religious intolerance which is burning slowly but will grow bigger if not doused. Free Malaysia Today Perkasa chief Ibrahim Ali wants to make a bonfire of the Malay version of the Bible that uses the word "Allah" and is written in Jawi. But a Bible is a Bible, whether it is in English or Malay or Jawi. It is still a sacred book and to throw it into the fire is an act of sacrilege. He is encouraging a course of action which is likely to lead to dire consequences. He has forgotten that Malaysia is a land shared by many races and faiths. Ibrahim has triggered widespread resentment in the Christian community for making such a provocative statement. Most of the worshippers using the Malay-language Bible are native Christians in Sarawak and Sabah. They also work and live in the Peninsula and continue to practise their faith. They have been using this Bible for ages without anyone trampling on their rights to religious freedom. The Bible is their faith and their church. But now come Ibrahim and his Bible-burning threat. Ibrahim's burning anger flows from two causes: he cited a report lodged by Persatuan Mukabuku Pulau Pinang alleging that two individuals had been giving away the Malay version of the Bible to Muslim pupils at the gate of a secondary school in Penang; and the Bible carried the word "Allah". These are two "sins" that Perkasa feels must be purged in the interest of the Muslim faithful. The Malay rights NGO has a point when it advances the argument that it is wrong to distribute Bibles to Muslims. Its secretary-general Syed Hasan Syed Ali points out that such attempts will only "confuse the Muslims into leaving Islam and converting to Christianity". The Federal Constitution expressly prohibits the "propagation of any religious doctrine or belief among Muslims". Based on the country's sacrosanct laws, the two individuals who distributed the Bibles should be charged and that would have ended the controversy. But the flame lighted by Ibrahim grew bigger when he urged Muslims to burn the Malay version of the Bible that contains the word "Allah". Granted that he told Muslims to burn these Bibles upon receiving them. He did not goad them to seize the holy book and torch it openly. But the firebrand had unleashed a reaction that threatens to destroy the delicate balance of religious tolerance and racial harmony. Extremely dangerous Ibrahim started the fireball rolling and now it has gone out of control. His "jihad" will be taken up by other rabid groups bent on "teaching" Christians a lesson. One group, the Pasukan Bertindak Anti Bible Bahasa Melayu (Anti-Malay-Bible Action Force), even wanted to throw the Bibles into the fire on a Sunday when Christians go to church. It is an extreme form of provocation which carries the seeds of a wider conflict. This group thinks Christians pray to many gods and not the one and true Allah. Therefore Christians are infidels. Such ignorance can lead to disaster.
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| Man Utd world’s first team to top US$3b in value Posted: 28 Jan 2013 03:26 PM PST (Reuters) - English Premier League soccer club Manchester United are the world's first professional sports team to be valued at more than US$3 billion, according to Forbes Magazine. A recent surge in the club's shares after a poor start when they were offered on the New York Stock Exchange last year has boosted Manchester United's value to US$3.3 billion, a report on Forbes's website said on Monday. The increase has United, English champions a record 19 times, comfortably ahead of the world's second-most valuable sports team, the National Football League's Dallas Cowboys, worth US$2.1 billion. Forbes put the surge in United shares down to brighter earnings prospects from new sponsorship deals and said the demand could continue given the team's potential for lucrative payouts in the EPL and Champions League. United, who claim to have 659 million followers worldwide, are owned by the American Glazer family who retained a tight grip on the club after the flotation on the New York Stock Exchange. United shares closed 41 cents lower at US$16.48 in New York yesterday.
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| Guan Eng pours scorn on ‘BN’ A-G Posted: 28 Jan 2013 03:19 PM PST The DAP leader takes a swipe at Abdul Gani Patail regarding his assurance on the Sabah RCI, saying that the public has no confidence in the latter. Priscilla Prasena, FMT In a scathing attack against Attorney-General Abdul Gani Patail, Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng said the public has no confidence in the former. He was responding to Gani's assurance that action will be taken where criminal elements are involved concerning the findings of the Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) on the issuance of identity cards to illegal immigrants in Sabah. Lim dismissed Gani's assurance as "meaningless" as the AG failed to act on Perkasa over the call to burn Malay bibles containing the word "Allah". "Gani has demonstrated an upsetting tendency of delaying or even not acting on cases which involve Barisan Nasional leaders, their cronies or anyone relevant to them. "Nothing exemplifies such prosecutorial cowardice and double-standard as his refusal to act against Perkasa for calling for bibles to be burnt with the ridiculous excuse that the bible has not been burnt and he will only act when the bible is actually burnt," he said in a press statement. However, the DAP secretary-general noted that Gani appeared to display "extreme prejudice and bravery" when taking action against Pakatan Rakyat leaders such as DAP's Karpal Singh for sedition. "Gani's promises that he will act if there are criminal offences sounds even more empty following the denial of the BN government as shown in the recent horrific death of security guard C Sugumaran last week while being handcuffed by the police. "Sugumaran's death followed a string of custodial death victims such as Chang Ching Te in Subang this year and the previous years of A Kugan as well as 16-year-old Aminulrasyid Amzah, who was shot dead by the police," said Lim. The chief minister accused the AG of being politically partisan to the point of blindly parroting the BN's line that the RCI is transparent and that it is a promise fulfilled. Lim said the time has come for Malaysians to remove a political attorney-general who serves no function except to serve his political masters. "Malaysians deserve a legal attorney-general who fulfills his or her statutory obligation to uphold the law without fear or favour in a professional and impartial manner. "There can be no justice for all when cronies and supporters of BN leaders enjoy legal immunity for breaking the law while law-abiding citizens are punished because they dare to dissent and oppose BN," he added.
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| Why quiet about Dr M’s confession? Posted: 28 Jan 2013 03:15 PM PST Tuarasn MP Wilfred Bumburing is wondering why the Sabah Umno deputy chief is silent on the former premier's admission regarding the IC issue. Joseph Bingkasan, FMT KOTA KINABALU: Pro-opposition Angkatan Perubahan Sabah (APS) has taken state Umno deputy chief Salleh Said Keruak to task for being quick to criticise the opposition but not former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad who admitted his role in the citizenship-for votes scandal that has since rocked the state. APS president Wilfred Bumburing said Mahathir openly confessed following shocking revelations during the ongoing Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) hearing but Salleh has chosen to ignore this and not challenged the former premier to testify and instead focused on Anwar Ibrahim. "By not doing so [challenging Mahathir] I dare to say he [Salleh] condones the great injury that Mahathir has done to the people of Sabah. "I also would like to ask Salleh what he had done during his tenure as the chief minister of Sabah to solve the illegal immigrant problem," he said. Following the disclosures by witnesses at the RCI's first stretch of hearings, Anwar came out and declared that he is ready to testify if invited to do so by the RCI. His willingness, meanwhile, has put pressure on Salleh and other former chief ministers including the present Chief Minister Musa Aman to testify before the RCI. "All of them are duty-bound to help solve the problem. Those who refuse to do so imply that they are in cahoots with Mahathir's misdeed," Bumburing added. Salleh has described those involved in the issuance of ICs to foreigners as traitors, saying that they deserved to be punished in accordance with the law of the country. He, however, denied that Umno was involved in the "Project IC" but added that any individual from Umno found to be involved must be punished. But Bumburing, a former Barisan Nasional man, has placed the blame squarely on Umno-led BN's shoulders. He said based on the RCI testimonies it is obvious now that the magnitude of the illegal immigrant problem in Sabah today is the result of a well-planned programme by the government under Mahathir. "The problem was raised by the people of Sabah since the 80s but the federal government had taken a hardline position of denial," Bumburing told FMT today. Mahathir erred The Tuaran MP pointed out that even the setting up of the RCI by the government was done reluctantly more than two decades after the situation was exposed. He said even Mahathir has been tightlipped about the extraordinary growth of the state population and was only recently forced to admit that his Umno-led BN administration was responsible for the issuance of ICs to the illegal immigrants in Sabah.
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| MyWatch chief: Cop threatened to shoot me Posted: 28 Jan 2013 03:10 PM PST MyWatch chairman R Sri Sanjeevan was on undercover at several illegal gambling outlets in Jelebu when a policeman called him up and threatened to shoot him if he didn't leave. Anisah Shukry, FMT A policeman from the Jelebu police headquarters allegedly threatened to shoot the chairman of anti-crime watchdog MyWatch early this morning, minutes after he informed Bukit Aman of illegal gambling outlets operating in the area. R Sri Sanjeevan told FMT he had been staking out the illegal gambling outlets in Simpang Pertang alone, waiting for the district police to act on his tip off, when he received a threatening call at 3.43am from a Malay man. According to Sanjeevan's police report, the man had demanded in Malay: "who are you, are you drunk, why did you call Bukit Aman, do you think we don't know what we are doing? I want you to leave that area or I will go there and arrest you or shoot you." When Sanjeevan asked who the man was, he allegedly replied: "I am a police officer from IPD Jelebu! If you have the guts, come to IPD Jelebu now!" Sanjeevan said he immediately called Bukit Aman and was told that the information would be passed on to the Negeri Sembilan contingent police headquarters. But no response came and Sanjeevan lodged a police report at 4.55am at the Jelebu district police headquarters over the matter. "The investigating officer confirmed that the number [from the death threat] belongs to IPD Jelebu," Sanjeevan told FMT. "So they are narrowing it down and will charge the perpetrator for criminal intimidation. I doubt the case will stick, but the public needs to know that police give death threats as well." Sanjeevan said he was certain the man who issued the death threat was a police officer intent on protecting the illegal gambling outlets there, which he said had been operating for two years. "It was just a four minute difference [from when I informed the police about the outlets]. Within four minutes, I get a threatening call. So who do you think it is?" Police protecting illegal gambling outlets Sanjeevan explained that he had gone undercover at 2.50am as a customer of the outlets based on information he received from a source. "I have been getting complaints too often [over the illegal gambling outlets and] have relayed it to police but they failed so I went down personally," he told FMT.
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| Mahathir: When will we regain our sanity? Posted: 28 Jan 2013 03:06 PM PST Aren't accidents a human right? asks the former premier in mocking the opposition towards the implementation of AES. RK Anand, FMT Dr Mahathir Mohamad is wondering when Malaysians will regain their sanity and stop politicising everything, including the government's efforts to save lives. The former premier was commenting on the opposition towards the implementation of the Automated Enforcement System (AES) to nab traffic offenders. With his trademark sarcasm, Mahathir said since Malaysia was a democratic nation, all undertakings by the ruling administration must be opposed. "So the efforts by the administration to save lives, reduce road accidents and lower the death rate due to road accidents to below 6,000 a year must be opposed. "Aren't accidents a human right? A basic right for all of us? Why is the ruling administration attempting to rob us of this right? "Democracy has reached such a high point in our beloved nation that even the efforts to save lives becomes a contentious issue," he added in his blog posting. Noting the high accident rate in the country, Mahathir, a car aficionado himself, asked if Malaysians would accept the AES only after everyone lost a family member to fatal accidents. "When would we regain our sanity? Must everything be politicised and opposed just because it is our right to do so?" he asked. The former premier said when the volume of cars increase on the roads, the police find it difficult to enforce the traffic laws. "Many new equipment have been invented to help the police. But the volume of cars continue to increase and so do the number of accidents. "So an electronic device was invented, which not only measures the speed but also identifies the vehicle involved. Nowhere in the world was the implementation of this device opposed," he added. The government's decision to implement the AES became a hotly debated matter, prompting the attorney-general to freeze all court cases related to the summonses issued.
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