Malaysia Today - Your Source of Independent News
Malaysia Today - Your Source of Independent News |
- Hindraf-Pakatan courtship souring
- Not all said ‘no’ to PM, says Penang BN of open house jeers
- Anwar’s ‘Huguan Siou’ debacle draws flak
- More Penang voters sitting on the fence
- Gerakan: DAP peddling hate politics
- Najib and Rosmah must respond to Deepak
- Deepak’s Open Letter to Dr Mahathir
- Deepak wants Najib out, Muhyiddin in
- Deepak immunity: One month for AG to respond
| Hindraf-Pakatan courtship souring Posted: 12 Feb 2013 05:55 PM PST The romance between Pakatan and Hindraf appears to be fizzling out as the numerous dates since last November have failed to see a progress in the relationship. K Pragalath, FMT On the eve of Valentine's Day, Hindraf reveals that its courtship with Pakatan Rakyat is on the brink of failure due to lack of progress in the relationship. Blaming the Pakatan Rakyat leadership, Hindraf secretary P Ramesh said the break-up appeared imminent "Unfortunately after more than three months of trudging through these meetings there is nothing to show in the form of progress," he added in a statement. Six meetings were held involving top guns from both Pakatan and Hindraf such as Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim and P Waythamoorthy. There were also an additional 15 informal meetings since last November. Ramesh also blamed Pakatan's failure in forming an electoral pact and its delay in endorsing Hindraf's five-year blueprint to include Indian poor in mainstream development as a factor. "Hindraf has made it clear to Pakatan from the outset that any support from Hindraf in the coming 13th general election is incumbent on Pakatan endorsing the blueprint. "Hindraf has been extremely accommodating to facilitate the endorsement and adoption of the blueprint programme by Pakatan," he said. "However we are deeply concerned by the inordinate delay on the part of Pakatan in endorsing the blueprint and forming an electoral pact with Hindraf. This will cause serious setbacks to all parties wanting to see a change in the political landscape of Malaysia," he added. In November last year, Hindraf national adviser N Ganesan made six demands while unveiling the five-year blueprint at the Kuala Lumpur Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall. The six demands were: 1) Stop displacing Indian plantation workers and provide reasonable compensation as well as offer skills training to them; 2) Resolve Indian stateless issue; 3) Provide equal education opportunities to all Indian students via meritocracy; 4) Provide equal job and business opportunities to Indians; 5) Stop police brutality and death in custody, and set up the Independent Police Complaints and Misconduct Commission (IPCMC); and 6) Stop institutionalised racism and ratify the United Nations convention against racial discrimination. Ganesan had also suggested the setting up of a Minority Affairs Ministry after the 13th general election and said that Hindraf should be allowed to operate the ministry.
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| Not all said ‘no’ to PM, says Penang BN of open house jeers Posted: 12 Feb 2013 04:28 PM PST
Clara Chooi, The Malaysian Insider Penang Barisan Nasional (BN) believes rivals sent saboteurs to heckle the prime minister and his entourage during its Chinese New Open House event on Monday, Sinar Harian reported today. State BN chairman Teng Chang Yeow said he suspected it was this group that yelled "No!" when Datuk Seri Najib Razak asked the crowd, "Are you ready for BN?", purportedly to offer the impression that Penang residents did not support the ruling coalition. "Not everyone present had yelled 'No'. We have video records showing a large segment of the audience had yelled 'Yes' when the PM asked that question several times. "I believe there were those sent to sabotage the open house that we organised and we also found that there were those who wore colours that DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng had asked them to wear as a sign of protest," he was quoted as saying today in the Malay daily. He added that it would only have been worrying if those who had shouted "No" were BN members or supporters. Global pop sensation Psy, the Korean singer who shot to stardom for his viral "Oppa Gangnam Style" hit, drew rapturous applause from the crowd during his appearance.Videos of the hoots, boos and "No" shouted to Najib, and the "Yes" to the prime minister's question of whether the crowd was ready for Psy, have been posted on the Internet, attracting observations that BN was unlikely to win back voters in Penang during the coming polls. Penang, which was held by BN's Gerakan for some four decades, fell to the opposition's hands when the ruling coalition recorded historic losses in Election 2008. DAP's Lim Guan Eng was then installed the state's chief minister, and since then, the state has been seen as PR's sturdiest fortress against its political foes in BN.
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| Anwar’s ‘Huguan Siou’ debacle draws flak Posted: 12 Feb 2013 04:02 PM PST A PKR branch's decision to name the opposition leader as the paramount chief of the Kadazandusun people has backfired. Luke Rintod, FMT KOTA KINABALU: Three days ago, PKR's Ranau branch conferred upon its supremo Anwar Ibrahim the "Huguan Siou" or paramount chief title. Anwar accepted it but soon the matter became the talk of town. The event was held while Anwar was on a whirlwind visit to Ranau and Keningau during Chinese New Year and so it was not reported in the newspapers as the media were on on a break. It surfaced online, complete with a photograph of the opposition leader wearing a sash with the words Huguan Siou, a title normally reserved by the Kadazandusun for their paramount chief who is currently Joseph Pairin Kitingan. Proclaiming Anwar as the Huguan Siou was Ranau PKR head Jonathan Yasin, a Kadazandusun lawyer who is also the brother-in law of Sabah PKR senior leader Ansari Abdullah. Today, the State Reform Party (STAR) took Ranau PKR to task for "selling" Sabahans' pride by playing with the honorific title normally bestowed on a fellow Kadazandusun. STAR state deputy chairman Daniel John Jambun said PKR was in a mode of "surrendering" and "submission" and that explained why Jonathan chose to give Anwar the title. "While it is within Ranau PKR's right to honour whoever it wanted, it is insanity to play with a title that is already established for some purpose. "Can you imagine someone conferring on a leader the title 'Yang Dipertuan Agong' or even just 'Agong?'" Jambun opined. An activist from Kota Marudu, Felix Kain, who is a campaign director of NGO, Gindol Initiative for Civil Society Borneo, said while it was an internal affair of PKR, the act was tantamount to an insult to the Dusun community who must only have a fellow Dusun as Huguan Siou. "This event brings memories of 1981 when Dr James Ongkili refused the conferment of Huguan Siou but instead counter-proposed that the title be given instead to then chief minister Harris Salleh, who is not a Dusun. "The Dusun abhorred such a gesture by Ongkili, later causing him to lose in Tamparuli, followed by a complete depletion of any respect for his leadership. But that was for the real Huguan Siou title, perhaps Jonathan meant well but it was still out of place," he said.
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| More Penang voters sitting on the fence Posted: 12 Feb 2013 03:51 PM PST With all the developments taking place in BN and Pakatan, these voters cannot decide who has the right to lead the country. Hawkeye, FMT The number of fence-sitters (undecided voters) in Penang has grown in the past few months with the general election around the corner, says an academician. Universiti Science Malaysia's political scientist Sivamurugan Pandian said this is largely because of developments in Barisan Nasional and Pakatan Rakyat. He said that on the BN side, the ruling coalition has been dangling many "carrots" such as handing out RM500 to those who qualify under the BR1M aid scheme. It has also been making promises to solve socio-economic problems such as resolving housing woes and traffic congestion. Other "carrots" dangled include building a monorail (public transport), reviving the free port status for the under-performing Penang Port and new incentives to boost healthcare, tourism and manufacturing. On the Pakatan side, the opposition has been hit by a series of controversies such as the Allah issue, and the nomination of PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang to be the prime minister if Pakatan wins. On the Allah row, PAS took a different stand from PKR and DAP when its Syura Council ruled that Christians cannot use the word Allah in the Malay-language Bibles. Then came reports that PAS was not in favour of Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim becoming the next prime minister, which Hadi has since denied. Do all these developments mean that BN has an edge over Pakatan? Or that Pakatan is crumbling? Sivamurugan said nobody can predict for now, but the fact remains that more people are now undecided over who deserves to lead the country. Act of desperation In one corner is BN led by the "1Malaysia" campaign founder and Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak and in the other, is his nemises, Anwar, who continues to "sell" the storyline that the country is on the wrong track because of corruption, nepotism and cronism. BN is trying hard to endear itself to the people with some initiatives that it hopes will translate into favourable "ratings" for its popularity. For example, Sivamurugan said BN brought over South Korean online rap superstar, Psy (Park Jae-sang), here to usher in the Chinese New Year. It was part of the state BN's Lunar New Year open-house celebration. It was reported that a crowd of some 100,000 jammed the Han Chiang Private College ground here to watch Psy perform his "Gangnam" style song and dance.
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| Gerakan: DAP peddling hate politics Posted: 12 Feb 2013 03:48 PM PST DAP is forcing people to take sides and wants partisan politics to be the order of the day, says a Gerakan leader. Hawkeye, FMT Politics in Malaysia has taken a turn for the worst now compared to the last decade, said a state Gerakan leader. Malaysians have generally entered a phase where hatred reigns over rational thinking or national unity, according to Penang Gerakan vice-chairman Wong Mun Hoe. And he blames DAP for encouraging such hatred by instigating people to disrespect their political rivals through the distortion of facts and by adopting partisanship at all times. "DAP is forcing people to take sides. They want partisan politics to be the order of the day. This is unhealthy in a country as diverse as Malaysia where different races and religions or value systems are trying to co-exist," he said. Wong said that one cannot practise politics of "either you are with us or against us" and must understand that some people (fence-sitters) take a longer time to decide and some may not want to decide at all. Essentially, he added, politics in Malaysia should be about nation building and uniting the people, not the opposite of fueling hatred at every corner. Unity is democracy at its best and its roots can only be strengthened if everyone learns to respect each other's opinion and ways in a constructive way, Wong said. He added that politicking is essentially about furthering one's own causes and beliefs but not to an extend of imposing one's belief on others. If one wants to impose things then it is tantamount to becoming a dictator or advocating communism, he stressed. "Real support comes freely from those who accept it. Those who are forced to accept it, would only do so insincerely," he pointed out.
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| Najib and Rosmah must respond to Deepak Posted: 12 Feb 2013 03:42 PM PST
FMT LETTER: From Sivarasa Rasiah, via e-mail Yesterday, Malaysia Chronicle carried an article by Deepak Jaikishan. The article stated some very serious allegations against Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak. Deepak alleged in writing that an unnamed person had actually prepared a statutory declaration stating that he had been instructed to kill Altantuya by his immediate superior, and, that that immediate superior had taken instructions from Najib. He also said that the unnamed person changed his mind after seeing private investigator Balasubramaniam's second SD. In so saying, Deepak had finally belled the cat by actually speaking in writing for the first time the whispers that have been circulating in this country from the time of the murder in October 2006 regarding the alleged involvement of Najib and his spouse in the high profile murder of Altantuya. His statements are sufficient for the relevant agencies, the Attorney General's office and the police to immediately re-open the murder investigation and record a full statement from him. No action from them will mean a continuing conspiracy to hide the truth. It is also in the Prime Minister's interest that his name is cleared if Deepak's statements are indeed false. Secondly, Deepak again reiterates the involvement of Rosmah Mansor in the process of the making of the second SD done by Bala. He repeats, amongst other things, that he was instructed by her to remove "certain facts and certain spicy details in (sic) the affair between Najib and Altantuya". The Malaysian public will need to hear from Rosmah what her riposte is to this. Thirdly, Deepak alleges that he made payments to Najib and Rosmah from "the proceeds of Glomac Tower to a subsidiary of Kuwait Finance House" and this evidence was recorded by one Dato Jamidan, a senior director with MACC in 2011. MACC has to explain immediately to the Malaysian public whether this allegation of payment to Najib and Rosmah is true, and if so, was it for any corrupt purpose. We also await the response of the MACC on Deepak' allegations supported with documents that he had made expensive presents in diamonds and jewellery to Rosmah. A serving Prime Minister going to the public for an electoral mandate to govern cannot be the proverbial ostrich with its head in the sand in respect of these very serious issues. Deepak's statements are specific. Malaysia needs specific answers. Silence will be taken to mean that Deepak's allegations are credible and with basis.
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| Deepak’s Open Letter to Dr Mahathir Posted: 12 Feb 2013 03:35 PM PST
FMT LETTER: From Deepak J Tekwani, via e-mail Tun, I refer to your statement 'Ignore Deepak' as your advice to Najib Tun Razak and Rosmah Mansor. I also take heed of your advice to me to seek the courts' involvement and not use political channels to claim my rights and remedies. For your kind information, this is exactly what I have been doing the last two years from 2010 till to date and the courts have been fair and granted judgment in my favour. However, Najib's administration is "ignoring" these judgments and evidence produced in courts and almost all the government institutions have either swept Rosmah's dirt under the carpet or just not replying to our various written testimonies and court's judgment; as such I would like to seek Tun's advice. What would Tun do in my place? Being of similar paternal ancestral background, I am sure what I put forward in this letter would be exactly what Tun would have done in my situation or already done under different circumstances when Tun wrote the "historic June 17, 1969″ Open Letter to Tunku Abdul Rahman. I was raided by Bank Negara Malaysia in 2010 for foreign currency exchange through money changers amounting to substantial sum of Singapore and US dollars. The investigation was for a period of six (6) weeks and we divulged that the foreign currency was delivered to Najib and Rosmah as payments for various deals that I had acted on as their conduit including Bangunan Angkasa Raya, Bukit Raja Land and Glomac Tower (now known as Wisma Prestige). The matter was not pursued any further. I was also asked to be part of an investigation by MACC into the sale of an office building at KLCC to an international Islamic Bank, for which we had proved through payment slips, video statements and written testimony that I was merely acting as a conduit for Najib and Rosmah and monies were given by hand to both of them on various occasions over a period of two (2) years. Now why is it that after such clear incriminating evidence, till to date there has been no investigation on Rosmah, Najib or Nazim (Najib's brother)? This takes selective prosecution to an entirely different level doesn't it? How does Tun suggest I seek duress then? Let's talk about my court experience now. I had bought a 200-acre piece of land from Senator Raja Ropiah Raja Abdullah in 2007. She is now Selangor Umno Wanita chief and the state's BN Wanita chief. We paid her RM13,000,000.00 in cash and issued a Land Bond (Bank Guarantee) of RM72,500,000.00 to complete the purchase consideration. Raja Ropiah after collecting the money, purposely delayed the issuance of the land title to us by completely neglecting her responsibilities to deliver this land title and on the sly by committing CBT, sold the land to another company at a higher price and also collecting close to RM90,000,000.00 in cash and bank guarantees from them, this too while our "Land Bond" was still valid and collecting RM13,000,000.00 from us in cash. We also paid as disclosed in open court RM8,000,000.00 to Najib's family. I have lodged police reports and to date zero action has been taken on Raja Ropiah and the other "R". Instead I had to go through a harrowing experience of receiving a foreclosure notice called a "16 D" by none other that Najib brother's, throught his law firm exactly 24 hours after my press conference informing the media of the corruption and malpractice of this couple. Tun, pray advice me which bank does a foreclosure without even going through the legal process involved? Anyway by sheer "coincidence" their foreclosure was for RM30,000,000.00 and Boustead Holding suddenly appears out of nowhere to agree to purchase our company that owns this 200 acre land under the name of Asta Canggih Sdn Bhd for the same RM30,000,000.00! Wonders of wonders right ? The best part is Boustead also paid us in "advance" before signing the agreement on condition that we withdraw the case from the courts immediately as the open court date was in the same week. Now Tun, please advice me what you would have done in this circumstances? The best part is that Raja Ropiah was paid a further RM29,000,000.00 as her "sentence" for the CBT. We had sold a building to a subsidiary of an international Islamic Bank in 2008 and they defaulted in the payment to us in 2010 when the new shareholders came in. Now we won this landmark case in court via a judgment on Nov 7, 2012 and the court judgment found that the international Islamic Bank: a) used unlawful means to conspire against us with the predominant purpose of injuring us, b) committed breach of the Letter of Undertaking they issued to us, c) involved in the issuance and release of fraudulent letters to injure us and our business The bank was also exposed in open court of: i) Cheating its depositors by purchasing assets using an "associate" company where they initially claimed ownership of 19% but in actual fact owned 100% through a "Declaration of Trust Deed" which they later were forced to admit in open Court upon the presentation of the "Declaration of Trust Deed" ii) Cheating the various statutory bodies like Bank Negara Malaysia, SC, FIC and ROC by using these Malaysian nominees' shareholders to circumvent foreign ownership declarations and Approvals required. iii) Cheating Bank Negara Malaysia by showing loans exceeding its own Paid up Capitalat the material time as loans to third party companies when in fact it was loans to its own subsidiary. We had written to Bank Negara Malaysia to take necessary action against this international Islamic Bank as per the banking laws: a) Removing the CEO immediately b) Limiting or revoking the bank's license to prevent the bank from taking depositors c) Having the bank announce this unlawful conspiracy and breach to depositors and shareholders in Malaysia and the middle east where it is a public listed company and also governed by a Board of Trustees. My numerous letters to Zeti Akhtar and the Board of Directors of Bank Negara Malaysia till to date have remained unreplied. Why? Because Bank Negara knows that Rosmah and Nazim were involved in the building sale.
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| Deepak wants Najib out, Muhyiddin in Posted: 12 Feb 2013 03:29 PM PST In an open letter to Dr Mahathir Mohamad, the carpet dealer is asking the former premier to call on Najib Tun Razak to quit and allow his deputy to take over. G Vinod, FMT Who is behind Deepak Jaikishan? This has been the burning question since the carpet dealer decided to spill the beans on Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak and his wife Rosmah Mansor. Speculations abound, with some claiming that he is working for the opposition while there are also those who believe that he is linked to Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin. Deepak, however, claims that he is acting on his own in order to protect the dignity of the nation. But in an open letter to former premier Dr Mahathir Mohamad, the carpet dealer's remarks have strengthened the suspicion that Muhyiddin is pulling the strings. In the letter, Deepak expressed his disappointment with Mahathir's statement that Najib should ignore the allegations levelled against him. Pointing out that Mahathir himself has described Najib as a weak leader, Deepak called on the former premier to urge Najib to resign before the 13th general election. "I'm just concerned that there might be chaos after the 13th general election. "So it's best for deputy prime minister (Muhyiddin) to lead a rejuvenated Barisan Nasional for the general election," he added. Deepak also denied having links with the opposition and described himself as a nationalist just like Mahathir. "We are both defending the nation's dignity. Mahathir may think that I'm working for the opposition but it's not true. I'm a nationalist and we will never allow anyone to compromise our nation's dignity," he said.
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| Deepak immunity: One month for AG to respond Posted: 12 Feb 2013 03:27 PM PST Deepak Jaikishan has given the Attorney General one month to respond to his request for immunity in return for "the truth" about the prime minister. Anisah Shukry, FMT Controversial businessman Deepak Jaikishan submitted his letter for immunity to the Attorney General's Chambers (AGC) today, and has challenged Abdul Gani Pattail to respond within a month. "The country's last bastion of justice lies with the AGC…if no justice is served, then it is clear that we need a change of government," Deepak told reporters after handing his application to a representative. "One month is more than enough for them to respond. If by March 11 the AGC has not made any decision, then clearly they are useless and should cease to even exist," he added. Deepak stressed that it was the AG's responsibility to ensure necessary action was taken against those responsible for the 2006 murder of Mongolian translator Altantuya Shaariibuu. "If they can't settle even this small thing, then how can we rely on them to settle other criminal cases?" Deepak asked. "If the AGC doesn't address this issue, we might as well just shut down the courts," he added. In his letter to the AG, Deepak claimed that the details he had given to the media on Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak and his wife Rosmah Mansor's role in the gruesome murder was merely a smidgen of what he truly knew. "I am willing to cooperate with any authoritative bodies in the country to provide further information on the prime minister's involvement in the abuse of power involving his family, on the condition that I am given protection from any possible criminal prosecution…" he wrote. But he told reporters today that even if the AGC refused to take action, he was optimistic that the truth would eventually come out. "I will just hope that a change of government happens and they (Pakatan Rakyat) would take action." He added that he would do "all that is necessary" to ensure truth would prevail.
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