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Malaysia Today - Your Source of Independent News

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• Big Growth in Indonesia
• Sarawak cop, gangsters assault youth
• GE13: BN Veterans Face The Axe, 40% Of Candidates Will Be New Faces
• 1st BATCH OF PM GROSSEMAJIB'S 7 DEADLY SINS!
• Malaysia Faces Capital Flight, Falling Trade Surplus
• Waiter claims GOF personnel helped gangsters beat him up
• Former Political Secretary Wants Wan Azizah To Stop Harassing Him
• Anwar announces Kit Siang to contest in Gelang Patah parliamentary seat
• Police suggest setting up crime prevention bodies in Tamil schools
• Shahrizat says no reason to apologise to Malaysians
• Ahmad Maslan: Ex-civil servants joining Pakatan for easy polls shot
• DCNS lawyer found dead, believed to be suicide
• Guan Eng Wants Ngeh And Kula To Cool It
• The myth of the two-party system
• Tak payah skandal, politik Anwar tak lagi handal
• BN to win a minimum of 28 seats in S’gor?
• Uthaya wants to be a PAS candidate
• Najib set to break tradition
• Manila not giving up claim on Sabah
• As the Altantuya Murder Plot Thickens
• Wanita Umno sebar risalah bodohkan orang kampung
• A Respond to CM Lim Guan Eng: We Should Not Have to Suffer From a Failed Political System ...
• Media should not play up Mahathir
• GE13: ‘Two dragons’ giving way
• GE13: Pakatan to decentralise power if it wins polls, says Lim
• BN Tidak Perlukan Skandal Seks Anwar Untuk Menang Pilihan Raya
• Jabidah and Merdeka: The inside story
• Pamper the kingmakers?
• We didn’t start it: Dr M
• PR Manifesto: Sustainable?
• Photographs a hot topic in cyberspace
• Needed now: Some ‘good tailoring’
• Philippines' Aquino calls for talks on Sabah
• Help us win S’gor, Najib tells Indians
• Anwar’s not important, good governance is
• And after BN, you think you’ll be in heaven?
• Are political parties like DAP, Umno a berhala?
• Unreasonable to stop Lynas if proven safe: PKR MP
• ‘Video recording of explicit act not Umno’s work’
• Man United 15 points clear after City fall at Everton
• What can Saiful’s father offer PKR? Nothing!
• Sulu invasion: Probe papers almost done
• The Mysterious Case of the Sulu Sultan
• GE13: Do not let DAP mislead you, says Soi Lek
• Idiot Guide to Malaysian Politics
• Hindraf Q & A
• Nur Misuari: 'We had to fight for it'
• Filipinos fleeing Sabah endure ‘violent crackdown’ by Malaysian forces
• Dr Mahathir: No directive to issue IC to unqualified migrants
• Coffin with Tian Chua’s Photo Found at PKR Headquarters

Big Growth in Indonesia Posted: 18 Mar 2013 12:33 PM PDT   Alan Fairclough  Malaysia will keep burying its head in the sand about 'economic threats' from ASEAN countries and how the Govt of Malaysia portrays Malaysia as the be-all-and-end-all of SEA and where it sits economically as a front-runner, but Indonesia will overtake Malaysia within the next 10 years. I've worked in Malaysia for 20 years, but last year worked mostly in Jakarta and from an 'on-the-ground' aspect this report is quite credible - Indonesia just has the population and statistics that should frighten Malaysia (for example 700,000 motorcycles per month sold in Indonesia). See below: Indonesia's Rising Middle Class and Affluent Consumers Asia's Next Big Opportunity  Indonesia's economy is growing rapidly, and a large portion of the population is entering the middle-class and affluent consumer (MAC) socioeconomic category. As those in this group begin to ramp up their spending in key segments—such as home goods, vehicles, consumer durables, and financial services—this is a critical window of opportunity for companies that sell consumer goods. Demographic trends show the size of the opportunity. There are currently about 74 million MACs in Indonesia, and this number will double by 2020, to roughly 141 million people. During that period, some 8 million to 9 million people will enter the middle class each year. Perhaps because of this rising economic tide, Indonesians are extremely optimistic about their financial futures—more so than people in any other country, including both emerging and developed markets. They expect to make more money next year than this year, and they believe that their children's lives will be better than their own. The growth of the MAC population is occurring throughout the country. There are now 25 locations in Indonesia (both cities and regencies) with MAC populations in excess of 500,000, and there will be 54 by 2020. As a result, companies that wish to keep reaching the same proportion of the MAC population will need to double their presence in the country. This has huge implications for the way businesses operate—for example, how a company organizes its sales force, structures its supply-chain network, and expands its distribution footprint. While the population is not homogenous, our research indicates some broad characteristics that apply throughout the country. Indonesian consumers are extremely family oriented, and as they move from lower and aspirant classes into the middle and affluent classes, they initially focus their spending on improving living conditions for their families rather than splurging on themselves. They trust traditional media and tend to believe marketing messages, advertisements, and advice from salespeople—all of which makes them more likely to try new products. Indonesians shop primarily at warungs (small shops) and minimarts for the majority of their necessities, along with wet markets for fruits, vegetables, and other perishables. Large-format stores such as supermarkets and hypermarkets are becoming more prevalent. These consumers are extremely connected through digital technology. Regardless of their wealth level, they enjoy hunting for bargains. And they are value conscious; when buying large-ticket items, they like to think they are buying tangible benefits, such as greater functionality, in order to justify their purchases. If companies are to capture this opportunity, they will need to understand the country's demographic and regional trends, and they must tailor the right product mix and go-to-market strategy. In addition, they must customize their value proposition, marketing message, use of media, and the shopping experience they offer in order to meet the needs and preferences of the growing consumer base.    Login and download pdf at: http://www.bcg.com/expertise_impact/publications/PublicationDetails.aspx?id=tcm:12-128800

Sarawak cop, gangsters assault youth Posted: 18 Mar 2013 12:27 PM PDT   (Free Malaysia Today) - Sarawak DAP wants the IGP to act on 21-year-old Andrewson Ngalai's report against a police inspector. A police inspector attached to the General Operations Force (GOF) not only aided and abetted a group of gangsters in assaulting a 21-year-old coffeeshop worker, but also took part by slapping the youth in the early hours of March 14. The inspector's act was caught on a CCTV camera in a coffeeshop at MJC Batu Kawah where Andrewson Ngalai anak Tandang works. After Andrewson lodged a report at the MJC Batu Kawah police station on the same day, the man seen in the CCTV was identified as the police inspector attached to the GOF at Batu Kawah by other officers. Relating the incident at the DAP headquarters here today, Andrewson said that when he came out of a karaoke outlet, two men approached him. While one held him, the other hit him with an iron rod. All this happened in front of the police inspector. Andrewson said he and his friends were upstairs in their hostel above the coffeeshop when they heard a knock on their door. "A man identifying himself as a police officer demanded that five of my friends and I go down stairs to the coffeeshop. "In the coffeeshop, I was slapped by the inspector. His action was caught on CCTV," he said, showing the wounds on his head and eyes to reporters. Andrewson received several stitches on his head. "The gangsters seized six handphone sets from us and demanded we pay them RM500. The inspector was present all the time," he said. Police brutality Andrewson said that in the police report, he was asked to lodge a report against the gangsters but not against the police. After the report was made, he said that he received a call from the inspector to withdraw the report. Fearing for his safety, he went to Chong Chieng Jen, who is Sarawak DAP secretary, to seek his advice. Accompanied by Chong, Andrewson made another police report, this time against the inspector. Read more at: http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2013/03/18/sarawak-cop-gangsters-assault-youth/

GE13: BN Veterans Face The Axe, 40% Of Candidates Will Be New Faces Posted: 18 Mar 2013 12:22 PM PDT     (The Star) - Barisan Nasional will drop up to 40% of veterans in the 13th general election to give way to new blood. Datuk Seri Najib Razak, who is making final adjustments to the list of candidates, has identified quite a number of the old guard to be excluded, with some of them coming forward to voluntarily step aside. Barisan has 141 MPs, of which 75 have served more than three terms. Sources say that not all will be replaced but the Prime Minister wants to include new faces as part of his Political Transformation Programme. Four previous long-serving Cabinet ministers are among those stepping down for newcomers, including former International Trade and Industry Minister Tan Sri Rafidah Aziz (Kuala Kangsar), former Natural Resources and Environment Minister Datuk Seri Azmi Khalid (Padang Besar), former Home Minister Datuk Seri Radzi Sheikh Ahmad (Kangar) and former Housing and Local Government Minister Tan Sri Ong Ka Ting (Kulai). Rafidah is among the first to inform Najib of her intention not seek re-election. Radzi and Azmi, too, have told Najib of their wish to retire. Ong is said to be relishing his role as Najib's special envoy to China. Others who have expressed their readiness to step aside are former prime minister Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi and SPAD chairman Tan Sri Syed Hamid Albar for the Kepala Batas and Kota Tinggi seats respectively. However, according to sources, Najib has not decided whether to accept their offer because no "proper successors" have been found. Another former Cabinet member, Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said, the Pengerang incumbent, may also face the chop but the current controversy over the Petronas development in the constituency may get her another term. Sources said Najib may retain her so that she could explain to her constituents the importance of the RM61.4bil project. Energy, Green Technology Minister Datuk Peter Chin Fah Kui, the SUPP president who has been the MP for Miri for the past six terms, said he would still contest if Najib wanted him to do so. Two other senior MPs who are scheduled to retire are former Human Resources Minister Tan Sri Dr Fong Chan Onn (Alor Gajah) and former Tourism Minister Datuk Seri Leo Michael Toyad (Mukah). Three former deputy ministers who are not expected to be fielded are Tan Sri Tengku Azlan Sultan Abu Bakar, Datuk Noraini Ahmad and Datuk Seri Sulaiman Taib. They are the MPs for Jerantut, Parit Sulong and Kota Samarahan respectively.

1st BATCH OF PM GROSSEMAJIB'S 7 DEADLY SINS! Posted: 17 Mar 2013 11:37 PM PDT   Donplaypuks  1. Lied that he never met Saiful. http://alditta.blogspot.com/2008/07/najib-admits-meeting-saiful.html 2. Lied that Saiful came to see him about a scholarship. Saiful testified under oath that he went to see Grossemajib about a sexual matter, and that Grosssemajib telephoned the IGP. http://archive.freemalaysiatoday.com/fmt-english/news/general/5499-saiful-tells-of-his-meeting-with-najib-ezam 3. Has not since 2006, ordered the IGP to investigate and charge the person responsible for ordering Altantuya's murder, how immigration records could have been erased or explained numerous highly suspicious sms exchanges with Razak Baginda. 4. Went on a shopping holiday to Milan on Airforce 1. At first PMO reported that the official trip was to UK and USA, and only admitted it after Pakatan MP's checked flight path details online. http://en.harakahdaily.net/index.php/berita-utama/5250-govt-now-admits-najib-spent-four-days-in-milan.html Read more at: http://donplaypuks.blogspot.com/2013/03/1st-batch-of-pm-grossemajibs-7-deadly.html

Malaysia Faces Capital Flight, Falling Trade Surplus Posted: 17 Mar 2013 11:32 PM PDT   (Asia Sentinel) - This may seem a surprise to outsiders who are rightly impressed with the strength of the nation's external position - RM139 billion (US$44.36 billion) in foreign exchange reserves and a record of huge annual current account surpluses dating back to 1998. Monetary policy is restrained and inflation is low.   More things for voters to worry about As the Malaysian election draw near, two worrying aspects of the country's economy are very much in evidence. They are just pointers but significant ones to a bumpy future.  This may seem a surprise to outsiders who are rightly impressed with the strength of the nation's external position - RM139 billion (US$44.36 billion) in foreign exchange reserves and a record of huge annual current account surpluses dating back to 1998. Monetary policy is restrained and inflation is low.  But signs of concern are not just to be found in data but in anecdotes of behavior. One such anecdote that recently came to light courtesy of a Vanity Fair magazine article on London property is that Malaysians have now joined the ranks of Russian oligarchs, Nigerian oil plunderers and the latest generation of Gulf sheiks in paying astronomical prices for houses and apartments in the classiest parts of London. It may be an indication that some of the country's richest citizens are voting with their money if not their feet in advance of what appears to be a very tight election.  According to estate agency Jones Lang & Wootton last year Malaysian buyers accounted for 17 percent of all buyers of new top-of-the-line central London dwellings. In other words almost as many Malaysian are buying as Britons, who accounted for only 19 percent of this market. Identifiable Malaysians figure as buyers of One Hyde Park, the most expensive new building in London overlooking Hyde Park and others probably lie behind the various anonymous offshore companies which figure as owners of most of the owners of apartments ranging in price from US$12 million to US$50 million.  It is hard to imagine that these are safe investments compared with Malaysia, given that the market is thin, the properties are often left unoccupied and that further price gains must rely on yet more flood tides of easily gotten wealth. Such floods have always been associated with commodity booms or banker banquets. London property has long been a destination for flight capital and bankers absurd bonuses, one. But what does the Malaysian role now tell us about flight capital from an outwardly stable nation? And about the prospects for the commodity price boom of the past 10 years not coming to an unpleasant end?  That takes us away from London anecdote to actual data out of Malaysia itself. January saw Malaysia's trade surplus sink to RM3.3 billion, less than half that of the same month a year ago. Of course one should not read much into one month's figures but a downward trend evident in 2012 looks to be gaining momentum. Then total exports rose only 0.9 percent while imports rose 5.9 percent and the overall surplus fell from RM 124 billion to RM94 billion. The worrying aspect is not imports, which need to be rising if capital spending is doing so but the trend in exports prices. Palm oil was down 27 percent, gas down 6 percent and rubber down 19 percent. These may have further to fall and continue the reversal of the huge terms of trade gains made over the previous decade.  Of itself this need not be a worry but for the other aspects of the external account. The services account has always been in the red and is no particular cause for concern. Tourism is strong and the Islamic financial sector too. The RM64 billion deficits last on combined services, transfers and investment income is growing but should be quite manageable even if the trade surplus slides further. There are more worrying issues given the likelihood that gas and palm oil prices at least are looking at a sustained downturn as new projects come on stream globally and China's demand for resources slows as the economy shifts emphasis.  One is that direct investment outflow is now almost twice foreign direct investment - RM51 billion against RM29. Some of this is doubtless one-off as Petronas has invested heavily in foreign oil and gas projects as its own profits have boomed and Malaysian banks have been buying overseas, especially in Indonesia. But there must be questions about the likely rates of return on much of this capital.  An even bigger question is how much has been squandered in lesser known ventures, particularly by politically connected and government linked- companies with scant accountability to shareholders. Some too is likely to be flight non-Malay flight capital preferring expensive but seemingly secure assets in Australia, the US or even London to the higher returns which ought to be available in younger, faster growing Malaysia. Read more at: http://www.asiasentinel.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=5259&Itemid=229

Waiter claims GOF personnel helped gangsters beat him up Posted: 17 Mar 2013 11:22 PM PDT   (fz.com) - A coffee shop waiter who claimed he was assaulted by gangsters in the presence of a policeman will hand over the CCTV recording of the episode today.   The 29-minute long video clip, recorded at a Batu Kawa coffeeshop depicts a tall man, alleged to be a General Operation Force personnel, slapping the victim – a man of a smaller physique.   The clip also showed that when two other men punched the victim, the alleged GOF personnel was also present.   "They also took six handphones and asked us to pay RM500 for each handphone and an angpow in order to get our handphones back," the 21-year-old victim Andrewson Ngalai Tandang told a press conference today.   The incident took place last Thursday when Tandang and a few colleagues went to a karaoke pub near the coffeeshop where they worked.   Tandang said two men stopped him outside the outlet at around 4am when he was on his way home. After the said ordeal, Tandang received four stitches and suffered severe head injuries.   "I don't know why (it happened). One of them held my hands at my back while the other man hit me with an iron bar.   Tandang said he escaped and rushed back to the hostel with his friends. However, his cousin Johnical, who came to his rescue, was left behind.   "The gangsters followed us to our hostels but we refused to open the gate. Then, a man claimed he was a policeman and asked us to open the door.    "All seven of us in the house followed him to the coffee shop," Tandang said, adding that the man flashed his police badge.   Tandang said he could not recall his name other than that he spoke with a heavy Sabahan accent.   At the coffee shop, Tandang said he and his cousin were slapped and assaulted.   Read more at: http://fz.com/content/waiter-claims-gof-personnel-helped-gangsters-beat-him

Former Political Secretary Wants Wan Azizah To Stop Harassing Him Posted: 17 Mar 2013 11:19 PM PDT   (Malaysian Digest) - Former Political Secretary of Ampang MP has threatened to expose the truth if Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) President Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail continues to disturb his life. "Do not underestimate me, if this pressure continues, I will not hesitate to divulge the truth behind why she (Dr Wan Azizah) is jealous of me," he said. In a report from online newsportal Free Malaysia Today, Fareez Kamal Intidzam (pic) alleges that until today, he is still being harassed by certain quarters believed to be PKR supporters and Wan Azizah's henchmen. Fareez also claims that his family too is being harassed. In a statement today, Fareez said that his revelation will make the public see how obsessed the party president is to stay in power. The former political secretary claims that Wan Azizah's jealousy stems from his ties with PKR General Leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim. Following that, Fareez wishes for the harassment to stop as well as to cease embroiling his family in the mess. "I urge those who are involved who I believe are party supporters and possibly Wan Azizah's henchmen to stop these harassment and threats immediately," he said. At the same time, Fareez urged Wan Azizah to quit her post as party president. "I am confident that many party leaders and grassroot members agree with me on this. "However they are scared to voice their feelings out for fear they will get shoved aside and threatened, just like me now, despite realizing that is the truth the party has to accept," he added.

Anwar announces Kit Siang to contest in Gelang Patah parliamentary seat Posted: 17 Mar 2013 11:13 PM PDT   (fz.com) - PKR de facto leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has announced that DAP leader Lim Kit Siang will be contesting in Johor's  Gelang Patah parliamentary seat in the 13th general election.   The current MP is Tan Ah Eng, who is Johor's Wanita MCA chairperson.  More to follow at: http://fz.com/content/anwar-announces-kit-siang-contest-gelang-patah-parliamentary-seat

Police suggest setting up crime prevention bodies in Tamil schools Posted: 17 Mar 2013 11:10 PM PDT   (Bernama) - Police have suggested setting up crime prevention associations in Tamil primary schools in the state to enhance student awareness of crime prevention methods. Selangor police deputy chief Datuk A. Thaiveegan (pix) said the move could educate students against breaking the law, as well as instilling discipline among them. "Focus should be given to Year Five and Year Six pupils as they are preparing to enter secondary schools," he added. Thaiveegan was speaking to reporters Monday after officiating a patriotic quiz contest among Tamil primary school pupils organised by the Malaysian Indian Visionary Association at a school in Kapar, near here.

Shahrizat says no reason to apologise to Malaysians Posted: 17 Mar 2013 11:06 PM PDT   (The Malaysian Insider) - "I have to apologise to Malaysians for what?" said Shahrizat at the High Court here today. Datuk Seri Shahrizat Abdul Jalil questioned at the High Court here today the need for her to apologise to Malaysians over the National Feedlot Centre (NFC) scandal. Rafizi Ramli's lawyer, Ranjit Singh, said the PKR strategy director had in a press statement dated November 28, 2011 called on the former Cabinet minister to apologise to the rakyat as the alleged abuse of public funds in the cattle farming project had roused public anger. "I have to apologise to Malaysians for what?" said Shahrizat at the High Court here today. "Do you ask a certain wife to explain what the husband does in a condo? Do you ask a certain wife to explain what a certain husband does in a condo or several condos?" she added, gesturing angrily. Shahrizat also disagreed with Rafizi's statement in which he said the question arose of whether public funds were siphoned out after the National Feedlot Corporation (NFCorp) loaned RM81 million to the National Meat Livestock Corporation (NMLC) to purchase two luxury condominium units in Bangsar. "The question did not arise until your client tried to mislead the whole nation," said Shahrizat. "This is defamation and accusations," she added, gesturing again.Shahrizat also said that she did not know if NFCorp's RM81 million loan to NMLC came from the RM250 million government loan to the former firm. The Wanita Umno chief admitted, however, that the use of NFCorp funds to purchase the condominium units was a departure from the purpose of the government loan. "The money meant for programmes for NFC was stalled because the abattoir was not built, so they invested in property. That's why it's a departure from the loan," explained Shahrizat. She maintained she was the only target in Rafizi and PKR secretary-general Saifuddin Nasution Ismail's joint press statement dated November 10, 2011, which had named her along with others such as Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak, Minister of Agriculture and Agro-Based Industry Datuk Seri Noh Omar, and Deputy Prime Minister and Noh's ministerial predecessor, Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, as parties in the NFC issue. "They were gunning for me... I was the only one (targeted)," said Shahrizat. Read more at: http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/shahrizat-says-no-reason-to-apologise-to-malaysians/

Ahmad Maslan: Ex-civil servants joining Pakatan for easy polls shot Posted: 17 Mar 2013 11:04 PM PDT   (Bernama) - The move taken by certain individuals, including former top public officers, to pledge their support for Pakatan Rakyat (PR) was probably aimed at getting a shortcut to become the opposition's candidates in the 13th general election, Umno Information chief Datuk Ahmad Maslan said. He said they also seemed desperate to cut the long queue of opposition leaders who had waited for their chance for so long. "Some of the opposition leaders and members had waited for 10 or 20 years in the their parties, but cannot do anything with the presence of these 'queue-cutting' leaders," he told reporters after meeting with Perak Umno information machinery here today. Ahmad (picture) said this in response to the move taken by several former top public officers, including from the Armed Forces, in supporting the opposition. "They think if they join the opposition, they stand the chance to become a candidate in the next general election," he said. However, Ahmad stressed that these individuals would not affect the Barisan Nasional as they only made up a minority group.

DCNS lawyer found dead, believed to be suicide Posted: 17 Mar 2013 10:55 PM PDT   (The Malaysian Insider) - French lawyer Olivier Metzner, who had acted for shipbuilding giant DCNS in a French court inquiry initiated by a Malaysian human rights group last year, was found dead yesterday in an apparent suicide, Bloomberg reported. The business newswire reported Metzner's body was found floating off in the waters off an island he owned in Brittany's Bay of Morbihan, and that he had left behind a note, citing an unnamed official from the prosecutor's office in Vannes, Brittany. The autopsy results have yet to be announced. The 63-year-old was described by Bloomberg as a cigar-chomping, media-friendly lawyer who gained fame freeing clients on technicalities. Metzner's Malaysian link was through the French court, which set up a tribunal to investigate activist group Suara Rakyat Malaysia's (Suaram) complaint last April over the multi-billion ringgit sale of two Scorpene submarines by DCNS to Putrajaya. Read more at: http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/dcns-lawyer-found-dead-believed-to-be-suicide  For more info: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/mar/17/french-lawyer-olivier-metzner-found-dead

Guan Eng Wants Ngeh And Kula To Cool It Posted: 17 Mar 2013 06:47 PM PDT (The Malay Mail) - DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng has advised Perak DAP Chief Ngeh Koo Ham and DAP national vice-chairman M. Kulasegaran to resolve their disagreements internally and amicably within the party. Describing their row as 'a normal thing', Lim, who is also Penang chief minister said it could be achieved if they are loyal to the party. "They should realise the main enemy is Barisan Nasional and not between party members no matter what the issue is. "Therefore they should come to their senses and not let BN capitalise on this," he told reporters after hosting a lunch for members of the Penang Voluntary Patrol Team (PPS) at Komtar Dome on Saturday. Lim said that in his capacity as the party's national secretary-general, he felt compelled to remind them both not to wash dirty linen in public. "It is normal to have such things in a party but it is up to them to learn from similar past incidents. "If you are loyal to the party, you should realise that there's no enemy within — only BN and don't let them have that satisfaction of knowing there are petty issues like these in which they could manipulate and use against us," he said. The alleged spat caused an uproar and stirred up excitement following Kula's action of openly venting his frustrations on social media site Twitter. Kula had allegedly used the microblogging site to lash out against Ngeh and Nga, claiming he was sidelined in Perak DAP and that the cousins had belittled the Indian community. "Some party leaders are so oblivious. Perak politics will explode if I start speaking. Matter of time only," Kulasegaran had written on Twitter last Friday. The Ngeh–Nga dynasty, touted to be powerful has taken control of Perak DAP since the 2008 general election. It is said that the Perak DAP plans to kick out Kulasegaran, Sungkai assemblyman A. Sivanesan and Teluk Intan MP M. Manogaran and replace them with much better Indian candidates in the forthcoming general election.

The myth of the two-party system Posted: 17 Mar 2013 06:37 PM PDT Malaysian politics has been at a crossroads since the 2008 general election. Politicians have engaged in a life-and-death confrontation while the people were forced to take sides of either to support the BN or Pakatan Rakyat. They are not allowed to be neutral or impartial. Lim Sue Goan, Sin Chew The general election is approaching and all kinds of dirty political means have been used to achieve personal political aims. The past two weeks have been filled with political violence. The disturbances at PKR dinners in Perak, Malacca and Penang indicate the deterioration of political culture. On March 8, the fifth anniversary of the 2008 political tsunami, father of Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan suddenly claimed that Pakatan Rakyat leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim was a victim of a political conspiracy in the whole sodomy affair, before making an announcement of joining the PKR on March 11. Screenshots of a sex video clip allegedly featuring the opposition leader and a man were then spread across the Internet on March 14 and the video clip is expected to be released soon. I think that everyone believes that the two events could not be a coincidence. Malaysian politics has been at a crossroads since the 2008 general election. Politicians have engaged in a life-and-death confrontation while the people were forced to take sides of either to support the BN or Pakatan Rakyat. They are not allowed to be neutral or impartial. To win the election, one after another muckraking game has been staged. Words like sodomy, anal sex and oral sex can always be found on newspapers, affecting children's morality. The political climate of loyal support has turned the people's thinking radical. Political violence can be found in both real life and the online world, penetrating every corner of the society. Political fanaticism has reduced the people's ability to judge while affecting their views on the freedom of the press. Initially, the people wanted the two-party system to make the country a better place but due to political myth, the two-party system has become a system of supporting a particular political party. The two-party system should be a political concept that helps to improve the country's political system, with the ultimate goal of reforming the country's system, improving governance and making the country financially sound through checks and balances. If we narrowly position the two-party system as supporting a political party, we will then be hostile to those with different views and even prejudice against them in political discussions. The political confrontation between the two coalitions has shifted the focus. Today, the system has not been changed while the debt continues to increase. Fanatical supporters must also bear the responsibility. Members of the public should support all political ideas that can bring the country a positive change, regardless of whether the ideas are from the BN or Pakatan Rakyat. I support Datuk Seri Najib Razak's removal of the 30 per cent Bumiputera quota on new shareholding, the abolition and amendment of demonic laws, as well as electoral reforms. I also agree with the Pakatan Rakyat's open tender and the idea of making state assembly members' properties public and abolishing the New Economic Policy (NEP). I do not agree with money distribution measures, which are not cost-effective. Only by changing the economic structure, the people's incomes can be improved and root of the problem can be resolved. I support the two-party system with the hope that those in power will be restricted through checks and balances. We must determine who has the ability to bring changes to the country and curb corruption, instead of blindly support without caring about the weaknesses of leaders. We must also assess which management approach is able to reduce debt and consolidate the country's financial situation, instead of supporting the one that can distribute more money. Today's irrational politics originates from the wrong interpretation of two-party system. Fanatic supporters have caused the ruling and alternative coalitions to take the wrong directions. It is a misfortune for the country.

Tak payah skandal, politik Anwar tak lagi handal Posted: 17 Mar 2013 06:34 PM PDT Jadi adalah tidak mustahil untuk menyatakan kemungkinan gambar perlakuan seks (dan mungkin video selepas ini) yang baru ini disebarkan oleh pasukan Anwar sendiri menjelang pilihan raya Umum. oleh Ab Jalil Backer (jalil74@myjaring.net) Sama ada sedar atau tidak, isu skandal seks Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim sudah berusia 15 tahun. Bermula pada 1997 apabila terdapat tuduhan yang dibuat oleh Karpal Singh dalam Parlimen, diikuti pemecatan beliau dari jawatan Timbalan Perdana Menteri (1998), reformasi dan kes Liwat Azizan (1998-2003), Liwat II (2009-2012), video klip lelaki menyerupai beliau mengadakan hubungan seks. Dan sekarang muncul satu lagi skandal beliau atau lelaki menyerupai beliau mengadakan hubungan songsang dengan seorang pemuda "triple A". Sebenarnya orang ramai sudah letih, bosan dan penat dengan skandal yang mengelilingi Anwar bin Ibrahim ini. Barisan Nasional dalam keadaan kuat dan bersedia memenangi pilihan raya ini dengan majoriti 2/3 biar pun Pakatan mungkin masih menguasai satu atau dua negeri. Justeru kemunculan gambar dan video terbaru ini tidak memberi sebarang keuntungan politik kepada Barisan Nasional dan UMNO. Politik Licik Di sebalik Skandal Seks? Sebaliknya, memahami psikologi orang Melayu dan Asia keseluruhan, penyebaran video-video memalukan ini pada saat-saat menjelang pilihan raya mungkin memberi undi simpati kepada Pakatan dan Anwar Ibrahim. Ini pernah terjadi dalam pilihan raya 1999 apabila terdapat gerak kerja UMNO yang terlalu memburukkan Anwar akhirnya memberi undi simpati kepada pakatan pembangkang. READ MORE HERE

BN to win a minimum of 28 seats in S’gor? Posted: 17 Mar 2013 05:56 PM PDT Utusan Malaysia predicts that Barisan Nasional will win at least half of the 56 state assembly seats in Selangor. K Pragalath, FMT Barisan Nasional would win at least half of the 56 state seats in Selangor based on the number of seats won by Pakatan Rakyat with a slim majority at the last general election, Utusan Malaysia reported today. In a news analysis entitled "50-50 or two thirds?", Utusan Malaysia put forth the above notion based on 11 state seats which it said was won by the opposition with a very slender majority. They are Sungai Air Tawar (123 vote majority), Sabak (117), Sekinchan (190) Kuala Kubu Baru (448) Permatang (608), Bukit Malawati (297), Kuang (517), Taman Templer (613) Paya Jaras (642) Teluk Datok (698), and Sri Serdang (45). The confidence was also based on the rise in the number of Malay voters. As such Utusan said that there was no need to worry about Chinese votes swaying in favour of Pakatan. The influence of Chinese voters, according to the Umno-owned newspaper, was limited to only nine state seats located within four parliament constituencies. The four are Kelana Jaya, Subang, Petaling Jaya Utara and Petaling Jaya Selatan. Among the major grouse for the people of Selangor was the state government's failure to bring in development projects, the paper said. Infighting in Perak Utusan Malaysia also highlighted on the infighting among Pakatan leaders in Perak. The newspaper said the announcement of PKR's Dr Muhammad Nur Manuty as Bagan Serai parliamentary candidate was not welcomed by Perak PAS youth because the incumbent MP Mohsin Fadzli Samsuri defected from PKR to be independent. Prior to that the seat was contested by PAS. READ MORE HERE

Uthaya wants to be a PAS candidate Posted: 17 Mar 2013 05:54 PM PDT HRP secretary-general P Uthayakumar says he is willing to stand as a PAS candidate in the general election. Alyaa Azhar, FMT Human Rights Party Malaysia leader P Uthayakumar wants to contest in the Kota Raja parliament seat under the PAS banner but all his attempts to meet PAS leaders so far have been futile. Uthayakumar, who is HRP's pro-tem secretary-general, is basing his hope on a meeting with PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang early last year. "Early last year, we met Abdul Hadi Awang at the PAS headquarters with six other MPs in attendance. "They said that they will field non-Muslims to stand as PAS candidates in the general election. As such, I am prepared to stand as a PAS candidate," said Uthayakumar. According to Uthayakumar, unless he is told to back out, he would still want to contest under PAS. "If they don't want me to contest under their ticket, they have to explain to me why I don't deserve to stand as their candidate," he said. He however admitted that all attempts to meet with PAS representatives have been futile. "We want to meet up but whether it is about meeting to ask for seats or to talk about the Indian poor, we have met a stone wall. "If they do not want to meet up then I would be forced to contest as an independent," he said. Relying on Indian voters When asked as to why he wanted to contest in Kota Raja, he said the decision went hand in hand with his party's focus on Indian issues. "The Kota Raja constituency has the highest number of Indian voters, at 29%. "The constituency is very unique as the Indian community is the majority in the area and there are no army camps and orang asli voters, and we know that the army and orang asli folk are the bulk voters for the BN. "Therefore, I believe that all these factors will work in my favour," he said. READ MORE HERE

Najib set to break tradition Posted: 17 Mar 2013 05:51 PM PDT Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak may break away from tradition by allowing the Johor state assembly to be automatically dissolved first before dissolving Parliament. G Vinod, FMT It appears that for the first time since Malaysia's Independence, the prime minister is going to allow a state assembly to be automatically dissolved before Parliament. The Johor state government's mandate expires tomorrow, paving the way for an automatic dissolution of its state assembly. The next state assembly on the line to be automatically dissolved this month is Negeri Sembilan, with the mandate expiring on March 26. Pundits have described that the 13th general election would be the toughest electoral battle Barisan Nasional would endure, forcing the government to break away from traditions. Most state assemblies would be automatically dissolved next month, with Terengganu (April 7), Selangor (April 22), Perak (April 24), Malacca (April 26), Perlis and Kelantan (April 28), and Sabah (April 29). Penang and Kedah would be automatically dissolved on May 2 while Terengganu's mandate would expire on May 5. However, all signs show that Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak would not wait till April to dissolve Parliament as speculations are rife that he might do it this week. Last Thurday, Najib held a closed-door meeting with BN component party presidents for about seven hours in order to finalise candidates for the general election. He is also widely speculated to have a second meeting with component party leaders this week to iron out other details. Mammoth gatherings Najib, who is seeking his own mandate for the first time, had also attended huge gatherings of three major races in the last four days, in a final bid to shore up support for the ruling coalition. Last Friday, the prime minister attended a mammoth gathering in Kelantan, attended by a predominantly Malay crowd, and criticised Pakatan Rakyat for committing "seven sins". Chief among the sins, according to Najib, was that Pakatan had allowed non-Muslims to use the word Allah to refer to God in their holy books. After that, Najib attended a gathering attended by nearly 30,000 people, organised by the Negeri Sembilan Federation of Chinese Association in Seremban. In the event, Najib said he was grateful for the support the Chinese had given him. In return the association praised Najib for being able to bring economic progress despite a bleak global economic outlook. READ MORE HERE

Manila not giving up claim on Sabah Posted: 17 Mar 2013 03:12 PM PDT President Benigno Aquino says both countries should go back to the negotiation table on the Sabah issue. (FMT) - MANILA: In a clear indication that Manila has not given up its claim to Sabah, President Benigno Aquiino said Philippines is open to negotiating with Malaysia. He said the two countries should embark on a rules-based approach to resolve the Sabah claim similar to the case filed by Manila against Beijing to address the territorial dispute over the Spratley Islands. Speaking before the graduating class of the Philippine Military Academy, Aquino said regardless of whether the claims of the followers of Sulu Sultan Jamalul Kiram III were legitimate, an armed incursion into Sabah was not the way to resolve the dispute. "Let us look at the situation in the West Philippine Sea as an example. Is it not true that, like in the issue of Sabah, we continue to hold firm to principles founded on a rules-based approach, towards a peaceful resolution of the dispute over the islands. "If we were to resort to saber-rattling and violence, the problem would only grow bigger, and in all likelihood, would only carry over to the next generations," the president said. "We all know that for every action, there is a resultant reaction, and that there are problems that cannot be solved hastily—problems that will only beget more problems if we try to solve them through force or recklessness. "What is needed here is a careful and truthful evaluation of the facts, and a subsequent negotiation along those lines, to produce the right solution," he added. According to the Philippine Standard, the president acknowledged that while he will not give up the country's claim on Sabah, neither will Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak. "We already know how complicated this issue is: could any Malaysian Prime Minister so easily agree to let go of a land that, for so long, has been subject to their laws? Is there a Philippine President who would, without a second thought, give up our claim?" Aquino even cited the Bangsamoro framework agreement with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front as example of how "earnest dialogue is more effective, more productive, and more beneficial to all." "Forbearance and reason are not equivalent to cowardice—on the contrary, these are the measures of true courage and resolve, because through these we are able to consider the well-being of not only those living in the here and now, but especially those in the years to come," the president said. Unnamed masterminds Aquino repeated allegations that there were collaborators and financiers who helped the Kirams send a 235-member contingent to Sabah. Without citing specifics or offering evidence, the president said the collaborators "gathered the funds needed to rent boats, to buy gasoline and food, guns and bullets" for the group led by the sultan's brother, Raja Muda Agbimuddin Kiram. Aquino accused the still unnamed "masterminds" and collaborators of selfishly goading the Kirams into going to Sabah. The sultanate of Sulu said Sunday they would ask the US government to arbitrate with the Malaysians to help resolve the Sabah issue. "We are asking President Barack Obama to mediate in the peaceful resolution of our claim in Sabah with Malaysia," Sultanate of Sulu Spokesman Abraham Idjirani said. READ MORE HERE

As the Altantuya Murder Plot Thickens Posted: 17 Mar 2013 02:18 PM PDT   The impression one gets is that Najib prefers to ignore the issue so that it won't get any bigger, and that he hopes people will in time forget. But the issue is not getting smaller, and people have not forgotten after seven years. Kee Thuan Chye  Private investigator P. Balasubramaniam is gone, and his untimely death from a heart attack makes it all the more pressing for Malaysians to find answers to the mystery of the murder of the Mongolian model Altantuya Shaariibuu. Who actually did it? Logically, it would seem unlikely that the two police personnel who have been convicted acted on their own. What would be the motive of Corporal Sirul Azhar Umar and Chief Inspector Azilah Hadri? They didn't even know Altantuya before they whisked her away and dealt the fatal blow. It would seem they were merely hitmen. Furthermore, according to Sirul's cautioned statement, they were offered RM50,000 to RM100,000 to dispose of Altantuya. If this is true, who made the offer? Other questions float in limbo like ghosts whose souls have not been put to rest. How did these two men get their hands on the C4 explosive used to blow Altantuya's body to smithereens? It's something that is difficult to procure. Did they have help from certain quarters? Bala had said that he wanted to reveal what he knew about matters related to the murder in order to bring justice to Altantuya and the two convicted men. But now he is unable to testify in court. He did, however, manage to come home from exile to publicly announce that he stood by his first statutory declaration (SD) in which he implicated Prime Minister Najib Razak – if only in the sense that the latter knew Altantuya and had had a sexual relationship with her, and that he might have influenced the attorney-general on the handling of the murder trial. This first SD also stated that although Bala gave a statement to the police that included Najib's alleged relationship with Altantuya, what he was given to sign omitted this detail. And when he gave testimony at the murder trial, the lawyers never asked him about that relationship either. So seemingly damning was this first SD that the very next day, Bala took everyone by surprise when he came out with a second SD that not only retracted the entire contents of the first but also specifically named as being untrue all the parts that referred to Najib. Since then, businessman Deepak Jaikishan has come out to divulge that he was involved in getting Bala to make the second SD, together with Najib's brother, Nazim. He said he did this at the request of Najib's wife, Rosmah Mansor, and that Najib arranged for a senior lawyer to prepare the second SD. He said he regretted getting involved: "It was the biggest mistake I have made." Does this vindicate Bala? Well, it depends on whether Deepak is telling the truth. Najib has said Deepak is "not credible" and dismissed what he has revealed as "not an issue", even though it reinforces Bala's statement that Najib allegedly knew Altantuya. And now to further consolidate Deepak's allegations about the second SD, Bala's lawyer, Americk Singh, has disclosed to the Bar Council that the senior lawyer who Deepak said prepared it is Cecil Abraham. Americk said Cecil disclosed this to him in confidence, and – even more interesting – that Cecil said he was acting on instructions from Najib. Americk apologised to Cecil for breaking his promise of confidence, but felt he had to make it for the sake of carrying on Bala's quest for justice. To many, Americk did the right thing. The obvious next step now is for the relevant authorities to query Cecil to verify if this is true. Of course, it could still be one man's word against the other's. If Cecil did prepare the second SD knowing that it would contradict Bala's true intent, he would be guilty of professional misconduct. But if he denies it, and assuming that he believes Bala's first SD to be true, he would be maligning the word of a man who has just died. It will be a tough call for Cecil. And even if he were to admit that it was Najib who gave him the instructions, it still may not prove anything unless he has black-and-white evidence of those instructions, or someone else was present to corroborate the fact. Read more at: http://my.news.yahoo.com/blogs/bull-bashing/altantuya-murder-plot-thickens-080218923.html

Wanita Umno sebar risalah bodohkan orang kampung Posted: 17 Mar 2013 02:06 PM PDT   Milo Suam  PROPAGANDA 3R (Race, Royalti and Religion) terus digunakan oleh Umno dan Barisan Nasional untuk menarik sokongan Melayu. Terbaru sebuah risalah yang jelas fitnah disebarkan oleh Wanita Umno Bukit Katil untuk memperbodohkan orang Melaka. Jika anda ada akal fikiran yang waras, sila baca dan nilai kebenaran risalah di bawah ini baik-baik.   Read at: http://milosuam.blogspot.com/2013/03/wanita-umno-sebar-risalah-bodohkan.html

A Respond to CM Lim Guan Eng: We Should Not Have to Suffer From a Failed Political System ... Posted: 17 Mar 2013 01:12 PM PDT   It appears to me that your government is trying to use the current 'overwhelming majority' to push through the project by equating any opposition to the project as an opposition to your government. It has given me an impression that your administration is putting this project at a higher priority than your party's political struggle to end corruption, to enhance separation of power, to decentralize federal control and to promote other democratic ideals.      Khoo Kay Peng  Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng, since your letter to Malaysiakini.com and The Malaysian Insider is directed to the critics of the proposed highways and a third-link underwater tunnel project worth RM6.3 billion it qualifies me to respond to you. I was one of your lesser-known critics. Whether you choose to believe or not, I do not work for or represent any political party or NGO.   I am a voter in Penang and I firmly believe that politicians and policy makers whom we have chosen to govern the nation through a strenuous but necessary electoral process should be responsible to do their best for the people. You said that we (the critics) have made misleading claims against your proposal. I shall endeavour to prove it to you that the concerns I have raised are not without their merits. I would like you to view these issues from a non-politician or voter standpoint. You claimed that the project is a "desperate" effort to decongest traffic congestion on the island and bring about smoother traffic flow on the mainland of Seberang Perai.You pointed at the failure or reluctance of the federal government to entertain the state's numerous requests to help improve public bus service on the island as a main contributor to your administration's desperation. If given a choice, you concurred that improving public transport is still the best option. You said; "Much as we prefer the public transport option, one must not forget that public transport in whatever form is the exclusive prerogative of the federal government. Even if it is funded by the state government, nothing can be done without the sanction of the federal government. Therefore, regurgitating the homily that we should be investing in public transport instead is akin to beating a dead horse." Here is where I am going to attempt to get you and other politicians to see our viewpoint. First, if the reluctance to explore the public transport option is due to politics why should the people be made to suffer the consequences of our deplorable state of politics? In a matured democracy, politicians should be able to differentiate between when to engage in a political battle and when to cooperate for the common good of the people. However, you are implying that the people should ultimately be burdened with an expensive alternative project proposed by your administration because of the reckless and endless political bickering between the two coalitions.   Read more at: http://khookaypeng.blogspot.com/2013/03/a-respond-to-cm-lim-guan-eng-we-should.html

Media should not play up Mahathir Posted: 17 Mar 2013 12:49 PM PDT   How can we have two Prime Ministers, in fact three if we include Muhyiddin Yassin as well. The Constitution makes no provision for a Deputy Prime Minister. It's just an administrative device but the man (Muhyi) seems to be getting carried away by his post. Samy Vellu was right to tell then Deputy Prime Minister Musa Hitam to "go jump into the lake". If we include Rosmah Mansor too, we have four Prime Ministers in the country. Joe Fernandez  The way former Prime Mahathir Mohamad has been carrying on since retiring, keeping himself very much in the public eye, it appears that he wants his old job back and this time perhaps until he dies and that could be at 97+. That could be the real reason why the 13th General Election has been unduly delayed. Mahathir is now 88 years old. Mahathir's latest visit was to Sabah where he visited the troops in Lahad Datu besides delivering a lecture at UMS on the RCI. He repeated blatant lies on the MyKad scam in Sabah and the media dutifully reported them. His remarks were subjudice and bordered on contempt of court. Of course, as usual, the media will NOT run an editorial tearing Mahathir to bits for his errant remarks. He also advised troops in Sabah to adopt guerrilla warfare. Is he a military expert too besides having perfected the art of putting the hands in the National Cookie Jar under the guise of bringing development to the people? Since when did a Government force anywhere in the world engage in guerrilla warfare? Leave that to the Royal Sulu Army and their MNLF backers. Mahathir has no business carrying on like this. In the US they have a Code of Ethics. An ex-President in the US is not supposed to do many things while in other cases, he needs the written permission of the sitting President. The media does not play up ex-Presidents. There are certain rules of conduct to follow. The Vice-President in the US has no work except to sit in his office and count paper clips while waiting for the President to die in office. He's the back-up. Otherwise, the Vice President dutifully does what the President tells him. He can't even breathe without the President's permission. Have we ever heard the US Vice President say that he's white first and American second? Or that the people should be grateful and thankful to the Democratic Party? In Malaysia, Mahathir does what he wants including embarrassing and even humiliating the Prime Minister. Everyone knows how he hounded his successor, Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, out of office. He did the same thing to his predecessor, Hussein Onn. Why is the Opposition Leader, usually considered the Prime Minister in Waiting, keeping quiet on Mahathir's errant behaviour? Everyone knows that the Umno Supreme Council, thanks to his US$ 44 billion in ill-gotten gains and his Big Black Book of Everyone's Sins, is in his pocket. A change in Umno could see Mahathir taking over as Acting Umno President after Najib makes way for him given his numerous scandals as reported and fouling up Lahad Datu. The media should observe certain ethics and not play up Mahathir at the expense of the Prime Minister and the Opposition Leader. Why do they seek out his comments all the time on issues ranging from running the country to changing diapers? It's really infantile on the part of the media. They are doing a disservice to the country. The media, being public service organisations, are supposed to highlight matters of public interest, not help Mahathir run the country through the Court of Public Opinion. The media doesn't have to highlight his blog postings either and generate controversies over them. Those interested can visit Mahathir's blog and leave their comments there. The chances are their critical comments will be blocked. Mahathir's time has passed. He should let go. For better or worse, he should hold his peace. He claims that he has the democratic right to speak his mind like any citizen. However, he should know that he's not an ordinary citizen and cannot claim that right. He has no right to speak up in public on anything. How can we have two Prime Ministers, in fact three if we include Muhyiddin Yassin as well. The Constitution makes no provision for a Deputy Prime Minister. It's just an administrative device but the man (Muhyi) seems to be getting carried away by his post. Samy Vellu was right to tell then Deputy Prime Minister Musa Hitam to "go jump into the lake". If we include Rosmah Mansor too, we have four Prime Ministers in the country. Often, she walks ahead of the Prime Minister in public. Where's the Protocol on this and other matters? Every generation has a right to rule themselves. They don't have to be perfect if there's any such thing. It's okay to make mistakes. That's where the learning begins and success comes. Someone should lead a campaign against Mahathir's interference in Government and the media's failings on this issue. Mahathir lacks goodwill and mouths nothing but self-serving racism, prejudice and opportunism in public and private.

GE13: ‘Two dragons’ giving way Posted: 17 Mar 2013 12:45 PM PDT   Mohd Zin and Noh have declared that they are not after the mentri besar post, paving the way for Barisan Nasional to make Selangor the epicentre state in the general election. Joceline Tan, The Star  THE big question of who will be Barisan Nasional's candidate for mentri besar is still blowing in the wind. No one in Barisan is quite sure who it will be. But what many are sure of is that two of Selangor's most prominent Umno leaders have declared that they will not be going for the MB post. Datuk Seri Mohd Zin Mohamed and Datuk Seri Noh Omar openly said at a recent political retreat in Shah Alam that they had informed the Prime Minister of their stand. Noh, who is Tanjung Karang MP and Agriculture and Agro-based Industries Minister, was the first to broach this touchy subject before the gathering of about 200 multi-level grassroots leaders from all state Barisan component parties. For Noh, it is also about coming to terms with the new political landscape in Selangor. The Umno strongman has been unable to live down that "pendatang" remark made during the Hulu Selangor by-election back in 2010 and it sort of sealed his fate for bigger things in the state. He told the gathering that he is happy to remain a candidate for a parliamentary seat in Selangor which would effectively put him out of the running for the MB post. "Why would I want to be MB? I am not exaggerating, I am telling everyone that I am not chasing the post. This is my fourth term as an MP. I have been a parliamentary secretary, deputy minister and now minister. "If I contest again, it will be my fifth term as a wakil rakyat. Even if I am not nominated, I promise, I will work for the party," he said to loud applause. Mohd Zin, who is Sepang MP and Selangor Barisan coordinator, was also greeted by applause when he said that he had informed Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak that he was not interested in the MB post. "It does not make sense to squabble for the MB post. We prefer to see ourselves as Team Najib," he said. He assured everyone that he was quite satisfied being an MP. He also drew laughter when he joked that the Selangor MB's post was too hot to handle and that life would be simpler being an ordinary MP or perhaps an ambassador. "They are big names. They are like the dragons of Selangor. The message we got was that they are putting the party's interest above their own. That gives PM the freedom to decide," said Kapar Umno deputy chief Datuk Faizal Abdullah. Najib is said to be very pleased with the work put in by Mohd Zin who was initially Selangor Umno secretary. Last year Najib promoted him to state Barisan coordinator and last month, he was made deputy state election director. Mohd Zin is not only hardworking, but has injected a lot of thinking and strategy into Barisan's comeback quest in Selangor. He has built up an impressive war room and some are even talking about the Selangor model being made a political prototype. Both men have given their commitment to Najib, who is the Selangor Barisan chief. Najib is said to have two or three names in mind for the post. He does not intend to announce the names until the time is right. He has told selected circles that if Barisan is successful in Selangor, he will present the names to the Sultan of Selangor and if Tuanku has no objection to any of the names, he will exercise his prerogative to pick the MB of his choice. He respects the Palace, he understands protocol and he intends to observe the procedure. By now it is amply clear that Barisan is hungry to regain Selangor. All their efforts and preparations of the last five years are about to come to this moment. There has been a lot of hoopla about Johor being the Pakatan frontline state, but the big battleground will be Selangor. The mood among the Barisan players, especially Umno, is very high. Selangor has 56 state seats of which Pakatan controls 32, Barisan 20 and one by an independent. "The PM has told us very clearly that he is not interested in hearing feel-good fairy tales. He does not want us to tell him bedtime stories or sing nice songs. He wants the hard facts," said Faizal, who is also deputy treasurer of the state Barisan. At the last state Barisan meeting, Najib informed those present that he had a good feeling about the election. Everywhere he has gone, people of all races have given him an enthusiastic reception. He recalled that some even try to hug him and he can feel their warmth and friendship. Everyone laughed when he said: "Insyallah, I pray it will also translate into votes." The Selangor manifesto is ready and Faizal who has had a sneak preview of it said that it is a comprehensive document that reaches out to everyone. "More important, it is not empty promises," said Faizal. The word is out that Barisan is confident of taking 32 seats. It has conceded 14 black seats held mainly by DAP while another 10 seats are considered as grey seats. The casualties in Selangor will be PAS and PKR, especially in seats where Malays form the bulk of voters. "Selangor will be the epicentre. Our aim is to ensure that Selangor will be the first state to achieve a high-income economy," said Mohd Zin.

GE13: Pakatan to decentralise power if it wins polls, says Lim Posted: 17 Mar 2013 12:43 PM PDT   (The Star) - Pakatan Rakyat will decentralise the power to return the spirit of Malaysia's Constitution if it wins the next general election, says DAP leader Lim Kit Siang. In the latest entry in his blog atlimkitsiang.com, he said Pakatan would reverse the powers of the Executive, which he claimed has turned Parliament into an institution beholden to the Barisan Nasional-led government. He added that the supremacy and independence of Parliament are accepted concepts adopted and practised by all parliamentary democracies. He said Pakatan would appoint an independent Dewan Rakyat Speaker who is not beholden to the Executive and would revise the current Standing Orders for the House to enable a level playing field for both Government and Opposition MPs. There would also be no more provisions to empower ministers in keeping with the concept of separation of powers. The Ipoh Timur MP also said Bills would be handed out two weeks ahead of their tabling to enable the lawmakers more time to study and get public feedback on the proposed laws. Lim also promised to replace the contentious Official Secrets Act with a Freedom of Information Act, which had already been passed as law in Selangor, to create a transparent and accountable government system. A Constitutional Court would also be formed to settle disputes that conflict with the country's laws, he added. The main institutions under the Malaysian Federal Constitution are the Legislature (Parliament), the Executive (Federal Government) and the Judiciary (Courts).

BN Tidak Perlukan Skandal Seks Anwar Untuk Menang Pilihan Raya Posted: 17 Mar 2013 12:40 PM PDT   Ab Jalil Backer Sama ada sedar atau tidak, isu skandal seks Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim sudah berusia 15 tahun. Bermula pada 1997 apabila terdapat tuduhan yang dibuat oleh Karpal Singh dalam Parlimen, diikuti pemecatan beliau dari jawatan Timbalan Perdana Menteri (1998), reformasi dan kes Liwat Azizan (1998-2003), Liwat II (2009-2012), video klip lelaki menyerupai beliau mengadakan hubungan seks. Dan sekarang muncul satu lagi skandal beliau atau lelaki menyerupai beliau mengadakan hubungan songsang dengan seorang pemuda "triple A". Sebenarnya orang ramai sudah letih, bosan dan penat dengan skandal yang mengelilingi Anwar bin Ibrahim ini. Barisan Nasional dalam keadaan kuat dan bersedia memenangi pilihan raya ini dengan majoriti 2/3 biar pun Pakatan mungkin masih menguasai satu atau dua negeri. Justeru kemunculan gambar dan video terbaru ini tidak memberi sebarang keuntungan politik kepada Barisan Nasional dan UMNO. Politik Licik Di sebalik Skandal Seks? Sebaliknya, memahami psikologi orang Melayu dan Asia keseluruhan, penyebaran video-video memalukan ini pada saat-saat menjelang pilihan raya mungkin memberi undi simpati kepada Pakatan dan Anwar Ibrahim. Ini pernah terjadi dalam pilihan raya 1999 apabila terdapat gerak kerja UMNO yang terlalu memburukkan Anwar akhirnya memberi undi simpati kepada pakatan pembangkang. Justeru ia menimbulkan tanda tanya sama ada gambar-gambar sensasi terbaru ini disebarkan oleh Barisan Nasional atau oleh Anwar sendiri. Perilaku dan peribadi Anwar tidak lagi penting kerana apa yang dipaparkan dan disiarkan sebelum ini sama ada di Mahkamah, di dalam media massa mahu pun ruang siber sudah cukup untuk membantu rakyat membuat keputusan sama ada mahu terus menyokong Anwar atau sebaliknya. Dengan kata lain mereka yang mengambil kira moral dan perlakuan luar tabie Anwar sudah membuat keputusan untuk menolak Pakatan. Manakala mereka yang mahu terus bergantung kepada Anwar akan terus mempertahankan Anwar sehingga ke tahap video hanyalah besi yang tidak boleh menjadi saksi. Jadi adalah tidak mustahil untuk menyatakan kemungkinan gambar perlakuan seks (dan mungkin video selepas ini) yang baru ini disebarkan oleh pasukan Anwar sendiri menjelang pilihan raya Umum. Pasukan Anwar menyedari bahawa terdapat perubahan besar sikap rakyat terhadap Barisan Nasional sejak enam bulan yang lalu apabila pelbagai program mesra rakyat, penerangan isu semasa dan akhir sekali kesungguhan kerajaan menyelesaikan isu Lahad Datu mendapat impak yang positif. Pakatan dalam keadaan terdesak apabila beberapa kenyataan pemimpin mereka terhadap insiden Lahad Datu telah menimbulkan kemarahan rakyat. Untuk mengalih isu sikap kurang ajar pemimpin pakatan terhadap pasukan keselamatan, dengan tiba-tiba sahaja isu skandal seks Anwar kembali hidup. Pasukan Anwar sendiri yang menghidupkannya apabila menggunakan Azlan Mohd Lazim, bapa kepada Saiful Bukhari Azlan (yang mengaku beliau diliwat Anwar), untuk memburukkan anaknya sendiri. Sungguhpun isu ini kembali menjadi perhatian rakyat namun ia tidak sebesar tumpuan rakyat kepada isu kebobrokan perangai dan perkataan Tian Chua dan beberapa lagi pemimpin Pakatan terhadap insiden Lahad Datu. Pakatan perlukan satu isu sensasi besar untuk mengubah perhatian rakyat daripada isu Lahad Datu. Dalam keadaan tersebut tiba-tiba sahaja muncul satu lagi gambar sensasi mmebabitkan individu yang menyerupai Anwar. Adalah tidak mustahil gambar ini disebarkan oleh kumpulan Anwar sendiri bagi mengalih isu dan menagih simpati. Malah tidak menghairankan jika dalam sedikit masa lagi akan muncul individu yang menyerupai Anwar Ibrahim mengakui bahawa beliaulah lelaki dalam gambar dan video tersebut. Anwar bukanlah begitu bodoh. Tidak mustahil dalam tempoh setahun yang lalu beliau telah membayar seseorang untuk membuat pembedahan plastik membentuk semula wajah seiras dengan beliau. Malahan dengan membesarkan isu ini, mungkinkah Anwar mencipta jalan dan skrip untuk mengadakan sumpah laknat selepas Parlimen dibubarkan. Sumpah laknat tidak akan menunjukkan kesan dalam masa yang singkat. Malahan menurut para ulama ia mungkin mengambil masa bertahun sebelum nampak jelas kesannya. Jika Anwar memilih untuk bersumpah selepas Parlimen dibubarkan ia sekadar untuk mengelirukan rakyat. Kita perlu ingat Anwar telah diminta bersumpah sejak beberapa tahun lalu tapi beliau enggan melakukan. Jika beliau melakukan selepas pembubaran Parlimen itu bermakna beliau berbuat untuk kepentingan politik bukannya untuk kebenaran. Read more at: http://www.mykmu.net/?p=27705

Jabidah and Merdeka: The inside story Posted: 17 Mar 2013 12:36 PM PDT     (Rappler Editor's note: On March 18, 1968 -- exactly 45 years ago today -- at least 23 Muslim trainees were shot to death on Corregidor Island in what has since been known as the Jabidah massacre. Below is a summary of "In the name of honor?," the chapter on the Philippine government's clandestine operation to invade Sabah written by Marites Dañguilan Vitug and Glenda M. Gloria in their book "Under the Crescent Moon: Rebellion in Mindanao," which was first published in 2000.) MANILA, Philippines - As it was a special government operation, details of Oplan Merdeka were known only to a few people. But the general concept was explained to the officers who were involved in it. The Philippines was to train a special commando unit -- named Jabidah -- that would create havoc in Sabah. The situation would force the Philippine government to either take full control of the island or the residents would by themselves decide to secede from Malaysia. Many Filipinos from Sulu, Tawi-Tawi, and parts of Mindanao had migrated to Sabah. Oplan Merdeka was banking on this large community to turn the tide in favor of secession. About 17 men, mostly recruits from Sulu and Tawi-Tawi, entered Sabah as forest rangers, mailmen, police. The Filipino agents blended into Sabah's communities. Their main task was to use psychological warfare to indoctrinate and convince the large number of Filipinos residing in Sabah to secede from Malaysia and be part of the Philippines. Part of their job was to organize communities which would support secession and be their allies when the invasion took place. They also needed to reconnoiter the area and study possible landing points for airplanes and docking sites for boats. The project did not exactly start from ground zero. Even before then Army Maj Eduardo Martelino sent his men to Sabah, Philippine armed forces intelligence was already eavesdropping on the island. In the early 1960s, there was concern over the possibility that a Pan-Islamic movement financed by Libya's Muammar Qadaffi would reach the southern Philippines. Martelino himself went to Sabah 3 times on secret missions as head of the Jabidah forces, he would reveal in a newspaper interview on Aug 1, 1968. The landing points he used were Tambisan Point, Lahad Datu, and Semporna. Some of his men traveled on one of the 50 or more fast-moving fishing boats owned by big-time smuggler Lino Bocalan. They frequently travelled from Cavite to Sabah, where they loaded thousands of cases of "blue-seal" cigarettes. At that time, imported cigarettes were not allowed into the Philippines. Bocalan, only 31 then, was already a millionaire. In his coastal home in Cavite in 1998, Bocalan admitted: "Marcos told me he needed help for Sabah. My duty was to finance the operation. I spent millions (of pesos)… I fed the Filipino trainees in Sabah, paid their salaries. I sent my brother and my people to Tawi-Tawi and Corregidor to give food and money (to the recruits.)." Malaysia seemed an easy and vulnerable target at that time. The Federation was still new and fragile, having come into being only in 1963. Ferdinand Marcos cast his covetous eyes on a country that was still on its way to political cohesion. On the ground, though, trade relations between Mindanao and Sabah picked up. Traders made regular clandestine visits and their business was classified as "smuggling." Feeling the need to reduce smuggling in that zone, the government looked for a special operations officer to map out an anti-smuggling campaign plan. Thus, all 3 factors converged and became the context as well as backdrop for Oplan Merdeka: the fear of a Pan-Islamic movement creeping into Mindanao, a vulnerable Federation of Malaysia, and an anti-smuggling operation. FAILED DREAMS. This is where a Jabidah recruit, Ernesto Sambas, continues to live in Simunul, Tawi-Tawi. Photo by Karlos Manlupig Simunul training The training of recruits from Sulu and Tawi-Tawi was done in Simunul, a picturesque island-town of Tawi-Tawi (Read: Jabidah recruits plotted Sabah standoff). From August to December 1967, Martelino, assisted by then Lt Eduardo Batalla, set up camp and trained close to 200 men -- Tausugs and Sama (the dominant ethnic tribe in Tawi-Tawi) aged 18 to about 30. A number of them had had experience in smuggling and sailing the kumpit, a wooden boat commonly used in the area. What enticed the young men to Martelino's escapade was the promise of being part of an elite unit in the Armed Forces. It was not just an ordinary job. It gave them legitimate reason to carry guns -- carbines and Thompson submachine guns. It gave them a sense of power. Camp Sophia, named after Martelino's second wife, a young, naive, and pretty Muslim, was inside a coconut plantation, fenced by barbed wire. A hut housed a powerful transceiver and served as a radio room. Bunks were made of ipil-ipil and makeshift twigs. A watchtower stood tall in the perimeter, facing the sea. It was a world of their own making, with the trainees wearing distinct badges showing crossbones and a black skull with a drip of blood on the forehead. Their rings were engraved with skull and crossbones. Today, no trace remains of a military camp in Simunul, not a single marker. What was once Camp Sophia now looks deserted, planted to palm and coconut trees with wild grass. Read more at: http://www.rappler.com/newsbreak/24025-jabidah-massacre-merdeka-sabah

Pamper the kingmakers? Posted: 17 Mar 2013 12:16 PM PDT You should by now see the ratio of civil servants and their families to the overall voter population. If we take 5.68 million, it is almost half of the number of eligible voters in the country, and the ratio will well exceed half if we take 7.10 million. by Lim Mun Fah and translated by Dominic Loh, Sin Chew Reasonable increments have never become an issue at all. While there are justifiable reasons for the RM1.5 billion early pay adjustments for the country's civil servants, the same never fails to arouse controversies from people on different sides of the political divide. There are some 1.42 million civil servants in this country, and the increments will benefit each and every one of them, including the 50,000 whose contracts will expire by the end of this year, as their services will most likely be extended for another year. Let's put aside the question whether the 1.42 million civil servants make up an opulent part of the country's 28 million population (about one in every 20 Malaysians), and let's also put aside the question whether the proposed increments will add to the country's burden or jazz up public service productivity. Increments for civil servants have oddly become a rare "consensus" among ruling and opposition parties which are inclined to find faults with each other in almost everything. Such a consensus needs no profound economic theories to sustain. Anyone with the most fundamental arithmetic abilities will be able to deduce that such a manoeuvre is well worth the effort. Let's do some simple calculations: There are 1.42 million civil servants in the country, and let's suppose each household is made up of an average of four members, and this will bring us a total of 5.68 million people benefiting from the government's latest generosity. And if each household has five members, then the total will swell to 7.10 million. Now let's take a look at another figure. According to the latest electorate statistics, there are 13.29 million Malaysians eligible to vote in the coming general election. You should by now see the ratio of civil servants and their families to the overall voter population. If we take 5.68 million, it is almost half of the number of eligible voters in the country, and the ratio will well exceed half if we take 7.10 million. Of course, the actual figure may not be that high, as we must exclude minors not eligible to vote. If we take only three people for each household, the total beneficiaries will stand at 4.26 million, almost a third of all eligible voters. The most formidable bedrock of democracy is the electorate. Given the political reality where every vote counts, accommodating public desires has provided the most reliable assurance for secured ballot support. The 1.42 million-strong civil servants along with their family members should form a powerful force that will tip the final election outcome, a fact no parties, ruling or opposition, can afford to ignore or contravene. Given the fact that every party wants an additional vote count, it has now transcended beyond the question of right or wrong to increase civil servants' salaries. Public servants constitute a reckoned force in every single democratic election under the sun, whom rival parties would try their utmost to please. The total ballot count is of paramount importance. No one would bother how much thinner our treasury will become, nor would they recall the austerity drive we once championed loudly.

We didn’t start it: Dr M Posted: 17 Mar 2013 11:12 AM PDT Radzi Razak, The Sun Daily Malaysia did not take the offensive in dealing with the Philippine terrorists but retaliated and attacked only after security forces were killed. Former prime minister Tun Mahathir Mohamad said people from the Philippines such as the Bajau and Suluk had made Sabah their home for years and were treated well by the government and even granted citizenship. "We have people from the same descendants who are loyal to the country. They support the Malaysian security forces and do not support what the terrorists did," he told the media after visiting a temporary army camp in Felda Sahabat today. Mahathir spent about an hour at the camp and was warmly greeted by the soldiers. He also said he wanted to thank the soldiers and policemen who had made sacrifices for the safety and sovereignty of the people in the country. "I am indebted to them and I think many people wanted to thank them for saving their lives as well. I found them (the soldiers) happy, spirited and I am convinced they can do the job," he said. Mahathir suggested that the security forces could do with more suitable equipment for operating in treacherous terrain. "I think they need more suitable equipment in view of the swampy area shallow water. It's difficult for the army boats to operate under such conditions." He was confident the government will deal with this problem urgently. Earlier, in Papar, Mahathir said the government had never issued any directive to any quarter to issue identity cards (IC) or citizenship to unqualified immigrants in Sabah. He said Sabahans could not blame the government during his administration for fraud committed by certain parties for self-interest.

PR Manifesto: Sustainable? Posted: 17 Mar 2013 11:06 AM PDT The Pakatan Rakyat manifesto Gan Pei Ling, The Nut Graph THE Pakatan Rakyat (PR) released its manifesto amid much fanfare at its national convention on 25 February 2013. The coalition promises to raise Malaysian household incomes to at least RM4,000 a month, increase the minimum wage to RM1,100 and create one million jobs should it come into power. On the environmental front, the federal opposition pledges to halt the Lynas rare earth refinery's operations in Gebeng, Pahang, review a multibillion petrochemical project in Pengerang, Johor, and the mega dams in Sarawak. It targets to reduce traffic congestion in the Klang Valley and other major cities by 50% during its first term via investments in public transport. Furthermore, it says it will reform existing logging laws and activities. Granted, the manifesto is an improvement from Buku Jingga, the common policy platform the PR unveiled in 2010, which neglected the environment and indigenous rights entirely. But it remains lacking in many areas. What else does the PR need to consider to demonstrate they are able to plan for the future and provide sustainable development if voted into power? Food security The PR laid out several measures to reform our economy but completely ignored the agriculture sector in its manifesto. This is problematic as Malaysia has become a net importer of food. The country spent some RM221.8 billion on food imports in the past decade. We have chosen to specialise in cash crops such as oil palm and rubber at the expense of food crops, according to Professor Dr Fatimah Mohd Arshad from Universiti Putra Malaysia. Nearly 84% of our agricultural land is used for export crops, with oil palm taking the lion's share of 63.4% in 2005, she pointed out in an article, Global Food Prices: Implication for Food Security in Malaysia, co-written with Anna Awad Abdel Hameed. Professor Dr Fatimah Mohd Arshad (Source: crrc.org.my) Meanwhile, federal allocation for agriculture plunged from 17% of the annual budget in 1990 to 5.8% in 2005, Fatimah and Anna Awad highlighted in their piece published in the Journal of Consumer Research and Resource Centre in 2009. And while the federal government dished out generous cash subsidies to paddy farmers, it left other food sectors out in the cold to develop with minimal support. With supermarkets easily available around town, living in the city creates an illusion that food supply remains abundant. But the rate of global population growth has long surpassed the rate of agricultural production, Fatimah and Anna Awad noted.  Global food prices will continue to rise as an unpredictable climate further reduces crop yields. Low-income households, who spend the bulk of their income on food, are the most vulnerable to food price hikes. What will the PR do to reform our agricultural sector and feed Malaysia's growing population, which is approaching 30 million people, with nutritious, affordable food? What steps will it take to encourage organic farming and sustainable fishing practices? How much will it invest in agricultural research and development? These are just some of the questions the PR needs to deal with. Renewable energy Another important sector neglected by the PR in its manifesto is the power industry. Aside from a pledge to scrap independent power producers' gas subsidies and divert it to lower electricity tariffs, the coalition makes no further mention of the energy sector. Despite it being a necessity in modern life, some Malaysians, particularly indigenous people and communities living in remote areas, still do not have access to electricity. What will the PR to do ensure every citizen enjoys reliable, affordable power supply? Datuk Seri Peter Chin (Source: peterchin.my) Malaysia is expected to become a net oil importer in two years, according to current Energy, Green Technology and Water Minister Datuk Seri Peter Chin. Our country relies largely on gas and coal for power. An overdependence on fossil fuel has resulted in renewable energy sources taking a back seat, the minister conceded in 2012. In the face of depleting local gas resources, what will the PR do to ensure Malaysia's energy supply? Will it import more coal? Will it consider nuclear as an option? How much will it invest in renewable energy sources such as solar, biomass or other options? In addition, the level of Malaysia's energy consumption versus productivity remains low compared to countries like Singapore and Japan. What innovative measures will the PR implement to cut wastage? Meaningful public participation The PR also needs to assure the public that it will hold genuine public consultations before approving major projects. Decades of local governments approving "development" projects without taking into account the existing capacity of roads, drains and other infrastructure has resulted in traffic congestion and flash floods becoming the norm. Coupled with the lack of green spaces, the quality of life in most cities is deteriorating. Proper public consultation and provision of information will help towards gauging the potential environmental and social impact of a proposed project. It is thus surprising that the PR's manifesto is silent on the abolition of the Official Secrets Act and the enactment of a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). Some PR politicians said the manifesto should be read together with the Buku Jingga, which does mention freedom of information. But wasn't the manifesto built on the Buku Jingga? How is it that the FOIA was excluded? READ MORE HERE

Photographs a hot topic in cyberspace Posted: 17 Mar 2013 11:02 AM PDT (The Star) - Photographs showing a man resembling an Opposition leader in compromising positions with another man have become a hit in cyberspace. With the matter becoming a hot topic of discussion in cyberspace, netizens are acting as judge and jury. While some condemned the politician concerned, another group is stoutly defending him. One blog uploaded 13 "teaser" black and white photographs, purportedly screen grabs of a video on Thursday. Among others, it showed the man resembling the leader kissing another man and smooching at the man's armpit. There is also a picture showing the back of a naked man walking in a room. Many other blogs have followed suit and uploaded the photographs with netizens giving their unreserved views via Twitter, Facebook and other social media. A netizen said such behaviour was not acceptable in Islam and described such individuals as not being fit to be leaders. Another wrote that people can "use their eyes and brains" to decide on the matter. One netizen felt that even if the video was to be screened, hardcore supporters of the leader would reject it. DAP national chairman Karpal Singh said the photographs were aimed at tarnishing the image of Pakatan Rakyat and create negative perceptions with an impending general election. Opposition Leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has denied being the man in the photographs, describing it as a disgusting political gimmick executed by Umno. He said he would let his lawyers handle the matter.

Needed now: Some ‘good tailoring’ Posted: 17 Mar 2013 10:42 AM PDT The NEP "morphed" into the NDP, and the package of political arrangements that had been devised to go with it was now given a new, and continuing, justification through the doctrine of "Ketuanan Melayu", an ideology of permanent and perpetual Malay ascendancy over national life. Clive Kessler, TMI A nationally fateful election is about to be called. While we all wait, a key underlying question becomes ever more insistent: What does Malaysia now need? My answer to that question is "some good tailoring". Yes, there are tailors aplenty in Malaysia, many of them good, and far better than just good. But by good tailoring I mean here something else. Clothing the Body Like most countries, Malaysia has a constitution. That constitution is basis of the nation. It provides the inner structure and form of "the body politic". It furnished the basis of Merdeka and remains the bedrock of nationhood. The Constitution is still sound. It will remain sound provided people understand it clearly: so long as people understand what it says and was intended to say, and how what it says was shaped — and so is to be "read against", meaning initially and primarily understood in the context of — the political challenges of that time. Of that time, and not the rather different current political demands that people may now wish to "read back" into it. Despite all the many political dramas and traumas of half a century and more, it is still in good shape. It is not only remains a solid basis for nationhood. More, it is the only one that Malaysia has, or is ever likely to. But like any human body, it cannot live naked in the world. It needs to be appropriately clothed. It needs proper attire and appropriate garb if it is to appear publicly to people at any time. That is true not just of Malaysia but applies everywhere. The body's basic form and structure, its bare constitutional fundamentals, need to be properly clothed and dressed. That kind of clothing, needed by all nations in their own individually distinctive ways, is an appropriate set of political arrangements and institutions. A socially serviceable framework of governance. Such a framework is needed to give practical form and expression to the constitution and constitutional principles. Only in that way that can constitutional principles bridge, and bind together in a morally sustainable and hence politically effective way, the great dualities: state and society, government and people, rulers and citizens, national policy and the everyday life of the people. Malaysia's political clothing: A brief historical overview. Malaysia has, in its half century and more of national independence, "kitted itself out" with that necessary kind of political clothing. More than once, in fact. Its initial set of political clothing, the nation's first proudly worn outfit, was created and taken on with the achievement of independence. That was the first form in which the nation's constitutional fundamentals were given political form and expression, or politically effective attire. That outfit was the political framework or "dispensation" that carried forward into national independence the political understandings and processes of "intercommunal conciliation" — what some call the pre-independence "Merdeka process" leading to the "Merdeka agreements" — that had enabled national independence to be achieved and recognised. The nation's first political dispensation, framework or "ruling formula" was centred on the old "tripartite" Alliance Party of Umno, MCA and MIC. As is well known, that political framework collapsed, in the wake of the 1969 elections, after less than 12 years of independence. The election results, following the intense political contestation over the years immediately preceding those events, painfully demonstrated that those arrangements could no longer effectively bridge, and connect, state and society, the logic of national governance and the dynamics of everyday life at the popular level. They no longer provided serviceable clothing for the underlying body of the nation's constitutional principles, its foundational commitments. In short, they were no longer convincing. They no longer seemed legitimate. So, in turn, they no longer had the capacity to endow the existing national leadership with popular legitimacy. With the collapse of that first "ruling formula" or set of political arrangements, a kind of interval — a "holiday" from routine politics or "political recess" — was declared. The national "body politic" and its basic constitutional form were now stripped bare of their familiar institutional garb. The liberal democratic political attire that it had worn since independence was temporarily set aside. Instead, for a couple of years it wore a kind of basic semi-military clothing. It put on the plain garments, sometimes called "fatigues" or heavy-duty "overalls", that are well suited for doing rough work. Malaysia, that is to say, was instead managed, administered and ruled under a national command directorate (known as the National Operations Council) while some new attire, a second set of political clothing for the Constitution, could be tailored and fitted onto nation's underlying body. Between 1970 and 1972 that new political clothing, the new political arrangements and framework of national governance, was created and made known. Centred upon the new and expanded Umno-led ruling coalition now known as the Barisan Nasional, it was instituted with one central objective: to promote what was seen as the essential remedy for the causes of the upheavals of 1969, the National Economic Policy or NEP. The source of those upheavals was seen to have lain in the economically-based marginalisation of the peninsular Malays from national life; the remedy was now to be a massive programme of affirmative action in the Malay interest, the NEP. That was the policy that had to be implemented; and the new political arrangements or governing formula, the new political clothing that was fitted upon underlying constitutional principles, was created in order to promote that overriding national objective. As initially intended, the NEP was to be for a finite period, strictly for 20 years until 1990. Yet, as is well known and needs no explanation here, the NEP imperative lived on beyond 1990; and the political arrangements that were created to facilitate its implementation were also extended. The NEP "morphed" into the NDP, and the package of political arrangements that had been devised to go with it was now given a new, and continuing, justification through the doctrine of "Ketuanan Melayu", an ideology of permanent and perpetual Malay ascendancy over national life. This new attire for the Malaysian "body politic" clothed national life throughout the second half of Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad's two decades and more as prime minister. They were still what Malaysia was wearing when, under Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi's leadership, it went to its 12th nation elections or GE12 in 2008. Growth and change When the nation went to the polls in 2008, it was already more than 50 years old. The Malaysian "body politic" went into GE12 wearing the same political attire, with the same outfit of political arrangements, that it had been wearing since its "teenage years crisis". It was wearing, largely unmodified, a suit of political clothing that was now 35 years old. When people advance into middle age, their bodies grow and "fill out" and change. No surprise in that. As they do, they outgrow their old clothing. And meanwhile, clothing fashions in the world around them also change. This is the fate not only of middle-aged individuals who seek to remain "with it" and up-to-date. It was also Malaysia's fate. In the intervening years the nation had simply outgrown its political clothing. That old, familiar suit no longer fitted. No matter how pleasing it may have seemed and how well it may still have fitted some parts of the national political body, this clothing was just getting a lot harder to wear, and to wear convincingly and with dignity, in public. In short, and as the results of the 2008 elections dramatically demonstrated, there was now a mismatch between the nation's political body and the framework, or suit, of political arrangements that it was still wearing. As the result of some deeply-seated and slowly advancing developments, Malaysia had by now demonstrably outgrown its long-serving tailoring. What developments? Basically two. On the one hand, since the 1970s the NEP has so diversified and transformed peninsular Malay society — in all dimensions: socially, educationally, occupationally, professionally, economically, intellectually and culturally — that it was no longer simple, of even possible, for Umno to maintain its national political ascendancy in the name, and on its preferred and habitual basis, of "Malay political unity". That unity, if it had ever existed once PAS split from Umno in the early 1950s, and the power and plausibility of its appeals were now largely exhausted. And despite strenuous efforts, it had not proved possible to preserve Malay unity, or to provide some effective countervailing effect upon the processes of Malay sociocultural diversification and political fragmentation, by appeals to Islam and through recourse to the institutional apparatus, both the "traditional" and the more recent and modern creations, of Islamic religious administration. Here, as the governing logic of "Malay political unity" collapsed, the Umno was undone not by malign outside forces. Rather, it was confounded by the long-term and widespread success of its own grandest, and most successful, policy "package" — by the direct yet unanticipated and unmanageable effects of the NEP. The familiar logic and assumptions of Umno ascendancy were undone, because they were now repudiated, by so many of the children of the NEP. Not just by many of them as individuals but also collectively, by the deeply-grounded advance beyond the Umno's own conventional political horizons of two generations and more of the NEP's children. That defection of the children of the NEP had first been dramatically signalled by the "Reformasi challenge" of 1999. The problem had not meanwhile gone away. Umno had not been without the time and opportunity to come to terms with it, had they only wanted and chosen to do so. Yet, as Umno tried to "shore up" its position against this erosion of its Malay base, it saw nowhere to turn but to increasingly insistent affirmations of the doctrine of "Ketuanan Melayu", on occasions restated in powerful symbolic language by the unsheathing and brandishing of the Malay keris by the Youth leaders at Umno general assemblies. So the old arrangements were undercut on both sides: by the disaffection and widespread defection of the best of the "new post-NEP Malays" and by the alienation and bitter disappointment of many non-Malays at the desperate measures taken by Umno in an attempt to limit the erosion of its own mass or popular base. By 2008 the position of Umno's non-Malay partner parties in BN had become largely untenable; it had become so because the general basis for non-Malay trust in the ability of those partner parties promote the political interests of their once loyal support base and to protect their basic citizenship rights had collapsed. It had been killed off by Umno itself, by its desperate and ever more extravagant embrace of the logic of "Ketuanan Melayu". And it did nobody any good — not Umno, not its non-Malay partner parties, not the nation's non-Malay citizens, not the nation itself, nor even Umno's mass supporters among the majority Malays — to keep asserting that the non-Malays were just recent arrivals; that they should be grateful for what they had; and (quite incorrectly, in historical terms!) that, on their continuing behalf, their own former political leaders in the Merdeka period had assented to their perpetual and unalterable political subordination. In sum, there was now as GE12 dramatically suggested a mismatch, even a growing gulf, between the nation's political arrangements and the long-developing realities of everyday Malaysian life in the early 21st century: a disjunction between state and society, between the rulers and the ruled, in especially in the key political mechanism — namely the electoral system — that linked the government, via its chosen political vehicle the BN, and the people. In short, the old political clothing of the national body politic was no longer a good fit. It was no longer even serviceable. It could no longer provide Umno with what was expected from it, namely the empowering prestige of strong and resonantly legitimate government. Modern democratic elections do not so much choose governments as endow them with popular legitimacy. Elections provide governments with the essential basis of their authority, and hence their ability to lead, to rule and to deliver what they intend. Malaysia's current electoral arrangements — so the experience of GE12 in 2008 and what has happened since then have now demonstrated — are no longer capable of serving that purpose, of delivering that indispensable authority into the hands of Umno/BN. Something new, better, and more appropriate to the times is now needed. If that had not been clear before, it was the unmistakeable message that GE12 delivered to all Malaysians, but especially to Umno/BN, in 2008. It is the defects and deficiencies of the central political mechanism in this ensemble of arrangements, namely of the electoral system, that in the years since 2008 — while the government has been happy to leave the problem largely unaddressed and unrepaired — have provided Bersih with its opening, its opportunity, with its seemingly irresistible "traction". Malaysia today: In need of some good new clothing Malaysia's current "political dispensation", its most recent suit of political clothing for its underlying constitutional form, came into being after the 1969 crisis which saw the collapse of its first political dispensation, or framework of enabling political arrangements. As noted, that new dispensation had consisted of two parts. The two key features of national life instituted in the early 1970s, the economic and the political, were to remain in force, first, throughout the 1990s, which culminated with the Asian Economic Crisis and the Reformasi challenge; and then well into the first decade of the new century, as Dr Mahathir struggled to restore national economic life and political stability and so to ensure the survival of his own achievements, the legacy of his two decades and more as prime minister. Over those years Malaysian society changed, and how it meshed with national politics, or now failed to do so, did too. But the same political "clothing" that had been newly created to adorn the national "body politic" and its underlying constitutional principles in 1970-1972 remained in service. Those political arrangements continued to operate simply because over that extended period no new ones were devised. They continued in force. But did they remain appropriate and effective? Were they still serviceable? For how long? GE12 in 2008 showed that those arrangements were now exhausted, that their political "shelf-life" had expired. They had reached their acceptable "use-by date". For all the talk of change since then, this still remains the situation, the basic and implacable fact of the nation's political life. While the nation's constitutional foundations remain sound and in good working order, the political body is in dire need of a new suit, a new ensemble of political arrangements and enabling institutions, to fit that body and meet it current needs. The nation and its political life have simply outgrown their existing clothing or arrangements, their institutional suiting. That clothing, the suit that the nation wears upon its political body, is in need of basic renovation and renewal. After its long and unnaturally protracted afterlife, Malaysia's second post-independence "political dispensation" — born in the wake of the 1969 crisis — is now exhausted. That fact has been made clear to all, both in the government and on the opposition side, who have considered seriously the implications of the 2008 election outcome. It is abundantly clear to all who can now recognise that Malaysian society, especially over the decade or so since the Reformasi challenge, has vastly outgrown the political framework under which it still sits and through which it must operate and seek to manage public affairs. The old framework is exhausted. It is now time for a new political dispensation, a third political framework of arrangements suited to the realities and requirements of this stage of Malaysia's national development. How do I see Malaysia today? I see it in urgent need of some good and timely political "tailoring". Why I worry That is easily said, but not so easily done and delivered. And that is why I now worry. I worry because I do not see any signs, on any side or from any quarter, that any appropriate new institutional tailoring, a fine and well-fitting new suit of political clothing, may soon come into being. Worse, I see no sign even that the main political players have any awareness, or are capable of any, that this is what is urgently required. That this challenge is basic to the nation's hopes of renewal and progress. What do I see? What is currently on offer? For its part Umno/BN still seems untroubled and happy with the old suit. It's all just fine, they say. In his time Tun Razak liked it, Tun Dr Ismail too. Why should we now want to propose anything different? "Tanda Putera" fashion: what could possibly be better, more stylish, than that? We have been happy with that same old suit for 40 years, they aver, and we could happily go on wearing it for another forty. Not much hope there in that quarter. The interesting thing here in this context is that, under Najib Razak's prime ministership, there has been much grandiose Umno-led talk about national transformation, about developing new structures and arrangements together with the suitable enforcement mechanisms and attitudes to go with them: in economics, commerce, management — virtually across the board. In everything, in short, but in the framework of national politics itself — in the fundamental rationale of Malaysian democratic governance, as distinct from mere national public administration. Yet that is the core of the matter, and the core of the Umno/BN government's seeming inability to build up any convincing momentum as it moves towards, but ever diffidently continues to hold back from calling, the next national elections, GE13. Meanwhile, for their part, the hardline Malay ethno-supremacists — who these days operate not only as powerful pressure groups (while deceptively calling themselves NGOs, a terrible misnomer!) upon the Umno/BN government from outside, but who also now exercise increasing "clout" within the dominant Umno itself — take this same logic one step further. They think and loudly declare that the old suit — or how they like to imagine it once was, and was always really meant to be — is just fine. All it needs, they say, is a little more in the way of repairs and judicious mending, and some strong structural reinforcement at the well-known "middle-age stress points", to turn this once respectable old national-democratic "three-piece" suit into a "Ketuanan Melayu" or Malay ascendancy straight-jacket. And, as they look at the fabric of its fine old material, they imagine that they see within the pattern of its very cloth not some sort of complexly aligned "herringbone" style or an attractive pluralistic motif but the wording, in a lovingly woven but hidden script, of the slogan "Malays on top, now and forever!" Not much hope from there either. On the opposition side, the PAS component, at least, has a very clear idea of the new kind of political suiting that its leaders think the national political body requires, and must in time be patiently educated to welcome and accept. READ MORE HERE

Philippines' Aquino calls for talks on Sabah Posted: 17 Mar 2013 10:34 AM PDT (AFP) - MANILA: President Benigno Aquino said on Sunday that negotiations were the only way to resolve a Philippine sultanate's claim to Sabah as he criticised an armed incursion into the Malaysian state. Aquino also lashed out at unidentified conspirators whom he accused of sending the sultanate's followers to Sabah last month, saying they had endangered some 800,000 Filipinos living and working in the area. Speaking at the elite Philippine Military Academy, the president criticised anew the followers of the self-declared Sultan of Sulu, Jamalul Kiram III, whose incursion into Sabah has led to dozens of deaths. "There are problems that just beget more problems if you try to solve them with haste or force. We need sincere and deep discussion if we are to arrive at a correct solution," he told graduating military cadets. "We already know how complicated this issue is. Could any Malaysian prime minister so easily agree to let go of a land that for so long has been subject to their laws?" Aquino asked. More than 200 followers of Kiram, some of them armed, entered Sabah to reassert the sultanate's centuries-old claim to the area. Fighting with Malaysian security forces broke out on March 5 and according to Malaysian police figures, 61 of the intruders as well as eight police officers and a soldier have died. Authorities have arrested more than 100 people in Sabah on suspicion of having links to the militants. The Philippine Navy last week detained 35 suspected Filipino intruders as they tried to sail home. However Agbimuddin Kiram, the leader of the intruders and the younger brother of Jamalul Kiram III, was not among those detained. Aquino hinted that the Kirams had hidden backers, saying the incursion in Sabah must have cost a large sum of money. The spokesman for the Kiram family, Abraham Idjirani, said that the sultanate was forced to take action because the Philippine government would not act on their claim. He also denied anyone had financed the trip, saying the sultan's followers did so on their own. Idjirani said he had spoken to Agbimuddin Kiram by phone late Saturday and he was still in Sabah and unharmed.

Help us win S’gor, Najib tells Indians Posted: 17 Mar 2013 10:30 AM PDT The Selangor BN chief pledges to establish a Little India in Selangor and allow residential shrines. Leven Woon, FMT Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak today pledged to establish a 'Little India' in Klang and permit Hindu altars in private residentials should Indians help Barisan Nasional to recapture Selangor in the upcoming polls. Rolling out a string of goodies at a MIC-organised rally in Meru today, Najib also took a swipe at the Pakatan Rakyat-led state government for allegedly demolishing seven Hindu temples in their five-year rule. "The difference between Pakatan and BN is, we gave huge allocations to the Hindu houses of worship, whereas they had destructed seven temples,  including an altar built in a private house in Sepang. "We would like to ask them, under what reason and authority do they have to demolish a private altar?" he asked, in reference to the demolition done by Sepang Municipal Council last November. Najib, who recently named himself as the Selangor BN chief, also pledged to turn Jalan Tengku Kelana into a Little India resembling Brickfields if BN wins back the state. Jalan Tengku Kelana is, as it is, unofficially known as Little India for its Indian businesses here. "I would also resolve the Bukit Jalil Estate issue," he said, referring to the land tussle between a federal agency and the former estate workers who had been occupying the land. The 41 families are demanding for compensations and a plot of land  in exchange for them to vacate their houses, but the demands have not been heeded so far. Najib also announced that Indian students would be allowed to take a maximum 12 subjects, including Tamil language and Tamil literature, in Sijil Pelajaran Malaysian (SPM), as opposed to the previously announced 10. Najib's many promises to the Indian community today can be seen as a last ditch efforts to shore up Indian support for BN before a crucial general election which is imminent. 'We fulfill our promises' Besides promising future plans, the premier also boasted about his government aids to the community since 2009, including RM540 million allocations to Tamil schools, 5,000 identification cards to stateless Indians, RM150 million microcredit scheme and RM30 million Tekun loans. READ MORE HERE

Anwar’s not important, good governance is Posted: 17 Mar 2013 10:27 AM PDT A good government is constituted by good people and the Umno-BN regime falls very short on 'goodness'. Mohd Ariff Sabri Aziz, FMT This coming general election is not about the culmination of efforts to make Anwar Ibrahim a prime minister. Dr Mahathir Mohamad and his followers would want us to believe in that big lie. But it's a lie that we must politely refuse if we still can do so politely. Making Anwar a prime minister is secondary. The primary purpose is to install a good government. Now, a good government is constituted by good people. That is the fundamental requirement. We need good people, qualified, dedicated and selfless who work the system to make the country better. When we say that, it is easy for people like Mahathir and Chandra Muzaffar (president of the International Movement for a Just World) to pour scorn and ridicule. Mahathir in politics and Chandra in intellectual-dom cannot understand the contradiction. It is as such not hard to reconcile the contradicting nature of people in Umno and people represented by Chandra. They think and believe that ONLY they are capable of doing good and are unable to bring themselves to accepting that they can do wrong. In order to "disbelieve" that "good" people like them can deteriorate into evil-doers requires a longer and indirect thinking process. It requires them to subordinate their emotions to rational thinking. Mahathir has no time for that and it seems Chandra doesn't want to do that either. They prefer to continue believing that it's ONLY them who can do good and it is impossible for good people like them to do "no good". READ MORE HERE

And after BN, you think you’ll be in heaven? Posted: 17 Mar 2013 10:25 AM PDT The DAP is not democracy in action. PKR is not justice in action. PAS is sometimes Islamic in action – but democracy and justice cuts across race and religion. Gobind Rudra, FMT By all means work furiously to topple the Barisan Nasional if you wish: but the Malaysian fight is to restore democracy, justice and fairness to all, and a life in which every Malaysian is accorded his full dignity. That is the true task before all Malaysians. They must not allow agitators and activists to fool them into thinking that their task is to put Pakatan Rakyat in power. The task to restore democracy and justice will remain, no matter who is in power. Political party activists and agitators prefer you not to think about that. The agitator prefers you to keep thinking only about the parties. They have their own reasons, and their job (some are paid directly, some paid indirectly and many not paid) is to remove one set of politicians and replace them with another. That is not our task, as citizens. All Malaysians must recognise that politicians and political parties are merely vehicles by which the citizen can move towards the ultimate goal – that goal being democracy and justice (or perhaps for some Muslims, an Islamic state and Islamic justice). The BN does not represent democracy and justice. Neither does the Pakatan represent democracy and justice. The DAP is not democracy in action. PKR is not justice in action. PAS is sometimes Islamic in action – but democracy and justice cuts across race and religion. Those words "democratic" and "justice" in the names of those parties are merely marketing slogans. Political parties exist to secure power. They will "sell" whatever you will buy. Parties are not a popular movement for democracy or justice. They are about achieving power. Whether they will deliver democracy or justice is another thing altogether. To achieve political power, politicians use the words "democracy" and "justice" to get to the top. After they get to the top, if they are honest they will deliver their version of "democracy", their version of "justice". Their version of democracy and justice may not be anything like what the people want or need – because parties, like companies, must deal with the demands of their members (and not you, the public) and the demands of their business, corporate and government sponsors (and not you, the public). The parties and their hordes of political agitators will serve their members, their friends, and their sponsors first – long before they serve you, the people. People in power are not angels So what must the people do? None of this is new. Humankind has had to deal with this many, many times before. Western political philosophers have said: Eternal vigilance is the price of all liberty – Wendell Phillips (1811-1884), US abolitionist and columnist. That means stay on our guard at all times no matter who is in power and hold them to account all the time There is no safety for honest men except by believing all possible evil of evil men – Edmund Burke (1729-1797), author, statesman, political philosopher. That means never completely trust those buggers in office, those buggers who hold power, and always be suspicious of them and their motives. READ MORE HERE

Are political parties like DAP, Umno a berhala? Posted: 17 Mar 2013 10:16 AM PDT FMT LETTER: From Anas Zubedy, via e-mail Last week as I scrolled my twitter home page I chanced upon a tweet quoting the Quran by Khalid Samad the current MP and YDP of PAS Shah Alam and also a member of PAS Central Committee. The tweet conversation went like this. Khalid: Renung2kan  "…tidak kami sembah mereka kecuali utk merapatkn diri kami kpd ALLAH.." Surah Az-Zumar 3. Alasan musyrikin menyembah berhala Anas: Political parties can also be those berhala bro. Salam, anas Khalid: Yup unless they specify that the Quran and Sunnah are their guiding principles. Those using other guides may be a berhala. Anas: Specification or practice? And r u saying d DAP is a berhala if u follow them coz they specify otherwise? The good YB did not follow-up with the tweet. Perhaps he is busy. Perhaps the road the tweet conversation was heading may bring him to a conflict between his religious belief and political expediency. Perhaps he himself is grappling with an answer. So, is a political party a berhala? When does it become one? On what grounds, based on what they say or what they do? But first let's look at Verse 39:3 in full. "Is it not to God alone that all sincere faith is due? And yet, they who take for their protectors aught beside Him [are wont to say], "We worship them for no other reason than that they bring us nearer to God." Behold, God will judge between them [on Resur­rection Day] with regard to all wherein they differ [from the truth]: for, verily, God does not grace with His guidance anyone who is bent on lying [to himself and is] stubbornly ingrate! " The above verse relates to practices where followers hope that a third party will 'mediate' between God and himself. This is done with the faith that the third party can act as a protector and insurance provider providing a passageway towards God and Heaven – a stand categorically rejected by the Quran. The third party is symbolic and can take the forms of anything from material objects, humans (dead or alive), movements and fundamentally everything man made or God made – including political parties. The question is then, on what criteria? The good YB suggested that a political party is a 'berhala' unless they specify that the Quran and the Sunnah are their guiding principles. Those who use other guides may be a berhala. This is where the problem starts. Following this criteria, the good YB is to a large degree suggesting that only PAS is not while the others including fellow PR coalition partners DAP and PKR are likely berhalas. I have a problem with that. READ MORE HERE

Unreasonable to stop Lynas if proven safe: PKR MP Posted: 16 Mar 2013 09:52 PM PDT Azan said if Lynas rare earth plant passed all the requirements needed to operate, it is unreasonable to stop it (Graphic by Dayang Norazhar/ The Mole) Azreen Hani, The Mole A Parti Keadilan Rakyat legislator, whose constituency is where the Lynas rare earth plant is located, has questioned the rationale of closing down the plant if it is proven to have met all safety and security requirements. PKR's MP for Indera Mahkota Azan Ismail said it is unreasonable for anyone to stop the operation of Lynas rare earth plant if it has met all the requirements needed. Azan said it is also premature for anyone to decide on the fate of Lynas without deliberating on the matter thoroughly. "I may not be an expert on environmental or safety aspect of the plant like YB Fuziah (PKR's MP for Kuantan Fuziah Salleh) but I believe if Pakatan Rakyat wins in the general election, it will set up a panel to deliberate on the matter," Azan said. "Of course all aspects will be looked into. I myself will bring up on the commercial aspect of this plant. I would want to see whether it will bring more benefit to the people or not," he added. "I think if Lynas has passed the panel's vetting and that of relevant authorities, I think it is unreasonable for us not to allow it to operate." The Gebeng Industrial Area near Kuantan where the Lynas Corporation Ltd's rare earth plant is located in the Indera Mahkota parliamentary constituency. Speaking to The Mole on Friday, Azan expressed his support on remarks made by opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim in an Australian newspaper, saying it is the most logical explanation anyone could give at the time being. "I have checked and read on Datuk Seri (Anwar)'s statement and I agree with him. I believe it is only logical to allow the plant to operate unless it is proven otherwise," he said. READ MORE HERE

‘Video recording of explicit act not Umno’s work’ Posted: 16 Mar 2013 09:48 PM PDT Umno Information Chief Ahmad Maslan urges the people to watch the video and make their own judgement. (Bernama) - Umno has denied the party is involved with a video grab showing explicit act resembling a political figure with a male partner. Information chief Ahmad Maslan said the opposition will certainly blame Umno but the party had never arranged such perverse act in a hotel room. "The opposition thinks everything is the work of Umno including the intrusion of Lahad Datu. We don't have the time to put cameras in hotel rooms," he told reporters after opening a briefing for information speakers here today. He said this when commenting on a video grab showing two men involved in explicit act, including hugs and kisses, on the blog rajagoyang360.blogspot.com. The Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister's Department said the people could  judge who was the political figure shown in the video recording. "Don't dismiss without watching the video. Watch it and then make your own judgement," he added. Meanwhile, Ahmad called on the Umno and Barisan Nasional machinery to have confidence that the party could win two-thirds majority in 13th general election. The confidence was based on the success of programmes and policies implemented by the government under the leadership of Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak. He said the opposition did not have any strength and had failed to fufill promises made to the people other than having leaders who were involved with various scandals. Yesterday, Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim lashed out at Umno's "political gimmick" in producing a video clip involving a man resembling him. "I have already said that I deny it. This is a disgusting political gimmick executed by Umno," he said, adding that he has asked his lawyers to handle the possibility of taking legal action against the bloggers who uploaded the series of 14 black-and-white photos.

Man United 15 points clear after City fall at Everton Posted: 16 Mar 2013 06:05 PM PDT (Reuters) - Manchester City's fingertip hold on their Premier League title was further loosened when a 2-0 loss at Everton followed by runaway leaders Manchester United's 1-0 win over Reading left them praying for a football miracle. Leon Osman's swerving 32nd-minute shot put Everton in front at a raucous Goodison Park and, although the home side were reduced to 10 men when Steven Pienaar was red-carded for a rash tackle after 61 minutes, City could not reply. Substitute Nikica Jelavic sealed victory deep in stoppage time after being set up by a rampaging Marouane Fellaini. United needed no second invitation to open a 15-point lead in the title race although only Wayne Rooney's deflected early shot separated them and second-bottom Reading at Old Trafford. Alex Ferguson's side never required top gear as they rolled on towards a 20th English title with their 24th victory in 29 league games this season, although the Scot refused to accept that the race was won. "We have got Sunderland away in our next game, which is always a tough place to go, and then we face Manchester City at home," he told ESPN. "You don't get points and medals for being complacent," added Ferguson whose side have 74 points ahead of City on 59. Battling Arsenal Everton briefly rose above Arsenal into fifth spot with 48 points in the battle for a top-four position but the Gunners responded with a 2-0 victory at Swansea City. That took Arsene Wenger's side to 50 points within two of fourth-placed Chelsea, who host West Ham United on Sunday, and four behind local rivals Tottenham Hotspur, who are third ahead of their home game with Fulham also on Sunday. Boosted by a surprise, if ultimately fruitless, Champions League win in their last 16, second leg tie at Bayern Munich on Wednesday, Arsenal struck late through Nacho Monreal and Gervinho. "It was a difficult game away to Bayern in midweek. The spirit we showed today was fantastic. We're up for the battle," Wenger told Sky Sports. Liverpool lost 3-1 at Southampton to virtually extinguish their top-four hopes and hand Saints a major boost in their bid to steer clear of trouble at the bottom of the table. In a thrilling relegation scrap, Aston Villa clawed their way to a vital 3-2 victory over bottom club Queens Park Rangers. Christian Benteke scored the winner after 81 minutes to leave QPR seven points adrift of the safety zone. QPR, seeking a third consecutive league win, led 1-0 thaansk to Jermaine Jenas and then equalised through Andros Townsend having gone 2-1 behind before Benteke grabbed his 13th league goal of the season. Everton, one week after being booed and heckled by their fans in an embarrassing 3-0 FA Cup sixth round defeat at home to struggling Wigan Athletic, produced a gutsy performance to remain in contention for a top-four finish. Special strike "Last week was disappointing but we showed when we are at the races we are a match for any team," said Osman, who is in England's squad for this month's World Cup qualifiers against San Marino and Montenegro. His strike was a special one, the midfielder having received the ball from Seamus Coleman 25 metres out before lashing a shot past helpless England keeper Joe Hart. City missed the drive of the absent Yaya Toure in midfield as Everton dominated, although they showed more desire after the break and were pressing hard for an equaliser when Pienaar raked his studs down the shin of Javi Garcia. The inevitable red card merely galvanised Everton, with second-choice keeper Jan Mucha exemplifying their commitment with a double save from Carlos Tevez and James Milner. City were denied a blatant late penalty when Tevez's shot was blocked by the arm of Fellaini, with the referee ruling it had been outside the box and awarding only a free kick. Jelavic's effort rounded off a dark day for the champions whose manager Roberto Mancini declined to give his post-match television interview, instead sending out assistant David Platt. "He's angry and he's taking stock," Platt said. "He wants to calm down rather than say anything that will get him in trouble. "We got outworked by Everton but there is no doubt in my mind about the handball. It was three yards inside the area and though perhaps the performance didn't deserve it, we could have got a bit more out of it if that decision had gone for us." United were uninspired against struggling Reading, who sacked manager Brian McDermott this week and put academy manager Eamonn Dolan in caretaker charge. It needed some dazzling play from Rio Ferdinand, recalled by England this week after a long absence from international duty, to help break the deadlock, the veteran defender's elegant run setting up Rooney to score via a deflection in the 21st minute. Southampton beat Liverpool thanks to goals from Morgan Schneiderlin, Rickie Lambert and Jay Rodriguez with Philippe Coutinho pulling one back for the seventh-placed visitors. In the day's other match, Stoke City and West Bromwich Albion played out a tepid 0-0 draw.

What can Saiful’s father offer PKR? Nothing! Posted: 16 Mar 2013 02:30 PM PDT What is the rationale in PI Bala, Deepak and Saiful's father being put to the fore by PKR, by Anwar, as a battering ram against Najib and Umno? CT Ali, FMT Mercenary, turncoat, scum, spin doctor, fiction writer, Umno mole! Even as I am being called these names, Saiful Bukhari Azlan's father Azlan Mohd Lazim joins PKR a day after insisting that his son was being used by several unscrupulous people, including a special officer to the PM, to fabricate lies against the de facto leader of PKR, Anwar Ibrahim. Now which part of S.T.U.P.I.D does PKR not understand? First PKR has Johari Abdul facilitating the press conference where Saiful's father announced that his son was being manipulated by the other side. The very next day, the same Johari Abdul is there again when Saiful's father announced that he is joining PKR. Now who is this Johari Abdul? He is the PKR member of parliament for Sungai Petani with a Master Degree in Strategic Studies. Simple rule of thumb for PKR in any future expose: if you want the Malaysian public to believe that Saiful's father did all that he did on his own volition, then do not have Johari or any PKR operatives near him when he makes the announcement. Better still, make sure no PKR operatives are even in the same room, same building, same locality. Why? Because when you do that, then right thinking Malaysians may believe that Saiful's father is doing it all on his own convictions. Then if he does want to join PKR, please lah, give a decent interval between that announcement and having a photo opportunity for Johari Abdul so that the Malaysian public may be persuaded that he joining the PKR has got nothing to do with him calling his son a liar who is being manipulated by unscrupulous men connected to Najib. But this Johari does not seem to have the ability to understand these simple niceties, and he has a Masters in Strategic Studies? Some of you cannot see beyond the tip of your nose, what more the ability to follow the chain of events of why and how things happen in this sandiwara and odious drama that passes for politics in our country. Ignorance I can understand, but stupidity I cannot tolerate. For me Najib Tun Razak, Umno and all that are remotely within its sphere of toxicity are a lost cause. So I would prefer to work on what is not yet a lost cause in as far as I am concerned. Pakatan Rakyat, PKR and Anwar Ibrahim are not a lost cause yet! They potentially can be the future we aspire to. They can potentially be the government we need in Putrajaya. They are our hope for change, but only if they are deserving of our trust and worthy of being leaders capable of good governance. We are not imbeciles You ask me if I have something against Anwar? Yes I do! He had the opportunity of being PM once – he was just a step away from it happening. All it would have taken for him to be Prime Minister then would not even be 10 % of the effort he has put in the last nine years to get where he is today. Now again he has been give this opportunity to be the PM designate if Pakatan Rakyat wins government in this 13th general election  – and is he once again going to shot himself in the foot? Of course I am angry! How many politicians have a shot at the PM seat even once? Only Anwar had – and is he going to screw it up again? And why am I angry? Simply this – I have been blogging for the past three years and all this time I have worked on my blog for Anything But Umno (ABU). By default Anwar will lead Pakatan into the 13th general election to make ABU a reality because no one else, at this pointof time, can do it better. I am but one of the many thousands of people who have done work for ABU, for Pakatan Rakyat and for Anwar to be the change we want through what I write. However small my contribution has been, it has been work I have done because we have no other choice but Pakatan if we want a new beginning. And then we see the late P Balasubramaniam, Deepak Jaikishan and this Father of Saiful being put to the fore by PKR, by Anwar to be used by PKR and Anwar as a battering ram against Najib and Umno. READ MORE HERE

Sulu invasion: Probe papers almost done Posted: 16 Mar 2013 02:27 PM PDT Police found several important documents believed to belong to Sulu terrorists during an inspection at Kampung Simunul.  (FMT) - SEMPORNA: The investigation papers on the 27 people suspected to be terrorists and collaborators in the ambush incident in Kampung Simunul on Feb 2 are in the final stages of completion. All the suspects, aged between 18 and 73, were detained since the incident at the water settlement broke out which resulted in the death of six police personnel and six enemies were shot dead. "We are finalising the investigation papers on them," Semporna District Police Chief, DSP Mohd Firdaus Francis Abdullah told reporters here. The media previously reported that 69 suspected terrorists and collaborators were detained in Semporna on suspicion of being involved in the attack at Kampung Simunul. Mohd Firdaus also said police had found several important documents believed to belong to the terrorists during an inspection at Kampung Simunul, on Friday. "In the documents, we found several important information that may help us in tracking the remnants of the terrorists who are still in the Semporna district," he said. Bernama also reported that in LAHAD DATU, security forces had picked up an unarmed Sulu terrorist in the Ops Daulat offensive zone at the Felda Sahabat plantation at 6.30am yesterday. Less than 50 terrorists are believd to be still there. Sabah Police Commissioner Hamza Taib said the detained terrorist, who had no identification papers on him, was taken to the police station for questioning. He said the terrorist was held under the Security Offences (Special Measures) Act 2012, but he did not reveal the exact location where he was picked up. So far 104 individuals had been arrested under the act while 232 people were being held under different laws, he told the news conference, which was also attended by Army First Division commander Maj Gen Ahmad Zaki Mokhtar, here. Hamza said 61 terrorists had been killed since March 1 when the terrorists killed two policemen.  Six more policemen and two soldiers have also been killed in clashes with the terrorists. READ MORE HERE

The Mysterious Case of the Sulu Sultan Posted: 16 Mar 2013 01:03 PM PDT   Philippine President Benigno Aquino has recently conceded that events in Sabah showed signs of a conspiracy. A recent statement issued by Malaysian political-scientist Dr. Chandra Muzaffar alludes to reports of Malaysian opposition figures promising land, titles and other sinecures to the Sulu Sultanate if they emerged victorious in the upcoming elections.   Nile Bowie Malaysia has been in the midst of an ongoing security crisis since early February, when a group of 235 rag-tag militiamen from the neighboring southern Philippines slipped into the eastern state of Sabah and began occupying several villages. While engaging police in several firefights, the insurgents beheaded and mutilated several captured Malaysian security personnel, prompting Malaysian forces to deploy fighter jets in an unprecedented air assault over the area in an operation to flush out the intruders. The gunmen call themselves the "Royal Army of the Sulu Sultanate", representing the heirs of a long-defunct kingdom which once controlled the territory up until the late nineteenth century. The so-called Sultan of Sulu, Jamalul Kiram III, who is believed to be directing the militant incursion from Manila, insists that Sabah is rightfully part of his kingdom and has vowed not budge on his claims even if his personnel are killed in the standoff. Malaysians, who are preparing to vote in a pivotal general election just around the corner, have been fixated on events in Sabah as they unfold. The Philippines are soon expecting congressional elections as well, and given the timing, local analysts are wondering how exactly did this elderly self-proclaimed Sultan obtained the resources needed to establish his own private army. Both the Malaysian and Philippine governments have launched official investigations into allegations that figures within Malaysia's political opposition had a hand in aiding the Sulu gunmen. Reuters cited an anonymous Filipino military officer who claimed that Sulu rebels were "invited to Sabah by a Malaysian opposition politician". The blame has been laid on Malaysia's de-facto opposition leader, Anwar Ibrahim, who Malaysian reports say has links to Filipino insurgent networks that have long eyed the resource-rich state of Sabah in northern eastern Borneo. Local journalist Adrian Lai recently unearthed classified diplomatic cables from the US embassy in Manila brought to light by WikiLeaks, which document ties between Nur Misauri, former chairmen of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF), and Malaysia's main opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim. The MNLF is a political movement that pitted itself against predominately Christian Manila by seeking political autonomy for Muslim majority provinces in the islands in the southern Philippines. In 2001, Manila accused Misauri of terrorism when he led an MNLF unit that attacked an outpost of the Philippine army, prompting him to seek refuge in Sabah on the assumption that authorities in Muslim-majority Malaysia would empathize with him and block his extradition. Misauri was detained by Malaysian security forces in Sabah and sent back to the Philippines where he was jailed until 2008. WikiLeaks cables claim that Misauri detested the Malaysian government for turning him over to Philippine authorities and that he was "a strong advocate for the recovery of Sabah". The cables claim that Misauri boasted that his militias could invade Sabah in the span of two hours. WikiLeaks has also confirmed that Misauri maintained close connections to Anwar Ibrahim, and that the two had met on several occasions. A separate report issued by AFP cited US diplomatic cables that implicate a Saudi Arabian ambassador to the Philippines of funding Muslim groups seeking autonomy in the southern islands. Misauri recently criticized Philippine President Benigno Aquino for siding with Malaysia in his firm stance against the Sulu militants, warning the Aquino government of chaos if Sulu Sultan Jamalul Kiram III is apprehended. Anwar Ibrahim, who has vehemently denied all accusations, has long been considered a darling of the West. Mr. Ibrahim is a slippery character of sorts; he was once Malaysia's deputy prime minister prior to being sacked for getting too close to the IMF, among other things. Anwar also has friends in high places, from billionaire financier George Soros to senior neo-cons from the Bush administration. In recent times, Ibrahim has appealed to Carl Gershman, president of the US-Government funded foundation, the National Endowment for Democracy (NED), requesting that he send a US observer team to Malaysia to monitor the upcoming elections. Ibrahim enraged many when he stated he would support policy to protect the security of Israel, and while his political party has long received training and backing from the International Republican Institute (IRI) chaired by Republican Senator John McCain, there is little doubt that Anwar – a creature of Washington's taxpayer funded "Democracy Promotion" overseas – would be the trusted ally that the White House is looking for as it refocuses its military muscle and political influence to the Asia-Pacific region. Philippine President Benigno Aquino has recently conceded that events in Sabah showed signs of a conspiracy. A recent statement issued by Malaysian political-scientist Dr. Chandra Muzaffar alludes to reports of Malaysian opposition figures promising land, titles and other sinecures to the Sulu Sultanate if they emerged victorious in the upcoming elections. Muzaffar argues that a security crisis in Sabah, regarded as a political stronghold for the Barisan Nasional (BN) government, could weaken the ruling parties hold over the state, leading to a hung parliament or a narrow victory for the BN, prompting in his words, "massive street agitation which could pave the way for a regime change, which is the goal of not only the Opposition but also its foreign backers." When Chandra talks of "foreign backers", he is referring to the US political establishment. Read more at: http://nilebowie.blogspot.com/2013/03/the-mysterious-case-of-sulu-sultan.html

GE13: Do not let DAP mislead you, says Soi Lek Posted: 16 Mar 2013 12:32 PM PDT   (The Star) - DAP's plan to focus more on Johor will only help PAS strengthen its presence in the state, says MCA president Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek. Reminding the Chinese not to be misled by DAP's propaganda, he said a stronger PAS' presence would be detrimental to the Chinese community as the party's focus was only on Islamic matters. He said the best results that the DAP could score in Johor at the next general election was only 15 state seats out of a total of 56. "It is DAP's right to contest in Johor, but we hope that the Chinese community will not be misled by the Opposition because Johor is not going to be the second Penang," he said after a luncheon with Chinese non-governmental organisations here yesterday. "They (the DAP) are only paving the way for PAS to win more seats here." Dr Chua said PAS could not win in certain seats because of the lack of Chinese support for the party. "As long as PAS has extra state seats, it will bring problems to the state because PAS does not care about state developments. "Look at Kedah and Kelantan. The Chinese stand must be firm. "The DAP is not coming here (to Johor) to be the king," he said, referring to the problems faced by the Chinese community under PAS-led governments in Kedah and Kelantan. On a number of DAP strongmen who were speculated to contest in Johor, Dr Chua said the Chinese should think thoroughly about their choice. "One vote for the DAP is equal to a vote for PAS," he warned. "They are only individual heroes. Even if they gain extra seats here, can they change the fate of the Chinese community?" Dr Chua said DAP stalwart Lim Kit Siang would move from one place to another after defeating his opponents, serve for one to two terms there before he was gone again. "What is he trying to prove? It only proves that he is only an individual hero," said Dr Chua. "This does not help the Chinese to improve their political influence," he said, adding that in politics, a team needed a common direction.

Idiot Guide to Malaysian Politics Posted: 16 Mar 2013 12:26 PM PDT   Anas Zubedy  1.    Cronyism is only wrong when it is practiced by the other side. 2.    Corruption is only wrong when it is practiced by the other side. But if he or she join us, 'halal' everything is again. 3.    If it was d BN Government who proposed an underground tunnel in Penang, PR will go against it – and, vice versa. 4.    Factories are dangerous when the other side builds it – and vice versa. 5.    When the other side talks about race, they are racist. When we talk about race, it's because we care. 6.    Big projects are wasteful ONLY IF it is a project mooted by the other side. When we moot it, it's smart economics. 7.    A Satan is a Satan as long as he is on the other side. Join us, immediately Satan becomes an Angel. 8.    If you are not with us, you are against us - even if you are right. 9.    My party and I speak on behalf of God. If you don't follow us, you will go to hell. 10. All my leaders are smart; all your leaders are idiots. 11. When my children move up the political ladder, they are smart. When your children do the same, its nepotism. 12. My research shows we got more support and will win in the next general elections. Your research that says otherwise sure wrongly done one. 13. My forensic expert is better than your forensic expert. 14. When our 2 leaders debate, my leader will always be better. No matter how stupid he or she sounded. 15. My ulamak is better than your ulamak even if my ulamak did not quote the Quran. 16. Our idiots are smarter than your experts. 17. When I disagree it is democracy, when you disagree you are rude, stupid, bought over, influenced, etc etc. 18. Green is blue when you say it. Blue is green when I say it. 19. When I give hand-outs it is because I care. When the other side does it, they are buying votes 20. Only jokes about the other side are funny. Note : Siapa makan cili dia terasa pedasnya.

Hindraf Q & A Posted: 16 Mar 2013 12:18 PM PDT   How can Hindraf be an Indian right-wing pressure group demanding for special 'rights' for Indians while maintaining a Malaysian identity, support meritocracy and oppose the NEP-led affirmative actions? Isn't that hypocritical?     N. Ganesan  Soalan 1: Menang 2-3 hari di jalanan cuma mengundang solusi melepas batuk di tangga sahaja. Saudara mahu orang Melayu [misalnya saya seorang individu Melayu yang tak ada jawatan dalam parti politik mana sekali pun] melihat Hindraf ini sebagai apa? Ganesan: Thank you for this interesting question. I can understand that from the common Malay point of view, Hindraf's significance may be only the images of the fight they led on Nov 25th against Umno. Once the media lights moved on so did the memories of the common Malay person. However in the case of the Indians Nov 25th 2007 is viewed as a major historic day because of the huge psychological significance of unity and of defiance . Only the victims in any battle will understand loss. The Indian poor lost everything, their dignity included, over the many years of living lives so close to slavery, after being brought here by the whites. When Merdeka was won, the "Indian near slaves" only saw a change in their masters and a worsening of their living conditions as the big plantations began to break up. The new Masters and new government development priorities saw their conditions deteriorate. They were pushed out of the estates in large numbers. In a recent estimate, about 800,000 Indian plantation workers were forcibly pushed out of their rural communities into the urban areas – poorly equipped for life in a completely alien environment. Most Malays do not make the difference between the urban educated Indians who form about 25% of the Indians in the country with the poor Indians whom we speak of and whom Hindraf represents. Often you hear statistics about the number of Indian Doctors and Lawyers and of Tony Fernandez and Anandakrishnan. This confuses the problems of the Indian poor and totally wipes out the significance and antecedents of their poverty. The result of this has been a steady deterioration of the problems of the Indian poor. This is one of the major reasons for the significant increase in crime amongst the Indian youth. The Malay people need to view Hindraf as a Human Rights organization that came about because of the poverty of the Indians from the estates. They do not threaten the well being of any other community. Of course our enemies will present us as the ones demanding an end to Malay special privileges. But when the Malays themselves are now demanding an end to Malay special privileges among the rich and powerful Malays, Hindraf is just the forerunner of brining these more democratic and just values into the country. In an environment of justice, fairness, dignity and equality, everyone will prosper. Hindraf is a patriotic organization that seeks to contribute to building a nation on a solid foundation of social justice. Question 2: How can Hindraf be an Indian right-wing pressure group demanding for special 'rights' for Indians while maintaining a Malaysian identity, support meritocracy and oppose the NEP-led affirmative actions? Isn't that hypocritical?   Ganesan: Thank you for the question. "How can Hindraf be an Indian right-wing pressure group"… We are an Indian rights group. We seek the re-institution of the rights guaranteed under international norms as well as guaranteed in the Malaysian Federal Constitution. That is different than saying we are a right wing group. Right wing usually denotes terror elements of moneyed and vested interests in society. This we clearly are not. We represent the poor and  defenceless elements in our society. We have no sympathy for the moneyed groups whatsoever – whether Indians or otherwise. Let me state here for your knowledge the stated objectives of Hindraf: 1) To bring the Indian poor and marginalized into the mainstream of National Development 2) To eliminate state-sponsored racist and religious supremacist policies. We do not seek any special rights, just the rights that have been guaranteed us and the practice of equal rights for all citizen in the country. We do not seek special privileges or rights. This is clearly a misunderstanding. Our driving thoughts are these that compel us to both seek targeted solutions for the Indian poor (which makes us look like we are asking for special rights) and to do it without any sense of conflict in multiracial Malaysia: 1) Many of the problems of the Indian poor are unique – the alarming increase in the involvement in underworld activities of Indian youth is one, large numbers of stateless Indians is another, non-commensurate representation in low skill jobs, breakdown of the social system, destruction of places of worship — whatever the reasons given and highest suicide rate among the ethnic groups. The collapse of the primary education system for the Indian children is another glaring and unique problem confronting the Indian poor. These problems cannot be cured by general policies or by what we call trickle down approaches, they need a targeted approach. They need specific attention, allocation of funds and resources and appropriate approaches. These are specific problems that require specific solutions. Unless applied in this way the problems will not go away. All of this is consistent with the national objective of building a strong and resilient Malaysia. 2) RM1,115 billion have been spent in the last 10 Malaysian Development Plans.  There has not been any significant allocation for the development of the Indian poor over the 48 years of the 10 plans. So, we are saying it is time for some funds to be allocated on a targeted basis for the upliftment of the Indian poor. If there are other similar communities, with similar problems, then they need to be addressed in similar ways. We are not asking for exclusive treatment (though our enemies will want to make it look like were doing just that). We are asking for comprehensive and permanent solutions to these problems. We do not believe we are being hypocritical in any way in any of our approaches. We are a young organization, we are a small, resource lean organization, we do social and poltical work in the area where we started and where there is a great need. Nobody else is taking up the case for the Indian poor – they say they care, but the truth of the matter is that all they are interested in is the votes of these poor people. We do what we do, not by taking away from others, but by restoring justice and fairness where it is rightfully due. However we let you decide if any of that is hypocritical. Soalan 3: Berapa ramaikah di kalangan [pemimpin] tertinggi Hindraf yang beragama Kristian? Adakah India Muslim boleh menjadi ahli Hindraf? Mengapakah tidak menyertai party politik yang sedia, yang juga menjaga kepentingan kaum masing-masing? Ganesan: At the Central Leadership there are no Christian members. This not by design. This is how it has worked itself out. Right from the very beginning when Hindraf was formed, the main objective was to prevent the demolition of Hindu Temples. Indian Christians were not affected by what was then happening and so we have it today that there are no Christian members at the Central Leadership level. We however do have several who are Christians at the next levels of leadership. We do not define membership by religion. If you subscribe to the objectives of Hindraf you are eligible to be a member. The objectives of Hindraf are: 1) To bring the Indian poor and marginalized into the mainstream of National Development 2) To eliminate state sponsored-racist and religious supremacist policies. If you subscribe to these objectives you can be a member. None of the existing political parties truly represent the interests and rights of the Indian poor. All they seem to be interested in is their votes. They manipulate the poor Indians, get their votes and then forget about improving their livelihoods. MIC represents the rich Indians. The other Indian parties on Barisan Nasional side only serve Barisan to get them the Indian votes. They do not serve the interest of the Indian poor. On the Pakatan side there is no effective Indian poor representation – yes there are Indian representatives, but they are representatives who happen to be Indian but who do not serve the interest of the Indian poor. In summary it would be right to say that there is no political party that serves the interest of the Indian poor in the country. Soalan 4: Apa masalah besar jika Hindraf mengambil pendekatan lembut dan moderate? Kenapa perlu sentiasa bersifat konfrontasi dan menuntut sesuatu dengan pendekatan bombastik? Ganesan: This question requires an understanding of how things really work in the world of politics. We operate in a democratic system where a simple majority is all that is required for you to get the power of decision and control on all Government policy matters. In this environment, you can see how the minority communities can be disadvantaged. If the minority community is disadvantaged in numbers but is economically strong, then it can buy a share of the power of decision. There are many ways by which this works. To give a simple example — providing a large financial contribution to a candidate who is standing in the elections and make him win as a result. Even though he/she may not belong to the minority community but he/she is now obliged to promote the interest of that community. This is common knowledge. Now imagine what happens if you are a very small minority and you are not economically strong. Your destiny is entirely at the hands of those who hold a simple majority and you have no choice on this anymore. This is exactly the case with the Indian poor. You ask, you request, you do this behind closed doors, you do this in various ways, moderate methods, you do this in the Cabinet, you do this in the party meetings, but no one really hears. You cannot do anything. Years pass. The end result is a community in distress. Couple this on the other hand with the policies designed by the community with a simple majority – all policies get slanted to their advantage, all benefits from the Government flows towards them. Opportunities to the minority communities are blocked, are denied, or are removed. You get a very unbalanced situation. Then one day when the unbalance gets to be so great you suddenly get an explosion of anger against the unfairness and the injustice in the system. That is what you see in recent years. What you have not seen over the previous years past is all the patience and all the behind-the-door discussion and all the moderate and soft approaches that have been used to little benefit. When all that has not produced even small results, the outcome unfortunately is this – the problem spills over on to the streets. As far as making extreme demands, I must say that extreme or not also depends on one's point of view. Take this example — when you have half the young Indian children go to schools that are in dilapidated conditions, in cowsheds and in transportation containers, and this is causing a collapse of the foundational education of half the future of the Indian community and there seems to be no sense of urgency to correct this matter on the part of the Government, what do you expect – more patience from us too, less demand than an immediate attention to the problem and adequate allocation of funds to correct the situation so not too many more generations of these children are affected. The net result, over the years, as you can see is the serious criminalization of Indian youth. Please understand that whatever you see as expressions from Hindraf, we are just reacting according to the seriousness of the situation. Of course the Government will not want you to see that they are doing this to the Indian children. They make us into extremists and our demands to be extreme. Question 5: How does Hindraf intend to be a functional social activist group or political party when they seem to have alienated both coalitions? Ganesan: Very good question. Thank you. Hindraf is not a political party nor does it intend to become one. However we will participate in the political process of the country as a people's movement. As a people's movement we will articulate the needs, interests and rights of people. In articulating for the people, when we see duplicity and deceit on the part of politicians, we will speak up. You must understand one basic truth about politicians – they are only interested in your votes. They are not necessarily interested in doing what is best for you. As a people's movement we are not interested in the votes, we are interested in getting for the people what is best for them. There clearly will be times when we do speak up impartially. Now, think about this, does that make us more or less functional as a social activist group? Not to alienate one or the other coalition is not our priority, to make sure that the politicians come up with policies in the interest of the people and then they follow through with implementation is our priority. That makes us play our roles more effectively. Question 6: Having being ignored first by BN and then rejected by PR, what is Hindraf's next move and what is its political advice or recommendation to its followers and the underclass that it struggles for? Ganesan: I will be brief on this question. We will remain ambivalent on this question till it becomes clear who among the two coalitions will support the 5-year Blueprint plans. The political parties are interested in the votes of our followers. We do not see ourselves recommending to our followers to give it to one or the other without there being a quid pro quo as far as their response to our 5-year Blueprint is concerned. It is still too early (now with the Lahad Datu incident) to say that they have rejected our Blueprint. When the jostling gets heavier, we will then be able to more clearly know. If the response seems too simplistic, take it that I do not want to be read too early on this question. One thing is for certain – our focus and priority is the "5-year Blueprint to bring the Indian poor into the national mainstream of development". N. Ganesan is the Hindraf national advisor. To read the questions at source, see 'Soalan-soalan anda (pembaca blog ini) bagi Hindraf '.

Nur Misuari: 'We had to fight for it' Posted: 16 Mar 2013 12:10 PM PDT   (Al Jazeera) - At stake could be the peace deal between the government of the Philippines and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front's (MILF) leader Ibrahim Murad.  A new crisis in Southern Philippines is underway - it is a conflict with Malaysia over a province called Sabah. Armed Filipino men are challenging the Malaysian government's power over the province, claiming that this land belongs to the Sultan of Sulu who lives in the Philippines.  "We have achieved something tremendous in our quest for peace in our homeland as well as of course enhancing the freedom of our people. We had to fight for it and in fact we have lost hundreds of thousands of lives just to be able to reach this point. The problem is that our homeland is so rich, not only in terms of history but [also] in terms of its resources, that's why so many people want to occupy this land. And they applied what they call the classical policy of divide and rule so that our people could not unite and fight as one nation to roll back all of these foreign aggressors." - Nur Misuari, chairman of the Moro National Liberation Fron But the implications here could be severe for the region. At stake could be the peace deal between the government of the Philippines and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front's (MILF) leader Ibrahim Murad. The deal was designed to bring peace to Mindanao and allow the fighters there to build a semi-autonomous Islamic state, to be called Bangsamoro. The party that brokered the deal was Malaysia. Its Muslim-dominated government used its influence with the Islamic fighters in Mindanao to bring the parties together. But now, there are allegations that members of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF), the original Islamic insurgency group, feels sidetracked and has allowed some of its men to fight the Malaysian government presence in Sabah.    Which brings us back to where the conflict in Mindanao started -  it is in places like this that the resistance against what they call Philippine colonialism was nursed.   The fighters would hide in the Muslim ghettos with sympathisers and in turn bring soldiers into the alleyways hungry for revenge. Every family speaks of those years with an overriding sense of loss.   The man who started it all back in the 1970s was Nur Misuari. With international backing he negotiated a separate deal with the government in the 1990s, but he never managed to reach the success MILF reached after splitting with his group. Today, when we caught up with him in his home in Mindanao, we found a man who is clearly not happy with the current state of affairs. Talk to Al Jazeera speaks to Nur Misuari, the former leader of the MNLF about the crisis in Sabah and peace in the Southern Philippines. Watch the video at: http://www.aljazeera.com/programmes/talktojazeera/2013/03/201331421944766446.html

Filipinos fleeing Sabah endure ‘violent crackdown’ by Malaysian forces Posted: 16 Mar 2013 12:01 PM PDT   (Philippine Inquirer) - "I acknowledge that there have been some immigrants who were apprehended during Ops Daulat. However, the ancestry of those apprehended was purely incidental," Abdul Gani said. Filipinos, who had fled Sabah in the aftermath of the armed intrusion there by the Sulu "royal army," had learned to endure the pains of being violently beaten by Malaysian security forces during crackdowns on suspected Sabah-based supporters of the sultanate's men just to stay alive, survivors had claimed.   As this developed, the Malaysian Attorney General announced that an investigation has started on the claims of witnesses and supposed survivors of the police's excesses in Sabah under Ops Daulat (sovereignty).   "I did not run when they ordered me to run because I know they will shoot me. What I did was to bear the pain when they hit me," 38-year old Ibrahim Alih, a Sama native from Zamboanga City, told the INQUIRER here, where he was being processed by government agencies before sending him home.   Alih, who was rounded up for failing to present immigration documents during Monday last week's sweep on his neighborhood in Sandakan, said he did not care even if blood was already coming out of his wounds because he knew it was safer for him to just submit to the beating.   When he noticed that the Malaysian forces appeared to be hell bent on beating him to death, Alih said he shouted: "I'm not a Tausug, I'm a Sama Badjao."   Upon hearing this, the Malaysian forces allegedly stopped from hurting him but they still frisked him and took the RM700 he earned from being a carpenter in Sabah for the past four months.   He was then allowed to board ML Fatima Editha – along with hundreds of other Filipinos trying to find a space on the crammed boat – for this province.   Alih said he wished he had not been illegally working in Sabah because a valid document might have saved him from harm.   "I don't even have a passport," he lamented.   Twenty-year old Sherilyn Viado, who worked in a construction company in Sabah, said she too had to assert her ethnicity when Malaysian policemen prepared to gang up on her.   "I told them that I'm not a Tausug but a Badjao," she said, adding that Malaysian security forces were singling out people from Sulu or Sabahans known as Suluk (people who originated from Sulu).   "If you're a Tausug, you will surely land in jail even if you had valid papers," Viado, a native of Zamboanga del Sur, said.   Viado said Malaysian forces were so angry at Tausugs and Suluks that they do not put distinction between males and females anymore.   "We saw on TV how they beat Tausugs, including women," she claimed.   Viado said Tausugs or Suluks who had disappeared from her neighborhood had not resurfaced since their arrest "and the lack of information on their fate had sowed unimaginable degree of fear on us."   Annang Im, 50, who tended a small sidewalk store in Sandakan, said she did not experience being abused but she saw how male Filipinos caught up during the sweeps had been made to physically suffer by Malaysian policemen.   Im, a Tausug-Visaya, also confirmed Viado's claim that Malaysian security forces hated Tausugs and Suluks so much that they did not care even if suspects were killed during the sweeps.   "It is because of what the Kirams did in Lahad Datu," she said.   Sabah police commissioner Hamza Taib had confirmed that the campaign against Sabah-based "collaborators" was continuing but maintained that policemen never violated the rights of the suspects.   "The reports of abuses were so dramatic but where did they took place? I am not aware of any incident in the entire Sabah area where people had been beaten or killed on mere suspicions of being terrorists or supporters of terrorists.   He also confirmed that 10 more people – who were either Filipino or have Filipino descent – had been arrested during separate raids on Thursday over suspicions of collaboration with the "Sulu terrorists."   Malaysian Attorney General Abdul Gani Patail said the fresh arrests had brought the number of detained suspects to 216 as of late Friday.   Hamza said two of the suspects— both in their 40s—were arrested by police authorities in Bukit Aman in Semporna around 8 p.m. Thursday, while the eight others were collared as they tried to enter the operation area in Lahad Datu on a speedboat past midnight, also on the same day.   Hamza said the two suspects with Filipino ancestry were taken in for questioning during a sweep of Bukit Aman, following information they were "collaborators or might have even been involved in the March 2 ambush in Kampung Simunul."   Hamza said later that evening, policemen in Lahad Datu arrested eight more men—all Filipino—who had no identification or immigration documents, as they tried to dock in Kampung Sungai Bilis.   He said a check on the speedboat uncovered a stash of peso bills, "totaling P369,000 and 300 jerrycans (water containers)."   "No weapons were found but we wondered what they were doing there with huge amount of money and lots of jerrycans," Hamza said.   He said the men, some as young as 17, were now being investigated under Malaysia's Security Offenses and Special Measures Act (Sosma) and immigration laws.   Hamza said the sweep against suspected supporters of the Sulu "terrorists" was continuing.   Reacting to an earlier statement by former Sabah Chief Minister Harris Salleh that he was alarmed by reports of police abuses under Ops Daulat (sovereignty), Hamza said he was not aware of any excesses committed by the Malaysian police since the crackdown started.   "We arrested them humanely and sent them to jail for investigation," he said.   But even then, Patail announced in a statement that an investigation into the reported abuses has started and those complaining of such excesses will be assisted by the Malaysian Bar and the Sabah Law Association.   "If the investigation showed there had indeed been abuses, the persons involved will be charged accordingly," Abdul Gani said in a statement sent to Bernama, the state media group.   In his written statement read by an anchor of another Sabah station known for its scathing anti-Najib commentaries on Wednesday, Harris said he had written Home Minister Hishammuddin Hussein and asked him to order the police to stop their unlawful actions against the Suluk population in Semporna and Lahad Datu.   Harris said Suluk leaders had sought his help to make the appeal because they could no longer tolerate the abuses.   "These Suluk leaders reported that (the) police are taking away Identity Cards, Red Identity Cards and the IMM13 documents (of the Suluk people) and destroy them," he said.   Harris, giving credence to the claims of the Suluk leaders he did not identify, said the abuses were "unbecoming of a Malaysian police force."   "This behavior is against (any law)…, be it religious or the laws and policies of the Malaysian government," Harris quoted what he told Hishamuddin.   He also reminded Hishamuddin that the "police have no power to destroy any Federal Government document" unless they had been ordered to do so by the National Registration Department.   He warned that the abuses could eventually "create hostility between Sabah and the Suluk people," whom he described as the "original inhabitants of Sabah." Read more at: http://globalnation.inquirer.net/69359/filipinos-fleeing-sabah-endure-violent-crackdown-by-malaysian-forces

Dr Mahathir: No directive to issue IC to unqualified migrants Posted: 16 Mar 2013 11:59 AM PDT   (Bernama) - The government had never issued any directive to any quarters to issue identity cards (IC) or citizenship to unqualified immigrants in Sabah, said Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad. As such, he said, Sabahans could not blame the government during his administration over cases of fraud committed by certain parties for self-interest. "I am aware the issue (IC project) is getting the attention of the people. I have been told, there were those who were not qualified, having just arrived, who received IC. "This is not our directive, not the government's directive...this is fraud on the part of the officers in the area because of other interests," he told reporters on Saturday. The former prime minister was asked to comment on the opposition campaign trend which was aggressively playing up the IC Project issue to garner the people's support, in view of the coming general election. He clarified that many people who were not from this country were made citizens because they had stayed in the country for a long time and had mastered the national language. "Many of us are from other countries, for example from China, Arab (countries) and India. All of them have stayed here for a long time and are loyal to this country. "We give them citizenship if they meet the necessary conditions," he said. In another development, Dr Mahathir, when asked if the government was capable of increasing the oil royalty to Sabah which currently stood at five per cent, said the government's practice was to share riches with all citizens of the country. Prior to this, the opposition pact, in its 13th General Election manifesto, promised 20 per cent oil royalty to the people of Sabah. "If they (opposition) want to give (higher)...then, give 100 per cent to Sabah," said Dr Mahathir, who was prime minister for 22 years since 1981 before stepping down in 2003. On the setting up of the special security area, Eastern Sabah Security Command in Sabah, following the intrusion by foreign terrorists in Lahad Datu, Dr Mahathir said the move was apt and timely, seeing the significant security threat in the national waters.

Coffin with Tian Chua’s Photo Found at PKR Headquarters Posted: 16 Mar 2013 11:55 AM PDT   The Choice  Friday and Saturday, angry crowds showed up to shout insults and wave protest banners as Parti Keadilan Rakyat Vice President Tian Chua made pit stops along his national tour to explain his alleged, controversial statements about the Lahad Datu intrusion. The capper on the series of incidents occurred in the predawn hours of Saturday morning, when a coffin-like box was placed outside the entrance to the state PKR headquarters in Bukit Piatu. The 'coffin' covered in black cloth was made from polystyrene. A framed photo of Tian Chua was placed on top, along with a garland of flowers. Completing the macabre image, red specks to resemble blood were sprinkled about the display. Those placing the 'coffin' are assumed to be very dissatisfied with Chua's alleged speculation that implied Umno somehow had something to gain from the Lahad Datu intrusion. The alleged comments, reported by PKR organ Keadilan Daily while the government was in the midst of trying to settle the touchy situation with a minimum loss of life through negotiations, didn't win him many fans. However, the 'coffin' takes dissatisfaction to a new level – one that is illegal. The police have opened an investigation paper on the case under Section 506 of the Penal Code for criminal intimidation, as the 'coffin' could be interpreted as a threat to the PKR vice president's life. This act is not merely illegal, it is simply wrong, and unbecoming in a mature democracy. The highly-visible PKR officer and MP is starting to feel the wrath of those he allegedly insulted with his seditious words. On Friday, police were called when Chua received a hostile reception at a rally in Kedah. Around 40 people gathered prior to his arrival, carrying banners and shouting when the PKR vice president arrived to explain his alleged, controversial comments. Read more at: http://www.thechoice.my/featured-articles/64283-coffin-with-tian-chuas-photo-found-at-pkr-headquarters

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