Malaysia Today - Your Source of Independent News
Malaysia Today - Your Source of Independent News |
- Rozali’s RM33m ‘deserved’? Pua asks if watchdog group was ‘joking’
- Polls live stream idea just icing on ‘rotten cake’, says Bersih
- Police to investigate death of man under detention
- Singapore to usurp Switzerland as top finance hub by 2015-study
- France runs vast electronic spying operation
- Justice for all, not just Khairy, DAP MP tells cops
- M’sia bakal capai negara maju seawal 2018
- EGYPT UPDATE: After 80-year wait, Brotherhood blows shot at power
- Children should not be forced to convert, says ex-Perlis mufti
- Penang Speaker issues stern warning to Seri Delima assemblyman
- Election petitions to hold court with ink, bribery and murder drama
- Mesir dan kejatuhan Morsi
- Perbelanjaan Selangor mengalami defisit
- Conversion Bill: DAP offers help to BN
- When you pick a fight (UPDATED with Chinese translation)
- The Israeli National Bank story
- Sue me in UK, banned Rewcastle dares Taib’s crony
- Malaysian premier shrugs off looming threats to economy
- Anwar withdraws suit against Hamzah
- Ballot counting may be streamed live during Kuala Besut elections
- Slash-and-burn a way of life on Indonesia’s Sumatra
- The Reconciliation Clause that wasn't?
- Twists and turns in lowering car prices
- Thailand's Rice Subsidy Trap
- From prison to Egyptian presidency
| Rozali’s RM33m ‘deserved’? Pua asks if watchdog group was ‘joking’ Posted: 04 Jul 2013 12:15 PM PDT
(The Malay Mail Online) - A shareholder group backing the RM33.4 million pay packet for Puncak Niaga chairman Tan Sri Rozali Ismail was hastily convened to help vested parties cash out ahead of Selangor's looming takeover of the state's water utility, the DAP's Tony Pua (picture) suggested today. Continuing his criticism of the unusual remuneration for Rozali, Pua expressed shock over the Minority Shareholders Watchdog Group's open support and justification for the deal that has been described as a golden handshake for the Selangor Umno treasurer. "Was the Puncak Niaga Minority Shareholders Watchdog Group joking when they claimed its executive chairman Tan Sri Rozali Ismail fully deserved the RM33.4 million in fees despite the company's losses in recent years?" Pua asked in a statement. The DAP national publicity secretary noted that remarks by Muhammad Imran Abdullah, the chair of the week-old shareholder group, failed to justify why Rozali was paid the inordinate amount but merely said: "We are only concerned with our dividends and returns." Imran elaborated further on the matter, however, in The Malay Mail. "You must understand, this man is the founder of the company which started 20 years ago. For all his contributions, the shareholders have agreed to the payment," Imran explained. Pua said the group did not appear aware that Puncak Niaga's books continue to be splashed with red ink, pointing out that even the RM233 million in profit it booked in 2012 was contingent on RM1.02 billion in "water tariff compensation" from the Selangor government that was now being disputed in court. "This compensation is never agreed to by the state government because PNHB and its subsidiary, Syabas has failed to fulfil its obligations under the water concession agreement. "Without the compensation payment, PNHB would have made massive losses of up to RM791 million," Pua explained. The PJ Utara MP said that there was no logical reason for Rozali's pay package, which Pua had yesterday revealed to be nearly five times the pay of Tenaga Nasional Bhd's (TNB) chief executive despite Puncak Niaga generating just 6 per cent of the latter firm's revenue. Read more at: http://www.themalaymailonline.com/malaysia/article/rozalis-rm33m-deserved-pua-asks-if-watchdog-group-was-joking | ||||
| Polls live stream idea just icing on ‘rotten cake’, says Bersih Posted: 04 Jul 2013 12:13 PM PDT
(The Malay Mail Online) - Putrajaya's proposal for live coverage of the ballot-counting process is nothing but "icing on a very rotten cake", Bersih 2.0 has said, joining other electoral reforms groups in criticising the idea mooted for the coming Kuala Besut polls. Activist Maria Chin Abdullah said minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Shabery Cheek had missed the point when he made the suggestion yesterday, as it is major reform steps that should be taken to ensure the polling process is clean and fair. She noted that the government and Election Commission (EC) are allegedly missing out on the major improvements that can be carried out on the polls. "While these measures are useful but the govt, SPR & [Shabery] missed the major reform. Cleaning the electoral roll & having a more equal & transparent delineation are some of the major changes for clean elections. "The govt has to be brave, honest & take bold steps — otherwise these actions are just icing on very rotten cake," the member of Bersih's steering committee wrote in a text message to The Malay Mail Online yesterday. Yesterday, Ahmad Shabery mooted the idea of placing government-owned Radio Televisyen Malaysia (RTM) cameras in vote-tallying centres to provide real-time coverage of elections. Malaysians for Free and Fair Elections (Mafrel)'s president Syed Ibrahim Syed Noh similarly said the live-coverage was only for the government's "image-building" purposes, indicating that it is not effective in preventing electoral fraud. "Basically to say that you can see for your own what's going on, no blackout," he said. "I think the question is what purpose does it serve for the live coverage of counting? So what is the purpose? Is it just for transparency or to ensure no hanky-panky going on?" he asked earlier on. Syed Ibrahim, whose NGO trains election observers, pinpointed the correct and careful conducting of the polls as the critical issue, appearing to suggest that Ahmad Shabery was missing the point. "The issue is not live coverage, the issue is the integrity of the EC in conducting the election process," he told The Malay Mail Online yesterday. Read more at: http://www.themalaymailonline.com/malaysia/article/polls-live-stream-idea-just-icing-on-rotten-cake-says-bersih | ||||
| Police to investigate death of man under detention Posted: 04 Jul 2013 12:02 PM PDT
(Bernama) - Police will investigate the death of a 53-year-old man who died while being detained by police. Dang Wangi police chief ACP Zainuddin Ahmad said the man was detained after a chase by two police patrols in Jalan Barat off Jalan Imbi at about 12.15am yesterday. "While making the arrest, police had to struggle with the driver of a Proton Waja before the suspect was finally subdued. "However he was found to be weak and was sent to Kuala Lumpur Hospital where he was pronounced dead," he said in a media statement here last night. Zainuddin said based on the post-mortem, there were no signs of internal and external injuries. He said the cause of death was still not determined while police are awaiting a chemistry report. - See more at: http://www.themalaymailonline.com/malaysia/article/police-to-investigate-death-of-man-under-detention?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter#sthash.LdV5BbJ1.dpuf | ||||
| Singapore to usurp Switzerland as top finance hub by 2015-study Posted: 04 Jul 2013 11:59 AM PDT (Prime News Update) - Singapore will dethrone Switzerland in the next two years as the world's top centre for managing international funds, a study said on Thursday, as a global tax crackdown and tighter regulation weaken the Alpine nation's appeal to investors.
Switzerland, still the world's biggest offshore financial centre with $2 trillion in assets, came ahead of rivals
But respondents to the survey, which questioned 200 finance industry professionals from 51 countries, also said they expected Switzerland to lose ground, with Singapore taking the top spot in the next two years.
Switzerland's tradition of banking secrecy has helped its financial sector thrive but is under massive pressure from the United States and elsewhere, as cash-strapped governments seek to stop tax evasion and close loopholes.
Switzerland and other international financial centres will be forced to create special areas of expertise if they are to differentiate themselves in future, as transparency and increased regulatory standards create a more level playing field, the study said.
It added that centres located in emerging markets stood to gain in stature.
Respondents also named Shanghai and Dubai as fast-growing centres, closely followed by Brazil, Miami and Mexico City.
"Competition between traditional and newer IFCs and cities for the wealthy is expected to intensify," the study said. | ||||
| France runs vast electronic spying operation Posted: 04 Jul 2013 11:58 AM PDT Former NSA contractor Snowden leaked a trove of information about US electronic surveillance programme (Al Jazeera) - French intelligence services have put in place a giant electronic surveillance gathering network similar to American spying programme, Prism, leading French newspaper Le Monde has reported. Citing no sources, the paper said France's Direction Generale de la Securite Exterieure (DGSE), the country's foreign intelligence agency, systematically collects information about all electronic data sent by computers and telephones in France, as well as communications between France and abroad. According to Le Monde, data on "all emails, SMSs, telephone calls, Facebook and Twitter posts'' are collected and stored in a massive three-floor underground bunker at the DGSE's headquarters in Paris. The paper specified that it was the communications' metadata - such as when was call made and where an author was when she sent an email - that is being archived, not their content. Government officials have not responded to requests for comment on the report, the AFP news agency said. 'Vast archive' Le Monde said the vast archive of tens of millions of gigabytes, is accessible to France's other spy agencies, including military intelligence, domestic intelligence, Paris police and a special financial crimes task force. Read more at: http://www.aljazeera.com/news/europe/2013/07/201374192137692789.html | ||||
| Justice for all, not just Khairy, DAP MP tells cops Posted: 03 Jul 2013 10:53 PM PDT (The Malay Mail) - DAP MP Lim Lip Eng today contrasted the police's swift response to break-in at Minister Khairy Jamaluddin's (picture) home against what he described as slow or even lack of response to similar cases involving ordinary citizens. The Segambut MP said that while the Royal Malaysia Police's (PDRM) "efficient" response to the high-profile incident involving the youth and sports minister was welcome, there should be no double standards when investigating crime, before pointing to what he termed a low conviction rate of burglary cases involving the public. "The police have managed to release pictures of the suspects involved in the break-in of Khairy's house. I demand the same response for all victims. "I have received many complaints that when it comes to the regular people, no pictures have ever been released or even of the police not going to the victim's house to follow up," Lim told a press conference in Parliament here. The home of Youth and Sports Minister Khairy was invaded last Saturday afternoon by three men who scaled the perimeter wall at the Bukit Damansara mansion before breaking in through the front door. No one, save for Khairy's maid, was home when the men entered in the 5.30pm incident. The robbers made off with several laptops, watches and other valuables. Within days, police released the picture composites of two male suspects who were believed to be involved in the brazen daylight robbery. Today, Lim claimed normal break-in victims would never enjoy such efficient response from the police. To support his claim, the DAP leader cited the authorities' refusal to release the pictures of suspects involved in the murder of N. Dhamendran whose death while in police custody last month triggered a public uproar. "I demand they release the pictures. If they fail to do so, that means they are Umno police and not for the people," Lim charged. Another DAP lawmaker, Tony Pua, previously said the burglary of Khairy's house illustrated the reality of Malaysia's dire crime situation, adding in a statement on Sunday night that Putrajaya could not afford to brush aside concerns over growing lawlessness as a "perception" problem any longer. Prior to that, Khairy had on his Facebook page admitted that the incident was a stark reminder to all about the seriousness of crime in the country. "It is a real issue and not just merely a perception," he said. Putrajaya's efficiency unit Pemandu last year reported a 10-per cent reduction in index crime for the first half of the year, along with an 11 per cent reduction the previous year and a 39.7 per cent drop in street crime for the same duration. The media was also blamed for reporting news of such cases. But these figures were quickly undressed by anonymous and former police officers as well as a crime watchdog who alleged the impressive reductions were nothing more than statistical sleight of hand. The authorities had defended themselves from such accusations by insisting the numbers were not doctored and that the growing presence of anecdotal crime reports in social media was simply a "perception" rather than fact. Read more here: http://www.themalaymailonline.com/malaysia/article/justice-for-all-not-just-khairy-dap-mp-tells-cops?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter#sthash.KskgFBJR.dpuf
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| M’sia bakal capai negara maju seawal 2018 Posted: 03 Jul 2013 10:39 PM PDT (Bernama) - Malaysia bakal menjadi negara maju berpendapatan tinggi pada 2018, dua tahun lebih awal daripada tahun 2020 yang disasarkan, kata Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak. Perdana Menteri berkata Malaysia berada di landasan betul untuk merealisasikan sasaran ini memandangkan Program Transformasi Kerajaan dan Program Transformasi Ekonomi mula menghasilkan kejayaan yang ketara. "Peningkatan ranking di seluruh dunia menunjukkan Malaysia semakin memperbaiki kedudukannya. Bank Dunia meletakkan ranking kita di tempat ke-12 dalam laporan 'Doing Business Report 2013′ dan tinjauan baru-baru ini menunjukkan Malaysia berada di landasan betul untuk mencapai status negara maju berpendapatan tinggi seawal 2018," katanya. Beliau berkata demikian ketika berucap pada majlis 'Sepetang Bersama Perdana Menteri' yang disertai rakyat Malaysia di London, di Intercontinental Hotel di sini Rabu malam. Turut hadir isteri Najib, Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor, Menteri Luar Datuk Seri Anifah Aman, Pesuruhjaya Tinggi Malaysia ke United Kingdom Datuk Seri Zakaria Sulong dan Duta Tourism Malaysia Datuk Jimmy Choo. Najib berkata sasaran itu mustahil dicapai tanpa kerja keras semua rakyat Malaysia, baik di tanah air mahupun di luar negara. "Diaspora (perantau) Malaysia adalah aset kita yang turut sama menyumbang kepada kemajuan negara," katanya. Najib turut menggesa semua rakyat Malaysia, terutamanya yang tinggal di luar negara supaya membantu Malaysia melenyapkan laporan tidak benar tentang negara ini supaya lebih ramai orang akan berminat untuk melabur atau mengunjungi Malaysia. "Kata-kata yang baik daripada anda mengenai Malaysia sememangnya sangat dialu-alukan. Saya pasti anda pernah mengalami, dalam beberapa keadaan, apabila sahabat dan rakan setugas anda melontar komen negatif tentang Malaysia. Menjadi tugas anda, sebagai rakyat Malaysia, untuk membersihkan semula nama Malaysia."
Read more here: http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2013/07/04/msia-bakal-capai-negara-maju-seawal-2018/#sthash.HQbuhnZN.pLmjV0Fa.dpuf
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| EGYPT UPDATE: After 80-year wait, Brotherhood blows shot at power Posted: 03 Jul 2013 09:40 PM PDT
Founded in 1928, the Brotherhood had a stated aim of creating an "Islamic generation" as the foundation of a state ruled by sharia, or Islamic law. Its long wait finally paid off at the 2012 presidential election, when Morsi defeated former air force chief Ahmed Shafiq in a run-off. (AFP) - CAIRO: Having waited for over 80 years, Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood secured power when Mohamed Morsi was elected president, but it can only blame itself after being ousted just 12 months later, analysts say. Opponents of Morsi accused him of failing the 2011 revolution that toppled dictator Hosni Mubarak by concentrating power in the hands of his Muslim Brotherhood, while failing to deal with a spiralling economic crisis. As the world debated whether the military move to end his rule on Wednesday amounted to a real coup, analysts agreed on one thing — Morsi and the Islamist movement brought about their own rapid decline by themselves. Morsi and the Brotherhood "utterly failed in (the) past year Egyptians asked for military coup (and) they got one," tweeted Salman Shaikh, analyst at the Brookings Doha Center. The Brotherhood, after first looking on from the sidelines, later joined the 18-day popular uprising inspired by the Arab Spring that forced out strongman Mubarak on February 11, 2011. It then fielded a candidate for the country's first democratic presidential election last year, with Morsi carrying its baton after the candidacy of the Brotherhood's first-choice, Khairat El-Shater, was rejected. Morsi came out on top in the election, bringing the Islamist movement out of the shadows after it had endured decades of bans and repeated crackdowns under Mubarak's iron-fisted rule. Analyst Nathan Brown said: "The Morsi presidency is without a doubt one of the most colossal failures in the Brotherhood's history." Even allies of the Brotherhood criticised Morsi and the Islamist movement for they way they tried to run the country. "The president procrastinated. His group lost any real opportunities to build a national base that would have isolated the counter-revolution," said Mohammed Mahsub, a senior leader of the Al-Wasat party. "The guidance bureau of the Brotherhood bares responsibility for the downfall," added Mahsub. Founded in 1928, the Brotherhood had a stated aim of creating an "Islamic generation" as the foundation of a state ruled by sharia, or Islamic law. Its long wait finally paid off at the 2012 presidential election, when Morsi defeated former air force chief Ahmed Shafiq in a run-off. After taking the oath of office on June 30 last year, he slowly began to impose himself on the political scene, eventually granting himself sweeping powers in November. That move prompted prominent opposition figure Mohamed ElBaradei to accuse him of usurping authority and becoming a "new pharoah" and saw the first protests against his rule. A month later, he aggravated the situation by ramming through a controversial constitution drafted by a panel that was dominated by Islamists and boycotted by liberals and Christians. Ultimately, however, Morsi and the Brotherhood squandered their chance at the helm by failing to govern for all Egyptians, address the economic crisis and win over the trust of the powerful military. "Yes, it is true that the Brotherhood did well in elections; that it was not able to govern fully but still saddled with responsibility for Egypt's insurmountable problems," the analyst Brown wrote on the New Republic website. "It is also undeniable that Morsi and the Brotherhood made almost every conceivable mistake such as reaching too quickly for political power or failing to build coalitions with others. "They alienated potential allies, ignored rising discontent, focused more on consolidating their rule than on using what tools they did have, used rhetoric that was tone deaf at best and threatening at worst," wrote Brown. US intelligence firm Stratfor said, however, that the military also played a major role in the downfall of Morsi and the Brotherhood. "Morsi never really took control of the machinery of government, partly because he was politically weak, partly because the Muslim Brotherhood was not ready to govern, and partly because the military never quite let go," it said in an analysis posted on its website. In the end, "the military did not want to see chaos the military distrusted the Muslim Brotherhood and was happy to see it forced out of office." | ||||
| Children should not be forced to convert, says ex-Perlis mufti Posted: 03 Jul 2013 09:15 PM PDT (The Malay Mail) - Children should not be forcefully converted to Islam, former Perlis Mufti Datuk Dr Asri Zainul Abidin has said as non-Muslim tempers continue to flare over a newly-mooted law permitting the unilateral conversion of minors to Islam. Instead, Asri said children should be allowed to decide which religious beliefs they want to profess upon turning 15, while their Muslim convert father should be given the right to educate them in Islam should the court grant custody to their non-Muslim mother in divorce cases. "Leave the matter to the children. It's a free country," Asri told The Malay Mail Online in an exclusive interview here yesterday. "If you force someone to embrace something they don't like, they may want to change religions. Then, apostasy cases will happen again," said the well-known Muslim scholar. Non-Muslim groups, the Malaysian Bar and politicians on both sides of the divide have denounced the Administration of Islam (Federal Territories) Bill 2013, which allows the unilateral conversion of children below 18 years to Islam, as unconstitutional. Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr S. Subramaniam suggested on Tuesday that a translation error was at the centre of the religious row on the Bill that was tabled in Parliament last week. Subramaniam reportedly said that the Malay version of section 107(b) of the proposed law, which states the conversion of a minor requires the consent of a "parent or guardian", was not in line with the English version. The MIC deputy president noted that the Malay version translates the word "parent" to "ibu atau bapa" ("mother or father"). But Asri pointed pointed out that the Quran states there is "no compulsion in religion", the same line that invited controversy last year when PKR MP Nurul Izzah Anwar declared it during a forum. Asri said that according to the Tafsir Ibn Kathir, which is a commentary of the Quran, that statement was revealed when the Ansar community in Madinah embraced Islam and wanted their children — who had been sent earlier to the Jews to be baptised — to be similarly converted to Islam. "For that, Allah revealed that there's no compulsion in Islam," said Asri. "So, nobody can force others to embrace a religion, not even their parents." Asri pointed out that if Muslims were afraid of children choosing religious faiths other than Islam, they should educate children well. "If you educate someone and you believe that Islam is a strong religion and has more evidence than others, people will embrace the religion full-heartedly," he said. Read more here: http://www.themalaymailonline.com/malaysia/article/children-should-not-be-forced-to-convert-says-ex-perlis-mufti
Children should not be forcefully converted to Islam, former Perlis Mufti Datuk Dr Asri Zainul Abidin has said as non-Muslim tempers continue to flare over a newly-mooted law permitting the unilateral conversion of minors to Islam. - See more at: http://www.themalaymailonline.com/malaysia/article/children-should-not-be-forced-to-convert-says-ex-perlis-mufti#sthash.7zz4PSH1.dpuf
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| Penang Speaker issues stern warning to Seri Delima assemblyman Posted: 03 Jul 2013 09:15 PM PDT
(Bernama) - Only two days into the Penang state assembly sitting, Speaker Law Choo Kiang had to repeatedly warn assemblymen not to create provocation that could cause anger and disrupt proceedings. This time, RSN Rayer (DAP-Seri Delima) was given a stern warning by Law after Rayer kept making provocative remarks that made Datuk Roslan Saidin (BN-Pinang Tunggal) angry pertaining to a racial issue.
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| Election petitions to hold court with ink, bribery and murder drama Posted: 03 Jul 2013 09:07 PM PDT Besides the murder of Murugan, the opposition's main grounds in seeking to nullify the electoral results are faulty indelible ink and bribery. Indeed, most of the petitions filed by PR were related to the indelible ink, according to R. Sivarasa, one of the lawyers representing the opposition coalition. Trinna Leong & Kimberly Yeo, The Malaysian Insider Among the bundles of affidavits, notes, testimonies and other bits of evidence which make up the 39 election petitions filed by Pakatan Rakyat following GE13 lies the story of K. Murugan. Or more accurately, his gruesome murder. His death only merited a dash of ink in the newspapers in the days leading to May 5, and if not for the tireless efforts of his family and PKR's Vasantha Kumar, it would have been a footnote by now. Vasantha, the candidate for Tapah, remembers Murugan working tirelessly for him in the tough battle against MIC's Datuk M. Saravanan. He organised political rallies and worked the ground sufficiently that he got noticed.He received death threats and was asked to stop campaigning for the Opposition. He disregarded the threats and did not think twice about leaving his home early on May 1 after receiving a call. That was the last time he was seen alive. His body was found in a river, weighed down by scrap metal. His hands and feet were bound. Vasantha said: "We believe that Murugan was murdered to intimidate the voters. He was well-known locally and it was his job to organise ceramahs for me." This is probably the first time in Malaysian history that murder has been raised as a reason to nullify an electoral result. This is also the first time in history that so many election petitions have been lodged by Barisan Nasional (BN) and Pakatan Rakyat (PR). A total of 58 cases has been filed in the peninsular, nine in Sabah and another two in Sarawak by the June 12 deadline. Given the long and testy period of campaigning and the host of allegations of cheating and vote-tampering in the run up to polling day, it is not surprising that a record number of petitions have been filed. Also driving this election petition campaign is a deep sense of grievance at being robbed of the ultimate prize: control of Putrajaya. Besides the murder of Murugan, the opposition's main grounds in seeking to nullify the electoral results are faulty indelible ink and bribery. Indeed, most of the petitions filed by PR were related to the indelible ink, according to R. Sivarasa, one of the lawyers representing the opposition coalition. "The Election Commission (EC) committed fraud when the indelible ink failed," Sivarasa said. "The silver nitrate was absent, so the ink didn't work," Sivarasa said in explaining why the ink was easily washed off. In Parliament, Tan Sri Shahidan Kassim, the Minister in the Prime Minister's Department, said that the ink really contained a food colouring instead of silver nitrate, the chemical compound that ensures the ink stays on the skin for at least 72 hours. PR will also file civil suits against the EC for failure to conduct polls fairly. Sivarasa added that the alleged irregularities that were included in PR's petitions involved the "suspicious voting pattern in the early voting ballots". PR questions the validity of postal votes and those submitted by the members of the police and armed forces. "The ballot boxes are kept for five days without supervision from election observers," said Sivarasa, pointing to the possibility of vote-rigging. The petitions also refer to the allegations of vote-buying at various places, including the Bagan Datok seat held by Home Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi. Ahmad Zahid had been accused of spending RM2 million, 10 times the allowed sum for election expenses, after he was caught on video admitting that he offered RM100 in cash and rice to 24,000 people. Read more here: http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/election-petitions-to-hold-court-with-ink-bribery-and-murder-drama | ||||
| Posted: 03 Jul 2013 08:30 PM PDT
Pelik memahami perkembangan di Mesir kerana revoulusi rakyat 25 Jan mahukan kuasa tentera dikawal tetapi perhimpunan terkini di Tahrir Square menjemput kuasa Tentera untuk menggulingkan Morsi. Apakah matlamat awal revolusi dikhianati dengan memberikan kuasa kepada tentera hanya setelah 2 tahun revolusi? Apakah kehendak rakyat hanya boleh disampaikan melalui tentera? Lebih penting ialah apakah makna demokrasi jika perlantikan seseorang boleh dibatalkan di jalanraya tanpa peti-peti undi? Mujahid Yusof Rawa, TMI Morsi Diguling Semasa artikel ini ditulis Morsi iaitu Presiden Mesir pertama yang dilantik secara demokratik telahpun digulingkn oleh tentera. Ini berpandukan kepada kenyataan Tentera bahawa Morsi sudahpun berada dalam tahanan rumah manakala pemimpin Ikhwan yang lain juga turut ditahan. Di Medan Tahrir, penentang Morsi merayakan berita tersebut manakala perhimpunan pro-Morsi dan penyokong Ikhwan di Rabaa' Adawiah masih terkejut dengan perkembangan ini. Namun respons penggulingan ini tidak akan berakhir begitu mudah malah Mesir dijangka akan berada dalam keadaan krisis yang panjang dan sekali lagi akan mendapat perhatian dunia. Demokrasi Melampau Adakah istilah 'demokrasi melampau?' Sebelum revolusi rakyat pada 25 Jan 2011 rakyat Mesir tidak pernah memahami erti demokrasi kerana sejak penggulingan Raja Farouk oleh Gamal Abdul Naser dan kemudian Anwar Saddat yang mati di bunuh, Hosni Mubarak meneruskan legasi penguasaan tentera yang membenam demokrasi di Mesir. Penguasaan tentera tidak hanya dalam bidang politik dan menentukan kepimpinan negara tetapi tentera menguasai hampir 40% agihan ekonomi Mesir. Penguasaan tentera hampir sukar untuk dihapuskan bagi membuka jalan kepada demokrasi untuk menentukan masadepan politik Mesir. Dua tahun setelah Mubarak dijatuhkan dengan kekuatan rakyat demokrasi seolah masih mencari wajahnya yang sebenar apabila Morsi menjadi mangsa demokrasi melampau. Gambaran penggulingan Morsi seolah-olah memberi isyarat bahawa rakyat boleh buang siapa sahaja Presiden yang mereka rasa tidak layak walaupun Presiden Morsi dilantik secara demokratik dan terma perlantikannya hanya akan berakhir 3 tahun lagi. Para analisis menggambarkan kebimbangan mereka apakah jaminan Presiden akan datang tidak akan diperlakukan dengan cara demokrasi melampau ini? Adakah di atas nama demokrasi, Mesir akan menuju ke arah anarki? atau adakah kebangkitan rakyat dalam revolusi 25Jan yang mahukan kuasa tentera dikurangkan hanya akan mengukuhkan lagi cengkaman tentera? Berbagai persoalan yang memerlukan jawapan kepada masadepan peneraju Arab Spring di Mesir. Ikhwan Gagal? Salah satu faktor yang dikatakan menyebabkan kepimpinan Morsi dipertikaikan ialah tanggapan bahawa Ikhwan telah mendominasi politik Mesir sedangkan kebangkitan rakyat adalah terjemahan berbagai pihak. Tanggapan bahawa Morsi tidak mewakili kehendak rakyat dan hanya mewakili kelompoknya adalah asas yang menjadi kempen penentang Morsi. Perlu diingatkan bahawa Morsi memenangi Pilihanraya Presiden dengan meraih 52% sahaja sokongan rakyat. Golongan Liberal Sekular tiada pilihan calon mereka kerana Morsi yang mewakili parti Kebebasan dan Keadilan adalah cabang politik Ikhwan yang dilihat lebih tersusun dan mempunyai penyokong grassroot yang kuat. Kemenangan Morsi dilihat sebagai terjemahan kepada kekuatan Ikhwan yang wujud sekian lama (hampir 85 tahun) dan berjaya kekal dalam suasana politik yang tidak menyebelahinya sepanjang proses itu. Kegagalan Ikhwan mentadbir negara yang cuba digambarkan oleh musuh politiknya dari kalangan Liberal Sekular akan meninggalkan bekas yang buruk kepada Ikhwan malah ia adalah isyarat kepada potensi kegagalan mana-mana parti Islam yang mahukan kuasa politik di mana-mana negara lain. Ikhwan Muslimin dianggap sebagai paling kanan dan menjadi idola kepada hampir semua gerakan Islam dunia malah mempunyai cawangannya di hampir seluruh dunia Islam khususnya. Propaganda ini berjaya membunuh dua burung dengan satu batu atau serampang dua mata untuk meranapkan cita-cita politikal Islam yang menyertai proses demokrasi hari ini. Masa depan Partisipasi Islamist Istilah Islamist menggambarkan kelompok penyertaan gerakan Islam dalam gerakan politik dan sivil sebagai salah satu komitmen terhadap proses demokrasi. Ia berbeza dengan istilah teroris yang bergerak di luar kerangka demokrasi yang mengimani cara keganasan sebagai mencapai matlamat Islamnya. Ikhwan di Mesir selama ini menegaskan dirinya sebagai entiti yang meyakini cara aman untuk memenangkan cita-citanya, malangnya sebelum Revolusi 25 Jan, Ikhwan tiada banyak pilihan melainkan terpaksa berhadapan dengan tekanan yang kuat dari regim tentera. Walaupun tertindas begitu lama , namun ia mampu menyesuaikan diri dengan keadaan tanpa hilang pengaruh dan kekuatan prinsipnya. Setelah Revolusi Rakyat, Ikhwan muncul sebagai entiti yang paling berpengaruh dan tersusun berbanding dengan golongan lain. Pasti nya penyertaan dalam proses demokrasi post Revolusi memberikan Ikhwan kelebihan lantas memenangi Pilihanraya Presiden setahun yang lalu. Dari sudut prinsip demokrasi, Ikhwan telah memenangi pilihanraya melalui Parti Kebebasan Dan Keadilan secara demokratik namun kemenangannya terus diragui dari sudut keyakinan dan tindakan politiknya yang sering disalahtanggap.Malah kemenangan Ikhwan tempoh hari dianggap sebahgaian sebagai kebangkitan Islamic Fascism. Kejatuhan Morsi pasti akan memberi kesan yang besar kepada persoalan partisipasi politikal Islam dalam proses demokrasi.
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| Perbelanjaan Selangor mengalami defisit Posted: 03 Jul 2013 07:54 PM PDT
Enam bulan pertama (Januari-Jun) 2013, defisit yang dicatatkan mencecah sehingga 46.7%. Jamilah Kamarudin, FMT Kerajaan Selangor didapati mengalami defisit perbelanjaan sejak tahun 2009, dedah Ahli Dewan Undangan Negeri (Adun) Permatang Sulaiman Abdul Razak. Sulaiman berkata, Selangor berbelanja lebih daripada peruntukan belanjawan apabila mencatatkan defisit RM120 juta (8.65%) pada tahun
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| Conversion Bill: DAP offers help to BN Posted: 03 Jul 2013 07:46 PM PDT
DAP chairman Karpal Singh says DAP is willing to provide BN with the two thirds majority needed to end the row over unilateral conversion of minors. Anisah Shukry, FMT In a rare moment of unity, DAP chairman Karpal Singh today offered Barisan Nasional each DAP MP's support to amend Article 12(4) of the Federal Constitution which relates to the religious conversion of minors. Article 12(4) of the Federal Constitution states: "…the religion of a person under the age of eighteen years shall be decided by his parent or guardian".
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| When you pick a fight (UPDATED with Chinese translation) Posted: 03 Jul 2013 05:03 PM PDT Let me put it this way. When you poke the bear in the eye the bear would definitely whack you back. And when you poke the Malays regarding the issue of the 3Rs, the Malays would also whack you back. And if you are too dumb to understand this then you deserve to get whacked because you have intentionally poked the Malays in the eye knowing what is going to happen. NO HOLDS BARRED Raja Petra Kamarudin What a brilliant and excellent idea, which really makes sense no matter whichever way RPK wants to put it. Housing & maintaining 9 royal and 4 governor households is the greatest burden on earth for Malaysian. That amount of money by billions can be wisely spent on new universities, hospitals, welfare homes, rural development, subsidising fishermen and farmers activities, eradicating poverty, etc., which would eventually benefit the rakyat. Larry Jay M. : divaperkasa@gmail.com *************************************** It costs more than RM160 million a year to maintain the British Monarchy and this amount is expected to rise to RM190 million over the next couple of years. But then I suppose we would argue that Britain could afford it while a third-world country like Malaysia can ill-afford that amount. 'Larry Jay M.', who posted a comment in Malaysia Today yesterday, said that the cost to maintain the Malaysian Monarchy runs into billions of Ringgit. I take it that 'billions' means more than one. So how many billions of Ringgit is it? Two? Three? More than three? When you quote figures you need to be specific plus you need to quote the source of these figures. Are these figures based on what was revealed in the Malaysian Parliament (like in the UK report below) because the budget needs to be approved by Parliament and even the opposition Members of Parliament would have details of what was spent. Today, I had to delete at least four anti-Islam comments by 'Larry Jay M'. These comments were downright nasty and if I had allowed them then I would have been accused of intentionally trying to pit the Muslims against the non-Muslims. Hence, so as to not fan the Muslim versus non-Muslim animosity, I just had to delete those comments even though I face the risk of being accused of not respecting freedom of speech. To be honest, I have had to delete more than half the comments since yesterday mainly because they would definitely trigger anger -- and with today's announcement by the Malaysian government that more than 6,600 websites have been blocked since 2008, I would risk the same fate for Malaysia Today if I allow these anti-Islam comments to be posted. I sometimes wonder whether 'Larry Jay M.' and those many others whose comments I have had to delete are actually agent provocateurs whose job is to create friction between the Muslims and those from the other religions. I suspect these people are paid cyber-troopers cum agent provocateurs. I have written time and again, plus lectured the same thing in Cambridge, that Umno has a 'secret weapon'. And that secret weapon is the Three-Rs -- race, religion and royalty. Bahasa Malaysia, of course, is also in that list of 3Rs and would come under race. If you want to rub the Malays the wrong way all you need to do it to raise one of these three issues (or all the three issues). You would certainly be adding fuel to the fire that is already raging in Malaysia even as you read this. Now, raising these issues in the context of discussing them to find some sort of resolution is one thing. But raising them against the backdrop of mocking the Malays and/or Islam is another thing altogether. And the Malays take mocking as a challenge (cabaran) and if you know the Malays and have lived amongst them then you will know they melenting (jump up like a scalded cat) when you cabar them. The normal 'defense' that these people use is: why are the Malays so sensitive? Why are the Malays so intolerant of freedom of opinion? Why can't the Malays take criticism? I think rather than pose all these questions to the Malays maybe you should instead ask yourself what is the purpose of you raising something so sensitive when you know exactly how the Malays are going to respond to that? It is not that you do not know. You do know. You know exactly how the Malays are going to react because you have yourself witnessed how they react. Yet you purposely raise these issues knowing what is going to happen. That is what we would call provocation. You poke the bear in the eye knowing what the bear would do. Then you accuse the bear of being too sensitive, of not respecting freedom of opinion, of not being open to criticism, and whatnot. Let me put it this way. When you poke the bear in the eye the bear would definitely whack you back. And when you poke the Malays regarding the issue of the 3Rs, the Malays would also whack you back. And if you are too dumb to understand this then you deserve to get whacked because you have intentionally poked the Malays in the eye knowing what is going to happen. Have you read the history of Yap Ah Loy? Well, Yap Ah Loy went into partnership with Raja Abdullah, the brother of the then Sultan of Selangor, to mine tin in Ampang. The Sultan owned all the land in Selangor, which were rich in tin, but he did not have the labour to mine this tin. Raja Abdullah then went into an 'Ali Baba' arrangement with Yap Ah Loy. Yap Ah Loy would bring the Chinese labourers from China to mine for tin in Ampang and he would share the profit with the Sultan. The headquarters for this operation was around where the Masjid Jamek in Kuala Lumpur now sits. Yap Ah Loy then opened up that area and set up his businesses there -- which included money-lending (ah long), opium dens and brothels. You see, Yap Ah Loy only brought in the men to work the tin mines. So the men 'hungered' for women and they certainly could not date the Malay women. So Yap Ah Loy set up brothels and brought in Chinese women from China to work in these brothels. Hence, when that stupid Malay man said that the Malaysian Chinese are descendants of prostitutes, was he lying? In the context of the history of Kuala Lumpur he would, of course, not be lying. This is reported in the history books. However, we must look at this not in the context of historical fact but in the context of the reason why this matter has been raised. Something may be true, but truth can also be insult, mocking, provocation, mala fide, cabaran, biadap, etc., depending on the manner and the reason you have raised it. Hence to say that Malaysian Chinese are descendants of prostitutes is not about the truth but about looking for a fight. So, what is the moral of this story? Yes, you are right, the moral of this story is that the first 'Ali Baba' arrangement in Malaysia was between Yap Ah Loy and the Sultan of Selangor. *************************************** London: Queen Elizabeth II cost British taxpayer nearly 1 million pounds more during her Diamond Jubilee year in 2012. According to Buckingham Palace accounts released in London on Thursday, the Queen's official expenditure increased by 900,000 pounds from 32.4 million pounds to 33.3 million pounds in 2012-13, compared to the previous 12 months. The annual Royal Public Finances report also found that taxpayer funds used to pay for official air and rail travel at home and abroad for members of the royal family fell by 500,000 pounds from 5 million pounds in 2011-12 to 4.5 million pounds in 2012-13. Royal staff costs rose from 17.5 pounds million to 18.3 pounds million in 2012-13, while the cost of maintaining royal buildings increased by 200,000 pounds to 9.1 million pounds. "The royal household has continued to reduce its expenditure funded by the taxpayer in successive years since 2008-09, achieving a real-terms reduction of 24 per cent over the last five years," said Sir Alan Reid, Keeper of the Privy Purse. "A significant part of the increase to the Sovereign Grant in 2013-14, supplemented by further income generation, will be used to tackle a backlog in essential property maintenance at the working royal palaces," he added. The Queen's official expenditure excludes the costs of police and army security and armed services ceremonies. The grant paid to the British monarchy is calculated as 15 per cent of money paid by the Crown Estate to the government. The estate, which includes property across the UK, increased its profits by 5 per cent to 252.6 million pounds in 2012-13. Public money used to fund the royal family, known as the Sovereign Grant, is expected to rise to 36.1 million pounds in the current financial year and 38 million pounds in 2014-15. ************************************ 当你找架打时让我以这种方式来讲，当你戳了熊的眼睛后熊肯定会反过来回击你。而当你以3R的课题来戳马来人时马来也肯定会反过来回击你。而如果你愚蠢得连这一点也不明白的话，那么你真的是活该，因为你在知道将要发生什么东西的情况下已经故意地戳了马来人的眼睛。 这真的是个极好的主意，无论RPK要怎样来美化它。9个皇室及4位州元首的宫邸费用及津贴都给了马来西亚极大的负担。这数十亿可以明智地花在大学，医院，福利院，农村发展，补贴渔民和农民，消除贫困等。这将最终让人民受益。 Larry Jay M. divaperkasa@gmail.com ************************************ 英国皇室每年的维持经费超过RM160万，并在接下来的几年中，这一数额预计将上升至RM190万。但我想，我们会争论英国是付得起的，而像马来西亚这样的第三世界国家则难以负担这一数额。 Larry Jay M.昨日在MT上评论说，马来西亚皇室每年的维持经达到数十亿令吉（Billions）。所以请问到底是多少个'十亿'令吉？两个？三个？超过三个？ 当你引用数字是你需要给出具体的答案，再加上给出这些数字的来源。这些数字是根据在马来西亚国会（如以上英文版的英国新闻报导）透露，因为预算需要由国会批准，就连反对党的国会议员也必须知道到底这些钱花在什么地方。 今天，我不得不删除Larry Jay M 至少四个反伊斯兰的言论。这些言论是彻头彻尾的惹人厌，如果我刊登这些言论的话，我会被指有意挑起穆斯林对非穆斯林的敌意。因此，为了不要煽动穆斯林与非穆斯林起敌意，我不得不删除这些意见，即使我会面临被指责不尊重言论自由的风险。 说句实话，从昨天起我不得不删除超过半数的留言，主要是因为它们肯定会引发愤怒---而且，马来西亚政府今天宣布自2008年以来有超过6,600个网站已被封锁。如果我允许这些反伊斯兰言论被张贴的话我担心MT会面临同样的命运。 我有时怀疑Larry Jay M.和许多发表类似留言的人，他们实际身份是代理挑衅者；他们的工作是要引起穆斯林和其他宗教者之间的摩擦。我怀疑这些人收了钱的网络打手兼代理挑衅。 我已经写了一次又一次，和不断地在剑桥给出同样的演讲，说巫统有一个'秘密武器'。而这秘密武器是三R---种族race，宗教religion和皇室royalty。马来文当然也是3R中的其中一项，它是被归类在种族race这个武器里。 如果你想挑起马来人的火焰，你所需要做的是提出这三个课题的其中一个（或全部三个）。你肯定会很成功地在这已肆虐马来西亚社会很久火焰上增加燃料。 现在，在想要找到某种决议为前提下提出这些问题是一回事，但以嘲讽马来人和/或伊斯兰教为前提下提出这些问题完全是另一回事。而且马来人还视嘲讽为一个挑战（cabaran），如果你很了解马来人和曾和他们住在一起，那么你就会知道当你cabar他们时他们是会melenting（像被烫伤的猫跳起来）的。 这些人常使用的'防御'是：为什么是马来人如此敏感？为什么马来人这么不能接纳意见自由？ 什么马来人不能接受批评？ 我认为与其你问马来人这些问题，为何你自己不问问自己当你知道马来人会如何回应是你还要提起这些敏感课题的目的是什么？ 这并不是说你不知道，你是知道的。你确切地知道马来人会有些什么反应，因为你有自己亲眼目睹到他们的反应。然而，你在知道将要发生什么事情的情况下你还是故意提出这些课题。 这就是我们称之为挑衅。你知道当你去捅熊的眼睛后熊会做什么东西。然后，你指责熊过于敏感，不尊重意见发表自由，不接受批评，和有的没的。 让我以这种方式来讲，当你戳了熊的眼睛后熊肯定会反过来回击你。而当你以3R的课题来戳马来人时马来也肯定会反过来回击你。而如果你愚蠢得连这一点也不明白的话，那么你真的是活该，因为你在知道将要发生什么东西的情况下已经故意地戳了马来人的眼睛。 你读过叶亚来的故事吗？嗯，叶亚来了与当时雪兰莪苏丹的弟弟拉惹阿都拉Raja Abdullah合伙在安邦开采锡矿。苏丹是雪兰莪州所有土地的拥有者，这些土地含有丰富的锡，但他没有足够的劳动力来进行开采。 拉惹阿都拉和叶亚来达成一个'阿里巴巴'协议。叶亚来将从中国带来华裔劳工开采锡矿，苏丹则与他分享利润。 当时的'公司'总部设在现今吉隆坡占米回教堂附近。叶亚来后来开发了该地区，并成立自己的业务---其中包括放高利贷，鸦片烟馆和妓院。 叶亚来只带来了男人在锡矿工作，所以这些男的都相当的'饥渴'，但他们当然不能和马来妇女走在一起。因此，叶亚来设立妓院，并从中国带来了妇女在这些妓院工作。 因此，当那个愚蠢的马来男子说马来西亚华人是妓女的后代时，他在说谎吗？在吉隆坡的历史背景下，他当然不是在说谎。这是在历史书上有提到的。然而，我们必须不是从历史事实背景看待这件事，而是要从这个人提出这事的背后原因看待这件事。 有些事情可能都是真的，但这些事实也可以被用来进行侮辱，嘲弄，挑衅，cabaran， biadap等，这全看你提出的方式和原因。因此，当一个人讲说马来西亚华人是妓女的后裔时他的目的不是讲真理，而是想找人打架。 所以，这个故事的寓意是什么？是的，你对了，这个故事的寓意是，马来西亚第一个'阿里巴巴'协议是发生在叶亚来和雪兰莪苏丹之间。
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| The Israeli National Bank story Posted: 03 Jul 2013 03:50 PM PDT In short, it was Anwar Ibrahim's boys in Pemuda Keadilan back in April 1999 who created this story about the bank accounts in the Israeli National Bank. And now there are two versions of that list, which you can see below. The first version was created in April 1999 and the second version last year in the run-up to the recent 13th General Election. THE CORRIDORS OF POWER Raja Petra Kamarudin
Back in April 1999, soon after Parti Keadilan Nasional was formed on 4th April 1999, Pemuda Keadilan, the party's youth movement, released a list of bank accounts in the Israeli National Bank. Last year, the second (amended) version of this list made its rounds on the Internet. In fact, I received many emails from various people asking me to carry this story in Malaysia Today and expose the perpetrators. I, of course, did not, mainly because I know who fabricated this list. The list was fabricated by the Pemuda Keadilan chaps who, incidentally, are all now back in Umno. As the Muslims would utter on hearing of someone's death: to Umno you came and to Umno you shall return (well not exactly like that). Furthermore, I tried to do a search regarding the Israeli National Bank and could not find any details of the existence of such a bank. Maybe those in the banking industry can offer us some details as to the existence of this bank. In short, it was Anwar Ibrahim's boys in Pemuda Keadilan back in April 1999 who created this story about the bank accounts in the Israeli National Bank. And now there are two versions of that list, which you can see below. The first version was created in April 1999 and the second version last year in the run-up to the recent 13th General Election. The surprising thing is, many people believe this list to be true without even checking whether such a bank does or does not exist. Some of those who sent me the list with a request to publish it in Malaysia Today were actually very 'seasoned' Chinese businessmen who were doing business all over the world. Now we are seeing reports on the Internet regarding details of Anwar Ibrahim's overseas bank accounts. But the same people who believe in the April 1999 Israeli National Bank list and the second list of last year do not believe in the story regarding Anwar's overseas bank accounts. The list is a fake, they say. You can't believe the story just because it was reported in the Internet because not everything in the Internet is true, they argue. Not even Wikileaks reported this matter and if Wikileaks did not report it then it cannot be true, retorts Anwar Ibrahim. Well, Wikileaks did not report the April 1999 list as well. In fact, back in April 1999, Wikileaks did not even exist yet then. So, if the authenticity of the list depends on whether Wikileaks does or does not report it, then how can the April 1999 list regarding the bank accounts in the Israeli National Bank be true while the latest one regarding Anwar not be true? I suspect that the April 1999 Israeli National Bank list as well as the latest list regarding Anwar's bank accounts are equally not true. And I suspect that the people who created the April 1999 list (those Keadilan Youth people who have since returned to Umno) are the same people behind the latest list regarding Anwar's bank accounts. Of course, I am only suspecting this and I do not have any evidence to support my suspicion. Nevertheless, while I suspect that there is a high probability that the ex-Keadilan Youth chaps now in Umno may have fabricated the list concerning Anwar's overseas bank accounts, I do know for a fact that they were the people behind the Israeli National Bank accounts 'expose' because I was present when they fabricated the list, which was then sent to an unsuspecting MGG Pillai for publishing. *************************************************** BANKS IN ISRAEL Bank Hapoalim Bank Leumi LeIsrael Bank Massad Bank of Israel Bank of Jerusalem Bank Otsar Ha-Hayal Bank Poaley Agudat Israel Bank Yahav First International Bank of Israel Israel Discount Bank Mercantile Discount Bank Mizrahi Tefahot Bank Poalim Capital Markets Investment Bank Postal Bank of Israel Post UBank Union Bank of Israel Yashir Leumi Mishkan - Hapoalim Mortgage Bank Discount Mortgage Bank First International Mortgage Bank Leumi Mortgage Bank *************************************************** DEPOSITS IN THE ISREALI NATIONAL BANK (LIST 1) 1. Name : Mr. Mohammad Najib Bin Abdul Razak Post : Minister of Education Passport No. : D 371981 (M) Bank : American Express Bank Type of Account : Current Account Account No : E-7194-303-45- G Amount : USD 7,500,000.00 Date of opening account : 22/12/95 Withdrawal : USD 2,500,000.00 on 10/01/96 Cheque No. F1742330 Withdrawal : USD 1,000,000.00 on 16/03/96 Cheque No. F1742331 Withdrawal : USD 1,000,000.00 on 01/07/96 Cheque No. F1742332 Withdrawal : USD 500,000.00 on 11/06/97 Cheque No. F1742333
2. Name : Mr. Syed Hamid Bin Syed Albar Post : Minister of Defence Passport No. : D 691245 (M) Bank : Citibank Type of Account : Fixed Deposit (Foreign Currency) 3 years Account No : J-321-3352-339- G Amount : USD 8,000,000.00 Date of opening account : 14/07/96 Date of Maturity : 14/07/99
3. Name : Mr. Syed Hamid Bin Syed Albar Post : Minister of Defence Passport No. : D 691245 (M) Bank : American Express Bank Type of Account : Fixed Deposit (Foreign Currency) 3 years Account No : AC- 4192-443-54- E Amount : USD 5,000,000.00 Date of opening account : 27/11/96 Date of Maturity : 27/11/99
4. Name : Ms. Rafidah Bte Aziz Post : Minister of International Trade And Industry Passport No. : D 391274 (M) Bank : Bank Of Nova Scotia Type of Account : Fixed Deposit (Foreign Currency) 3 years Account No : LA- 7211-3647-341 G Amount : USD 5,000,000.00 Date of opening account : 10/06/96 Date of Maturity : 10/06/99
5. Name : Ms. Rafidah Bte Aziz Post : Minister of International Trade And Industry Passport No. : D 391274 (M) Bank : Bank Of China Type of Account : Fixed Deposit (Foreign Currency) 2 years Account No : CL 4223-6162-47 M Amount : USD 2,500,000.00 Date of opening account : 21/09/96 Date of Maturity : 21/09/96
6. Name : Mr. Muhyuddin Bin Yassin Post : Minister of Youth and Sports Passport No. : D 512717 (M) Bank : American Express Bank Type of Account : Fixed Deposit (Foreign Currency) 5 years Account No : AF- 3712-229-33- Y Amount : USD 7,700,000.00 Date of opening account : 15/06/96 Date of Maturity : 15/06/01
7. Name : Mr. Megat Junid Bin Megat Ayob Post : Minister of Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Passport No. : D 299671 (M) Bank : Israeli National Bank Type of Account : Fixed Deposit (Foreign Currency) 3 years Account No : F-3091-9211- 39 (O) Amount : USD 5,000,000.00 Date of opening account : 19/08/96 Date of Maturity : 19/08/99
8. Name : Mr. Megat Junid Bin Megat Ayob Post : Minister of Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Passport No. : D 299671 (M) Bank : Israeli National Bank Type of Account : Fixed Deposit 3 years Account No : M-5244-6052- 69 (D) Amount : S $ 10,000,000.00 Date of opening account : 07/05/97 Date of Maturity : 07/05/00
9. Name : Mr. Mohammad Bin Rahmat Post : Minister of Information Passport No. : D 423717 (M) Bank : Development Bank of Singapore Type of Account : Fixed Deposit 2 years Account No : C-2965-173-384- F Amount : S $ 5,000,000.00 Date of opening account : 29/11/96 Date of Maturity : 29/11/98
10. Name : Mr. Mohammad Bin Rahmat Post : Minister of Information Passport No. : D 423717 (M) Bank : Development Bank of Singapore Type of Account : Fixed Deposit 2 years Account No : CA-3129-662- 919-G Amount : S $ 2,500,000.00 Date of opening account : 06/03/97 Date of Maturity : 06/03/99
11. Name : Mr. Sabbarudin Bin Chik Post : Minister of Culture, Arts and Tourism Passport No. : D 196432 (M) Bank : Bank of China Type of Account : Fixed Deposit (Foreign Currency) 3 years Account No : E-699-3172-982 (B) Amount : USD 8,500,000.00 Date of opening account : 02/09/96 Date of Maturity : 02/09/99
12. Name : Mr. Mustapa Bin Mohamed Post : Minister of Entrepreneur Second Finance Minister Passport No. : D 862411 (M) Bank : American Express Bank Type of Account : Fixed Deposit 3 years Account No : CA-5098-344- 66-D Amount : S $ 5,000,000.00 Date of opening account : 12/06/96 Date of Maturity : 12/06/99
13. Name : Mr. Mustapa Bin Mohamed Post : Minister of Entrepreneur Second Finance Minister Passport No. : D 862411 (M) Bank : Citibank Type of Account : Fixed Deposit (Foreign Currency) 2 years Account No : DD-2141-7922- 549-F Amount : USD $ 5,000,000.00 Date of opening account : 21/04/97 Date of Maturity : 21/04/99
14. Name : Ms. Siti Zaharah Binti Sulaiman Post : Deputy Minister of Health Passport No. : D 594071 (M) Bank : United Overseas Bank Type of Account : Fixed Deposit 2 years Account No : M-3914-7179- 212-D Amount : S $ 5,500,000.00 Date of opening account : 28/05/97 Date of Maturity : 28/05/99
15. Name : Mr. Tajol Rosli Bin Mohammad Ghazali Post : Deputy Home Affairs Minister Passport No. : D 691872 (M) Bank : Development Bank of Singapore Type of Account : Fixed Deposit 2 years Account No : B 1712-341-619- C Amount : S $ 2,000,000.00 Date of opening account : 29/06/97 Date of Maturity : 29/06/99
16. Name : Mr. Abdul Kadir Bin Sheikh Fadzir Post : Deputy Minister Human Resources Passport No. : D 541781 (M) Bank : Bank of China Type of Account : Fixed Deposit (Foreign Currency) 3 years Account No : D 319-2218-512- J Amount : USD 3,500,000.00 Date of opening account : 28/02/98 Date of Maturity : 28/02/01
17. Name : Mr. Ibrahim Saad Post : Deputy Minister PM Department Passport No. : D 891741 (M) Bank : Citibank Type of Account : Fixed Deposit (Foreign Currency) 2 years Account No : M 374-6593-88 D Amount : USD 4,000,000.00 Date of opening account : 08/06/97 Date of Maturity : 08/06/99
18. Name : Mr. Mohamed Nazri Bin Aziz Post : Deputy Minister PM Department Passport No. : D 871945 (M) Bank : Israeli National Bank Type of Account : Fixed Deposit (Foreign Currency) 2 years Account No : BD 5211-7925-8716- 51 MA Amount : USD 6,500,000.00 Date of opening account : 08/06/97 Date of Maturity : 08/06/99
19. Name : Mr. Mohamad Isa Bin Abdul Samad Post : Chief Minister of Negeri Sembilan Passport No. : D 831569 (M) Bank : American Express Bank Type of Account : Fixed Deposit (Foreign Currency) 3 years Account No : E- 6654-662-719- M Amount : USD 5,000,000.00 Date of opening account : 09/07/96 Date of Maturity : 09/07/99
20. Name : Mr. Mohamad Isa Bin Abdul Samad Post : Chief Minister of Negeri Sembilan Passport No. : D 831569 (M) Bank : American Express Bank Type of Account : Fixed Deposit (Foreign Currency) 3 years Account No : J-5152-6161- 311-D Amount : USD 5,000,000.00 Date of opening account : 24/01/97 Date of Maturity : 24/01/00
21. Name : Mr. Sanusi Bin Junid Post : Chief Minister of Kedah Passport No. : D 659711 (M) Bank : Israel National Bank Type of Account : Fixed Deposit (Foreign Currency) 3 years Account No : FG 3469-4462-9172 (DE) Amount : USD 10,000,000.00 Date of opening account : 21/09/96 Date of Maturity : 21/09/99
22. Name : Mr. Sanusi Bin Junid Post : Chief Minister of Kedah Passport No. : D 659711 (M) Bank : Israel National Bank Type of Account : Fixed Deposit 2 years Account No : H 7639-1722-5243 (MG) Amount : S $ 5,000,000.00 Date of opening account : 09/06/97 Date of Maturity : 09/06/99
23. Name : Mr. Sanusi Bin Junid Post : Chief Minister of Kedah Passport No. : D 659711 (M) Bank : Israel National Bank Type of Account : Fixed Deposit 1 years Account No : DC 7943-7716-2713 33 NB Amount : S $ 3,500,000.00 Date of opening account : 10/12/97 Date of Maturity : 10/12/98
24. Name : Mr. Abdul Ghani Bin Othmman Post : Chief Minister of Johore Passport No. : D 615791 (M) Bank : Israel National Bank Type of Account : Fixed Deposit 2 years Account No : GH 1299-4166-339 A Amount : S $ 5,000,000.00 Date of opening account : 11/06/97 Date of Maturity : 11/06/99
25. Name : Mr. Abdul Ghani Bin Othmman Post : Chief Minister of Johore Passport No. : D 615791 (M) Bank : Israel National Bank Type of Account : Fixed Deposit 2 years Account No : D 1471-3134-22 F Amount : S $ 3,000,000.00 Date of opening account : 03/04/97 Date of Maturity : 03/04/99
26. Name : Mr. Ramli Bin Ngah Talib Post : Chief Minister of Perak Passport No. : D 774511 (M) Bank : Citibank Type of Account : Fixed Deposit 2 years Account No : AB 7193-4111-331 (A) Amount : S $ 6,000,000.00 Date of opening account : 20/12/96 Date of Maturity : 20/12/98
27. Name : Mr. Abu Zahar Bin Isnin Post : Chief Minister of Malacca Passport No. : R 515341 (M) Bank : Citibank Type of Account : Fixed Deposit (Foreign Currency 3 years Account No : FA 9132-3156-212 E Amount : USD 2,000,000.00 Date of opening account : 11/04/96 Date of Maturity : 11/04/99
28. Name : Mr. Abu Hassan Bin Omar Post : Chief Minister of Selangor Passport No. : D 493718 (M) Bank : Citibank Type of Account : Fixed Deposit (Foreign Currency) 2 years Account No : M 819-5512-71 D Amount : USD 3,000,000.00 Date of opening account : 06/05/97 Date of Maturity : 06/05/99
29. Name : Mr. Abu Hassan Bin Omar Post : Chief Minister of Selangor Passport No. : D 493718 (M) Bank : Citibank Type of Account : Fixed Deposit (Foreign Currency) 2 years Account No : M 819-5512-71 D Amount : USD 3,000,000.00 Date of opening account : 06/05/97 Date of Maturity : 06/05/99 *************************************************** DEPOSITS IN THE ISREALI NATIONAL BANK (LIST 2) 1. Name : Ms Siti Hasmah Bte Mohamed Ali Post : Wife of Prime Minister Passport No. : D 173596 (M) Bank : Israeli National Bank Type of Account : Fixed Deposit (Foreign Currency) 3 years Account No : AGF-2192-2442- 722-(X) Amount : USD 4,000,000.00 Date of opening account : 25/06/95 Date of Maturity : 25/06/98 (Maturity continued to 25/06/2001) (Extension interest agreed upon)
2. Name : Ms Siti Hasmah Bte Mohamed Ali Post : Wife of Prime Minister Passport No. : D 173596 (M) Bank : Israeli National Bank Type of Account : Fixed Deposit (Foreign Currency) 3 years Account No : FA-4196-2493- 313 (A) Amount : USD 8,000,000.00 Date of opening account : 09/06/97 Date of Maturity : 09/06/00
3. Name : Ms Siti Hasmah Bte Mohamed Ali Post : Wife of Prime Minister Passport No. : D 173596 (M) Bank : Israeli National Bank Type of Account : Fixed Deposit (Foreign Currency) 3 years Account No : DD-3919-714- 271-(A) Amount : USD 5,500,000.00 Date of opening account : 06/12/95 Date of Maturity : 06/12/98
4. Name : Ms Siti Hasmah Bte Mohamed Ali Post : Wife of Prime Minister Passport No. : D 173596 (M) Bank : Israeli National Bank Type of Account : Fixed Deposit (Foreign Currency) 3 years Account No : FB-5614-1499- 515 (C) Amount : USD 9,800,000.00 Date of opening account : 12/11/97 Date of Maturity : 12/11/2000 5. Name : Ms Siti Hasmah Bte Mohamed Ali Post : Wife of Prime Minister Passport No. : D 173596 (M) Bank : Israeli National Bank Type of Account : Fixed Deposit (Foreign Currency)
3 years Account No : CE-2418-7172- 492 (E) Amount : USD 5,000,000.00 Date of opening account : 07/03/98 Date of Maturity : 07/03/01
6. Name : Ms Siti Hasmah Bte Mohamed Ali Post : Wife of Prime Minister Passport No. : D 173596 (M) Bank : Israeli National Bank Type of Account : Fixed Deposit (Foreign Currency) 3 years Account No : GB-6921-4212- 712 (F) Amount : USD 6,650,000.00 Date of opening account : 19/03/95 Date of Maturity : 19/03/98 (Maturity continuity to 19/03/2001)
7. Name : Ms Marina Bte Mahathir Post : Daughter ; Malaysia AIDS Council President Passport No. : R 671918 (M) Bank : Israeli National Bank Type of Account : Fixed Deposit (Foreign Currency) 3 years Account No : C-719-418-210 (M) Amount : USD 13,000,000.00 Date of opening account : 17/06/96 Date of Maturity : 17/06/99
8. Name : Ms Marina Bte Mahathir Post : Daughter ; Malaysia AIDS Council President Passport No. : R 671918 (M) Bank : Israeli National Bank Type of Account : Fixed Deposit (Foreign Currency) 3 years Account No : F-817-200-11 (C) Amount : USD 12,500,000.00 Date of opening account : 03/12/96 Date of Maturity : 03/12/99
9. Name : Ms Marina Bte Mahathir Post : Daughter ; Malaysia AIDS Council President Passport No. : R 671918 (M) Bank : Israeli National Bank Type of Account : Fixed Deposit (Foreign Currency) 5 years Account No : G-211-922-718- 2 (D) Amount : USD 15,000,000.00 Date of opening account : 12/07/97 Date of Maturity : 12/07/02
10. Name : Mr Mokhzani Bin Mahathir Post : Son of Prime Minister Passport No. : R 719325 (M) Bank : Israeli National Bank
Type of Account : Fixed Deposit (Foreign Currency) 1 years Account No : F-3532-3310- 501 (NG) Amount : USD 15,500,000.00 Date of opening account : 21/09/98 Date of Maturity : 21/09/99
11. Name : Mr Mokhzani Bin Mahathir Post : Son of Prime Minister Passport No. : R 719325 (M) Bank : Israeli National Bank Type of Account : Fixed Deposit (Foreign Currency) 3 years Account No : DA-9159-7211- 819 (M) Amount : USD 4,500,000.00 Date of opening account : 20/05/96 Date of Maturity : 20/05/99
12. Name : Mr Mokhzani Bin Mahathir Post : Son of Prime Minister Passport No. : R 719325 (M) Bank : Israeli National Bank Type of Account : Fixed Deposit (Foreign Currency) 3 years Account No : ME-3138-5144- 219 (A) Amount : USD 10,000,000.00 Date of opening account : 08/09/97 Date of Maturity : 08/09/00
13. Name : Mr Mokhzani Bin Mahathir Post : Son of Prime Minister Passport No. : R 719325 (M) Bank : Israeli National Bank Type of Account : Current Account Account No : A-7213-4441- 223 (MB) Amount : USD 15,500,000.00 Date of opening account : 11/12/97 Withdrawal : USD 5,000,000.00 on 10/02/98 Cheque No. F2912718 Deposit : USD 9,500,000.00 Last Balance : USD 19,500,000.00
14. Name : Mr Mokhzani Bin Mahathir Post : Son of Prime Minister Passport No. : R 719325 (M) Bank : Israeli National Bank Type of Account : Fixed Deposit (Foreign Currency) 1 years Account No : F-3518-3279- 441 (ND) Amount : USD 10,000,000.00 Date of opening account : 08/09/98 Date of Maturity : 08/09/99
15. Name : Mr Mokhzani Bin Mahathir Post : Son of Prime Minister Passport No. : R 719325 (M) Bank : Israeli National Bank Type of Account : Fixed Deposit (Foreign Currency) 3 years Account No : M-3121-3149- 512 (D) Amount : USD 7,000,000.00 Date of opening account : 03/12/95 Date of Maturity : 03/12/98
16. Name : Mr Mirzan Bin Mahathir Post : Son of Prime Minister Passport No. : R 914315 (M) Bank : Israeli National Bank Type of Account : Fixed Deposit (Foreign Currency) 3 years Account No : LA-5716-3919- 862 (C) Amount : USD 15,000,000.00 Date of opening account : 16/08/96 Date of Maturity : 16/08/99
17. Name : Mr Mirzan Bin Mahathir
Post : Son of Prime Minister Passport No. : R 914315 (M) Bank : Israeli National Bank Type of Account : Fixed Deposit 2 years Account No : CM-6983-7419- 365 (F) Amount : S $ 10,000,000.00 Date of opening account : 29/06/97 Date of Maturity : 29/06/99
18. Name : Mr Mirzan Bin Mahathir Post : Son of Prime Minister Passport No. : R 914315 (M) Bank : Israeli National Bank Type of Account : Fixed Deposit 2 years Account No : JE-8145-6073- 396 (L) Amount : S $ 5,000,000.00 Date of opening account : 15/11/97 Date of Maturity : 15/11/99
19. Name : Mr Mirzan Bin Mahathir Post : Son of Prime Minister Passport No. : R 914315 (M)
Bank : Israeli National Bank Type of Account : Fixed Deposit 3 years Account No : YE-3909-2616- 398 (M) Amount : S $ 10,000,000.00 Date of opening account : 25/11/97 Date of Maturity : 25/11/00
20. Name : Mr Mirzan Bin Mahathir Post : Son of Prime Minister Passport No. : R 914315 (M) Bank : Israeli National Bank Type of Account : Fixed Deposit (Foreign Currency) 1 years Account No : G-7051-3996- 521 (EC) Amount : USD 12,500,000.00 Date of opening account : 26/09/98 Date of Maturity : 26/09/99
21. Name : Mr Mukhriz Bin Mahathir Post : Son of Prime Minister Passport No. : R 639296 (M) Bank : Israeli National Bank Type of Account : Fixed Deposit (Foreign Currency) 2 years Account No : M-2074-6219- 332 (E) Amount : USD 8,000,000.00 Date of opening account : 05/06/97
Date of Maturity : 05/06/99
22. Name : Mr Mukhriz Bin Mahathir Post : Son of Prime Minister Passport No. : R 639296 (M) Bank : Israeli National Bank Type of Account : Fixed Deposit (Foreign Currency) 3 years Account No : DL-6074-3691- 7785 (E) Amount : USD 3,000,000.00 Date of opening account : 26/09/97 Date of Maturity : 26/09/00
23. Name : Mr Mukhriz Bin Mahathir Post : Son of Prime Minister Passport No. : R 639296 (M) Bank : Israeli National Bank Type of Account : Fixed Deposit 3 years Account No : CF-3711-5681- 742 (G) Amount : S $ 7,000,000.00 Date of opening account : 06/07/96 Date of Maturity : 06/07/99
24. Name : Ms Melinda Bte Mahathir Post : Daughter of Prime Minister Passport No. : R 697339 (M)
Bank : Israeli National Bank Type of Account : Fixed Deposit (Foreign Currency) 2 years Account No : EX-6965-7718- 396 (D) Amount : USD 15,000,000.00 Date of opening account : 19/11/97 Date of Maturity : 19/11/99
25. Name : Ms Melinda Bte Mahathir Post : Daughter of Prime Minister Passport No. : R 697339 (M) Bank : Israeli National Bank Type of Account : Fixed Deposit 2 years Account No : FN-1799-6673- 983 (M) Amount : S $ 10,000,000.00 Date of opening account : 21/01/98 Date of Maturity : 21/01/00
TOTAL : USD 199.45 MILLION AND S$42,000,000.00 IN FIXED DEPOSITS
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| Sue me in UK, banned Rewcastle dares Taib’s crony Posted: 03 Jul 2013 02:07 PM PDT Despite earlier assurances by Malaysian officials that she would be allowed to enter the country, Clare Rewcastle Brown was deported "on orders" from Sarawak Chief Minister's office. Alyaa Azhar, FMT A former BBC journalist who was unable to defend herself in a libel case because she was barred from entering Sarawak claimed the Taib Mahmud-regime was out to "achieve a kangaroo court judgement" against her. Clare Rewcastle Brown, who runs online investigative portal Sarawak Report and Radio Free Sarawak said: "It has been drawn to my attention that there is a general convention within the English court system to enforce a judgement by a Commonwealth Court.
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| Malaysian premier shrugs off looming threats to economy Posted: 03 Jul 2013 01:48 PM PDT
(Financial Times) - A slowdown in the Chinese economy, plunging commodity prices and the looming end of US "QE3" quantitative easing might appear to be a perfect economic storm for Malaysia.
The commodity producer exports to China and has benefited handsomely from the cash that washed through emerging markets as a result of the US Federal Reserve's aggressive bond-buying programme.
In an interview with the Financial Times on Wednesday, however, Najib Razak, Malaysia's prime minister, played down the likely effects of the threats to growth coming from the world economy. As a leader fresh from an election victory, his confidence is understandable. But some might see it as misplaced.
Mr Najib insisted Malaysia remained on course to grow at 5 to 6 per cent annually and achieve the government's target of joining the ranks of the world's high-income countries by 2020. Mr Najib was speaking during a visit to London, made as his government is settling back into office after the ruling United Malays National Organisation overcame the biggest-ever challenge to its power in May's parliamentary elections. The opposition won 51 per cent of the vote, but Umno and its partners in the ruling coalition secured 60 per cent of the seats under Malaysia's constituency-based voting system.
The prime minister pledged to accelerate economic reforms and show that the country could be modernised "from within" the existing political framework – a riposte to the opposition's election claims that Malaysia needed a change of leadership after decades of unbroken Umno rule.
He said: "I want to prove the point that we can make changes from within. We can transform the government and the economy, as well as democracy in Malaysia."
Read more and watch the video where he touches on electoral claims and the 'Chinese Tsunami' at: http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/d91bb880-e3f0-11e2-b35b-00144feabdc0.html#axzz2Y36hhDdz
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| Anwar withdraws suit against Hamzah Posted: 03 Jul 2013 01:47 PM PDT
(Bernama) - Opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has withdrawn his RM10 million defamation suit against Deputy Foreign Minister Datuk Hamzah Zainuddin (picture). Anwar's counsel, R.Sivarasa, and Datuk Firoz Hussein Ahmad Jamaluddin, representing Hamzah, said in a joint press statement Wednesday that the suit had been amicably resolved on confidential terms between both parties. The suit had been fixed for hearing today before High Court Judge Rosilah Yop.
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| Ballot counting may be streamed live during Kuala Besut elections Posted: 03 Jul 2013 01:46 PM PDT
(fz.com) - The Communications and Multimedia Ministry will look into streaming ballot counting during the Kuala Besut by-election real time for the public. Announcing this today, its minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Shabery Cheek said 'real time' is what the people want these days. "We will have to talk to the Election Commission to figure out the logistics, but this way everyone can watch what's going on from home," he told reporters at the launch of the 'Media and general elections forum' this morning. Commending Radio Television Malaysia's (RTM) efforts at streaming the question and answer (Q&A) session in Parliament live, Ahmad Shabery said by showing it as such, the public can see the process. "If there's a blackout, they will see that there was one. Nothing is edited," he said. Read more at: http://www.fz.com/content/ballot-counting-may-be-streamed-live-during-kuala-besut-elections#ixzz2Y36EbkqG | ||||
| Slash-and-burn a way of life on Indonesia’s Sumatra Posted: 03 Jul 2013 01:34 PM PDT
While the blazes last month cloaked Singapore and Malaysia in toxic haze and provoked howls of outrage from environmental groups, many on Sumatra, from plantation workers to villagers like Saparina, are die-hard supporters of using fires to clear land. (AFP) - The ground was still hot and smoke hung in the air when Saparina set out to plant her spinach in the ashen remains of rainforest on Indonesia's Sumatra island, where raging fires triggered Southeast Asia's worst smog crisis in years. The farmer waded through ankle-deep ash as she laid out her crops in fire-blackened earth among charred tree stumps on land cleared by the illegal method of slash-and-burn."I give thanks to God, now I can easily plant vegetables and oil palms," said the 36-year-old, who only gave one name, her feet still dirty after planting the crops in her half-hectare plot of land in Riau province. While the blazes last month cloaked Singapore and Malaysia in toxic haze and provoked howls of outrage from environmental groups, many on Sumatra, from plantation workers to villagers like Saparina, are die-hard supporters of using fires to clear land. It is the quickest and cheapest method of clearance for cultivation—far less expensive than using mechanical excavators or bulldozers—and the ash from fires is also a natural fertiliser. As the haze clears, authorities are turning their attention from firefighting to trying to catch the culprits. For many, the focus remains firmly on big palm oil and pulp and paper firms. Global demand in particular for palm oil—used in everyday goods from soap, to lipstick to biscuits—is booming, and rapid expansion of plantations is behind much of Sumatra's deforestation. Nevertheless, the common acceptance of slash-and-burn clearances among smallholders suggests that blame is widely spread, even if big companies often buy the palm oil fruit produced on the smaller, private farms. Small farmers clearing their own land, people paid to quietly flick a match onto a concession owned by a big company, and major companies themselves are all starting fires, activists say. This year's fires pushed haze to record levels in Singapore, forcing residents to don facemasks and stay indoors. They also raised diplomatic temperatures, with both Singapore and Malaysia calling on Indonesia to do more to stop the problem. But many on Sumatra see little alternative. "Burning is obligatory," said Herman, the owner of a small palm oil plantation who declined to give his full name. "Who would want to cut huge trees with their own hands to clear land? The trees are enormous." Once the fires start they often burn deep underground in deposits of carbon-rich peat, and are notoriously difficult to put out. Firefighters have had to resort to sticking hoses deep into the ground to douse blazes that have spread across thousands of hectares. "It takes only a flick of a cigarette butt to create a big fire, especially in the dry season," Herman said. "The fire travels like water flowing beneath our feet—you have no idea where it might resurface and burn the land above." The continued enthusiasm for slash-and-burn comes despite chronic health problems—nearly 20,000 people in Riau suffered breathing difficulties in June due to the haze, according to a local health official. Saparina, who insisted she does not start fires herself, conceded her children were "coughing at home" while she was out planting. With the annual haze from forest fires on Sumatra the worst this year since 1997-98, Jakarta is under pressure to take action. Police have so far named 24 small farmers suspected of starting the fires. Authorities have not said that any of them are from a major plantation company but they are looking into possible links. Government officials have said some fires took place within the boundaries of concessions owned by big companies and are investigating eight firms. Many companies have insisted they have strict "zero burning" policies and that any fires in their concessions must have crept in from outside. But proving who really set the fires is a daunting task for police in a huge province where many plantation workers and residents seem to have a cigarette permanently dangling from their lips, 50 percent of the land is peat, and using fires to clear land is part of life. Some now argue that the law banning land clearance by fire is unrealistic and should be replaced with government-regulated controlled burning. "I believe law enforcement alone does not work," said Willem Rampangilei, the deputy minister for people's welfare in the national government. "We tried to stop the tradition but it's impossible." Environmental groups such as Greenpeace insist the government must enforce existing laws banning slash-and-burn more effectively. "The continuing practice of clearing land with fire is just the tip of the iceberg of Indonesia's flawed natural resources management," said Yuyun Indradi, a forest campaigner with Greenpeace Indonesia.
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| The Reconciliation Clause that wasn't? Posted: 03 Jul 2013 01:30 PM PDT
Some (including one of my better known visitors AR, as well as RPK) even forecast accurately that Pakatan would win 80 to 90 federal parliamentary seats and BN 130 to 140 seats. Look matey, if the pundits had predicted this outcome, wouldn't Anwar Ibrahim and his team of political analysts logically come up with the same figures? KTemoc Konsiders One of the most interesting aspects to come out of the election agreement (or if you like, contract) between Anwar Ibrahim and Najib, namely, a 'reconciliation clause' regarding post election, has been denied by both sides.
Thus it's up to us, if we have nothing else to do wakakaka, to academically speculate on the basis of likelihood as to who had proposed the 'reconciliation clause'. I shall not add my usual 'wakakaka' lest I give my own thoughts away ..... ooops-a-daisy! Besides, in the midst of all the distractions provided by questions such as: who was the initiator of the 'peaceful (or gentlemanly) handover' agreement, how legal would it be when one party signed the agreement whilst the other didn't, and finally but not least, how dare Jusuf Kalla, the Indon mediator, venture beyond his role as mediator (not negotiator) and mere witness to the agreement, in making alien intrusive comments on Malaysian politics, we somehow missed out an interesting 'clause'. Yes, with all these controversial questions dangling around the issue of the so-called peace agreement for a post election situation, we have somehow missed the 'reconciliation clause' which could have raised or impacted upon the political significance, potential ramification and future cohesive (or likely lack of) consequences for the Pakatan Rakyat coalition. Indeed, even today we're still debating the revelations by, firstly, the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) of Anwar Ibrahim's alleged reneging of the deal, and secondly, Jusuf Kalla in his condemnation of Anwar as 'mad' to believe he won GE-13 with only 89 federal parliamentary seats against Najib's 133.
But of course we aren't going to tolerate a foreigner, any foreigner even if he was Anwar's friend in Indonesia's Ikatan Cendekiawan Muslim Indonesia, (ICMI), condemning our dearly beloved DSAI. I just wonder whether the UMNO Youth-led violent disruption of Apcet II in KL Asia Hotel until its abandonment had anything to do with ICMI. Yup, why would Malaysia jeopardize its international reputation by violent disruption of an international forum that had nothing to do with Malaysia? Maybe we should seek enlightenment from that Apcet II Destroyer, Saifuddin Nasution, who's now in a powerful political position in the Selangor government, very much akin to that gained by a BN back-door senator. Oh, while you're pondering about Anwar's Kalla-rized 'madness', you may wish also to reflect on Anwar reneging on his personal promise to retire from politics in the event Pakatan did not win the election. If all those are done with, let's now re-examine that 'reconciliation clause' that we missed out completely in the general brouhaha about who initiated the deal and Jusuf Kalla's objectionable 'kah-liu' (extra ingredients) after Anwar refused to accept the election results. According to a WSJ report, there was a clause in the pact that the winner was to offer the loser a role in a 'reconciliation government'. However, post election, both Najib and Anwar denied or claimed they had rejected it. But as I mentioned, there couldn't have been such a 'clause' unless at least one party had proposed it. If according to Jusuf Kalla, Anwar was the one who approached him to mediate the agreement for a peaceful acceptance of the election outcome, then could it possibly be that Anwar had proposed the 'reconciliation clause'? I don't know but do you? Nonetheless, we need to bear in mind that Anwar had denied two issues, where he insisted that, firstly, it was Jusuf and not him, who first proposed such a peaceful agreement, and secondly, he had rejected the 'reconciliation clause' in the agreement, which was for the winner of GE-13 to offer the loser a role in a 'reconciliation government'. And may I safely say that around half the voting population believes in him, regardless? Read more at: http://ktemoc.blogspot.com/2013/07/the-reconciliation-clause-that-wasnt.html
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| Twists and turns in lowering car prices Posted: 03 Jul 2013 01:12 PM PDT
Lim Sue Goan, MySinChew Deputy International Trade and Industry Minister Hamim Samuri told the Dewan Rakyat that the government has no plan to cut excise duty on imported cars for the time being. How is the BN going to gradually reduce car prices by 20 per cent to 30 per cent in five years as promised in its election manifesto? The excise duty ranging from 65 per cent to 105 per cent contributes some RM7 billion in revenue to the government every year. As the government has to reduce the fiscal deficit, increase the salaries of civil servants in July and continue the BR1M aid, while it is impossible to implement the goods and services tax (GST) this year, International Trade and Industry Minister Datuk Seri Mustapa Mohamed said that the government cannot afford to give up the excise duty.
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| Posted: 03 Jul 2013 01:09 PM PDT
Given Thailand's regressive tax system with heavy reliance on value-added tax rather than income taxes, the so-called populist policies only benefit a minority of the populace. Philip Bowring, Asia Sentinel Government bends to farmers, restores rice pledging scheme The Thai government is riding a subsidy tiger it appears unable to dismount politically. It has caved in to the rice farmer lobby and restored the support price for rice to Bt15,000 a tonne (US$484) soon after announcing a cut to Bt 12,000. Read more at: http://www.asiasentinel.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=5545&Itemid=437 | ||||
| From prison to Egyptian presidency Posted: 03 Jul 2013 01:04 PM PDT Morsi being escorted out of the palace after being toppled (AFP) - Egypt's first freely elected president Mohamed Morsi, who was toppled in a coup yesterday, is a veteran Islamist who is no stranger to underground politics having broken out of jail just 30 months ago. As the army rounded up hundreds of his comrades from the Muslim Brotherhood, Morsi's own whereabouts remained unclear. But he seemed destined to return to the largely clandestine existence in and out of jail that he led through three decades of ousted president Hosni Mubarak's authoritarian rule when the movement was outlawed, if tolerated within certain bounds. During Morsi's first entry onto the national political stage in 2000 when he was elected to parliament, Morsi was forced to stand as an independent because of the Mubarak-era ban on the Brotherhood. During his 12-month tenure of Egypt's highest office, there were no such constraints on his politics, and it was his alleged partisanship towards the Brotherhood that was ultimately to prove his undoing. Millions took to the streets on Sunday in response to a grassroots campaign accusing him of breaking his promise to be a "president for all Egyptians" and of failing the ideals of the 2011 revolution. Morsi remained defiant to the end, insisting on the legitimacy of his election in June last year when he defeated several of the main opposition leaders. But he had to do so through pre-recorded messages posted on the Internet or aired by independent television channels. It was a far cry from the rapturous reception he was given by adoring crowds in Cairo's Tahrir Square less than 13 months ago, when he was feted as a revolutionary champion. Then his informal style and colloquial speech earned plaudits from a public estranged by the stiff, pharaonesque aloofness of Mubarak-era officials. But when he took to the microphone late on Tuesday for his final address to the nation as head of state, his rambling unscripted delivery appeared unpresidential and the tens of thousands of protesters camped out on the streets united in disavowing him as their leader. Morsi was not the Brotherhood's first choice as candidate for the presidency - that decision went to the more charismatic Khairat El-Shater. But Shater was barred from standing because of a past prison sentence. Morsi, now 61, had been the spokesman of the Brotherhood from 2010, which gave him public recognition. He was arrested on January 28, 2011, the day after the Brotherhood threw its weight behind the protests against Mubarak. It was not his first spell behind bars. He had already served seven months in 2006 for taking part in a demonstration in support of reformist judges. He was among dozens of Islamist prisoners sprung from jails around the country during the collapse of public order that accompanied the revolution. His failure to address the resulting insecurity and its devastating impact on the economy and Egypt's once lucrative tourism industry was a major factor in his plummeting esteem as president. Scores died in persistent political violence, many more in criminal activity, dashing the hopes of the Arab Spring for a better, more prosperous Egypt. During Morsi's presidency a number of recordings emerged of remarks he had made during his period underground that his critics judged as anti-Semitic. But during his presidency he made good on his election promise to leave Egypt's 1979 peace treaty with Israel untouched despite his gut sympathy with the Islamist Hamas rulers of Gaza. He also kept up Cairo's longstanding defence ties with Washington which earn it $1.3 billion (RM4.1 billion) a year in US military aid, assistance called into doubt by President Barack Obama after yesterday's coup. Morsi received a PhD from the University of Southern California, where he was also an assistant professor in 1982. He had graduated with an engineering degree from Cairo University in 1975. Morsi is married, with five children and three grandchildren.
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