Ahad, 17 Mac 2013

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Malaysia Today - Your Source of Independent News


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

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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.
 

 

Media should not play up Mahathir

Posted: 17 Mar 2013 12:49 PM PDT

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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.

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

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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

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(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

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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

 

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(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 DaƱguilan 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 ManlupigFAILED 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

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?

Peter Chin (Source: peterchin.my)

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.

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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.

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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.

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‘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.

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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

 

Kredit: www.malaysia-today.net
 

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