Malaysia Today - Your Source of Independent News
Malaysia Today - Your Source of Independent News |
- DAP reveals another land shocker
- 18-year old Malaysian girl at exclusive private college gang-raped
- Top students in three universities are Malaysian women
- Sodomy charge is conspiracy by Najib, says Anwar
- SAPP hoping ensure straights fights in GE
- Refugee swap may increase BN votes
- 1 Malaysia email begins beta testing
- Anwar: I did not have sex with Saiful
| DAP reveals another land shocker Posted: 22 Aug 2011 02:11 AM PDT
A company owned by the CM's niece has secured two parcels of state land at a very low price, prompting DAP to cry foul. (Free Malaysia Today) - Sarawak DAP today exposed another shocking allegation on the abuse of power and misappropriation of state assets by the state government. This time it concerned the alienation of two parcels of state land totalling 16,025 acres to a daughter and a niece of Sarawak Chief Minister Abdul Taib Mahmud at a cheap price. One parcel of land with an acreage of 9,983 acres and the other with 6,142 acres at Sungai Anap between Bintulu and Kapit totalling 16,025 acres had been alienated to Ikrar Bumi Sdn Bhd at an alienation price of RM2.9 million, which was payable within five years. Roughly, it is RM300 per acre. The directors of the company which was incorporated in December 2007 are Ong Siok Ching, Kho Lian Gek, Elia Khadijah Abas and Raziah @Rodiah Mahmud who is the secretary. All appointments took effect from 2008. According to the Companies Commission of Malaysia (CCM), Elia holds 998 shares, while a Wang Ko Chung had only two shares. A check with the National Registration Department revealed that Eliais was the daughter of Raziah and Abas Kassim. She is Taib's niece. DAP secretary Chong Chieng Jen who disclosed this to the press said the two pieces of land were now being circulated in the market at a price of RM4,500 per acre. "If the two pieces of land are sold, it will bring about more than RM60 million in income to Ikar Bumi Sdn Bhd. "Rightly, this money should belong to the state," he said, asking how come a dormant company could easily be alienated two parcels of state land.
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| 18-year old Malaysian girl at exclusive private college gang-raped Posted: 22 Aug 2011 01:42 AM PDT
(Daily Mail) - Four wealthy Russians who used an iPhone to film themselves gang-raping a student at an exclusive private college were facing jail today. The group had been in Britain for just two weeks when they carried out the horrific two-and-a-half hour attack on the Malaysian teenager at the £30,000-per-year college. The Russians, aged between 19 and 23, gave a sickening running commentary - and even filmed themselves boasting about what they were going to do to her the day before. The prosecution fear that she may have had her drinks spiked as she was too drunk to consent. Oleg Ivanov, 23, Norayr Davtyan, 22, Armen Simonyan, 19, and 23-year-old Gregory Melnikov all denied rape but were unanimously convicted by a jury at Woolwich Crown Court today. Davtyan described the girl as a 'machine' and in the witness box referred to her as a 'sl**'. The court heard that Ivanov expressed 'pity' for the victim, when they noticed she was crying but was talked out of it by his friend Norayr Davtyan, 22. Peter Clement, prosecuting, said: 'Various members of the gang of four watched each other, encouraged each other, and gave a running commentary as to what they had done and what they were going to do to their fellow student. 'They referred to merely in the abstract as "her" or "she" and in the course of the incident one of the four even has to ask another "What's her name?'' International water polo player Davtyan was holding a party at his dorm at the exclusive college in South London on January 21 this year which the girl attended. She had a shot of whiskey at the party before going to a disco at the school. Although there is no concrete evidence her drink was spiked she felt 'funny, dizzy and peculiar' and was clearly intoxicated before going back to the party and vomiting then falling asleep. The next time she awoke a man was having sex with her but she was unable to move, the jury heard.
She told police: 'I just wanted him to stop, I couldn't wake up, I couldn't stand up, I felt really, really, really tired, I couldn't do anything I couldn't move my hand... I just wanted to close my eyes, I just wanted to die, I did not consent to it.' Mr Clements added: 'Relatively early on in the footage Mr Ivanov says in Russian "She is crying" but it didn't deter him or any of the others at any point. 'He said "I feel pity for her" but this is only after he and others had had sex with her. 'As she left Davtyan told her that she should not tell anyone about what had happened because she would be the one who was "embarrassed" and "ashamed" but she ignored his warnings and went to a pal before calling the police.' Despite Simonyan texting Davtyan the next day to tell him to delete the footage which spanned between 12.38am and 3.10am it was still on his iPhone when he was arrested. Only Ivanov received Legal Aid and the rest of the group were able to pay for their own top QCs. They had denied raping the teen. In the harrowing footage shown to the court, she can be seen barely moving. They said she was a 'sl**' who 'willing consented' but they were unanimously convicted by a jury of seven men four women after an eight week trial. They sat emotionless in the dock as the verdicts against them were read out but a cry was heard from the family members in the public gallery. Davtyan was convicted on two counts of rape, Melnikov was guilty of rape and attempted rape while Ivanov and Simonyan were both convicted of one count of rape. They were remanded in custody until they are sentenced tomorrow. |
| Top students in three universities are Malaysian women Posted: 21 Aug 2011 04:11 PM PDT
(Bernama) -- The top Malaysian student from each of the three universities in the State of South Australia (SA) is a woman. At a gala dinner here last night, the trio received awards from the Australia Malaysia Business Council, South Australia (AMBC, SA) chapter. 'Women power' comprised Fan Yee Mun, from the University of Adelaide, Elysia Chin Low Pei (Flinders University), and Lim Shu Yi (University of South Australia). Fan, of Petaling Jaya, was adjudged overall best student. She received the Patron's Award, laptop computer and A$1,500 from former SA governor, Sri Eric Neal. Chin, of Kuching, received a trophy and A$1,000 while Klang-born Lim received a trophy and A$750. Fan, a former Sekolah Menengah Kebangsan Damansara Jaya student, is in the final year of a bachelor's degree in electrical and electronics engineering. She has an outstanding academic record gaining high distinctions in all subjects taken at the university. Fan, who has won many accolades since coming here four years ago, is a member of Robogals, which aims to increase female enrolment in engineering. Chin is studying for a bachelor's degree in nutrition and dietetics and will graduate this year. She is the secretary of the Malaysian Students Association here and has worked with the Royal Flying Doctor Service in Outback Australia. Lim, who is studying management (marketing), is a volunteer for the Oaktree Foundation which encourages young people to work together to end global poverty and has been an exchange student in Butan, South Korea for three weeks. AMBC SA president Sathish Dasan said, in the 13-year history of the awards, it was the first time all three prizes went to woman. The dinner at the Adelaide Convention Centre was attended by 250 people, including Malaysian High Commissioner Datuk Salman Ahmad, SA Lieutenant Governor Hieu Van Le and the SA Minister for Industry and Trade, Tom Koutsantonis.
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| Sodomy charge is conspiracy by Najib, says Anwar Posted: 21 Aug 2011 04:00 PM PDT
By Debra Chong, The Malaysian Insider KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 22 — In the dock for sodomy for the second time in his life, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim charged Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak today with following in Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad's footsteps to end his political career so the ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) can remain in power. The former deputy prime minister-turned-opposition leader made the accusation in an unsworn statement from the dock this morning when told to enter his defence. He explained he was opting to testify from the dock, where the prosecution has no recourse under law to cross-examine his statement, because he had no confidence he would be tried fairly, and declared the entire court process "is nothing but a conspiracy by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak to send me into political oblivion by attempting once again to put me behind bars". "As I have said at the outset, this is not a criminal trial. It is a charade staged by the powers that be to put me out of action in order that they remain in power," he said, noting that his ex-boss and prime minister from 1981 to 2003, Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, had done the same thing in the 1998 Sodomy I trial. The grandfather, who turned 64 just a few weeks ago, described Dr Mahathir as Machiavellian in turning to all the powers of the state to get him jailed 15 years for offences he insists he did not commit. The Federal Court overturned Anwar's sodomy conviction in 2004, after finding contradictions in the prosecution's case. "Such was the tyranny and injustice done to me then. And such is the tyranny and injustice being perpetuated today. "Najib Razak is doing the same thing as his mentor did, which is to employ all means within his power through the media, the police, the Attorney-General and the judiciary in order to subvert the course of justice and to take me out of the political equation," said Anwar who was sacked from government in 1998. He noted the second sodomy charge came on the heels of the Pakatan Rakyat's (PR) victories — the three-party opposition pact wrested four states from the BN while managing to keep Kelantan — in the March 2008 general election and once he qualified to contest in elections again, which he did and won in the Permatang Pauh by-election later that same year, ramping up the zeal to put him back in prison.
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| SAPP hoping ensure straights fights in GE Posted: 21 Aug 2011 03:01 PM PDT SAPP willing to help Pakatan Rakyat secure parliamentary seats while it eyes majority of state seats. (Free Malaysia Today) - Sabah Progressive Party's (SAPP) Merotai branch hopes to see a straight fight for state and parliamentary seats in the coming 13th general election. Kenneth Goh, the newly-appointed branch chairman, said SAPP would work with Pakatan Rakyat to ensure a one-on-one fight in the constituency and in parliamentary seats. This was one of two resolutions passed by 150 members of the branch from Kampung Sin San, Kuhara Road, Kampung Pitas and Hotspring Road at its AGM here on Sunday. Goh, who is also a member of SAPP supreme council, said: "The members do not want to see three-cornered fights. "They decided that the majority of parliament seats be given to Pakatan while SAPP goes for the majority of state's seats in the coming 13th general election. "This is to ensure a straight fight between the opposition and Barisan Nasional (BN)." Goh said they chose the majority of the parliament seats to be given to Pakatan so as to help it on quest to Putrajaya, and SAPP will assist in the campaigning. However, SAPP is eyeing the majority of the state seats. He said the resolution reached by the grassroots of Merotai SAPP branches will be brought to SAPP congress to be deliberated on a date to be determined by the SAPP supreme council. The AGM was also attended by SAPP treasurer-general Wong Yit Ming who said as long as SAPP wins, it's a loss for BN and a win for Pakatan. "So we have to work together and continue for a one-on-one fight. We support Pakatan's ambition to capture Putrajaya," he said. However he said Sabah cannot be under Pakatan and its two party system, as it is different in terms of people culture. He gave examples where Pakatan led state's policies were similar to BN's. "In Penang under the DAP/PR government, the policy is like BN's. Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng is a good minister but the system is more or less BN's. "Ninty-eight percent of projects are awarded to Bumiputera contractors. DAP has always been fair, but they still use the Bumi system," he said. SAPP-Pakatan coalition He said in Sabah, when SAPP leader Yong Teck Lee was the chief minister, a lot of projects were awarded to non-bumiputeras and local leaders did not raise any objections. "Of the 20,000 low cost housing built, 40% given was to Chinese chamber of commerce, 30% to Bumiputeras and 30% to Kadazans. This does not happen in West Malaysia," he said.
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| Refugee swap may increase BN votes Posted: 21 Aug 2011 02:30 PM PDT By K Pragalath, FMT PETALING JAYA: The Australia-Malaysia refugee swap would benefit Barisan Nasional because the 800 refugees that Malaysia will receive are Muslims who are expected to be fast-tracked into becoming registered voters. "In a country where the terms 'indigenous' and 'Muslim' are seen almost as interchangeable, some see the present amnesty on illegal immigrants as a way of fast-tracking more Muslims on to government benefits and the electoral rolls, with the asylum seekers from Australia expected to join that preferential queue. "The 4,000 Burmese refugees who will be welcomed to Australia are Christians, or at least non-Muslims. "So in the ethno-religious politics of Malaysia, this is seen as a swap of 4,000 non-Muslims for 800 Muslims; as squeamish as we may feel about describing the equation in those terms, it is clearly one way in which the deal supports the interests of the ruling Muslim majority," writes Chris Kelly, in the Australian newspaper The Australian. The refugee swap involving 4,000 refugees who would be sent to Australia and 800 to Malaysia was signed last month in Kuala Lumpur despite protest from Malaysian opposition and NGO circles. Kelly also noted that the 800 would gain due to the similarities in faith – Islam. Similarly, Kelly also wrote that opposition parties are worried about the extended amnesty programme to register illegal immigrants who are pre-dominantly from Indonesia.
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| 1 Malaysia email begins beta testing Posted: 21 Aug 2011 01:27 PM PDT By Yow Hong Chieh, The Malaysian Insider KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 22 — The 1 Malaysia email service has begun beta testing four months after the controversial RM50 million project was first announced by the prime minister as a form of secure correspondence between Malaysians and the government. But contrary to earlier reports, those signing up for myemail Beta do not have to verify their fingerprints at the National Registration Department (NRD) or via a USB biometric device and need only key in their full name, IC number and current email address. Upon signing up, users will receive an email that reads: "Thank you for registering for a myemail account. Your registration needs to be verified by JPN. We will get back at you in 24 hours." The terms and conditions further state: "For authentication purposes you agree to be authenticated using biometrics specifically your fingerprints at one of our authentication channels. Tricubes may use your full name and IC number, upon your consent, to verify your credentials with our authentication partners, who may hold the same information, and has already authenticated you." However, it is not clear if this lack of biometric verification only applies to beta sign-ups or will be extended to the service proper. Tricubes chief executive Khairun Mokhtar had earlier told reporters that Malaysians who wish to sign up for the service will have to buy a USB biometric device sold by his company or go to any NRD office to get their account activated in person. He also admitted at the media briefing that the project was a financial lifeline for Tricubes, which is at risk from being delisted from Bursa Malaysia after being flagged in October last year by auditors concerned about its weak financial standing. Tricubes, which describes itself as "the market leader in Malaysia in identity verification", made a net loss of RM481,502 for the quarter ended March 31, compared with the RM72,083 net loss it posted in the same period last year.
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| Anwar: I did not have sex with Saiful Posted: 21 Aug 2011 01:07 PM PDT By Debra Chong, The Malaysian Insider KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 22 — Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said today that he has never had sex with former aide Mohamed Saiful Bukhari Azlan, calling the sodomy charge he faces a "conspiracy by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak." Opening his defence case from the dock, the opposition leader said: "I categorically deny the charge against me. "I want to state in no uncertain terms that I have never had any sexual relations with the complainant Mohamed Saiful. His allegation is a blatant and vicious lie and will be proved to be so." He said the prosecution had based its case on "so-called findings of seminal fluid or sperm," which he called a "foundation erected on shaky grounds."
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