Selasa, 16 Ogos 2011

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Malaysia Today - Your Source of Independent News

Odds against ‘betting for education’ fund winning Chinese votes
Page accuses Putrajaya of ‘buying time’, wants English-language option restored
WIKILEAKS: SABAH: POROUS BORDERS; PROBLEMS WITH FOREIGNERS; UNHAPPY UMNO COALITION PARTNER
Statement from LDP Deputy President Senator Datuk Chin Su Phin
Malaysia's Najib Calls for Electoral Reform
Sita gereja: Blogger Umno tipu
PAS real target of JAIS’ raid: DUMC dispensable collateral damage
Can PAS Lead A Future Government?
Polls reform panel useless if under government control, says PAS
PM needs to put a little crazy in his circle
Enough Excuses, Prasarana!
A short rebuke of Ezam Mohd Nor
Najib’s latest moves a sign of returning to the centre
Felda loses RM200mil defamation suit against ex-deputy minister
PAS ganti Umno atau PAS bersama Umno?
PAS, DUMC meeting called off
Create philosopher-leaders, not sophisticated plunders
HINDRAF suit against BRITAIN government spearheaded by a righteous MUSLIM

Odds against ‘betting for education’ fund winning Chinese votes

Posted: 16 Aug 2011 12:45 PM PDT

By Shannon Teoh, The Malaysian Insider

A Putrajaya-backed plan to pump up to RM20 million in gambling profits annually into Chinese and Indian vernacular education is unlikely to sway the Chinese vote back to the ruling Barisan Nasional (BN), pundits say.

The RM2.1 billion takeover of billionaire Ananda Krishnan's Pan Malaysian Pools Sdn Bhd by a consortium of Chinese tycoons led by Tan Sri Lim Kok Tay of gambling giant Genting last week, will also lead to profits channelled to "Jana Pendidikan" — a trust fund for vernacular schools.

But politicians and analysts told The Malaysian Insider that the purchase will not be seen as a government effort, or worse, a case of the Najib administration abdicating its responsibility to the education needs of minorities.

"I don't think this will translate into votes for Barisan Nasional at all. I fail to see any fundamental change in government policy toward mother tongue education," said Chinese educationist Kua Kia Soong (picture).

DAP publicity chief Tony Pua also agreed, pointing out that "all this time, Chinese businessmen have donated to Chinese schools, so what is the difference now that its profits from a company run by Chinese?"

The Singapore Straits Times had recently cited financial executives involved in the deal as saying that it could improve Barisan Nasional's (BN) standing among Chinese and Indians who swung away from the ruling coalition in the landmark 2008 election.

Datuk Seri Najib Razak, who is expected to call an election within the year, has been tasked with reversing losses that denied BN its customary two-thirds majority of Parliament and five state governments.

The take-over of the gambling company came just before Najib announced a parliamentary select panel to review the electoral system and an end to crude media censorship this week, in a concession to the middle class and urban vote after being criticised for the security crackdown on the July 9 Bersih rally.

Education has also long been a source of dissatisfaction from the Chinese and Indian community.

While Malays enjoy extensive state support for education including financial grants, scholarships and enrolment quotas in public universities, Chinese and Indian schools struggle each year for funding.

Kua said the government's cap on the number of state-funded vernacular schools has seen the number of Chinese and Tamil schools drop from 1,350 and 880 respectively in peninsular Malaysia at independence in 1957, to just 1,280 and 550 today despite their combined population doubling.

Posted: 16 Aug 2011 12:27 PM PDT

By Debra Chong, The Malaysian Insider

The Parent Action Group for Education Malaysia (Page) wants Putrajaya to restore 'teaching science and maths in English' option before it kicks off a new policy next year.

Its vice-chairman, Sulaiman Mahran, ticked off Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin for saying the Education Ministry will study further the possibility of using two languages to teach the two subjects in national schools, as reported by state news agency Bernama yesterday.

"It's only buying time until 2012 when the MBMMBI will be fully implemented," Sulaiman said in a statement, referring to the "Upholding the Malay Language and Strengthening Command of English" policy that is to take over the existing language policy for science and maths (PPSMI).

The English-language lobbyist pointed out that the long-term advantages of English had been identified during the Mahathir administration but that its implementation was miscarried during the Abdullah administration.

"Datuk Seri Najib's administration should repair its implementation, not dismantle it,

"What should be studied deeper is MBMMBI, which is clearly defective because it reduces the students' exposure to English by 50 per cent," Sulaiman said.

Prior to the Sarawak polls on April 16, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak had also announced he would consider using dual languages as the medium of instruction for Mathematics and Science in schools.

PPSMI was first introduced in 2003 but the Education Ministry decided last year to stop it by 2012 after consulting with teachers and parents around the country.

Posted: 16 Aug 2011 01:00 AM PDT

Two PBS state assemblymen, Ching Eng Leong and Samson Chin Chee Tsu, told us on October 4 that former PM Mahathir began the initiative prior to the 1994 state assembly election, in order to ensure UMNO's political takeover of Sabah. UMNO's control was further solidified during the 1999 state election, as UMNO granted more foreigners citizenship and voting rights under what came to be known as "Project Mahathir."

THE CORRIDORS OF POWER

Raja Petra Kamarudin

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 KUALA LUMPUR 001948

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR EAP/MTS, DS/ATA AND DS/IP/ITA

E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/12/2016

TAGS: PHUM, PREL, PGOV, PINR, KDEM, KISL, SMIG, ASEC, MY

SUBJECT: SABAH: POROUS BORDERS; PROBLEMS WITH FOREIGNERS; UNHAPPY UMNO COALITION PARTNER

REF: A. KUALA LUMPUR 1862

B. KUALA LUMPUR 1935

Classified By: Political Section Chief Mark D. Clark for reasons 1.4 (b , d).

Summary

1. (C) The police, political leaders, a human rights official in the East Malaysia state of Sabah recently expressed their concerns to us about rising crime and the security impact from the high number of foreigners - both legal and illegal - residing in the state. Sabah's Acting Police Commissioner said illegal migrants and other foreigners committed three out of four violent crimes in the state, but he did not address terrorist threats or transnational crime syndicates.

On other issues, a Sabah state minister from Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi's political party, UMNO, criticized the PM's intellectual capacity and said the PM's inner circle gives him "bad advice." The minister predicted the UMNO national assembly in November would be "a timid affair." One of the 16 commissioners from Malaysia's government-funded national human rights commission (Suhakam) told us the government views Suhakam as "a pest."

Seconding other comments from the Suhakam commissioner about the large influx of foreigners into Sabah, two state assemblymen expressed trepidation about the state's security situation. The pending U.S. Border Control Assessment Initiative (ref A) will assist our efforts to better understand the security ramifications of Sabah's porous borders and identify ways the U.S. can assist. End Summary.

Police Face Challenges from Criminals - And Parliament

2. (C) Sabah's Acting Police Commissioner, Mohd Bakri Zinin, told us on October 4 that "illegal migrants and other foreigners" account for about three-fourths of violent crimes committed in the state. He said almost all the crime was locally based and that transnational crime syndicates were "not much of a problem" in Sabah. Zinin notably did not address the issue of terrorists either located in or transiting Sabah. When asked about the potential for human trafficking into the Malaysian federal territory island of Labuan, near Sabah's western coast, Zinin stated flatly, "There is no trafficking problem in Labuan. Those women are all volunteers who claim to be victims when caught." (Note: Septel addresses prostitution on Labuan. End Note.)

3. (C) Zinin criticized a recently enacted amendment to the criminal procedure code that eliminated prosecutors' usage of police-obtained confessions in trying criminal defendants. Confessions are now only admissible if done in front of a magistrate.

Zinin said the amendment "will hurt our ability to get convictions." He stated, "As a result, we'll likely make greater use of (Malaysia's four preventative detention laws), even though we know this will bring criticism from Suhakam and the NGOs."

(Note: The laws he referenced are the Internal Security Act, Restricted Residence Act, Dangerous Drugs Act, and Emergency Ordinance. They allow the police and the internal security ministry to jointly incarcerate individuals for extended periods without trial, in cases where police lack sufficient evidence to obtain a criminal conviction. From our local sources, we believe 700 - 1,000 Malaysians suspected of criminal activity are currently jailed under the Emergency Ordinance alone. End Note.)

UMNO Minister Swipes at Prime Minister Abdullah...

4. (C) While making unsolicited comments about Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi's public image and job performance, Sabah's Minister of Youth and Sports, Masidi Manjun, told us, "Abdullah is not an intellectual and is a bit slow in his thinking." He said the PM is "getting bad advice from his inner circle" regarding both the content and "scripted shouting" of some of his latest speeches to his ethnic Malay political base.

Manjun, who formally headed Sabah's primary government-funded think tank (the Institute of Development Studies), told us of a private comment made by former PM Mahathir during a recent trip to Japan. Mahathir reportedly told a senior Japanese politician, "Japan is the home of the rising sun, and Malaysia is home to the rising son-in-law."

This was a reference to PM Abdullah's son-in-law Khairy Jamaluddin, who serves as the deputy president of UMNO Youth.

With Mahathir's recent failure to be elected as an UMNO delegate at the party's national assembly in November, Manjun predicted the assembly will be "a timid affair," with no major pronouncements or surprises.

...And Foreigners in His State

5. (C) Manjun complained that Sabah was "flooded with foreigners." He singled out Filipino Muslims from Mindanao as "especially troublesome." He said, "They are not as devout as us." He told us the state's Filipinos were "using our social services and not integrating into society," and that "vagrancy and violence" were rampant within Sabah's Filipino community. He called Sabah's maritime and land borders "very porous" and expressed concern that Sabah's foreign residents were starting to become politically active.

He acknowledged, however, the economic importance of Sabah's foreign population. With regard to Sabah's large number of illegal foreign workers, estimated to total over 750,000, Manjun said, "We need them here, or our economy would collapse."

Fallout from UMNO-Fueled Population Boom in Sabah

6. (C) UMNO's main Sabah-based partner party, PBS, remains publicly indignant about UMNO grants of citizenship and related voting rights during the 1990s to over 600,000 foreigners (predominantly Muslims from Indonesia and Mindanao), in return for those individuals' votes in Sabah's state assembly elections.

According to Samson, PBS switched from its opposition party status in 2000 and allied itself with UMNO. Ching said, "UMNO had completely taken over by that time. They paid off our party leaders and several assemblymen in cash, and threatened to freeze our constituencies out of federal and state funding if we didn't join them."

Since 2000, the state assembly has remained 100 percent controlled by the UMNO-led coalition; opposition parties in Sabah have no elected representatives.

7. (C) Suhakam recently researched the allegations surrounding Project Mahathir and concurred with PBS' findings. According to Suhakam, Sabah's legal resident population increased 362 percent to 2.6 million from 1970 to 2000, compared to a population increase of only 135 percent over the same time period in the neighboring state of Sarawak.

This substantial increase in Sabah's legal residents excludes an influx of over 750,000 foreigners holding invalid identity cards and visas - or no documents at all - according to Suhakam. According to Samson, a UK-educated lawyer whose electoral district encompasses Tawau on the east coast near the Indonesian border, Filipinos and Indonesians outnumber Malaysians 3 to 1 along Sabah's east coast from Sandakan to Tawau.

He said, "The security situation in the area is not good." He also claimed that corruption in Tawau is rampant among police and immigration officers. He said it had "tripled over the last 30 years."

He and his wife recently refused to attend an event that gathered public and private sector leaders on the resort island of Mabul, off the east coast of Sabah, as he feared an attack on the gathering by Mindanao-based Muslim extremists. The event took place without incident.

Government Ignores Suhakam

8. (C) With regard to the plight of Malaysia's largely impoverished rural indigenous persons in Borneo, Suhakam's Vice Chairman and resident Commissioner in Sabah, Simon Sipaun, echoed the sentiments expressed to us by his fellow Suhakam commissioner in Sarawak (ref B).

He said he spends most of his time on indigenous persons' issues and lamented the government's lack of support for Suhakam. He said, "We're viewed as a pest."

Sipuan told us that prisons in the state are "50 percent to 75 percent overcrowded" and that about three-fourths of all prisoners are illegal migrants and other foreigners. He described conditions in the state's three illegal migrant detention centers as "overcrowded and generally poor."

Sipuan felt the large number of Filipinos on the state's east coast represented a potential security threat "if they decide to become more politically active, or if parts of Mindanao become more autonomous."

Comment

9. (C) Among all Malaysian states, Sabah faces uniquely severe border control and related security pressures. Filipinos and Indonesians move easily - and often illegally - between Sabah and their respective home countries.

UMNO leaders in Sabah and Kuala Lumpur will likely continue to remain silent with regard to the deleterious effects of Project Mahathir, as this initiative achieved its primary goal (UMNO political dominance) many years ago; they consider it "old news." In any case, a significant reduction in Sabah's foreign-born population could only be reversed in the near term through an UMNO-led effort to round up and deport the very workers that drive Sabah's natural resource-based economy.

While Malaysia periodically launches campaigns to expel illegal workers, even PBS' leaders concede this is highly unlikely to be carried out to the point of seriously harming the state's economy. The U.S. Border Control Assessment Initiative (BCAI) focused on the Sulu and Sulawesi sea areas of Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines will enhance our understanding of the security challenges facing Sabah and ways we can assist. We currently are working to obtain GOM approval for the Sabah field portion.

SHEAR

Statement from LDP Deputy President Senator Datuk Chin Su Phin

Posted: 15 Aug 2011 10:50 PM PDT

KOTA KINABALU: Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) Deputy President Senator Datuk Chin Su Phin has refuted Sabah Barisan Nasional (BN) Secretary Datuk Abdul Rahman's statement that LDP is putting pressure on the Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak over the issue of seats allocation in the coming general elections.

He said like other BN component parties, LDP President Datuk VK Liew was merely expressing the aspirations of party members during the annual general meeting of the LDP divisions.

"The LDP never put pressure on the Prime Minister. In fact, those who put pressure on the Prime Minister are certain leaders who created problems within the BN coalition.

"We strongly believe that the BN leadership need to take action to resolve the problems within the BN coalition in Sabah so that all the component parties can unite and work together in ensuring BN victory in the 13th general elections," said Chin when responding Abdul Rahman yesterday.

Chin said there is nothing wrong for Liew to voiced LDP's aspiration to defend the four seats - the parliamentary seat Sandakan and the state seats of Tg Kapor, Karamunting and Merotai - that wwere allocted to the party in the 2008 general elections.

"We worked really hard to win the four seats despite the back-stabbings from certain quarters within the BN coalition who were bent on destroying the LDP.

"We in LDP strongly believe that we've the right to defend the four seats," he added.

Chin also fully supported Liew that LDP is the only Sabah-based Chinese party eligible to lay claim on the six seats left 'vacant' following the pull out of Sabah Progressive Party (SAPP) from the BN in September 2008.

In dismissing Abd Rahman's contention that Liew's statement amounted to putting pressure on the Prime Minister into a defensive situation, Chin pointed out it is normal for any of the BN component parties to voice out their stand and the problems raised during the AGM.

"It's not just the LDP, even other BN component parties like Upko and Umno are also doing the same thing. At one time, Sabah Umno openly laid claim on the Merotai seat currently held by LDP and Putatan parliamentary seat now held by Upko.

"When Sabah Umno made such claims, does Umno care about the feelings of other BN component parties," he asked.

"LDP president only stated the party's aspiration to defend the four seats it had won in 2008 general elections, apart from conveying the party's members wish to contest the six seats now held by SAPP. Ultimately, we will leave it to the wisdom of the Prime Minister's in deciding on the seats allocation," he stressed.

Chin also reminded Abd Rahman of the latter's obligations as the State BN Secretary he must be fair to all the BN component parties and not just to speak up for one person only.

"Each time LDP makes a statement, you said it's wrong but every thing said by your big brother is always right," he said, without elaborating. He added as the State BN secretary, Abd Rahman should remain neutral.

Chin also disagreed with Abd Rahman that the BN component parties in Sabah can sit down together as a family in deliberating on issues affecting the coalition.

"If that is actually the case, then there should not be any disagreement amnong the BN component parties in Sabah," he contended.

Malaysia's Najib Calls for Electoral Reform

Posted: 15 Aug 2011 10:43 PM PDT

By Asia Sentinel

Apparently bending to widespread criticism of a government crackdown of a July 9 march demanding electoral reform, Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak said Tuesday that a parliamentary select committee is to be formed as soon as possible to seek to reform the current system.

The announcement appears to answer a central demand of the reform group Bersih, a coalition of good-government organizations backed by opposition parties to clean up the electoral process.

The big question, however, is how soon the select committee will meet, and whether the reform provisions it comes up with – if any – could be put in place before national elections expected to be called late this year or early next. In that, the announcement of the committee carries certain dangers. If the committee is still meeting when the election comes and goes, the decision to create it is likely to be regarded as a public relations gesture.

Wong Chin Huat, one of the leaders of Bersih, told Asia Sentinel that Najib must hold up the polls until the reforms can be implemented.

Bersih itself, in a prepared statement, said it welcomed Najib's announcement of a bipartisan committee, asking that immediate reforms be carried out before the next state and general elections and that other reforms be put in place within two years after the formation of the committee.

The process is bound to be complicated and subject to possible delay. The Malaysian constitution must be amended after the legislative, policy drafting and enforcement mechanisms are finished, then laws must be put in place by the executive branch to carry out the mandate.

That will require an automated voter registration system. The government has already said it is creating a so-called biometric registration system which would use fingerprints or other biometric data for voter identification. Bersih, however, charges that the system is open to abuse and wants a system in which voters will be marked with indelible ink once they have voted.

The government took a severe beating in the international press after police cracked down on the so-called Bersih 2.0 rally, blocking entrances to Kuala Lumpur, dousing the marchers who got through with water cannons and firing tear gas at them despite the fact that most were determined not to fight back. Nonetheless, anywhere between 10,000 and 30,000 marchers got through depending on who was doing the counting. Some 1,700 people were arrested, many for merely appearing in yellow tee-shirts, the Bersih color.

Najib's international image took a further beating when it was discovered that in an effort to turn around its negative image the government had paid RM86 million in two contracts to a British public relations company to plant favorable interviews and news stories with the international media. The contract was withdrawn abruptly when its existence was exposed by a Sarawak NGO, the Sarawak Report.

Just days ago, Najib was likening the Bersih marchers to the hooded rioters that torched buildings and caused violence in London and other cities. The abrupt about turn is being regarded in Kuala Lumpur as an indication that the government crackdown and attempt to demonize the marchers has backfired badly and hurt Najib's standing.

The prime minister reportedly is already under fire from members of his own party, particularly those who advocate so-called Ketuanan Melayu, or Malay rights to take precedence over those of the country's other races. Although some reports had him returning early from an Italian vacation to put down a party rebellion, those reports have been denied. But he clearly has been weakened from the affair.

"The prime minister must have realized that middle Malaysia will not tolerate a government that fanatically makes 'clean'(Bersih, in Malay language) a dirty word, and losing the middle ground will erode his edge as a moderate leader in the increasingly rough intra-UMNO rivalry," said Wong Chin Huat.

It is the mechanics of the process that are important. Although the prime minister said the committee would include lawmakers from both the Barisan Nasional, the ruling national coalition, to "discuss all the questions and issued raised about electoral reform so that a mutual agreement could be reached," Deputy Speaker Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar, a member of the United Malays National Organization, told local media that it would take at least year before the committee could finish its work and the reforms, if any, could be implemented.

READ MORE HERE

Sita gereja: Blogger Umno tipu

Posted: 15 Aug 2011 05:40 PM PDT

(Harakah Daily) - Ahli Parlimen Shah Alam, Khalid Samad menafikan tuduhan blogger Umno, Papa Gomo kononnya beliau dan beberapa Adun Selangor mengarahkan pembatalan sita Gereja Methodist Damansara Utama (GMDU).

Menurut Khalid, Papa Gomo dalam blognya menyiarkan surat palsu dari Majlis Bandaraya Petaling Jaya (MBPJ) berkaitan kontroversi serbuan Jabatan Agama Islam Selangor (Jais) ke atas gereja tersebut baru-baru ini.

Ia kononnya mengandungi bukti campur tangan Khalid, Nik Nazmi, Ronnie Liu, Teresa Kok dan Elizabeth Wong dalam operasi sita tersebut.

"Saya menafikan sekeras-kerasnya tuduhan ini dan pemalsuan yang dilakukan Papa Gomo itu hanyalah untuk beri gambaran buruk kepada Pakatan Rakyat," kata beliau pada sidang media di Ibu Pejabat PAS, Jalan Raja Laut, dekat sini, hari ini.

Beliau juga berkata, Papa Gomo jelas tidak melakukan persediaan sebelum melakukan penipuan apabila menyatakan lokasi GMDU terletak di Damansara Utama sedangkan lokasi sebenar rumah ibadat itu adalah di Seksyen 13, Petaling Jaya.

"Papa Gomo kata MBPJ menerima aduan daripada seorang penduduk Damansara Utama tapi yang sebenarnya gereja itu di Seksyen 13 Pataling Jaya. Nampak sangat tak study betul-betul," katanya.

Sehubungan itu, beliau bersama-sama MBPJ membuat laporan polis di Ibu Pejabat Polis Petaling Jaya petang ini meminta satu siasatan dijalankan terhadap Papa Gomo.

PAS real target of JAIS’ raid: DUMC dispensable collateral damage

Posted: 15 Aug 2011 05:22 PM PDT

THE MICAH MANDATE

The war drums beat ominously. The platoons are quickly mobilized for attack. The commanders are confident that their target will be hit and destroyed given numerous artillery salvos. I am not talking about shock and awe in the Iraq war. I am talking about how Jais and Umno activists have carefully orchestrated their recent attacks on a Malaysian church after their illegal raid of DUMC.

It is easy to be confused, especially when Jais and Umno activists deliberately cloud the issues with wild claims, hoping that their illegal transgression into a church will be overlooked and the innocent victim (DUMC) will somehow appear guilty, if accused repeatedly.

It does not matter that till now Jais has failed to produce any credible evidence to support the raid. Jais seems to operate on the basis that people will end up believing lies so long as they are repeated enough in the media.

An undeniable violation of a holy place

But how does one sift out the truth from the lies? First we stress the undeniable facts:

A group of 20-30 members from Jais and the police raided the premises of DUMC where there was a thanksgiving dinner held by Harapan Community in appreciation of people who have supported their community service. This raid was undeniably an illegal act since the officials were unable to produce a search warrant.

In effect, the Jais violated the sanctity of a house of God. The raid is not only illegal; it is an almost unforgivable sin. Any Muslim should know this and would shrink in horror and be tempted to retaliate should officials from another religion violate their mosques.

Jais initially defended the raid by claiming that they are empowered to act on grounds of suspicious activities. But even if we go by the requirements of the Penal Code, such raids must be backed by reasonable suspicion, that is, there must be prima facie evidence to justify the raid. Till today, Jais has failed to offer the slightest modicum of evidence that can be accepted as "reasonable suspicion", much less be accepted as prima facie evidence.

Jais backpedalled from its claim to have the authority to raid DUMC and now describes its act as an "inspection" — a definite sign that it realises (but is not admitting publicly) that the raid was illegal.

But what gives Jais the authority to inspect DUMC, or any church for that matter? The supreme law of the land, the Federal Constitution, specifies that Syariah law has no jurisdiction over non-Muslims. Jais officials, accompanied by the police or not, have no business to interfere with what is going on inside a church – especially when there is not the slightest reasonable suspicion.

To repeat, Jais violated the sanctity of the sanctuary of another religion. The raid is not only illegal; it is an almost unforgivable sin.

Flimsy evidence for charge of proselytisation

Jais' violation is unjustifiable and would set a dangerous precedent if left unchallenged. Christians are naturally aggrieved (and MBBCHST publicly shares the same sentiments with a public statement) and have good reasons to demand an apology and receive an assurance that such acts will not be repeated.

This grievous issue must be kept in the forefront, especially now that Jais is desperately trying to muddy the controversy by heaping a series of accusations about Christian proselytisation and conversion of Muslims.

But the allegation of proselytisation just won't hold water.

First, Jais has not linked, much less produced evidence to support allegations of proselytisation in DUMC. If there is any allegation of proselytisation, it is directed towards Harapan Community. DUMC is only the renter letting out its premises to a bona fide NGO. DUMC's innocence and integrity is above reproach. In contrast, Jais exceeds its bounds of authority.

Second, Jais has failed to produce credible evidence to support the charge of proselytisation by Harapan Community. It produced a scanned picture of a quiz on Islam and took offense that words like "Allahu Akbar" and "Alhamdullilah" were used at the dinner. But this evidence proves to be dubious upon a closer examination.

The quiz turns out to be an exercise to help people understand Islam better with questions like. "What does the word 'Quran' mean? How many sura are there in the Quran? What are the pillars of Islam?" It may be granted that Jais may have (still disputable) grounds to charge Harapan community if the quiz was on Christianity, but it turns out that the quiz was on Islam. If anybody has reason to be offended, it is the Christian community, since apparently Islam was taught in church!

Likewise, what's wrong with Christians using the words "Allahu Akbar" and "Alhamdullilah"? The phrases mean "God is great" and "Praise to God". Malay speaking Christians who share strong historic links with Arabic Christians would feel as natural singing these phrases as when singing "Hallelujah". As such, praise to God there certainly was, but proselytisation, there surely wasn't.

All in all, Jais must be pretty desperate to clutch to these "evidence" to support the alleged proselytisation.

Jais tries to buttress it case by making reference to Muslims who have converted to Christianity, but these cases have nothing to do with Harapan Community. But for the sake of argument, even if a Malay attending the thanksgiving dinner eventually declares he is a Christian, Jais cannot simply jump to the conclusion that Harapan Community was guilty of proselytisation.

It could be the case that this Malay became a Christian on his own initiative (given easy access to teaching of Christianity in the internet) or that he was influenced while studying overseas.

Jais may implicate Harapan Community of proselytisation only if it produces evidence that directly links the social services of Harapan Community to proselytisation. So far, Jais is unable to produce any evidence. A fortiori, it is even less able to associate DUMC with questionable allegations of proselytisation.

To conclude and to recapitulate to the main issue, Jais has no justifiable grounds to raid and violate the sanctity of a church (DUMC).

READ MORE HERE

Can PAS Lead A Future Government?

Posted: 15 Aug 2011 04:43 PM PDT

A KADIR JASIN

OFTEN, in this blog and elsewhere, people asked me if the Parti Islam Se Malaysia (Pan Malaysian Islamic Party aka PAS) could rule the country?

As I wrote in my "Other Thots" column in the Aug.1 issue of the Malaysian Business magazine, the temptation is to refer them to the iconic song "Blowing in the Wind" by Bob Dylan.

Why not? If it gets enough support, it could. Whether it will do a good or a bad one is another issue altogether. In democracy, you don't always choose the best to govern.

But one thing is sure. PAS could not rule the country alone. It could rule the country only if it is able to lead the Pakatan Rakyat or any other alliance. But before it could hope to do that, it must first take over UMNO's role as the principal Malay party.

PAS has to win as many seat as Umno and has to have the financial, organisational and intellectual capabilities matching that of Umno.

Given the country's demography, political history and the ongoing trends, a Malay party will continue to lead. This dominance is clear in the BN, where Umno is the alpha male, but not so in the PR.

In the 2008 general election, PAS came second to PKR among the three PR parties in terms of popular votes. The PKR won 1,529,265 votes that translated into 31 Parliamentary seats, PAS 1,140,598 (23 seats) and the DAP 1,097,752 (28 seats). Umno raked in 2,381,725 votes that translated in 79 seats, the MCA 840,489 (15 seats), the MIC 179,422 (3 seats) and Gerakan 184, 548 (2 seats).

PAS Has To Lead PR

PAS could only hope to rule the country if it leads the PR the way UMNO has been leading the Alliance/BN since independence.

For now, there's no dominant party in the PR. The alliance is an equal partnership among the Malay dominated PAS, the Chinese dominated DAP and the multi-racial, but Malay-led PKR.

This equal partnership may be attractive to the liberals and those fighting for equality, but politically it cannot guarantee strength and cohesiveness. Collective leadership among equals is difficult to manage, more so in a multi-racial environment like Malaysia.

From the viewpoint of the Malay support, Pas has been inching closer to Umno, but it cannot hope to be as strong as Umno if it continues to share the Malay-majority seats, hence Malay votes, with PKR, another Malay-centric party in the Pakatan.

In the last general election, thanks to the electoral pact cobbled together by Anwar Ibrahim, and the widespread disgruntlement with the then Prime Minister, Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, Pas won Kedah in addition to retaining Kelantan.

It won seats in places that it had not dreamt of and gained supporters in places where Umno ruled supreme like Johor and Malacca.

With the benefit of hindsight, we can say that the hatred for the so-called Fourth Floor Boys (FFBs) cost Umno a lot of votes. Prime Minister Mohd Najib Abdul Razak is undeniably better and more capable than Abdullah, but whether he too suffers from the FFB-type burden is anybody's guess.

If he is, the opposition can count on another fruitful outing. In today's ICT-driven world, perception plays as important a role as reality. Mohd Najib has to prove to the voters, especially members and supporters of his own party, Umno that he's not only the master of the Malay destiny, but also the lord of his castle, failing which his Achilles heel will buckle.

Those us who are familiar with the song "He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother" made popular by Neil Diamond, can more easily figure this one out.

The Changing Face Of Pas

In recent years, Pas had undergone considerable leadership and policy changes with the non-ulama now dominating the leadership and Islamic State objective morphing into welfare state.

But its relationship with its partners, in particular the DAP, remains touchy due to vast ideological and policy differences. The three PR parties appear to be moving in tandem at the federal level, especially in taking on the BN in Parliament, but show considerable differences in the states that they rule.

A case in point was the recent attempt by the Pas-led Kedah government to shut down entertainment outlets during this fasting month and the reaction to the recent "inspection" by the Selangor Islamic Religious Affairs Department (JAIS) of a dinner gathering by an independent evangelical church, which were attended by Muslims, and features, among other things, a quiz on Islam.

Following a strong objection by the DAP, the party's national leadership back downed, leaving the Kedah Menteri Besar, Azizan Abdul Razak red-faced, and many Pas supporters angry.

The church issue is far more complicated. After days of trying to ride the political wave, Pas, on Aug. 13, moved to the side of JAIS, urging the department to take immediate action if it finds proof that Christians were proselytising to Muslims.

The statement by the party's non-ulama Deputy President, Mohamad Sabu, came after reports in the mainstream and alternative media suggest that there were evidence that some independent churches are engaged in the activity.

Posted: 15 Aug 2011 04:23 PM PDT

By Lisa J Ariffin, The Malaysian Insider

The parliamentary select committee on electoral reform is useless if it is under the control of the government, PAS vice-president Salahuddin Ayub said today.

"There is no use having a select committee if it is still follows parliamentary culture and the government is in charge and we are the minority," he told reporters at the PAS headquarters this afternoon.

His remarks today followed the Najib administration's announcement yesterday that it would form a select committee on electoral reform.

"We were not informed. There was no consultation with us at all. What type or structure of select committee, we do not know. So now we are waiting for the terms of reference of the committee," Salahuddin said.

"We are disappointed as to why the PM rushed to form the committee when all political parties were not consulted," he added.

Posted: 15 Aug 2011 04:19 PM PDT

He would suggest that a much better and cheaper way would be to perhaps invite a few hundred avid Malaysian bloggers to Seri Perdana for tea and curry puffs and tell them to help promote Malaysian tourism instead.

David D. Mathew, The Malaysian Insider

There is a man in London who travels six miles to work on his bicycle. He often walks around the office barefoot and has been spotted at work wearing a T-shirt saying "Love Me, Love My Bike".

If you're thinking that this man is some random bloke working dispatch — think again, because you'd be wrong.

His name is Steve Hilton — the British prime minister's director of strategy and close confidant.

Yes, Hilton, a political outsider, works at No. 10 Downing Street.

Famed for his out-of-the-box "blue-sky thinking", Hilton was recently thrust into the spotlight when the Financial Times ran an article about his more radical ideas such as scrapping maternity leave because it is "the biggest obstacle to woman finding work."

Frustrated with the lumbering government machinery, Hilton was also reported to have suggested sacking hundreds of government press offices and replacing them with a blog for each Whitehall department. He is also in favour of employing "cloud busting" technology to create longer summers.

The list does not end there. Some of his other ideas to boost the economy come in the form of abolishing Job Centres, suspending consumer rights laws for nine months "to see what would happen" and ignoring some EU employment regulations.

Not all off his proposals are actually carried into becoming government policy but Hilton's barmy ideas serve as intellectual challenges and spark debate within David Cameron's inner circle, many of whom are traditionalists who tend to play it safe.

Perhaps Prime Minister Najib Razak needs a Steve Hilton as well.

Let us name this hypothetical character Jebat.

Jebat will tell the prime minister that spending RM1.8 million to develop six Facebook pages to promote Malaysian tourism is a waste of money and something this country can ill afford in these difficult times.

After deducting the cost of the tea and curry puffs, the remainder monies could perhaps be channelled as scholarships for gifted students.

Jebat will then tell the prime minister that no matter what, inviting strange African dictators like Robert Mugabe to town and spending taxpayers' money on him is a terrible idea.

Rather than spending money holding events such as the Langkawi International Dialogue, out of which the public sees little positive outcome, it would be better to spend that money hosting the Simpang Pulai Local Dialogue on Reducing Horrendous Annual Bus Accidents, for example.

Jebat will also tell the prime minister that since there is no real emergency in this country it should follow that the Emergency Ordinance and its evil twin brother the Internal Security Act be repealed.

In its place, the government could look into enacting a variety of other more palatable legislation.

READ MORE HERE

Enough Excuses, Prasarana!

Posted: 15 Aug 2011 04:11 PM PDT

By Tony Pua

Syarikat Prasarana Negara Bhd project development director Zulkifli Mohd Yusoff said last week that the land and buildings above the tunnel in Chinatown had to be acquired because "Section 44 of the National Land Code 1965 states that property owners not only have the right to the plot itself but also the air above and ground below."

At the meeting with the affected property owners on Thursday last week, Zulkifli said that SPNB had spent "three to four months" in talks with the Attorney-General's Chambers to see if it was possible to tunnel underneath existing properties without having to acquire them but was told it could not be done.

"We had months of discussion with the Attorney-General's Chambers on how we can have the tunnel underneath and the buildings remain... but under the current law, there is no such provision," he said.

The above "excuse" for the compulsory acquisition of land above the tunnel is complete and utter nonsense. Either Prasarana is trying to get away by telling tall tales, or the Attorney-General's Chambers does not know what laws have been passed in this country.

The National Land Code 1965 had been specifically amended in 1990 to allow for the acquisition of underground land without affecting surface property by inserting Part Five (A) (section 92A to 92G) under Clause 3. The amendment enables the disposal of "underground land", which can then either be alienated or leased or can be subject to the right of use.

In fact, when the Amendments were debated and passed in parliament on the 15 December 1989, the then Deputy Land Development Minister, Haji Mohd Khalid bin Mohd Yunus had presented the bill and clarified that this was to enable the construction of underground car parks, underground railways and underground pipes and other conduits.

…Terdapat juga keadaan di mana kawasan-kawasan yang terhad yang berada di kawasan strategik, perlu dikekalkan sebagai kawasan lapang, padang permainan dan lain-lain kegunaan awam. Dalam keadaan sekarang tanah yang berada di bawah paras bumi tidak dapat dilupuskan secara berasingan. Dengan kemampuan teknologi yang ada pada masa ini, tanah di bawah permukaan bumi mungkin boleh dimajukan bagi kegunaan yang tertentu, seperti tempat letak kereta, keretapi bawah tanah dan lain-lain.

…Pindaan kepada Kanun Tanah Negara pada kali ini timbulnya dari… Keperluan mengadakan peruntukan bagi membolehkan pelupusan tanah di bawah paras bumi bagi kegunaan yang berlainan daripada kegunaan tanah di permukaan bumi dan Kajian semula Akta Hakmilik Strata 1985… (Hansard 15 December 1989 pp 11320-11321)

Clearly then Prasarana is attempting to hijack the above pieces of land which affects the heritage shop lots in Kuala Lumpur's Chinatown for the purposes of profit and not for the purposes of MRT construction works 100 feet underground. Such action for profit is clearly the use and abuse of the Land Acquisition Act 1960 in bad faith.

Given that it is possible for Prasarana to acquire the use of land underground without having to acquire property on the surface, it must now immediately withdraw its order to the affected landowners without causing any further inconvenience to them.

A short rebuke of Ezam Mohd Nor

Posted: 15 Aug 2011 04:07 PM PDT

By Art Harun

Dear Ezam,

With reference to your manic and almost maniacal spewing of hatred last Friday, I just have this to say to you.

You are an embarrassment.

This is Ramadhan. Muslims fast during Ramadhan. Good Muslims do not only fast and suffer mere physical pain during the fasting – a 6 year old can do that – but they reflect upon themselves and upon their surroundings and they abstain not only from food and drinks, but also from all things evil and ungodly.

The hunger pang and thirst which Muslims suffer during the fast are just the surface of something which is deeper and more meaningful. Good Muslims correlate the mere physical abstention to a more meaningful spiritual experience. Without the spiritual experience and realisation of fasting, the act of fasting becomes and is reduced to a mere ritual and yearly routine.

Perhaps it was not a surprise that you did what you did last Friday. That is because, well, you are just being yourself.

Jihad in Islam has been totally misunderstood, by the non-Muslims and Muslims alike. And who is to blame for such misunderstanding when there are people like you going around running amok after Friday prayer and rabidly calling for jihad and threatening to burn down news portals?

May I ask you Ezam Mohd Nor, exactly against whom were you going to jihad? All Christians in Malaysia? The Damansara Utama Methodist Church? Oh yes, against those Christians who are conspiring to proselytise all Muslims in Malaysia and elsewhere. Yes, I forgot. But exactly who are they? And where are they?

Jihad does not mean declaring a war. The word "jahada", which is the base word for jihad simply means "to strive" or "to struggle". Throughout time, this word has been twisted, manipulated and misinterpreted by Muslims and non-Muslims alike. The result is that Islam has been painted with this black images of suicide bombers seeking martyrdom and of cartoons like yourself running amok after Fridar prayer and in the compound of a mosque no less.

The Quran ordains:

"Fight in the cause of Allah those who fight you, but do not transgress limits; for Allah loves not transgressors." (2:190)

Yes. It asks us to fight and strive. But only in the cause of Allah and against those who fight us. We are not asked to look for fights. Even if circumstances require and demand us to fight, the Quran implores us not to transgress limits.

May I therefore ask you Ezam, were there any party fighting us last Friday? If so, who? And did you not stop to think that you were not transgressing the limits last Friday considering the nature of our society?

What is the best jihad of all jihads? You think it's burning down other people's office is the best? Well please go and study the Quran and the traditions.

Posted: 15 Aug 2011 04:03 PM PDT

The Malaysian Insider understands that at last Wednesday's retreat involving ministers and chief ministers/mentris besar, Najib spoke about the need to understand clearly the aspirations of the people and not be dismissive of people who did not agree with the government.

By Jahabar Sadiq, The Malaysian Insider

Datuk Seri Najib Razak's announcements last night of a select committee on electoral reform and rolling back censorship of international media are the clearest sign that he has decided to put some space between himself and hardliners in government, especially Home Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein.

Sources in the prime minister's camp say that Najib now realises the folly of a sledgehammer approach — one which has soiled his aim of being seen as a moderate and reformer and has caused him support of middle Malaysia.

Privately, he has blamed several ministers and aides who have been counselling tough action against Bersih 2.0 and painted an erroneous picture of some of the challenges facing his administration.

"The tough action has widened the disconnect between PM and the people, and the reality of the situation. He is taking steps to repair that damage," a source told The Malaysian Insider.

Notably, many ministers stayed clear of the topic of Bersih 2.0 and electoral reform, with only Hishammuddin giving a stout defence of the police crackdown on the July 9 rally, justifying and saying it was correct.

Since the fallout of the rally, some of Najib's aides have been at pains to say that he received wrong advice from certain ministers, advice which may explain the PM's decision to rescind the stadium offer.

The Malaysian Insider understands that Najib had informed economic advisers on July 5 that the government had agreed to the stadium after the Yang di-Pertuan Agong met Bersih chairman Datuk Ambiga Sreenevasan but he then inexplicably changed his mind later.

There has been some pressure from the more conservative elements of Umno for Najib to go hard after the organisers of Bersih, and these hardliners have the support of a couple of senior Umno ministers but the PM knows that this approach will cut his support among middle-class Malays and the non-Malays even more, and reduce chances of a good win at the polls.

It is still unclear why Najib took so long to find out or decide that the hardline approach was leading him down the path of political demise.

Posted: 15 Aug 2011 03:59 PM PDT

By M Mageswari, The Star

KUALA LUMPUR: Federal Land Development Authority (Felda) and its investment company Felda Global Ventures Holdings Sdn Bhd have lost their RM200mil defamation suit against former Deputy Land and Cooperatives Minister Datuk Dr Tan Kee Kwong.

In court papers, the two had claimed that Dr Tan had caused the publication of defamatory words in Suara Keadilan in its June 22-29 edition last year.

In the suit filed on Jan 25,the two claimed that the words implied that the plaintiffs were involved in corruption and had committed an unlawful act.

Kuala Lumpur High Court judge Justice Zabariah Mohd Yusof held that the plaintiffs failed to prove that Dr Tan uttered defamatory words and was responsible for the publication of such words in the newspaper report.

Felda has to pay RM100,000 in costs to Dr Tan. However Felda has to pay only RM70,000 in costs as the defendant has to pay RM30,000 costs to plaintiffs for the preliminary point raised in the suit earlier.

In his statement of defence, Dr Tan had admitted to have given an interview to a Suara Keadilan newspaper reporter named as Faizal Zakaria, but claimed he did not defame the two plaintiffs.

Alternatively, Dr Tan said the words were true, in fact, and that they were published on an occasion of qualified privilege.

PAS ganti Umno atau PAS bersama Umno?

Posted: 15 Aug 2011 03:43 PM PDT

(Siasah Daily) - Dua tulisan terkini oleh dua pemerhati politik tempatan berhubung kedudukan politik PAS dan Umno, amat menarik untuk dinilai.

Apapun kecenderungan politik parti yang boleh dikaitkan dengan dua penulis tersebut, beberapa persoalan realistik yang dikemukakan - isu yang agak diabaikan oleh pembangkang yang berbilang kaum itu - wajar diberi perhatian.

A Kadir Jasin, dalam tulisannya membincangkan tentang kemampuan PAS memimpin sebuah kerajaan masa depan mengupas realiti kedudukan PAS dan potensi serta cabaran yang dihadapi dalam politik pakatan.

Kadir menegaskan keperluan PAS bekerjasama dalam sebuah pakatan, dan memimpin pakatan itu, sama ada Pakatan Rakyat atau "mana-mana pakatan lain."

"Tetapi sebelum ia boleh berharap (memimpin sebuah pakatan), ia perlu terlebih dahulu mengambil alih peranan Umno sebagai parti utama orang Melayu," tegas Kadir.

"PAS perlu memenangi sebanyak mungkin kerusi dan memiliki kemampuan kewangan, organisasi dan intelektual menyamai Umno."

Wartawan berpengalaman itu juga menimbulkan beberapa persoalan tentang perbezaan ideologi antara dengan parti-parti PR lain, sehingga berpotensi menjejaskannya.

Menurutnya, tindakan PAS yang dilihat berkompromi boleh menjejaskan sokongan tetapnya, yang berada di luar bandar. PAS didakwa berpotensi menjadi pihak yang menangung kos politik terbesar.

"Lama kelamaan, penyokong sebenarnya di luar bandar yang percaya pada ideal Islam parti ini, boleh hilang kepercayaan terhadapnya. Mereka mungkin memutuskan bahawa agenda Islam parti hanya dijadikan bidak catur oleh pemimpin mereka."

Amaran paling dramatik Kadir ialah "PAS berdepan risiko kehilangan Kedah dan malah kubu kuatnya, Kelantan."

Isu utama yang perlu diberi perhatian ialah ideologi dan politik berasas kaum tetap akan menjadi faktor dalam politik negara.

Apapun, Kadir menyimpulkan mana-mana parti yang mendapat sokongan majoriti boleh memimpin negara. PAS, sebagai sebuah parti yang kuat, turut berpotensi memenuhi tuntutan ini.

Tulisan penganalisis politik Norizan Sharif, tentang permuafakatan dan kerjasama politik Melayu Muslim mengulangi pandangannya tentang politik bipartisan yang dilihat sebagai satu pilihan yang wajar untuk menangani pelbagai isu, seperti yang sering diamalkan di Kongres Amerika Syarikat.

Beliau menilai kerjasama politik dipandang dengan negatif sekali di negara kita, dan menimbulkan beberapa isu yang telah memanaskan politik negara sejak beberapa tahun lalu, sejak pilihan raya umum 2008.

"Malangnya, di Malaysia politik muafakat dilihat sebagai sesuatu yang asing. Penyokong parti-parti politik disemai dengan kepercayaan bahawa bermuafakat itu tidak baik, terutama sekali bermuafakat dengan parti politik lawan."

Menurutnya lagi, kerana inilah, dakwaan pertemuan Mursyidul Am PAS Datuk Nik Abdul Aziz dengan Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah, peranan Datuk Dr Hasan Ali dan Nasharudin Mat Isa dengan pemimpin-pemimpin Umno dinilai dengan negatif sekali.

READ MORE HERE

PAS, DUMC meeting called off

Posted: 15 Aug 2011 03:25 PM PDT

The Damansara Utama Methodist Church had cancelled the scheduled meeting with PAS leaders today due to "recent developments"and because it was sensitive in nature.

(Free Malaysia Today) - Damansara Utama Methodist Church (DUMC) has cancelled the scheduled meeting with PAS today on reasons that there have been "recent developments" and that the case was sensitive in nature.

Confirming this, PAS information chief Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man said that DUMC had sent a letter of postponement to the PAS secretary-general Mustafa Ali last night.

PAS was scheduled to meet with the church this afternoon as part of their internal probe over the controversial raid by Selangor Islamic Religious Department(JAIS) during a thanksgiving dinner at the church two weeks ago.

"The decision by the church was to diffuse tension over the issue. It may also be the Selangor Sultan's advice to JAIS not to meet any parties to ensure information from the investigation is not leaked to anyone," said Tuan Ibrahim.

JAIS, supposed to meet PAS yesterday, had also put off meeting.

"If the meeting with PAS and JAIS occured yesterday, perhaps we'd still be meeting the church," the PAS Pahang commissioner said, adding that the meeting may be re-scheduled to after the Ramadan month.

A DUMC spokesperson said both parties had agreed to postpone the meeting. He said it was due to "recent developments" and sensitive nature of the case, without elaborating further.

PAS youth vice-chief Ahmad Sabki Yusof said DUMC's explanation over the postponement was unclear and that the postponement would be indefinite.

Posted: 15 Aug 2011 01:42 PM PDT

Azly Rahman
http://www.facebook.com/#!/profile.php?id=689079971

What we have is now, after over 50 years of independence, are a broken education system; a population that does not read books that help in the improvement of the soul, mind, and spirit; a ruling regime that is holding its last dying breath by chanting the mantra of racial and religious bigotry in the hope that it can continue to live in luxury for the next decade or so.

What is ailing our society? Are we moving into the final stages of social, political, and moral annihilation, judging from the levels and forms of violence we are seeing emerging?

We see no respect for the rule of law, an increasing gap between the rich and the poor, conspicuous consumption at the highest level of vulgarity, a continuing massacre of the voice of critical sensibility, a direction-less educational progress, production of public statements championing racial and religious bigotry, prostitutionalisation of the electoral process, drunkenness of politicians in attacking pluralists and multiculturalists, fear and trembling upon hearing the words "socialism" and "communism" - all these are indicators of the chaos Malaysians are experiencing in their attempt to understand where their leaders are taking them and why this nation is being torn apart.

Has Malaysia made a wrong turn in conceptualising its economic, social, and political policies, merely transplanting a system left by the colonials?

Have we nurtured a culture that ensures the continuation of a system of exploitation adorned with a façade of nationalism and patriotism derived from the much contested ideology of ketuanan Melayu that is fast losing its force of populism and gaining an image of neo-colonialist Sartrean nausea offering a "no-exit" route to a collapsing grand narrative of an Asian despotic form of deformed developmentalism?

Why are we experiencing this phenomenon? Why are our elected officials becoming corrupted to the core - both in the way they use power and the way they display the image of being in power?

What has crept cancerously into the cognitive faculties/thinking process of our leaders in these five decade of unilinear developmentalist agenda that necessitates such a brutal image of arrogance in the way the leaders react to the voices of discontent as in the Bersih rally and in investigations on corrupt practices?

Have Malaysians failed to examine their lives, borrowing the Socratic maxim "the unexamined life is not worth living"? Are we summoning our greatest enemy - ignorance - to lead us to the path of developmentalism and putting knowledge in front of the firing squad circa Merdeka/Independence, borrowing again another Socratic maxim "the greatest enemy of knowledge is ignorance"?

I suppose we have installed rulers who are not philosophers. We continue to install exploiters and abusers of power that use the ideological state apparatuses to allow a certain paradigm of human and material development to reign supreme. We have installed robber barons who speak with a two-pronged tongue of national development; skilled users of Orwellian doublespeak.

We have a philosophically dead society by those who could not even see the need to look at society through the lens of political economy but rather see the bastardised version of specialised functions of governance as the only way to run society as a political entity.

We need to groom philosopher-rulers - not as an elitist Platonic or Confucian type of ruling elitism, but to create the everyday philosopher-ruler in our project of grooming future leaders in virtually all sectors of our lives.

We need to reconceptualise the way we run our universities and public institutions in the training of the mind to lead organisations. We need to help members of society understand what knowledge is, its origin, its transformative power, and how it should be applied for the good of those that are potentially marginalised, alienated, or even mentally enslaved in newer and more subtle ways.

Through education conceived differently to meet the needs of a degenerating society, members of society need to be taught how to analyse complex social, ethical, technological, and social issues in this post-industrial and informational age and offer scientific ideas to effect humanistic and social change in virtually all sectors of human intellectual-macro level activities.

To save this nation from total destruction, we must go back to philosophy and through a rigorous curriculum adaptable to varying contexts of learning, teach our future leaders the following:

To understand the nature of knowledge and the history of its conceptualisation.

To understand the differences between knowledge, information, understanding, application, and able to articulate how these conceptions differ from one another.

To utilise the understanding of the philosophical, cultural, and political-economic aspects of knowledge as a basis to create newer and synthesised understanding of these and craft frameworks to offer perspectives to social and moral problems.

To develop logical, creative, moral, and futuristic ideas for social and organisational change; ideas informed by the deep rooted and broad-based understanding of knowledge in the most inter-disciplinary and cross-cultural sense of the word.

To develop a set of cognitive skills to be recognised as effective, respectable, well-informed, philosophically-trained members of a think-tank group of social organisations and social frontier thinkers able to generate innovative solutions to complex problems.

To explore varying cultural philosophies and draw universal themes of ethics and social reconstructionism to affect changes that will benefit the poor, marginalised, and alienated of all ethnic groups.

Such is the newer design we ought to explore to renew our intellectual prosperity. We must begin to become a nation of philosophers more than a nation of plunderers.

DR AZLY RAHMAN, who was born in Singapore and grew up in Johor Baru, holds a Columbia University (New York) doctorate in International Education Development and Master's degrees in the fields of Education, International Affairs, Peace Studies and Communication. He has taught more than 40 courses in six different departments and has written more than 300 analyses on Malaysia. His teaching experience spans Malaysia and the United States, over a wide range of subjects from elementary to graduate education. He currently resides in the United States.

HINDRAF suit against BRITAIN government spearheaded by a righteous MUSLIM

Posted: 15 Aug 2011 01:31 PM PDT

Mr Imran Khan is a true Muslim as during this Ramadan month, besides fasting, he made an effort to bring justice for the hunger suffered by the poor, needy, marginalized and discriminated Malaysian Indians.

By Muhyiddin Yasin

I find it amusing that a Pakistani born Muslim British citizen is able, ready and willing to head the suit against the British government for the misplaced and systematically discriminated Malaysian Indians.

What is even more interesting is the so-called Muslim nation in Malaysia would refuse and bar entry to this Muslim brother who has been fasting during the Ramadan month.

Mr Imran Khan practiced one of the five tenets of Islam, the third pillar of fasting during Ramadan, considered to be a way of experiencing what hunger is all about, sympathizing with the poor and the needy, and thanking god for everything one has received in life.

Seriously, Mr Imran Khan is a true Muslim as during this Ramadan month, besides fasting, he made an effort to bring justice for the hunger suffered by the poor, needy, marginalized and discriminated Malaysian Indians. To provide them with an alternative, via the British courts, as the name sake politicians of so-called Malaysia, do not give two hoots to what happens to their fellow minorities.

As a Malaysian Muslim, I am filled with pride and joy that this British Muslim subject is more concerned for the poor and discriminated Malaysian Indians and has embarked on his journey for what is righteous for humanity, inherent during the Ramadan month.

It is shameful that most Muslim Malaysians don't understand the core teaching of our religion, as during Ramadan, we Muslims re-evaluate our lives under the principles of Islam. They are expected to make peace with their dear ones irrespective of their race, religion or creed even though the latter may have wronged them. Muslims are expected to purify their minds during the month of Ramadan. Not only should they purify their thoughts, but also their words and actions.

It is sickening and sad that UMNO play the Muslims at the same game that was preached during the Dr M era, only to serve their own needs as opposed to the needs of the community, as in this case, the Malaysian Indians who have given, provided and accommodated everything for the betterment of Malaysia.

As much as I am a Muslim, my Islamic religion teaches me to do good, and if good is what I can do, it does not matter what race, religion, or creed I impact, as long I can do right for the poor, marginalized and discriminated on my own accord.

Trust me, you will never find such moderated Muslims in the world as you would find in Malaysia, as we are Malaysians. The Muslims in Malaysia are the best people in the world because we are more humane and practical having dealt with our multicultural brethren. Therefore, it does not make sense for us in allowing religious agendas to run its course for the benefit of our politicians.

It is high time that we Malaysian Muslims listen to the grievances of the non-Muslims, who continue to be sidelined in their socio-development aspects rather than yielding to politicians who see no endgame unless their own needs are satisfied, even at the expense of religion.

Kredit: www.malaysia-today.net

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Malaysia Today - Your Source of Independent News

Malaysia's Najib Calls for Electoral Reform
Polls reform panel useless if under government control, says PAS
Felda loses RM200mil defamation suit against ex-deputy minister
PAS, DUMC meeting called off
Parents of blogger hauled for questioning
Media Censorship - Changes Ahead?
Bersih wants thorough polls reform, panel recommendations made public
Comparing Bersih to UK riots shallow, says Umno leader
Malaysia vowed to improve refugee lot
Labor MP breaks ranks on Malaysia deal
Frog and snake now political pawns
What’s Firefly’s role after tie-up?
Anwar to enter defense on Aug 22
‘Only three states for BN-Umno’
‘Evil’ BN injected voters into Sibu
Ambiga tells of her ‘lawyerly revolt’
EC insincere in cleaning up electoral rolls, says PAS
MAS, TR deals price of Dr M’s failed privatisation plans, says PAS
MACC probe uncovers 6P scammers
AirAsia boss poised to take over QPR today
DAP wants SC action over Tajuddin suits
After two years as PM, Najib losing middle ground

Malaysia's Najib Calls for Electoral Reform

Posted: 15 Aug 2011 10:43 PM PDT

By Asia Sentinel

Posted: 15 Aug 2011 04:23 PM PDT

By Lisa J Ariffin, The Malaysian Insider

The parliamentary select committee on electoral reform is useless if it is under the control of the government, PAS vice-president Salahuddin Ayub said today.

His remarks today followed the Najib administration's announcement yesterday that it would form a select committee on electoral reform.

"We are disappointed as to why the PM rushed to form the committee when all political parties were not consulted," he added.

Posted: 15 Aug 2011 03:59 PM PDT

By M Mageswari, The Star

In court papers, the two had claimed that Dr Tan had caused the publication of defamatory words in Suara Keadilan in its June 22-29 edition last year.

In the suit filed on Jan 25,the two claimed that the words implied that the plaintiffs were involved in corruption and had committed an unlawful act.

In his statement of defence, Dr Tan had admitted to have given an interview to a Suara Keadilan newspaper reporter named as Faizal Zakaria, but claimed he did not defame the two plaintiffs.

Alternatively, Dr Tan said the words were true, in fact, and that they were published on an occasion of qualified privilege.

PAS, DUMC meeting called off

Posted: 15 Aug 2011 03:25 PM PDT

The Damansara Utama Methodist Church had cancelled the scheduled meeting with PAS leaders today due to "recent developments"and because it was sensitive in nature.

Confirming this, PAS information chief Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man said that DUMC had sent a letter of postponement to the PAS secretary-general Mustafa Ali last night.

JAIS, supposed to meet PAS yesterday, had also put off meeting.

A DUMC spokesperson said both parties had agreed to postpone the meeting. He said it was due to "recent developments" and sensitive nature of the case, without elaborating further.

PAS youth vice-chief Ahmad Sabki Yusof said DUMC's explanation over the postponement was unclear and that the postponement would be indefinite.

Posted: 15 Aug 2011 11:08 AM PDT

By Pauline Wong, The Sun

The parents of provocative blogger Mohd Nur Hanief Abdul Jalil, 27, were yesterday brought in for questioning by the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC).

It was after a five-month silence since he was first hauled in by the police following his controversial blog post on March 1.

The post was on allegations of a sex scandal between a member of the Selangor royalty and a well-known local model, which Mohd Nur Hanief had plucked from another blog while adding his own comments below. The post has received 150 comments to date.

Abdul Jalil Ashaari, 61, and Kamalia Chek, 60, went into the MCMC Investigations Division office in the Sultan Abdul Samad building here at 2.15pm yesterday and were questioned for more than two hours.

"I maintain my son did not post anything seditious and that he had merely copy-and-pasted opinions of other blogs and expressed his own opinion," said Abdul Jalil, after the questioning.

Mohd Nur Hanief, who blogs primarily about socio-political topics, was arrested under the Sedition Act and questioned by the police on March 18, before being released the next day.

He has also been questioned by the MCMC. In investigations, computers belonging to him and Abdul Jalil were were seized from their home. Since his release, however, no charges have been filed against him.

Abdul Jalil said he was surprised when he was served the notice to appear before the MCMC.

"They (MCMC) completed their investigations and did not contact us for months," he said, adding that he had accompanied his son when he was questioned in March.

The retired bank officer said the officers were amicable during the questioning as he and his wife gave their full cooperation.

The two were met by their counsel Fadiah Nadwa Fikri and Farhana Abdul Halim from Lawyers for Liberty before they were escorted by an MCMC officer into the office. However, the lawyers were not allowed to accompany them.

After the questioning, Fadiah said it was disturbing that the parents were denied counsel.

"We cannot stress enough on the right to have legal counsel present during questioning by the authorities."

This brings the question of why his parents would be questioned over their son's alleged offence, said Fadiah.

"It is nothing more than intimidation. The questions asked were absurd," she said, adding that MCMC officers had pressed the elderly couple about who the internet service provider account was registered to, or who had uploaded the pictures on Mohd Nur Hanief's blog.

Media Censorship - Changes Ahead?

Posted: 15 Aug 2011 11:06 AM PDT

(Bernama) - KUALA LUMPUR -- Najib Tun Razak said the government would study how to implement media censorship in line with the changing socio-political landscape.

The prime minister said this step was taken so that the government would not be seen as failing to understand media censorship and how to deal with the issue.

At the same time, he said, the government would respond to allegations in the local and international media and would take action under the law if the allegations were defamatory.

"If we want to carry out media censorship in this new era, (and) new landscape, we should ask ourselves whether the censorship is effective and relevant or not.

"Is it meaningful in the first place?...and any form of censorship actually does us more bad than good," he said when speaking at a breaking-of-fast with the media hosted by Bernama at Wisma Bernama, here, on Monday.

For example, he said, censoring of parts of a news article on Malaysia in "The Economist' magazine recently, had instead turned the issue written about into a bigger news item.

"So, is this action necessary? I think we no longer need to do this. If the international media wants to criticise us, let it be. If we need to (respond), we engage them; we give our side of the story and if they cross the line, we have to resolve it through legal means.

Najib also noted the case of Information Communication and Culture Minister Dr Rais Yatim winning a defamation suit against a local blogger recently.

"That is a very good example where we can resolve it (defamation). If the media has published a story that is defamatory, we should take legal action but censoring is no longer an effective means and should be reviewed. The government will review its policy towards censorship," he said.

He said the landscape and surroundings had changed as there were three elements that had about a radical change, namely the information technology explosion that was still going on, globalisation that had created a borderless world, and the people's increasingly high level of education.

The prime minister said the media was indeed a very vital channel and media practitioners had the huge responsibility of disseminating news, and accurate and true information.

"For us running the government's administration, we too depend on the media as one of our responsibilities to make our efforts acceptable to the people."

He said effective communication was not only through the conventional way but the approach taken should take into consideration the changing landscape and environment.

Najib said the big challenge was that reality was seen differently from perception.

"The war of perception is not sometimes, but always bigger than truth or reality," he added.

Also present at the "buka puasa" was Najib's wife Rosmah Mansor and their children, Norashman Razak and Nooryana Najwa.

Bersih wants thorough polls reform, panel recommendations made public

Posted: 15 Aug 2011 11:02 AM PDT

By Shazwan Mustafa Kamal and Shannon Teoh, The Malaysian Insider

Bersih 2.0 has welcomed the Najib administration's move to form a parliamentary select committee to examine the current electoral system, but stated that the panel's final recommendations should be made available to the public.

Bersih chairman Datuk Ambiga Sreenevasan stressed the election watchdog's eight demands for electoral reform should be taken into account, and that NGOs as well the public should be involved in the entire process.

"Yes, we certainly welcome this move. It is without doubt a step in the right direction and is a positive response to the aspirations of the rakyat.

"We hope NGOs will be involved in the process and that our eight demands will receive attention before the 13th general election," said Ambiga in a text message to The Malaysian Insider.

"We are ready to assist," said the former Bar Council chairman.

Bersih steering committee member Maria Chin Abdullah said the select committee's final recommendations should include feedback and views from the public.

Maria told The Malaysian Insider last night the government should poll views of Malaysians in the country before deciding on the said recommendations into the current electoral system.

"Bersih welcomes the parliamentary select committee but we want full transparency in the process.

"There should be public consultation, and it should be included in the final recommendations. The finalised report of the select committee should also be made available to the public," she said.

Maria said Bersih will give the parliamentary panel three months to "meet, discuss, and finalise" its report on electoral reform recommendations.

Posted: 14 Aug 2011 07:43 PM PDT

By Boo Su-Lyn, The Malaysian Insider

Deputy Higher Education Minister Datuk Saifuddin Abdullah contradicted his Umno colleagues today and said it was "shallow" to liken the July 9 Bersih rally to the last week's UK riots.

The outspoken Umno supreme council member added that such an argument reflected badly on Barisan Nasional (BN).

"You can't give shallow excuses because the new social consciousness will be asking you, 'What? Bersih is equal to riots in UK?" Saifuddin told The Malaysian Insider today.

"Why they do it is different, the people who join are different, the way they do it is different," he said when comparing the differences between the Bersih rally and the recent riots in the United Kingdom.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak reportedly said last Friday that the riots in the UK justified the clampdown on the massive July 9 rally for electoral reforms.

Home Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein told Malaysians last Thursday to be thankful that the Bersih rally did not end up becoming violent like the riots in London and other major English cities.

Today, Saifuddin also pointed out that the students who demonstrated in the UK last November were not looters, drawing further distinctions between demonstrations and riots.

"The demonstration... is against the (university) fee hike. They're not looters; they're not hooligans," said the Temerloh MP.

Saifuddin had previously criticised the government for failing to discuss terms with Bersih 2.0 electoral reforms movement before the July 9 rally here, warning that Najib would suffer a political backlash from the rally.

The recent London riots had spread across Britain with reports of youths looting shops and torching cars and buildings.

Community leaders there said the violence in London, the worst for decades in the multi-ethnic capital of 7.8 million people, was rooted in growing disparities in wealth and opportunity.

READ MORE HERE.

Malaysia vowed to improve refugee lot

Posted: 14 Aug 2011 07:36 PM PDT

By Michelle Draper, Sydney Morning Herald

Immigration Minister Chris Bowen says assurances Malaysia would improve its treatment of asylum seekers was a crucial factor behind the government's controversial people-swap deal, legal documents show.

In an affidavit filed but not yet read in the High Court, Mr Bowen said he took into account a range of advice from Malaysian officials, his department and the United Nations refugee agency UNHCR before deciding to send asylum seekers to Malaysia.

The full bench of the High Court will next Monday hear a legal challenge brought by refugee lawyers against the federal government's proposal to send asylum seekers to Malaysia in exchange for processed refugees.

In his affidavit, Mr Bowen said after eight months of discussions with Malaysian officials he formed a view the country had made a "significant conceptual shift" about its treatment of asylum seekers.

He said Malaysia had begun to improve the protections offered to refugees and asylum seekers and was also considering granting asylum seekers work rights.

"The understanding that I formed from my conversations with the Minister of Home Affairs and other Malaysian officials was that the Malaysian government was keen to improve its treatment of refugees and asylum seekers," he said in the affidavit.

Mr Bowen also said he had met with United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees officials and understood the refugee agency considered the arrangement had benefits and would be workable.

He had taken advice from his department which "reassured me that Malaysia did provide basic support and protection to asylum seekers," the affidavit said.

Refugee lawyer David Manne, who is representing 42 asylum seekers facing deportation, said the affidavit's contents were contentious.

"At the heart of it is the process by which the minister ... declared under Australian law that Malaysia is a place that is suitable to send asylum seekers to because it has adequate procedures, protections and human rights standards in place," Mr Manne told reporters outside the High Court in Melbourne, following a directions hearing for the matter.

"That is a matter of considerable controversy in the case, it is one of the key questions in this case," he said.

Mr Manne said it remained to be seen whether the new evidence in the affidavit was consistent with previous commonwealth evidence provided in the case.

It also emerged in Monday's hearing that the Australian Human Rights Commission will intervene in the case on behalf of a 16-year-old unaccompanied boy facing deportation to Malaysia.

The government's controversial people-swap deal was put on hold last week after refugee lawyers convinced the High Court to order an injunction against the first deportations of 16 asylum seekers.

The full bench of the High Court will hear the case next week before making a ruling as to whether the government's proposal is lawful.

Under the Gillard government's people swap deal, Australia will send 800 asylum seekers to Malaysia in exchange for 4000 processed refugees.

Labor MP breaks ranks on Malaysia deal

Posted: 14 Aug 2011 07:28 PM PDT

By ABC News

A Labor MP has broken ranks with the party over the Federal Government's Malaysia solution for the first time since the deal was signed, saying it cannot guarantee the safety of asylum seekers.

Anna Burke, the member for Chisholm in Victoria, told the ABC's Lyndal Curtis on News 24 she has concerns about Australia's asylum seeker swap deal with Malaysia on a personal level.

Her comments come as the full bench of the High Court prepares to hear a legal case next week challenging the Malaysian swap deal.

The Christmas Island centre is now holding more than 200 asylum seekers slated for transfer to Malaysia, but a High Court injunction on behalf of a group of asylum seekers has put the process in limbo.

Ms Burke says she has been to Christmas Island and there needs to be a proper debate about the issue.

"I am concerned that we can't really guarantee the safety of the 800 people [being sent to Malaysia]," she said.

"That is my personal concern and I have expressed that in caucus.

"I think we have to have a more rational debate about this asylum seeker crisis. I personally think Manus Island is basically going back to something we said we wouldn't do, which is the Pacific Solution."

Ms Burke first expressed her concerns in June and is not the only Labor MP to speak out against the deal.

Melissa Parke, the Federal MP for Fremantle, also said in June that she could not support a deal that was not backed by the United Nation's refugee agency.

High Court challenge

The legal stoush challenging the swap deal with Malaysia will go before the full bench of the High Court next Monday.

Lawyers are challenging the arrangement on behalf of 42 asylum seekers, who formed the first group that was to be sent to Malaysia.

The High Court injunction has prevented their transfer for the past two weeks.

Federal Immigration Minister Chris Bowen has given an affidavit to the court setting out how he came to the conclusion that he could legally send asylum seekers to Malaysia.

Frog and snake now political pawns

Posted: 14 Aug 2011 05:34 PM PDT

By G Vinod, FMT

PETALING JAYA: The slanging match between Malays rights group Perkesa and other political parties is putting the frog and the snake in a bad light.

The apolitical frog and snake have now being held up as a symbols of hatred by both Perkasa and the MIC.

Bukit Bintang MIC division chief S Ananthan brought a frog to the MIC annual general meeting last month, claiming that it represents Perkasa chief, Ibrahim Ali.

Yesterday, Perkasa members torched several copies of The Star for offending Muslims by including non-halal delicacies in its "Ramadan Delights" column.

And for good measure, they also burned rubber snakes in retaliation against Ananthan's frog stunt.

"He brought a frog, so we brought snakes to represent the community," Perkasa Youth chief Irwan Fahmi Ideris said in an online news portal.

But today Ananthan thanked Irwan for relating the snake with the community.

"The Chinese and Indians believe snakes are divine creatures. So thank you, Irwan, for calling us divine," he said.

Blatantly racist

Ananthan is angry because no action has been taken against Ibrahim for being so blatantly racist and inciting racial tension.

He told FMT that since the authorities are keeping silent, the movement obviously enjoyed immunity from criminal charges.

"With many reports lodged against it, the police are reluctant to clamp down on Perkasa. This shows Umno is behind the movement," said Ananthan.

He warned the Umno leadership that its indifference towards Perkasa's tirades would only alienate the Chinese and Indians further from the ruling coalition.

"The Malay votes are already split among Umno, PAS and PKR. You need the Chinese and Indians," said Ananthan.

DAP Selangor legal bureau chief V Ganabatirao echoed Ananthan's sentiments, saying that BN would pay a high price in the polls for its tacit support of Perkasa.

'Uncivilised behaviour'

"While the six PSM members were detained for no reason, the home ministry and the police seem to be powerless against a small group like Perkasa," said Ganabatirao.

READ MORE HERE.

What’s Firefly’s role after tie-up?

Posted: 14 Aug 2011 05:26 PM PDT

By Kang Siew Li, The Sun

PETALING JAYA (Aug 14, 2011): The unprecedented tie-up between Malaysia Airlines (MAS) and rivals AirAsia and AirAsia X last week has thrust the future of Firefly – the budget carrier of the national airline – into the limelight.

Even Firefly's top executives are in the dark over the role the budget carrier will play in this tie-up although there is talk of the airline exiting the low-cost segment.

Senior executives from MAS and AirAsia have so far only said MAS will focus on premium travel, AirAsia on the short-haul low-cost segment and AirAsia X the medium- and long-haul budget segment under the comprehensive collaboration framework (CCF).

"Firefly's resources would be refocused to launch a new regional full service airline operation," MAS chairman Tan Sri Md Nor Yusof had said at the press conference, but did not elaborate.

"What does regional mean? Will it (Firefly) cover countries in Asean, Asia or Asia-Pacific? Will it continue to operate a mix of turboprops and jets or only turboprops? Will it be like Silk Air, the full service regional airline wing of Singapore Airlines?" asked an industry observer.

When contacted by SunBiz, Firefly managing director Datuk Eddy Leong said he doesn't know.

"I don't know yet. Until we are asked to do something else by MAS's new executive committee (set up to oversee the management of the airline until a new managing director is appointed), our operations must proceed as normal," he said.

Firefly began its operations in 2007, initially operating turboprops from Subang before expanding into jet aircraft operation out of the KL International Airport (KLIA) early this year. It currently operates a fleet of 10 ATR 72-500 turboprops, four Boeing 737-800s and one 737-400.

The rise of Firefly has intensified the competition and rivalry between MAS and AirAsia, and has hurt yields for AirAsia, especially on routes from KLIA to Kuching and Kota Kinabalu.

Maybank Investment Bank believes that Firefly's jet operation days are numbered and that its turbo-prop operations will be rebranded as a full service regional service.

"There will only be one full service carrier (MAS) and one low-cost carrier (AirAsia) in Malaysia, while AirAsia X will focus on being a medium-to-long haul low-cost carrier," the research firm said in a report.

"There will be a clear demarcation of clientele and the business overlap will be reduced to benign. MAS's short-haul full service carrier business may be undertaken through a new subsidiary by the name of Sapphire, and MAS has the flexibility to re-designate capacity, assets and resources from Firefly to Sapphire," it added.

Some analysts believe that Firefly will exit the low-cost segment by the first quarter of next year, thereby reducing the overall competitive pricing pressures and be positive for yields.

However, Standard & Poor's aviation analyst Shukor Yusof said it would not make sense for MAS's new management to hive off its budget business into a new subsidiary.

"Why? I can't think of a reason why you would want to remove a unit that is showing promise and actually making profits. The Firefly brand is doing quite well. I would seriously question the rationale behind completely removing Firefly from the present operations," he told SunBiz.

Shukor believes that Firefly would still do well with its fleet of turboprops, offering premium travel in the Asean region.

"After all, it was created in the first place to fly domestically and to Singapore. It should not be a problem," he said.

"There's still a lot of uncertainties as a result of the (MAS-AirAsia) partnership. There are many questions that have yet to be answered, but in due course they will have to explain how they are going to rationalise not just the fleet and the operations, but the staff," he added.

Anwar to enter defense on Aug 22

Posted: 14 Aug 2011 05:21 PM PDT

(Malaysian Digest) - The High Court today has set next Monday for Opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim to enter his defense on a sodomy charge.

The court also allowed his legal team a chance to interview six more witnesses.

Justice Mohd Zabidin Mohd Diah said Anwar will have to enter defense next Monday no matter what the outcome of the interview.

"Whatever the outcome of the interview, come Monday you will have to enter defense," said Zabidin.

Only 19 have been interviewed so far by Anwar's legal team from 25 names which included Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak and his wife Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor who both had refused to be interviewed on the reason that the move was politically motivated.

On May 16, Mohamad Zabidin ordered Anwar to enter his defense after ruling that the latter's former aide, Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan, the complainant in the case, was a truthful and credible witness.

Anwar, 63, pleaded not guilty in the Sessions Court on Aug 7, 2008, to committing carnal intercourse against the order of nature at the Desa Damansara Condominium in Bukit Damansara between 3:10pm and 4:30pm on June 26 of the same year.

Earlier nearly 20 people from Gerakan Anti Liwat 2.0 (Geli) protested outside the Jalan Duta Court demanding Anwar who is also the Permatang Pauh MP to not continuously delay his sodomy trial.

The group was seen chanting out "reformasi", "dilarang meliwat" (sodomy not permitted), "sekiranya meliwat kena tangkap dengan polis" (sodomites must be arrested), "sekiranya meliwat masuk penjara" (sodomites must be jailed) and "hancur liwat" (eradicate sodomy) as Anwar arrived at the court.

Members of the group also brought banners written with "Justice for Saiful", "We Will Be With You Forever', "Justice Delay Justice Deny", "Selamatkan Malaysia Dari Peliwat 2.0" Save Malaysia from Sodomite 2.0), and "Mahkamah (Keadilan) Dipermainkan Peliwat 2.0" [Court (Justice) Got Played by Soodomite 2.0].

‘Only three states for BN-Umno’

Posted: 14 Aug 2011 04:39 PM PDT

Barisan Nasional has lost 80% of the younger generation voters.

(Free Malaysia Today) - Former Finance Minister Daim Zainuddin is pessimistic about the future of Barisan Nasional. He believes that BN can say its comfortable but only in Johore, Malacca and Pahang.

But even in Pahang, a few parliamentary seats will slip out of BN's grasps as with a few more state seats.

But overall, Daim believes Pahang will remain under BN, according to his alter ego The Oracle of Syed Putra, with whom I recently conversed.

And if I am at liberty to translate the body language of The Oracle, Daim is also pessimistic about the political fortunes of Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak.

I am sure that I've heard the same disconcerting vibrations from former premier Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad himself.

The Oracle said Daim's exhortations to the two top leaders (Najib and deputy prime minister Muhyiddin Yassin) to go down and meet up with the cawangan (division) people is unheeded.

"Meeting with Ketua Bahagians can be a misleading source of information, they will tell of everything good and what they have done with a view of getting re-elected.

"But you need to go down to the basics – listen to the views in the raw (yourself). If possible exclude the ketua bahagians.

"But they (Najib and Muhyiddin) haven't done this.

"The PM is busy with his overseas trip. The DPM will not move lest whatever actions he takes will be misconstrued as upstaging the boss.

"And that can cause some internal upheavals in Umno," said the Oracle.

Losing battle

Speaking further the Orcale said Umno and BN have lost their influence over the younger generation.

Eighty percent of the younger voters are not going to vote for the BN.

I asked the Oracle if he thought Umno could win the battles in cyberspace?

And this is what he said: "Just look at the articles being spewed by the Umno cyber troopers.

"Some of them are stuck with the idea that the PM of Malaysia is still Dr Mahathir and so their articles will be tailored to suit the positions taken by Dr Mahathir.

"You watch – Dr Mahathir hasn't spoken his true mind (yet) about the Najib administration.

"Once he does that all hell will break loose," he said adding that one reason for Mahathir's 'silence' is the restraint counselled by Daim.

The majority of the Umno cybertroopers are spewing hate articles all the time with the expletives and vitriol.

Will these engage the fence-sitters; those independent minded thinking would-be voters?

READ MORE HERE

‘Evil’ BN injected voters into Sibu

Posted: 14 Aug 2011 03:59 PM PDT

By Joseph Tawie, FMT

KUCHING: Sarawak DAP has accused the Barisan Nasional (BN) of resorting to "evil means" in order to recapture the parliamentary seat of Sibu, which the opposition won in last year's by-election.

It alleged that the BN had employed dirty tactics such "injecting" or increasing normal and postal votes and registering non-citizens as voters in an attempt to take back Sibu in the by-election last May.

In the polls, DAP chairman Wong Ho Leng snatched the seat from BN-Sarawak United People's Party (SUPP) by a small margin of 398 votes.

"We have managed to find out in Sibu that there was an unexplained and sudden increase of voters in certain areas as well as the registration of non-citizens as voters.

"We found that there were many voters who were registered in the electoral rolls, but their names did not appear in the database of National Registration Department (NRD).

"For the record, Dudong has 27 individuals registered in the electoral rolls, but their names were not found in the NRD head office.

"In Pelawan, the number was 21 and Nangka had 36. For other areas we are going to check the national registration database and match it with the electoral rolls," Wong said after chairing the Sate DAP committee meeting yesterday.

He said the Election Commission (EC) must explain the discrepancy.

"The EC must explain why these individuals were being registered in the electoral rolls. Did it mean that the non-citizens have been registered as voters?

"We also want to know the unexplained increase of voters in Nangka which saw an increase of 497 voters…

"This is disproportionate to the increase in other constituencies like Bukit Assek where we saw a decrease of 50 voters, Dudong with an increase of 291, Bawan Assan 121 and Palawan 345," said Wong who is the State assemblyman for Bukit Assek.

READ MORE HERE.

Ambiga tells of her ‘lawyerly revolt’

Posted: 14 Aug 2011 03:46 PM PDT

By Clare Rewcastle Brown, FMT

Over the weekend, Bersih 2.0 chairman Ambiga Sreenivasan drew a big draw in London, bringing enthusiastic audiences to a fund-raising dinner and to listen to speeches.

The Bersih 2.0 rally had produced an excellent sympathy turnout over here in July, with several hundred marchers clad in yellow making the walk from the Malaysian High Commission over to Trafalgar Square.

The time difference between the two regions made the London event especially poignant, because by the time it got going news had already come through about what had happened to friends back home.

This weekend was the first chance for many to receive a first-hand account of what took place and from the leader of the event herself.

Ambiga manages a rare combination. She is a highly formidable female, but also warm and engaging.

She laid out with clarity and objectivity why she had led her lawyerly revolt.

For us who had been so far away it was a welcome analysis.

Bersih's concerns had been sparked off by their observation of the Sarawak state election, she explained.

To their horror they witnessed "the dirtiest election ever" with "out and out vote buying", "intimidation", "phantom votes" and all the paraphernalia of rigged elections.

The fact that modern technology meant there was solid, recorded evidence of plenty of cheating meant that, in Ambiga's view, the Election Commission had a constitutional duty to investigate and take action.

However, to her dismay the Election Commission did nothing.

EC's wilful ignorance

As a former leader of the Malaysian Bar Council, Ambiga couches her arguments in the language of the law and not politics.

Throughout (her speech), she made clear that her core concerns are about the abuse of legality and of Malaysia's constitution.

She explained how Bersih had appealed to all political parties on the issue, but that support had come only from the opposition.

Yet, her most withering criticism was directed towards officials of the Election Commission for their persistent attacks on the opposition and their refusal to investigate fraud.

"The Election Commissioners just don't understand that under the constitution they are supposed to be independent of the government," she sighed.

There can be nothing more frustrating for a lawyer than such wilful ignorance by those who have responsibility for upholding the rule of law.

Posted: 14 Aug 2011 03:43 PM PDT

By Lisa J Ariffin, The Malaysian Insider

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 15 — The Election Commission (EC) has no intention of cleaning the existing electoral roll with its statement that there are no clean voter lists across the world, PAS information chief Datuk Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man said today.

He added that EC chairman Tan Sri Abdul Aziz Mohd Yusof's remark "there is no clean electoral roll in the world" is similar to the Malay folklore figure Pak Pandir who said "not only our children will pass away, other people's children will also pass away".

"This statement reflects the real attitude of the EC, which has no direct intention to favour the people and vigorously clean the existing electoral roll," Tuan Ibrahim said in a statement.

He noted that the EC had been obstinate about denying its weaknesses over the years but pressure from the opposition has led it to acknowledge there are deficiencies in the electoral roll.

But Tuan Ibrahim said the confession is far from sincere with Abdul Aziz blaming "technical errors that occurred during the process of the National Registration Department (JPN) profiling".

"The electoral roll has about 12.3 million voters and there would be mistakes here and there, the whole world will have the same problem ... there is no perfect electoral list in the world," Abdul Aziz had said.

"All that's happened was not planned by the EC. The EC will not simply allow voters to vote twice. Sometimes, it goes wrong during the profiling (by JPN). We will check if it's in the wrong place, if so, we will throw it out," Abdul Aziz said amid a backlash from evidence presented by the opposition such as registered foreign voters, overlapping names, phantom voters and names of voters not present on the JPN list.

"EC's confession is clear why Bersih 2.0 was held, and now people are seeing its results," said Tuan Ibrahim, who is also Pahang PAS commissioner.

He added that although the EC and Umno continue to portray the Bersih 2.0 rally negatively, people have started to open their eyes and see how dirty the election system is with thousands of foreigners given voting rights so easily.

Posted: 14 Aug 2011 03:40 PM PDT

By Yow Hong Chieh, The Malaysian Insider

PAS has called the MAS-AirAsia share swap and the Cabinet's "off-site" settlement of lawsuits against the national carrier's former executive chairman Tan Sri Tajuddin Ramli the "manifestation" of Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad's failed privatisation programmes.

PAS vice-president Datuk Mahfuz Omar said the two recent headline-grabbing stories linked to Malaysia Airlines System Bhd (MAS) were the "two greatest symbols" of the former prime minister's alleged policy of privatising state-owned companies for the benefit of cronies.

"These two are greatest symbols of cronyism and corruption along the lines of 'who do you know' and 'you help me I help you'," he told reporters here.

Mahfuz pointed out even though Dr Mahathir has been in retirement for seven years now, the loss of competition in the airline industry resulting from the share swap and the potential out-of-court settlement with Tajuddin meant the people were still paying the price of the Umno strongman's 22 years in power.

He said MAS had once been an airline "owned by the people" whose service was on par with Singapore Airlines and Cathay Pacific before it was allegedly bled by Tajuddin after the latter took control of the ailing state carrier in 1994.

"Ownership was transferred from the people to an individual, Tajuddin, who lost RM8 billion with no accountability even though there was an effort to charge him," he said.

The government regained control of MAS in 2001, but not before the airline allegedly incurred losses in excess of RM8 billion as a result of Tajuddin's dealings.

According to a report to the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC), a major contributor to the record losses under Tajuddin was the relocation of MAS's cargo operation in Amsterdam and Frankfurt to a single hub in Hahn, Germany, where the airline was forced to enter into a disadvantageous aircraft lease contract with a company which was later linked to Tajuddin's family.

The Malaysian Insider had reported that Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz issued a letter earlier this month telling all GLCs that the government was settling their claims with Tajuddin out of court.

Tajuddin is facing billions in legal claims against him, following accusations by MAS in 2002 that he had caused the carrier to suffer losses in excess of RM8 billion.

Nazri's letter had called for "all civil claims against Tajuddin and others to be withdrawn immediately in view of the fact that the government and the Finance Ministry have agreed that the said cases will be settled out of court."

READ MORE HERE.

MACC probe uncovers 6P scammers

Posted: 14 Aug 2011 01:38 PM PDT

By Tim Leonard & Azril Annuar, The Sun

The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) probe into the 6P amnesty programme has uncovered a syndicate headed by a 'Datuk' which is believed to have raked in millions of ringgit from unsuspecting foreigners.

A senior MACC investigations officer disclosed that the probe found that thousands of foreigners had each paid the syndicate members between RM300 and RM2,000 purportedly to ensure they are granted amnesty and legalisation.

"To convince the foreigners, the syndicate members showed photographs of those who had purportedly received amnesty after paying the specified amount," said the official.

It is believed that more than 10,000 foreign workers all over the country have fallen prey to the syndicate, whose members go around claiming to be officials appointed by the authorities and wear 'government' accreditation tags.

The MACC official revealed that the syndicate members had also collected money from foreign women involved in the flesh trade, and had offered them 'amnesty' for between RM300 and RM2,000.

"We have found several leads on how the 6P programme is being manipulated and abused by unscrupulous individuals misusing the government's name," the official said.

MACC director of investigations Datuk Mustafar Ali was unavailable for immediate comment but is expected to issue a statement later this week on the developments of the 6P amnesty probe.

The Immigration Department is currently conducting the 6P programme to register and identify all legal and illegal foreign workers in the country.

The first phase – the registration of foreign workers – is ongoing until Aug 31 and the second phase which is legalisation and amnesty, will kick off next month.

Illegal foreign workers registering with any one of the 336 appointed agencies are required to pay RM 35 for registration in the first phase, and RM 300 for legalisation in the second phase.

Last week, Home Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein had welcomed the probe by MACC and urged the anti-graft body to take stern action on those abusing the 6P amnesty exercise.

Hishammuddin said an investigation was important to eradicate corrupt practices and cripple syndicates who are out to exploit the situation at the expense of the illegal foreign workers despite the government's directive to charge not more than RM35 per head, for registration purposes.

Meanwhile, Home Ministry secretary-general Tan Sri Mahmood Adam said today that agencies appointed to facilitate biometric registration of illegal foreign workers who have already charged them the legalisation fee of RM300 per worker, will be required to refund the money should a worker's legalisation process fail.

He said as the legalisation process will only start in September, only the RM35 registration fee is applicable for now.

"These unscrupulous agents should not have started charging the workers the legalisation fee yet," he told theSun.

"Legalisation has not started yet, why are they already charging these poor people? What happens if these (illegal foreign) workers fail in applying for the legalisation process? These agents must return the money to them."

"What guarantee do these agents have that these workers can secure a job and be legalised in the first place? They might be sent back to their country of origin," said Mahmood, who reiterated that registration and legalisation process at immigration offices are free of charge.

Asked to comment on the 600 biometric registration machines reportedly found to have been tampered with by a number of agencies last week, Mahmood said he had no update yet on the investigation as it was the weekend.

AirAsia boss poised to take over QPR today

Posted: 14 Aug 2011 12:36 PM PDT

By Boo Su-Lyn, The Malaysian Insider

AirAsia chief Tan Sri Tony Fernandes is close to taking majority control of English Premiership football club Queens Park Rangers (QPR) today.

UK newspapers The Financial Times and the Guardian reported today that the owner of Asia's largest low-cost airline hopes to conclude a deal to buy a 51 per cent stake in the West London club from Formula One motor racing chief Bernie Ecclestone.

The Financial Times said Indian steel magnate Lakshmi Mittal, who already owns a 33 per cent stake in QPR, will acquire the rest of Ecclestone's 62 per cent share.

The Guardian also reported former Brazil coach and captain Dunga claiming that the Premier League club owed him £750,000 (RM3.75 million).

AirAsia recently finalised a share swap with MAS, where the former's main shareholder Tune Air Sdn Bhd will swap 10 per cent stake in the budget carrier for 20.5 per cent share of the ailing flag carrier.

READ MORE HERE.

DAP wants SC action over Tajuddin suits

Posted: 14 Aug 2011 12:25 PM PDT

By Shannon Teoh, The Malaysian Insider

The DAP has called on the Securities Commission (SC) to act against GLCs which have been ordered to drop billion-ringgit civil suits against Tan Sri Tajuddin Ramli for failing to reveal all material developments in their claims against the former Malaysia Airlines (MAS) chairman.

Party publicity chief Tony Pua said in a statement today that Putrajaya's directive to withdraw their claims should have been immediately disclosed on Bursa Malaysia as "the litigations involved billions of ringgit in claims and counter-claims which are surely material to the finances of these companies."

"The board of directors of these companies must also immediately state their immediate position vis-à-vis the letter from Nazri to allow investors, particularly the minority shareholders, to weigh their investment options," the Petaling Jaya Utara MP said.

Tajuddin is presently facing billions in legal claims against him, following accusations by MAS in 2002 that he had caused the carrier to suffer losses in excess of RM8 billion.

Nazri's letter had called for "all civil claims against Tan Sri Dato Tajuddin Ramli and others to be withdrawn immediately in view of the fact that the government and the Finance Ministry have agreed that the said cases will be settled out of court."

"For your information the government has given me the mandate to act for the government in this matter," it added, directing these companies to hand over their cases to Datuk Hafarizam Harun, who has handled other high-profile cases for Umno such as the constitutional crisis over its takeover of Perak in 2009.

But after his letter surfaced, Nazri defended the administration's move, saying it would not spell a debt bailout for Tajuddin but was merely a suggestion to the GLCs to work out an out-of-court settlement with the former MAS chairman.

Posted: 14 Aug 2011 12:20 PM PDT

By Shazwan Mustafa Kamal, The Malaysian Insider

Datuk Seri Najib Razak risks drifting further away from the centre if he does not deliver on his reform initiatives and continues to "pacify" right-wingers, analysts have warned.

Pundits have charged that Najib has been moving away from a centrist position since taking office as prime minister in 2009, saying his indecisiveness in carrying out policies mirrored that of his predecessor Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.

Delayed economic reforms, the New Economic Model's (NEM) watered-down emphasis on competitiveness in its final version, coupled with Najib's (picture) poor handling of the July 9 Bersih are instances where the PM has been accused of placating the demands of right-wing groups as well as members within Umno.

"In the long run Najib is moving to the right, and is running a big risk. Not everyone supports right-wing sentiments.

"There is credence to the arguments that Najib is drifting away from the centre. Despite his proposals for reform and overtures to the non-Malay community, these are still in traction," said Merdeka Center director Ibrahim Suffian.

Ibrahim believes that not much has changed since Najib introduced his government transformation programmes, pointing out that the results have not "trickled down" to the public.

The polls expert stated that economy was the ultimate determining factor as to future voter support, and that turbulent economic times would not bode well for the PM.

"It is in part driven by necessity, Najib is trying to protect his current support, he can't push for reforms at the expense of Malay support base within Umno," Ibrahim added.

Using the recent Bersih 2.0 rally as an example, Ibrahim said Najib should have taken a more moderate position and allowed space for dissent by listening to the election watchdog.

"He has to be seen as a prime minister for all Malaysians," said Ibrahim.

The Malaysian Insider understands that Najib has fallen out with several key advisers over the government's security crackdown during the rally. A few liberal advisers have been sidelined while those with right-wing sentiments feel the prime minister should take a harder line.

Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (Unimas) academic Dr Faizal Hazis concurred with Ibrahim's views, saying that although Najib had promised a "moderate, centrist" government administration, there was a lack of will on the part of Najib to carry through his plans.

"In trying to placate all parties, Najib is drifting away from the centre.

"There is no strong will to see the initiatives through, especially on the part of Umno," Faizal told The Malaysian Insider.

The simplest example, said the academic was Najib's refusal recently to state whether he was a proponent of his own two-year-old 1 Malaysia policy that espouses being "Malaysian first" — for fear of contradicting his deputy Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin.

READ MORE HERE.

Kredit: www.malaysia-today.net

Selasa, 16 Ogos 2011

Malaysia Today - Your Source of Independent News

Malaysia Today - Your Source of Independent News

Malaysia Today - Your Source of Independent News

Malaysia Today - Your Source of Independent News

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