Selasa, 12 November 2013

Malaysia Today - Your Source of Independent News

0 ulasan 3:05 PTG Dicatat oleh blog2

Klik GAMBAR Dibawah Untuk Lebih Info

Sumber Asal Berita :-

Malaysia Today - Your Source of Independent News

Kalabakan Wanita Umno to hold re-election on Nov 16
Ex-Teratai rep Jenice Lee sues DAP deputy chief
Catholic Church asks 26 questions in Allah appeal at apex court
Maria is next Bersih chairperson
Islamist activist to Marina: Tell ‘underlings’ to stop human rights ‘nonsense’
Rescue public discourse from ‘mass stupidity’, Zaid urges Putrajaya
Sworn statement on Gani’s alleged misdeeds out due to Putrajaya inaction, says former top cop

Kalabakan Wanita Umno to hold re-election on Nov 16

Posted: 11 Nov 2013 08:36 PM PST

(The Star) - Kalabakan Umno Wanita division that was hit by resignations almost immediately after last month's party polls has been ordered to hold re-elections on Nov 16.

However, all 14 of the 15 elected members, who resigned in protest over the election process, would not be allowed to contest, Kalabakan Umno division chief Datuk Abdul Ghapur Salleh said.

He said the Umno supreme council made the decision for the 14 vacancies to be filled through an extra-ordinary general meeting this Saturday.

They will be holding the meeting and we will abide by the decision of the supreme council, Ghapur said.

The 14 elected members, led by Suriyani Lamai announced their sudden resignations on Oct 16, four days after they won various positions in the committee during the elections that saw incumbent chief Datuk Hamisa Samad losing to Cahaya Sulaiman while the vice-chief's post was won by Noraini Abdul Ghapur.

Hamisa's faction claimed that while 825 Wanita delegates were entitled to vote, only 764 attended the Oct 12 meeting.

Hamisa's faction, however, lodged a complaint over the results, claiming there was an excess of 47 ballots.

Hamisa had obtained 384 votes compared to 417 by Cahaya while there were 10 spoilt votes.

Apart from Suriyani, other Kalabakan Wanita Umno executive members who quit were Hindun Abu Bakar Titingan, Masnah Lama, Astika Tahir, Nurida AbuBakar, Zainab @ Jainab Ali, Shaniah Sampar, Norizan Omar, Juo Amin, Fatimah Abdullah, Sofiah Daud, Asiah Indobeche and Muliati Engkeng.

Ex-Teratai rep Jenice Lee sues DAP deputy chief

Posted: 11 Nov 2013 03:29 PM PST

(The Star) - Former Teratai assemblyman Jenice Lee Ying Ha is suing DAP deputy chairman Tan Kok Wai for allegedly accusing her of having committed misconduct.

Lee said Tan had defamed her during the GE13 campaigning period when he held a press conference at Taman Muda market on April 23.

She said that Tan, who is DAP disciplinary committee chairman, made a statement alleging she committed abuse of power, embezzlement, corruption and conflict of interest.

She said the statement containing defamatory words against her was published in Chinese newspapers and on the Internet, adding that Tan had failed to take any reasonable actions to verify the accuracy of his statement.

Lee said Tan knew that the statement would tarnish her reputation and good name when she was contesting as an independent candidate for Teratai state seat.

She said the statement implied that she was immoral, arrogant and should not be elected by voters.

In her statement of claim, Lee said her solicitor had sent a letter of demand, dated Sept 19, to Tan asking him to retract his statement and later apologise to her but he failed to show any remorse.

She said Tan instead had use his position to issue a show cause letter and terminate her membership with the party on Oct 7 and Oct 30 respectively.

Lee is seeking general, aggravated and exemplary damages and an injunction to stop Tan from repeating the libel against her in any manner.

Besides that, Lee also applied to the court for Tan to publish an apology in five Chinese newspapers, and for interest and costs.

Her lawyer Michael Wong told reporters here that the defamation suit was filed at the High Court civil registry at 9.06am Monday.

Speaking to reporters here, Lee said she and her family have been suffering unfair misunderstanding from the public due to the statement.

"I have initiated the civil proceedings to ask the court to hear and adjudicate this case in order to restore my reputation and integrity," said Lee.

Catholic Church asks 26 questions in Allah appeal at apex court

Posted: 11 Nov 2013 03:23 PM PST

V Anbalagan, TMI

The Catholic Church has taken the fight to use the word Allah to the next level, seeking answers to 26 questions on the Federal Constitution, administrative law as well as the power of the court to allow the Home Minister to ban the use of a theological word.

These questions were part of the application filed by the lawyers for the church, seeking leave to appear before the Federal Court to challenge the Court of Appeal's ruling on the Allah issue.

On October 14, a three-member bench led by Datuk Seri Mohamed Apandi Ali, which allowed Putrajaya's appeal to ban the Catholic weekly, Herald, from using the word, said there was a 1986 directive by the Home Ministry that prohibited non-Muslim publications from using four words – Allah, Kaabah, Solat and Baitullah.

The Herald has been in publication since 1994 and ministry officials had admonished the publisher and issued showcause letters for the failure to comply with the directive.

Apandi in his judgment said the reason for the prohibition was to protect the sanctity of Islam and prevent any confusion among Muslims. He also ruled that if the word is allowed to be used by Christians, it could threaten national security and public order.

Further to that, the court said the prohibition was reasonable on grounds that the word Allah was not an integral part of the Christian faith and practice.

The decision sparked an outcry among Christians, and other non-Muslims, in the peninsula and East Malaysia.

The constitutional questions framed by the church's lawyers were to debate on Islam as the religion of the federation, freedom of speech, religion and the right to religious education.

The questions on administrative law centred on the home minister's power. The questions also pointed out that the minister's decision to ban the weekly publication from using the word Allah was illegal and irrational.

The church has also raised issues on the power of the court to allow the minister to ban the word based on theology.

Counsel for the church will now serve the court papers to Putrajaya and seven other Muslim organisations who are parties to the application.

The Federal Court registry would then proceed to fix a case management date so that all parties are agreeable to a suitable day to hear the leave application to appeal the ruling.

Lawyers said the church should have no problem in obtaining leave as novel legal questions, raised for the first time and which are of public importance, would have been drafted.

READ MORE HERE

Maria is next Bersih chairperson

Posted: 11 Nov 2013 02:47 PM PST

As the only one nominated to contest for the top post, Maria Chin has won uncontested.

Alyaa Azhar, FMT

Come December Bersih steering committee member Maria Chin Abdullah will take over the helm from current co-chairpersons S Ambiga and A Samad Said with no one else nominated for the post.

Elections for the steering committee is on Nov 30.

Announcing the details of the elections today, Kuala Lumpur and Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall secretary-general Stanley Yong said Maria was the only candidate nominated for the top post and that she had won uncontested.

Other than Maria, four other national level Bersih steering committee members will be elected on Nov 30 in the Petaling Jaya Community Library while six regional representatives will be elected after the national level election.

Sixteen representatives from Bersih's endorsing organisations will be electing the five individuals as office bearers.

Each endorsing organisation is eligible as one voter and is required to name one voting representative who will cast the ballots on its behalf.

"Each organisation may also send up to two observer delegates to accompany the voter," said Yong.

As for the nominees, Islamic Renaissance Front (IRF) founder Dr Ahmad Farouk Musa will face Pemantau coordinator Syed Ibrahim Syed Noh for the vice chairperson post.

Sisters in Islam (SIS) board member Masjaliza Hamzah and Pertubuhan IKRAM Malaysia (Ikram) central executive committee member Nahar Md Nor will vie for the treasurer position.

Five people have been nominated for the steering committee members with portfolio positions. However, only two will be elected.

These people include Suaram chairperson K Arumugam, Tindak Malaysia's Ng Chak Ngoon, Suaram Ops Scorpene Team committee member Farhana Halim, Bersih steering committee member Hishamuddin Rais and lawyer New Sin Yew.

Transparent election

Meanwhile, three individuals sit on the committee that will oversee the polls.

Other than Yong, senior human rights lawyer Roger Chan and former member of the Human Rights Commission Muhammad Sha'ani Abdullah will oversee the running of the national level steering committee election.

Posted: 11 Nov 2013 11:45 AM PST

(MM) - Datin Paduka Marina Mahathir has been challenged by an Islamist activist to censure her fellow Sisters in Islam (SIS) members for their involvement in a human rights coalition said to be spreading "liberalism" and threatening Islam's position in the country.

Dr Muhammad Hasbullah from Ikatan Muslimin Malaysia (Isma) claimed the legal action threat by Marina against his organisation showed she was troubled to be named as one of the "masterminds" behind the Coalition of Malaysian NGOs in the Universal Periodic Review Process (Comango).

"It would be more convincing if she slams those in SIS who are involved in the coalition. But no, she did not. If she is so angry to be related to the coalition, she should be angry that her group is involved in it too," he said in a statement yesterday.

Muhammad claimed that just by being a board member of SIS, is "evidence enough" that Marina was involved with Comango, and rejected her argument that she was isolated from the action of her "subordinates".

"If you are not happy about it, tell the media. Tell your underlings to stop this nonsense. We cannot read your mind. State your stand," he said.

Rescue public discourse from ‘mass stupidity’, Zaid urges Putrajaya

Posted: 11 Nov 2013 11:43 AM PST

(MM) - As a growing chorus of extremism threatens to dominate public dialogue, former minister Datuk Zaid Ibrahim said Putrajaya must coax reason and sensibility back into local politics for Malaysians of all races to once more communicate intelligently with each other.

Saying that political discourse has devolved into "mass stupidity", the former de facto law minister warned of the consequences of allowing public exchanges to be dictated by those whom he described as aloof to views and ideologies different from their own.

"Today, the prime minister cannot expect Perkasa and Utusan (Malaysia) to talk intelligently to the public on many issues. They are not interested in engaging those with whom they disagree," Zaid said, who added that the Malay rights group has so far responded to his previous invitations for a public debate by calling him names.

"I hope the prime minister realises the dangers posed by mass stupidity and the lack of reason in political discourse. He must know that in Europe today, the fascists are doing essentially the same thing as Utusan and Perkasa."

In an essay made available to The Malay Mail Online, Zaid enumerated instances of creeping fascism in Europe that he likened to his examples of the Malay rights group and Umno-owned newspaper Utusan Malaysia.

"Geert Wilders in Holland leads the Party for Freedom. His popularity is increasing and he became famous worldwide when he threatened to ban the Quran and expel Muslims because he thought they were responsible for the present difficulties of Europe," he said.

Zaid also pointed to Greece's Golden Dawn party, which he said openly blamed the country's economic problems on Muslims and migrant workers while ignoring the effects of extravagant policies, an overdependence on tourism, corruption and a bloated civil service.

Another example was the storm in a teacup caused by Danish People's Party leader Kristian Dahl over an apparent ban on pork meatballs in the country as a sign of respect for Muslims.

"He (Dahl) said that this was an example of how Denmark was losing its identity. He didn't reveal that only a small number of cafeterias had stopped serving pork — but he wants to be a hero, so logic and sensibility are discarded," said Zaid.

The former Cabinet minister is outspoken on the matter of growing extremism in Malaysia, having previously warned of the seductive dangers of fascism.

He said such groups often preyed on the young and disenfranchised by offering them the easy escape of blaming others for their own situations, which he likened to the Nazism behind the Second World War.

Yesterday, Zaid urged Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak to grasp the menace of extremism in Malaysia and take steps to rein in the vitriol that is becoming the norm.

"He needs to slowly teach the art of being reasonable to his supporters in Utusan and elsewhere, and how to use their heads when faced with problems.

"The country must learn to engage the various issues of the day in an open and friendly way. We need to learn that our problems affect us all and that we must overcome them by peaceful discourse together," said Zaid.

Coincidentally, Najib earlier yesterday called on the country's "silent majority" to drown out the voices of extremism, and said diversity should be celebrated and the right to co-exist should be defended.

"We cannot afford to allow voices of extremism to dominate the political discourse. It is time for the silent majority to drown out the calls to violence, to reject extremism," he said during his keynote address at the Asian Peace and Reconciliation Council/ ISIS Malaysia: Dialogue on Diversity, Diplomacy and Peace here at the Marriott Hotel.

Malaysia is generally peaceful, but pockets of political as well as race- and religion-based groups purporting to defend their individual interests have caused tension among the country's multicultural community.

Although critics have dismissed these as fringe elements and not an embodiment of the largely moderate Malays, political observers and analysts noted that rights groups such as Perkasa has muscled into political significance in the country.

An ongoing legal tussle over the Arabic word "Allah" between Muslims and Christians has also served to magnify the apparent religious friction and provide a platform for self-professed defenders of faith to gain traction for their apparent fight for religion.

Sworn statement on Gani’s alleged misdeeds out due to Putrajaya inaction, says former top cop

Posted: 11 Nov 2013 11:38 AM PST

(TMI) - He promised more disclosures soon and said he was also mulling the possibility of having the statutory declaration (SD) tendered in court.

Datuk Mat Zain Ibrahim has revealed the alleged wrongdoings of Tan Sri Abdul Gani Patail (pic, left) after Putrajaya failed to act on the retired senior police officer's statutory declaration which contained a litany of complaints against the Attorney General.

Mat Zain's initial revelation about the meeting with former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad and Umno lawyer Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah on Gani's failings only amounted to two pages of his 31-page sworn statement.

He promised more disclosures soon and said he was also mulling the possibility of having the statutory declaration (SD) tendered in court.

"Since my SD was made in accordance with the Statutory Declaration Act 1960 it can be used in any judicial proceeding, civil or criminal. In that manner the SD will be considered a public document," the former Kuala Lumpur CID chief told The Malaysian Insider.

"Putrajaya had received my SD more than a month ago but they have not acted on it. They have chosen to remain silent."

Copies of his SD, which was filed on October 7, were sent to Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak, Chief Secretary to the Government Tan Sri Dr Ali Hamsa, Solicitor General Datuk Idris Harun and
Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar.

"In my cover note, I informed them that I reserve the right to take whatever action necessary within the law without informing anyone," said Mat Zain.

"I also stated that I reserve the right to make public the SD through any member of parliament.

"There was no action from any party and that is why I released parts of the SD."

Kredit: www.malaysia-today.net

Malaysia Today - Your Source of Independent News

0 ulasan 1:22 PTG Dicatat oleh blog2

Klik GAMBAR Dibawah Untuk Lebih Info

Sumber Asal Berita :-

Malaysia Today - Your Source of Independent News

Why Malaysian tax payers should support the Sarawak dam blockades
Why Malaysian tax payers should support the Sarawak dam blockades
This EU-US trade deal is no 'assault on democracy'
This transatlantic trade deal is a full-frontal assault on democracy

Why Malaysian tax payers should support the Sarawak dam blockades

Posted: 11 Nov 2013 08:44 PM PST

By Dr Kua Kia Soong, SUARAM Adviser,

What have the blockades by the Sarawak indigenous people against the mega dams to do with West Malaysian tax payers?

Aside from solidarity with the indigenous peoples whose native customary lands have been taken over for the construction of the mega dams and the destruction of more of our rainforest heritage, there is plenty for Malaysian tax payers to worry about.

Mounting costs, higher electricity tariffs

For a start, the mounting costs of these dams will ultimately be borne by Malaysian tax payers. TNB will soon be passing their mounting costs on to Malaysian consumers through higher electricity tariffs. They have already announced the removal of energy subsidies now that the 13th general election is over and there is no longer a need to sweet talk the electorate. The government plans to cut fuel subsidies for power producers in the first quarter of 2014, to trim soaring subsidies for the energy sector which touched RM24.8 billion so far this year. Electricity could rise as much as 19%, from 33.5 sen/kWh to 40 sen sen/kWh, if all the subsidies are removed.

Then as contributors to the Employees Provident Fund, the "soft" EPF loans that have been given out to finance these mega dams will eventually cut into our savings which are intended for better housing, health and pension benefits of Malaysian workers. RM5.75 billion in loans from the Employees Provident Fund (EPF) and Retirement Fund Incorporated (KWAP) were used to fund the Bakun Dam project. EPF loans have also been made available to the IPPs.

The massive costs of these mega dams will further deepen the debt crisis the country faces at the moment.

Chronic excess of power equals chronic waste
Sarawak will most certainly face a chronic surplus of power. The current peak demand in Sarawak is just over 1000 MW, but Sarawak Energy wants to add another 6,200 MW until 2020 when the Bakun dam already has a 2400MW capacity. It is purely wishful thinking that Sarawak can find enough power purchasers to take up all this excess power. The global mining giants such as Rio Tinto and Alcoa have been flip flopping on their commitment to take up this energy with their energy guzzling and toxic industries ever since the 1990s. Knowing how desperate the government is in wanting to attract energy guzzlers to take up this excess power, they can afford to wait until we make them offers they can't refuse, namely cheap power and other tax incentives like the ones we offered Lynas.

Completed dams include Batang Ai (108 MW), completed in the 1980s; Bakun (2,400 MW), completed in 2011. The Murum dam (944 MW) is almost completed, while Sarawak Energy's high priority projects include Baram (1,200 MW), Baleh (1,300 MW), Pelagus (410 MW), Limbang (245MW), Lawas (87 MW), Baram 3 (300MW), Belepeh (114MW), Linau (297 MW).

Cut subsidies for the IPPs, not home consumers

The government has announced the removal of energy subsidies. But who benefits most from these electricity subsidies? Certainly not the average home consumers or the poorer sectors of our society.
This is because subsidies are "blanket subsidies," available to all consumers, regardless of their wealth. As a result, these subsidies benefit IPPs, suppliers, and wealthy households in urban areas comparatively more than they do poor households.

The electricity sector in Malaysia is dominated by independent power producers (IPPs) and three government-linked companies (GLCs): Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB), Sarawak Energy (SEB) and Sabah Electricity (SESB). The IPPs contribute around 40 per cent of national electricity supply while electricity consumption is split between consumers (13.8 per cent), transport sector (36.5 per cent) and the industry sector (42.6 per cent).

Electricity generation comes principally from natural gas and coal. Coal now accounts for 38.9 per cent of electricity generation and gas for 52.7 per cent.

Petronas, a producer and distributor of gas, is required to sell to electricity generators at a controlled price of MYR10.70 (US$3) per million metric British thermal units (mmbtu). Consequently, Petronas has lost an estimated MYR20 billion (US$6.4 billion) in foregone revenues by subsidizing the gas used by industries, including the power sector. Petronas also subsidizes gas imported from Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam, which forms about 32 per cent of peninsular Malaysia's demand. Apart from a guaranteed purchase at secure prices, Petronas was asked to sell natural gas to these IPPs at subsidized rates, for which the government pays subsidies of up to RM19 billion a year.

Electricity users are subsidized by a monthly rebate. Since 2008, the government has provided a MYR20 (USD$6.4) subsidy on monthly electricity bills to all customers of TNB. Furthermore, TNB gives its "privileged customers" (including government schools and institutions of higher learning,
places of worship and welfare homes) a 10 per cent discount on their electricity bills (TNB, 2012). This concession cost TNB MYR7.8 million (US$2.5 million) in 2012, and is due to be extended to institutions that are partly funded by the government (TNB, 2012). There is thus no reason why such a concession cannot be extended to the poor and the energy saving households.

SESB also receives substantial diesel and fuel oil subsidies from the government to lower the cost of electricity generation, amounting to MYR543.4 million (US$173.3 million) in 2012.

A system of power purchase agreements (PPAs) signed with the IPPs means that the costs of gas shortages have also been borne by the government and Petronas. IPPs have been able to sign rigid PPAs with their respective GLCs since 1990, enabling them to monopolize local transmission and distribution systems.

In addition, IPPs can pass on the cost of burning more expensive distillates when there are gas shortages to TNB, which is then compensated by the government and Petronas. Thus, when there was a prolonged gas shortage caused by maintenance activities at Petronas, TNB had to burn oil and distillates, resulting in a MYR3.1 billion (US$1 billion) cost between January 2010 and October 2011. But TNB was compensated to the tune of MYR2.02 billion (US$648 million), half of which came from Petronas.

A recent study by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) revealed that the bottom 20 per cent of households received on average only 7 per cent of the total subsidy, whereas the top 20 per cent received 43 per cent. (The International Institute for Sustainable Development, 2013)

Energy producers which have made so much profits and received so much subsidies since the 1990s must not be allowed to pass on any cost increases to the consumers as a result of the removal of fuel subsidies.

Why should consumers pay for blunders in energy privatisation?

When the IPPs first came into the energy picture in the 1990s, Tenaga Nasional was compelled by the government to buy electricity from these IPPs at prices higher than if Tenaga were to produce it. This made Tenaga Nasional's operating cost soar disastrously and led to the resignation of then Executive Chairman of Tenaga Nasional, Tan Sri Ani Arope. As a result, consumers have had to pay higher electricity tariffs because of this crisis of profitability that Tenaga Nasional faced. Tenaga Nasional's (TNB) own facilities had to be shut down in order to utilize all the IPP power that it had been obliged to purchase under the "take-or-pay" clauses in the power purchase agreements.

Thus, even without the mega dams in Sarawak, the entry of these IPPs had already created a crisis of overcapacity – by end 1993, the Independent Power Producers (IPPs) commissioned 5 projects totalling 4,157 MW and by 1997, Peninsular Malaysia had almost 50% surplus capacity. Even today, this excessive surplus capacity of more than 50% has persisted.

There is no reason why household consumers should be forced to pay for the hefty prices of electricity caused by such blunders in energy privatisation, when TNB was able to produce it at 8.0 sen a unit (kWh), but it had to buy from the IPPs at 23 sen per unit, which was 300% higher.

Clearly, neo-liberal arguments for privatisation and competition do not hold water in the case of the Malaysian energy sector. With so many IPPs in the energy scene, the market should be more competitive and power producers forced to be more efficient. Instead, through crony capitalism and state support for these IPPs, we see the price of electricity going up and up through the years.

Malaysian taxpayers pay for cost overruns

Dam construction is famous for cost overruns. The Auditor-General's annual report has revealed that the government has had to pay RM430 million in compensation to two foreign contractors for losses incurred in the problem-plagued Bakun Dam. The two contractors, Alstom and Impsa had suffered delays of up to four years in civil engineering works, causing their costs to spike. We must not forget that close to RM1 billion was paid as 'compensation' to Ekran when it was forced to give up the contract in the late 1990s.

Transparency International once described the Bakun dam as a "Monument to Corruption". Companies linked to Chief Minister Taib Mahmud are the main beneficiaries of the cheap energy and contracts related to dam construction. Cahya Mata Sarawak, the family of Chief Minister Taib Mahmud is the largest shareholder of Kenanga Investment Bank (25%), one of the lenders behind the Murum Dam.

Malaysian tax payers also carry the risks for these mega dam projects. If the income generated by the dam is below what is predicted, we will have to step in and pay back the loans that were provided to Sarawak Energy. If the examples of MAS, MISC, Perwaja and other gargantuan bailouts are anything to go by, these EPF and KWAP loans to support the mega dam projects will be quietly written off and Malaysian tax payers will have to bear the consequences.

And while we will be paying higher and higher electricity tariffs in the near future, ethnocide is being committed in our name against the indigenous peoples of Sarawak who are being displaced from their centuries-old ancestral homes into glorified reservations. It is for all these reasons that West Malaysians should support the blockades by the indigenous peoples of Sarawak against the construction of the mega dams which are socially disruptive, environmentally destructive and economically disastrous.

Why Malaysian tax payers should support the Sarawak dam blockades

Posted: 11 Nov 2013 08:25 PM PST

If the income generated by the dam is below what is predicted, we will have to step in and pay back the loans that were provided to Sarawak Energy. If the examples of MAS, MISC, Perwaja and other gargantuan bailouts are anything to go by, these EPF and KWAP loans to support the mega dam projects will be quietly written off and Malaysian tax payers will have to bear the consequences.

by Kua Kia Soong, SUARAM Advisor

What have the blockades by the Sarawak indigenous people against the mega dams to do with West Malaysian tax payers?

Aside from solidarity with the indigenous peoples whose native customary lands have been taken over for the construction of the mega dams and the destruction of more of our rainforest heritage, there is plenty for Malaysian tax payers to worry about.

Mounting costs, higher electricity tariffs

For a start, the mounting costs of these dams will ultimately be borne by Malaysian tax payers. TNB will soon be passing their mounting costs on to

Malaysian consumers through higher electricity tariffs. They have already announced the removal of energy subsidies now that the 13th general election is over and there is no longer a need to sweet talk the electorate. The government plans to cut fuel subsidies for power producers in the first quarter of 2014, to trim soaring subsidies for the energy sector which touched RM24.8 billion so far this year. Electricity could rise as much as 19%, from 33.5 sen/kWh to 40 sen sen/kWh, if all the subsidies are removed.

Then as contributors to the Employees Provident Fund, the "soft" EPF loans that have been given out to finance these mega dams will eventually cut into our savings which are intended for better housing, health and pension benefits of Malaysian workers. RM5.75 billion in loans from the Employees Provident Fund (EPF) and Retirement Fund Incorporated (KWAP) were used to fund the Bakun Dam project. EPF loans have also been made available to the IPPs.

The massive costs of these mega dams will further deepen the debt crisis the country faces at the moment.

Chronic excess of power equals chronic waste

Sarawak will most certainly face a chronic surplus of power. The current peak demand in Sarawak is just over 1000 MW, but Sarawak Energy wants to add another 6,200 MW until 2020 when the Bakun dam already has a 2400MW capacity. It is purely wishful thinking that Sarawak can find enough power purchasers to take up all this excess power. The global mining giants such as Rio Tinto and Alcoa have been flip flopping on their commitment to take up this energy with their energy guzzling and toxic industries ever since the 1990s. Knowing how desperate the government is in wanting to attract energy guzzlers to take up this excess power, they can afford to wait until we make them offers they can't refuse, namely cheap power and other tax incentives like the ones we offered Lynas.

Completed dams include Batang Ai (108 MW), completed in the 1980s; Bakun (2,400 MW), completed in 2011. The Murum dam (944 MW) is almost completed, while Sarawak Energy's high priority projects include Baram (1,200 MW), Baleh (1,300 MW), Pelagus (410 MW), Limbang (245MW), Lawas (87 MW), Baram 3 (300MW), Belepeh (114MW), Linau (297 MW).

Cut subsidies for the IPPs, not home consumers

The government has announced the removal of energy subsidies. But who benefits most from these electricity subsidies? Certainly not the average home consumers or the poorer sectors of our society.

This is because subsidies are "blanket subsidies," available to all consumers, regardless of their wealth. As a result, these subsidies benefit IPPs, suppliers, and wealthy households in urban areas comparatively more than they do poor households.

The electricity sector in Malaysia is dominated by independent power producers (IPPs) and three government-linked companies (GLCs): Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB), Sarawak Energy (SEB) and Sabah Electricity (SESB). The IPPs contribute around 40 per cent of national electricity supply while electricity consumption is split between consumers (13.8 per cent), transport sector (36.5 per cent) and the industry sector (42.6 per cent).

Electricity generation comes principally from natural gas and coal. Coal now accounts for 38.9 per cent of electricity generation and gas for 52.7 per cent.

Petronas, a producer and distributor of gas, is required to sell to electricity generators at a controlled price of MYR10.70 (US$3) per million metric British thermal units (mmbtu). Consequently, Petronas has lost an estimated MYR20 billion (US$6.4 billion) in foregone revenues by subsidizing the gas used by industries, including the power sector. Petronas also subsidizes gas imported from Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam, which forms about 32 per cent of peninsular Malaysia's demand. Apart from a guaranteed purchase at secure prices, Petronas was asked to sell natural gas to these IPPs at subsidized rates, for which the government pays subsidies of up to RM19 billion a year.

Electricity users are subsidized by a monthly rebate. Since 2008, the government has provided a MYR20 (USD$6.4) subsidy on monthly electricity bills to all customers of TNB. Furthermore, TNB gives its "privileged customers" (including government schools and institutions of higher learning, places of worship and welfare homes) a 10 per cent discount on their electricity bills (TNB, 2012). This concession cost TNB MYR7.8 million (US$2.5 million) in 2012, and is due to be extended to institutions that are partly funded by the government (TNB, 2012). There is thus no reason why such a concession cannot be extended to the poor and the energy saving households. SESB also receives substantial diesel and fuel oil subsidies from the government to lower the cost of electricity generation, amounting to MYR543.4 million (US$173.3 million) in 2012.

A system of power purchase agreements (PPAs) signed with the IPPs means that the costs of gas shortages have also been borne by the government and Petronas. IPPs have been able to sign rigid PPAs with their respective GLCs since 1990, enabling them to monopolize local transmission and distribution systems.

In addition, IPPs can pass on the cost of burning more expensive distillates when there are gas shortages to TNB, which is then compensated by the government and Petronas. Thus, when there was a prolonged gas shortage caused by maintenance activities at Petronas, TNB had to burn oil and distillates, resulting in a MYR3.1 billion (US$1 billion) cost between January 2010 and October 2011. But TNB was compensated to the tune of MYR2.02 billion (US$648 million), half of which came from Petronas.

A recent study by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) revealed that the bottom 20 per cent of households received on average only 7 per cent of the total subsidy, whereas the top 20 per cent received 43 per cent. (The International Institute for Sustainable Development, 2013).

Energy producers which have made so much profits and received so much subsidies since the 1990s must not be allowed to pass on any cost increases to the consumers as a result of the removal of fuel subsidies.

Why should consumers pay for blunders in energy privatisation?

When the IPPs first came into the energy picture in the 1990s, Tenaga Nasional was compelled by the government to buy electricity from these IPPs at prices higher than if Tenaga were to produce it. This made Tenaga Nasional's operating cost soar disastrously and led to the resignation of then Executive Chairman of Tenaga Nasional, Tan Sri Ani Arope. As a result, consumers have had to pay higher electricity tariffs because of this crisis of profitability that Tenaga Nasional faced. Tenaga Nasional's (TNB) own facilities had to be shut down in order to utilize all the IPP power that it had been obliged to purchase under the "take-or-pay" clauses in the power purchase agreements.

Thus, even without the mega dams in Sarawak, the entry of these IPPs had already created a crisis of overcapacity – by end 1993, the Independent Power Producers (IPPs) commissioned 5 projects totalling 4,157 MW and by 1997, Peninsular Malaysia had almost 50% surplus capacity. Even today, this excessive surplus capacity of more than 50% has persisted.

There is no reason why household consumers should be forced to pay for the hefty prices of electricity caused by such blunders in energy privatisation, when TNB was able to produce it at 8.0 sen a unit (kWh), but it had to buy from the IPPs at 23 sen per unit, which was 300% higher.

Clearly, neo-liberal arguments for privatisation and competition do not hold water in the case of the Malaysian energy sector. With so many IPPs in the energy scene, the market should be more competitive and power producers forced to be more efficient. Instead, through crony capitalism and state support for these IPPs, we see the price of electricity going up and up through the years.

Malaysian taxpayers pay for cost overruns

Dam construction is famous for cost overruns. The Auditor-General's annual report has revealed that the government has had to pay RM430 million in compensation to two foreign contractors for losses incurred in the problem-plagued Bakun Dam. The two contractors, Alstom and Impsa had suffered delays of up to four years in civil engineering works, causing their costs to spike. We must not forget that close to RM1 billion was paid as 'compensation' to Ekran when it was forced to give up the contract in the late 1990s.

Transparency International once described the Bakun dam as a "Monument to Corruption". Companies linked to Chief Minister Taib Mahmud are the main beneficiaries of the cheap energy and contracts related to dam construction. Cahya Mata Sarawak, the family of Chief Minister Taib Mahmud is the largest shareholder of Kenanga Investment Bank (25%), one of the lenders behind the Murum Dam.

Malaysian tax payers also carry the risks for these mega dam projects. If the income generated by the dam is below what is predicted, we will have to step in and pay back the loans that were provided to Sarawak Energy. If the examples of MAS, MISC, Perwaja and other gargantuan bailouts are anything to go by, these EPF and KWAP loans to support the mega dam projects will be quietly written off and Malaysian tax payers will have to bear the consequences.

And while we will be paying higher and higher electricity tariffs in the near future, ethnocide is being committed in our name against the indigenous peoples of Sarawak who are being displaced from their centuries-old ancestral homes into glorified reservations. It is for all these reasons that West Malaysians should support the blockades by the indigenous peoples of Sarawak against the construction of the mega dams which are socially disruptive, environmentally destructive and economically disastrous.

This EU-US trade deal is no 'assault on democracy'

Posted: 11 Nov 2013 11:51 AM PST

Ignore George Monbiot's polemic – the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership is an astonishingly good deal for the UK economy

Ken Clarke, The Guardian

On Monday, EU and US negotiators are meeting in Brussels for the second round of negotiations over what has become known as theTransatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP).

Despite its byzantine name, the TTIP is in fact a trade deal between the EU and the US: an astonishingly bold project which aims to create a free market encompassing the 800 million peoples of Europe and America, potentially boosting our collective GDP by £180bn.

Not that you would know that if you read George Monbiot's contribution on these pages a week ago. In one of the more conspiracy theorising polemics I have read in some while, he described this wealth-creating, free-trading, economic stimulus simply as "a monstrous assault on democracy" by institutions, "which have been captured by the corporations they are supposed to regulate". Monbiot is entitled to his view, but even on a highly selective reading of the facts, I cannot see how his argument stands up.

Take the effect we hope that the TTIP will have on the UK economy alone. According to the best estimates available, an ambitious deal would see our economy grow by an extra £10bn per annum. It could see a rise in the number of jobs in the UK car industry of 7%. British companies – of all sizes – currently pay £1bn to get their goods into the US – this cost could be removed altogether. Perhaps most importantly in the long-term, such a deal would safeguard the liberal trading rules which we British depend on – but which the growing economies of the east are less keen on – or generations to come.

I have never had Monbiot down as an ungenerous character, but to ignore all of this in favour of blowing up a controversy around one small part of the negotiations, known as investor protection, seems to me positively Scrooge-like. Investor protection is a standard part of free-trade agreements – it was designed to support businesses investing in countries where the rule of law is unpredictable, to say the least. Clearly the US falls in a somewhat different category and those clauses will need to be negotiated carefully to avoid any pitfalls – but to dismiss the whole deal because of one comparatively minor element of it would be lunacy.

This transatlantic trade deal is a full-frontal assault on democracy

Posted: 11 Nov 2013 11:47 AM PST

Brussels has kept quiet about a treaty that would let rapacious companies subvert our laws, rights and national sovereignty

George Monbiot, The Guardian

Remember that referendum about whether we should create a single market with the United States? You know, the one that asked whether corporations should have the power to strike down our laws? No, I don't either. Mind you, I spent 10 minutes looking for my watch the other day before I realised I was wearing it. Forgetting about the referendum is another sign of ageing. Because there must have been one, mustn't there? After all that agonising over whether or not we should stay in the European Union, the government wouldn't cede our sovereignty to some shadowy, undemocratic body without consulting us. Would it?

The purpose of the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership is to remove the regulatory differences between the US and European nations. I mentioned it a couple of weeks ago. But I left out the most important issue: the remarkable ability it would grant big business to sue the living daylights out of governments which try to defend their citizens. It would allow a secretive panel of corporate lawyers to overrule the will of parliament and destroy our legal protections. Yet the defenders of our sovereignty say nothing.

The mechanism through which this is achieved is known as investor-state dispute settlement. It's already being used in many parts of the world to kill regulations protecting people and the living planet.

The Australian government, after massive debates in and out of parliament, decided that cigarettes should be sold in plain packets, marked only with shocking health warnings. The decision was validated by the Australian supreme court. But, using a trade agreement Australia struck with Hong Kong, the tobacco company Philip Morris has asked an offshore tribunal to award it a vast sum in compensation for the loss of what it calls its intellectual property.

During its financial crisis, and in response to public anger over rocketing charges, Argentina imposed a freeze on people's energy and water bills (does this sound familiar?). It was sued by the international utility companies whose vast bills had prompted the government to act. For this and other such crimes, it has been forced to pay out over a billion dollars in compensation. In El Salvador, local communities managed at great cost (three campaigners were murdered) to persuade the government to refuse permission for a vast gold mine which threatened to contaminate their water supplies. A victory for democracy? Not for long, perhaps. The Canadian company which sought to dig the mine is now suing El Salvador for $315m – for the loss of its anticipated future profits.

In Canada, the courts revoked two patents owned by the American drugs firm Eli Lilly, on the grounds that the company had not produced enough evidence that they had the beneficial effects it claimed. Eli Lilly is nowsuing the Canadian government for $500m, and demanding that Canada's patent laws are changed.

These companies (along with hundreds of others) are using the investor-state dispute rules embedded in trade treaties signed by the countries they are suing. The rules are enforced by panels which have none of the safeguards we expect in our own courts. The hearings are held in secret. The judges are corporate lawyers, many of whom work for companies of the kind whose cases they hear. Citizens and communities affected by their decisions have no legal standing. There is no right of appeal on the merits of the case. Yet they can overthrow the sovereignty of parliaments and the rulings of supreme courts.

You don't believe it? Here's what one of the judges on these tribunals says about his work. "When I wake up at night and think about arbitration, it never ceases to amaze me that sovereign states have agreed to investment arbitration at all ... Three private individuals are entrusted with the power to review, without any restriction or appeal procedure, all actions of the government, all decisions of the courts, and all laws and regulations emanating from parliament."

There are no corresponding rights for citizens. We can't use these tribunals to demand better protections from corporate greed. As the Democracy Centre says, this is "a privatised justice system for global corporations".

Kredit: www.malaysia-today.net

Isnin, 11 November 2013

Malaysia Today - Your Source of Independent News

0 ulasan 11:50 PTG Dicatat oleh blog2

Klik GAMBAR Dibawah Untuk Lebih Info

Sumber Asal Berita :-

Malaysia Today - Your Source of Independent News

It’s a man’s world

Posted: 10 Nov 2013 06:09 PM PST

It is time we gave real political power to women. The 'official religion' of Malaysia is Islam. In Islam, women are not permitted to lead (in Saudi Arabia, they are not even permitted to drive or to leave their homes unescorted -- which means they cannot work either). That would mean Malaysia would probably never see a female prime minister or menteri besar (chief minister) and for sure never a female Agong or Queen like in England.

NO HOLDS BARRED

Raja Petra Kamarudin

O you who have believed, when you contract a debt for a specified term, write it down. And let a scribe write [it] between you in justice. Let no scribe refuse to write as Allah has taught him. So let him write and let the one who has the obligation dictate. And let him fear Allah , his Lord, and not leave anything out of it. But if the one who has the obligation is of limited understanding or weak or unable to dictate himself, then let his guardian dictate in justice. And bring to witness two witnesses from among your men. And if there are not two men [available], then a man and two women from those whom you accept as witnesses - so that if one of the women errs, then the other can remind her.

Surat Al-Baqarah, 2:282

***********************************************

A man and a woman, after a bit too much to drink, were arguing in a pub about who is more superior, man or woman. Quite fed up with the entire debate, the man dropped his pants, showed the woman his pecker, and said, "A man has this. A woman does not." Whereby the woman raised her skirt, dropped her panties, and said, "Ah, but with one of these a woman can get ten of those."

For more than 3,000 years, Judeo-Christianity -- followed, later on, by Islam -- has always believed in the superiority of men over women. Michelangelo implanted this image of a male God in his painting on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel about 500 years ago. From thereon visuals of God have always been of a male God.

In fact, the foundation of the Abrahamic faiths is based on the belief that Eve corrupted Adam. (In the first place, woman is supposed to have been created from the rib of man). Basically, men are strong and can resist the temptation of the devil while women are weak and succumb to temptation. Furthermore, women are evil and conniving and plot to lead men astray.

This image of a weak and evil woman is what the Abrahamic faiths teach us. If not for woman, man would still be living in paradise until today. But because of woman, humankind has been banished to earth and this punishment includes death. Humankind has to eventually die because we all live on earth and not in paradise. Hence the fate that awaits us, death, is due to the evil, conniving woman.

In the middle ages, smart women were viewed as witches. Women are not supposed to be smart and if they are then it can only be because they are worshippers of the devil. Hence, as what the Bible says, it is mandatory that the only punishment for witchcraft is death.

"You shall not permit a sorceress to live." -- Exodus 22:18

"A man or a woman who is a medium or a necromancer shall surely be put to death. They shall be stoned with stones; their blood shall be upon them." -- Leviticus 20:27

Up to 200 years ago, women were still being burned as witches in the western world. If a woman was seen walking and an animal, say a cat, follows behind her then she is a witch. If a woman accurately predicts the weather then she is a witch. If someone's cow dies, then the neighbour must surely be a witch and she will be arrested and put to death. And so much more!

Women were also not allowed to learn to read and write. Those who did were punished and sometimes even killed. Basically, women were not allowed an education and even up to the 1800s women were still not allowed to go to university.

Women were not allowed to vote until the late 1800s. And it was not until about 100 years ago that women were elected into public office. In the more 'progressive' UK and the US, it was less than 100 years ago.

All this changed only about 50 years or so ago. As at April 2013, the top 10 countries out of 189 with the greatest representation of women in national parliaments are:

The major English-speaking democracies are placed mostly in the top 40% of the ranked countries.

New Zealand ranks at position 27 out of 189 countries with women comprising 32.2% of its parliament. Australia (24.7% in the lower house, 38.2% in the upper house) and Canada (24.7% lower house, 37.9% upper house) rank at position 46. The United Kingdom is ranked at 58 (22.5% lower house, 22.6% upper house), while the United States ranks 78 (17.8% in the lower house, 20.0% in the upper house).

It should be noted that not all of these lower and/or upper houses in national parliaments are democratically elected. For example, in Canada, members of the upper house (the Senate) are appointed. The Liberal Party of Sweden, however, makes it mandatory that at least 40% of their representatives must be women.

In a talk I gave to Wanita Keadilan Selangor back in 1999, I said that PKR (then called PKN) should make it mandatory that at least 30% of the candidates in the general election be women (like the Liberal Party of Sweden). Considering that 51% of registered voters and 53% of those who turn out to vote are women, this would make sense. In fact, 30% is still far below the average.

It is time this changed. Say what you like, as what Joshua Ledet said in the song below, it is still a man's world. More than 3,000 years later and women are still second-class citizens. God is still a man and woman caused the downfall of man 6,000 years ago.

Maybe religion is not teaching us the right things after all when we call God 'He' and not 'She' or 'It'.

By the way, if God were a woman, would the Lord's Prayer for the Christians be 'Our Father, which art in heaven' or 'Our Mother, which art in heaven'?

3Snay_fh20U

SEE ON YOUTUBE HERE: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Snay_fh20U

Kredit: www.malaysia-today.net

Malaysia Today - Your Source of Independent News

0 ulasan 9:43 PTG Dicatat oleh blog2

Klik GAMBAR Dibawah Untuk Lebih Info

Sumber Asal Berita :-

Malaysia Today - Your Source of Independent News

This EU-US trade deal is no 'assault on democracy'
This transatlantic trade deal is a full-frontal assault on democracy
Islamist activist to Marina: Tell ‘underlings’ to stop human rights ‘nonsense’
Rescue public discourse from ‘mass stupidity’, Zaid urges Putrajaya
Sworn statement on Gani’s alleged misdeeds out due to Putrajaya inaction, says former top cop
Dr M to keep mum until reading Mat Zain’s statement
PAS wants hudud in the aftermath of Jaip officer’s murder
It’s a man’s world
Sunni-Shi'ite tension biggest threat to world security, Iran says
Shafee as prosecutor against Anwar’s acquittal: Federal Court to decide November 21
No high-powered plot to remove A-G, says senior lawyer
Retract your accusations, Marina tells Isma
Rift between ulamas and liberals in PAS
‘Liberals in PAS won’t allow for unity with Umno’
IGP urges Tuhan Haron members to surrender

This EU-US trade deal is no 'assault on democracy'

Posted: 11 Nov 2013 11:51 AM PST

Ignore George Monbiot's polemic – the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership is an astonishingly good deal for the UK economy

Ken Clarke, The Guardian

On Monday, EU and US negotiators are meeting in Brussels for the second round of negotiations over what has become known as theTransatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP).

This transatlantic trade deal is a full-frontal assault on democracy

Posted: 11 Nov 2013 11:47 AM PST

Brussels has kept quiet about a treaty that would let rapacious companies subvert our laws, rights and national sovereignty

George Monbiot, The Guardian

Islamist activist to Marina: Tell ‘underlings’ to stop human rights ‘nonsense’

Posted: 11 Nov 2013 11:45 AM PST

"If you are not happy about it, tell the media. Tell your underlings to stop this nonsense. We cannot read your mind. State your stand," he said.

Rescue public discourse from ‘mass stupidity’, Zaid urges Putrajaya

Posted: 11 Nov 2013 11:43 AM PST

Another example was the storm in a teacup caused by Danish People's Party leader Kristian Dahl over an apparent ban on pork meatballs in the country as a sign of respect for Muslims.

The former Cabinet minister is outspoken on the matter of growing extremism in Malaysia, having previously warned of the seductive dangers of fascism.

Yesterday, Zaid urged Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak to grasp the menace of extremism in Malaysia and take steps to rein in the vitriol that is becoming the norm.

"He needs to slowly teach the art of being reasonable to his supporters in Utusan and elsewhere, and how to use their heads when faced with problems.

Sworn statement on Gani’s alleged misdeeds out due to Putrajaya inaction, says former top cop

Posted: 11 Nov 2013 11:38 AM PST

(TMI) - He promised more disclosures soon and said he was also mulling the possibility of having the statutory declaration (SD) tendered in court.

He promised more disclosures soon and said he was also mulling the possibility of having the statutory declaration (SD) tendered in court.

"Putrajaya had received my SD more than a month ago but they have not acted on it. They have chosen to remain silent."

"In my cover note, I informed them that I reserve the right to take whatever action necessary within the law without informing anyone," said Mat Zain.

"I also stated that I reserve the right to make public the SD through any member of parliament.

"There was no action from any party and that is why I released parts of the SD."

Dr M to keep mum until reading Mat Zain’s statement

Posted: 10 Nov 2013 07:17 PM PST

(MM) - Former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamed said today that he will only comment on claims of a high-powered plot to remove Attorney-General (AG) Tan Sri Abdul Gani Patail from office after reading the sworn statement by former senior police officer Datuk Mat Zain Ibrahim.

He said it was difficult for him to respond to the allegations made by Kuala Lumpur Criminal Investigation Department (CID) chief Mat Zain in the latter's statutory declaration as he did not know what these included.

"I haven't seen it so I am not prepared to comment, because when reporters ask me, sometimes they do not get the facts right," he said at a press conference here.

"After I have seen the SD, I will be prepared to answer your questions at length," he added.

Last week, Mat Zain was cited by news portal Malaysiakini as saying he was part of a dinner meeting with Dr Mahathir, prominent lawyer Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah and former Commercial Crimes Investigation Department chief Datuk Ramli Yusoff on August 10.

Mat Zain, in his SD, claimed that the meeting discussed the AG's handling of opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim's black eye incident, which happened when the latter was being questioned by police on charges of corruption and sodomy in 1998.

Also allegedly discussed was Malaysia's loss of Pulau Batu Puteh, alternatively known as Pedra Branca, to Singapore at the International Court of Justice.

The new portal reported that the SD stated that Shafee informed Mat Zain of Dr Mahathir's displeasure with Gani, who lead Malaysia's legal team in the case, for allegedly concealing some vital facts.

Earlier today, Shafee denied claims of a conspiracy to remove Gani from office, but declined to comment further on Mat Zani's allegations until he has gone through the SD himself.

 Dr Mahathir sidestepped a question on whether he was unhappy with Gani's performance, saying that there is no guarantee of success in the courts.

 "I regret very much when he fails because he represents the government, but sometimes people fail in the courts.

 "Innocent people have been sentenced to death and guilty people have gone scot-free when you go to the courts. It depends on how the case is presented to the judge," he said.

 Dr Mahathir, meanwhile, laughed off a recent report claiming that he had met with Home Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi over allegations that CIA agents have set up office in the AG's Chambers.

 "I heard about this. I have no proof, of course, but I heard that CIA agents have actually got an office in the A-G's office. Maybe it is true, maybe not, I don't know. The A-G has not confirmed it," he said, in trademark sarcasm.

 Last week, news portal The Malaysian Insider reported that Dr Mahathir had allegedly pressured Gani and Ahmad Zahid for a meeting, during which the former prime minister was said to have claimed that the AG's Chambers had two CIA agents under its employ.

The news portal claimed that the home minister has since agreed to launch an investigation into the allegation.

PAS wants hudud in the aftermath of Jaip officer’s murder

Posted: 10 Nov 2013 06:46 PM PST

(The Star) - PAS wants the government to implement Syariah criminal laws in Malaysia immediately, in the aftermath of the assassination of Ahmad Rafli Abdul Malek, the enforcement chief of the Pahang Islamic Religious Department (Jaip).

Syariah criminal laws would restore peace and harmony to Malaysia, said Pas Youth chief Nasrudin Hassan in a statement issued on Monday.

He said the introduction of the Syariah Criminal Code, which has been done in Brunei, would act as both a deterrent to crime and a means to restore order.

"I will raise this issue in the next Parliament sitting which will run until Dec 5. I first raised the issue when the amendments to the Penal Code were being debated, and until now they have been rejected.

"The government has only extended the jail sentences for crimes as part of their effort to stamp out crime through strengthening laws," said Nasrudin.

Ahmad Rafli died after being shot three times on Sunday after stepping out of his Indera Mahkota 2 house when he was called to the gate after three men arrived at his house in a white Proton Wira Aeroback.

It’s a man’s world

Posted: 10 Nov 2013 06:09 PM PST

NO HOLDS BARRED

Raja Petra Kamarudin

Surat Al-Baqarah, 2:282

***********************************************

"You shall not permit a sorceress to live." -- Exodus 22:18

"A man or a woman who is a medium or a necromancer shall surely be put to death. They shall be stoned with stones; their blood shall be upon them." -- Leviticus 20:27

All this changed only about 50 years or so ago. As at April 2013, the top 10 countries out of 189 with the greatest representation of women in national parliaments are:

The major English-speaking democracies are placed mostly in the top 40% of the ranked countries.

Maybe religion is not teaching us the right things after all when we call God 'He' and not 'She' or 'It'.

By the way, if God were a woman, would the Lord's Prayer for the Christians be 'Our Father, which art in heaven' or 'Our Mother, which art in heaven'?

3Snay_fh20U

SEE ON YOUTUBE HERE: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Snay_fh20U

Sunni-Shi'ite tension biggest threat to world security, Iran says

Posted: 10 Nov 2013 04:08 PM PST

(Reuters) - Tension between Sunni and Shi'ite Muslims is the biggest threat to world security, Iran's foreign minister said in comments published on Monday, accusing Sunni Arab countries of "fanning the flames" of sectarian conflict.

The increasingly sectarian civil war in Syria has drawn in regional powers with Shi'ite Iran backing President Bashar al-Assad and Sunni Gulf Arab states and mainly Sunni Turkey helping the rebels. The conflict threatens to spill over into countries split between Sunnis and Shi'ites such as Lebanon and Iraq.

The sectarian tension is "the most serious security threat not only to the region but to the world at large", Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif told the BBC.

"I think we need to come to understand that a sectarian divide in the Islamic world is a threat to all of us."

Zarif, a U.S.-educated former Iranian ambassador to the United Nations, called for regional powers to come together to try to solve the conflict in Syria. He is the point man of President Hassan Rouhani's bid to ease tensions between Iran and the outside world.

"I think all of us," he said, "regardless of our differences on Syria, we need to work together on the sectarian issue."

But, the BBC said, without naming any countries directly, Zarif accused Sunni Arab leaders of "fanning the flames" of sectarian violence.

"This business of fear-mongering has been a prevalent business," he said. "Nobody should try to fan the flames of sectarian violence. We should reign it in, bring it to a close, try to avoid a conflict that would be detrimental to everybody's security."

Shafee as prosecutor against Anwar’s acquittal: Federal Court to decide November 21

Posted: 10 Nov 2013 03:57 PM PST

V Anbalagan, TMI

The Federal Court will deliver on November 21 its decision on Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim's appeal to stop lawyer Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah (pic) from leading the prosecution team to overturn his acquittal for sodomy last year.

A five-man bench led by Tan Sri Raus Sharif said it needed time to deliberate on the submissions before delivering the written grounds.

Anwar's argument was that only a full-time deputy public prosecutor can appear in court.

He also contended that Shafee was a potential witness during the sodomy trial and as such there was conflict of interest.

Shafee argued he was qualified to be ad hoc deputy public prosecutor because he was a "fit and proper" person as required under the law.

Whatever the outcome in the Federal Court, Putrajaya's appeal against the acquittal of Anwar for sexual misconduct will be heard in the Court of Appeal for two days from December 11.

Lawyer Karpal Singh, who is appearing for the opposition leader, told the court today only a full-time deputy public prosecutor could represent the public prosecutor in a criminal case.

"It does not matter under which provision of the Criminal Procedure Code (CPC) Shafee is appointed," he said.

The veteran lawyer added that Shafee was a potential witness for the prosecution during trial and he was also offered as a witness to the defence.

Karpal urged the court to also look into the issue of public perception when Shafee admitted he was in the Prime Minister's house when the alleged sodomy victim Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan was there to meet Datuk Seri Najib Razak.

"Now this person wants to represent the public prosecutor in the sodomy appeal," Karpal added.

He said no doubt the prime minister's residence was large but questioned what was Shafee doing there in the first place.

"In the eyes of the public, an adverse perception can be drawn and that is enough to show conflict of interest," he said.

Posted: 10 Nov 2013 03:35 PM PST

(MM) - Prominent lawyer Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah today denied claims that there was a high-powered conspiracy to remove Attorney-General Tan Sri Abdul Gani Patail (picture) from office.

He rubbished the allegation, made in a statutory declaration (SD) by former Kuala Lumpur CID chief Datuk Mat Zain Ibrahim, saying that there was "no reason" for such a thing to happen.

"Irrespective of what was contained in the SD, there was no such thing as a plot or conspiracy against the A-G, because there was no reason to do that," he told journalists when doorstopped here.

"Either on the issue of the black eye incident or the issue of the Batu Puteh case, there is absolutely no reason for that. If you look at Batu Puteh, what has that got to do with Mat Zain? He is a police officer. He's not an international lawyer, so why should anybody discuss with him on that issue?" Shafee added.

Mat Zain was last week cited by news portal Malaysiakini saying he was part of a dinner meeting with former Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamed, Shafee and former Commercial Crimes Investigation Department chief Datuk Ramli Yusoff last August 10.

Mat Zain, in his SD, claimed that the meeting discussed the A-G's poor handling of opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim's black eye incident, which happened when the latter was being questioned by police on charges of corruption and sodomy in 1998.

Also allegedly discussed was Malaysia's loss of Pulau Batu Puteh, also known as Pedra Branca, to Singapore at the International Court of Justice.

The new portal reported that the SD stated that Shafee informed Mat Zain of Mahathir's displeasure with Gani, who lead Malaysia's legal team in the case, for allegedly concealing some vital facts.

Shafee today did not confirm or deny that the meeting took place, but he did admit that he was at Dr Mahathir's residence on August 10.

"August 10 is three days after Hari Raya, and Dr M's open house was the very next day. I was present as is usually the case every year with Dr M to pay my respects," he said.

Shafee hinted that those named by Mat Zain as part of the dinner meeting were at Dr Mahathir's house "having muruku and everything else", but again declined to delve further into the former top-cop's allegations.

"What I can say is that Tun is certainly not involved in all this rubbish," he said, referring to Dr Mahathir.

"As for the context of the SD, I do not want to comment now because I do not know what Mat Zain said. If I can get a copy of the SD today, I will definitely call for a press conference tomorrow at noon and you can ask me whatever you want," he said.

Retract your accusations, Marina tells Isma

Posted: 10 Nov 2013 03:27 PM PST

The human rights activist says that she will not hesitate to take legal action against those who accuse her of being part of Comango.

G Vinod, FMT

Withdraw accusations against me or face legal action, Sisters of Islam (SIS) director Marina Mahathir told Ikatan Muslimin Malaysia (ISMA) today.

She said this in response to ISMA allegations that Marina was one of the mastermind behind local human rights coalition Comango, whose demands are labelled as anti-Islam by the Islamist NGO.

Last Friday, ISMA distributed about 70,000 leaflets in mosques around the country claiming Comango was attempting to undermine Islam by calling for the removal of Malay privileges, freedom to leave Islam and getting recognition for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transsexual rights.

They also named Bersih 2.0 co-chairperson S Ambiga as being part of the Comango, along with Marina.

Peeved by the matter, Marina slammed ISMA, saying that the accusations levelled against her were untrue and it has tarnished her image.

"It is true that I'm a director in SIS but I am not involved in the Comango report. I take this allegations very seriously," she said in a statement.

Marina then urged ISMA and the media to withdraw the claims made or risk facing legal action.

"I call upon ISMA and its office bearers, together with the media, to withdraw the accusations made against me. The leaflets distributed last week should also be withdrawn immediately.

"If not, I will not hesitate to take legal action against all those involved," said Marina.

READ MORE HERE

Rift between ulamas and liberals in PAS

Posted: 10 Nov 2013 03:19 PM PST

PAS leader Hadi Awang's announcement that non-ulamas can be party chiefs appears to have turned the tide in favour of liberals.

K Pragalath, FMT

PAS information chief Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man's announcement to run for a vice president position has thrown a spanner in the cleric faction's campaign within the party.

What has happened among the clerics otherwise, also known as the ulamas?

It is definitely a surprising tactical move by Tuan Ibrahim to raise the heat in the race for the three vice president positions instead of the deputy president post.

Incumbent Mohamad Sabu has confirmed that he will be defending his post. With Tuan Ibrahim no longer in the deputy president race, it is up to Kelantan deputy Menteri Besar Mohamad Amar Nik Abdullah to continue the challenge for the ulamas.

In announcing his intentions Amar said he is contesting for the ulamas as he is worried that PAS' liberal stand may effect the Malay votes.

Currently there is an ongoing campaign against the professional faction within PAS.

However neither incumbents nor challengers from the ulama and liberal camps have launched stinging campaigns against one another.

This can be attributed to the election committee chairman Asmuni Awi's warning that candidates who 'put down' their opponents would be hauled up by the discipline committee.

A PAS member even wrote an anonymous letter to a local news portal, asking incumbent deputy president Mohamad Sabu to make way for Tuan Ibrahim.

The writer claimed that the split among the Malays within the Islamist party had worsened and that Mohamad Sabu was unable to arrest the problem.

There was even a debate held in Shah Alam between the ulamas and liberal factions.

So far, intensity of the campaign appears to be more heated amongst the supporters compared to the candidates.

PAS spiritual adviser Nik Aziz Nik Mat's message stating that ulamas should lead the party was used to increase the pressure – even though he said that all in PAS are considered ulamas. Hadi's recent announcement however, has seriously toned down the ulama camp campaigns.

He said that non-ulamas can be party chiefs and cited the case of Alias Abas, the second PAS president. Alias is a non-ulama.

Posted: 10 Nov 2013 03:13 PM PST

Since Umno and PAS are the biggest Muslim political parties in the country, it is logical for the two to unite.

Hawkeye, FMT

Unity between Umno and PAS cannot be achieved as long as PAS liberals hold senior positions in the party.

Former Penang PAS Youth head Mohamed Hafiz Nordin said the proposed move to cultivate the politics of unity or harmony between Umno and PAS will reach a deadlock if the liberals hold sway in the party.

Branding the group as "parasites," Hafiz said they have caused PAS to derail from its struggle for an Islamic state as well as curbing the party's move in spreading the teachings of Islam.

"Frankly, the biggest Muslim political parties in Malaysia are Umno and PAS," he said.

Therefore, Hafiz, who regards himself as an Islam activist, said it is logical for PAS to embrace the concept of unity with Umno.

"In Islam, to forgive is also divine and we should encourage PAS and Umno to forgive each other and move on for the sake of the congregation and the country," he said.

PAS should initiate the politics of unity during their coming "muktamar" (gathering) where a party election is on the cards.

"They can start by voting in the ulama (conservative) movement in PAS," Hafiz said.

It is believed that the ulama segment of PAS, is inclined to foster some form of ties with Umno as they are generally suspicious of Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim for his alleged tendency to lean towards a form of Islamic liberalism.

Hafiz also declared his support for Kelantan Deputy Mentri Besar Nik Mohd Amar Nik Abdullah in the latter's quest to wrest the deputy president post from the incumbent Mohammad Sabu.

Posted: 10 Nov 2013 03:06 PM PST

IGP Khalid Abu Bakar also said the police are investigating all angles in the murder case of the Pahang Islamic Religious Department official.

Alfian ZM Tahir, FMT

Police have urged members of an alleged cult to surrender at the nearest police station to assist in murder investigations involving a Pahang Islamic Religious Department (JAIP) official.

Inspector General of Police Khalid Abu Bakar in urging the 31 followers of the Tuhan Haron cult, also said that the police had identifed the locations of these members.

"We are looking at all angle so my advise is for the 31members of the cult group known as Tuhan Haron to surrender.

"My men have already moved to locate and to investigate the matter and we are taking it seriously," Khalid said.

Earlier speculations showed that the murder of the JAIP official was connected with the recent gazetting of anti-syiah laws in Pahang as the state religious authorities were planning to gazette a fatwa to curb the teaching of syiah.

The JAIP official, 49-year-old Ahmad Rafli Abdul Malek, was shot twice in the chest and died on the spot at his house in Indera Mahkota 2 yesterday afternoon.

READ MORE HERE

Kredit: www.malaysia-today.net

Selasa, 12 November 2013

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

Isnin, 11 November 2013

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

Pengikut

Trafik

Live Traffic

Mesyuarat Tingkap

Archive