xNews® Alternative Newsportals

Najib’s poor leadership stalling economic reforms, says Pakatan

2012-02-01T16:13:00.001-08:00

Najib’s poor leadership stalling economic reforms, says Pakatan

Najib’s poor leadership stalling economic reforms, says Pakatan
Asia’s family businesses face new challenges
‘Umno warlords will not let Najib succeed’
Fuziah: AELB, Mosti caved in to ‘unknown pressure’
Lynas receives ‘conditional’ licence to operate
Pakatan plots unlikely path to power
Isu kepala babi: Selangor tawar RM10,000
Eight drown, six missing as boat capsizes
MACC vows to chop down illegal loggers
Lim ticks off Najib over ang pow fiasco
Ibrahim Ali jamin tiada lagi ‘angpau putih’
Cameron Highlands BN a ‘mess of disunity’
‘Mereka tak faham, tembak tak betul’
Perkasa mahu rumah ibadat dikawal 24 jam
DAP: Gov’t abusing EPF cash to win votes
‘Black City Day’ march to object MRT project
Breaking up wealth concentration
EC: Dubious voters were from pre-2002
Japan’s Sharp forecasts $3.8 billion loss
Asian markets mixed as US data, Europe fears weigh

Najib’s poor leadership stalling economic reforms, says Pakatan

Posted: 01 Feb 2012 03:06 PM PST

KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 2 — Pakatan Rakyat (PR) leaders have blamed Datuk Seri Najib Razak's poor leadership as prime minister and Umno president as the main cause behind stalled economic reforms, saying he lacked the political will to weed out corruption and push for transparency in the awarding of lucrative government contracts. The PR leaders were ...

Asia’s family businesses face new challenges

Posted: 01 Feb 2012 03:00 PM PST

By Martin Abbugao

SINGAPORE: From India's Ambani empire to the Li dynasty of Hong Kong, family firms are a pillar of Asian economies, but rising globalisation and generational shifts are throwing up new challenges.

Breaking cherished traditions to hire non-relatives to key management posts as companies diversify and compete in a fast-changing global market is one such hurdle, analysts say.

The need for greater transparency and accountability, especially for non-listed family companies, is a major factor, while careful planning on leadership succession can prevent potentially ruinous feuds.

Joseph Fan from the Chinese University of Hong Kong singles out family succession as an "extremely challenging issue" being addressed as many Asian firms make the transition from elderly founders to their offspring.

"If family disputes lead to decisions that damage the businesses, this could cause broader damage to these (regional) economies," he said on the website of the International Finance Corp, the World Bank's private sector arm.

Experts say more than 70 percent of Asian firms are family-owned, defined by Credit Suisse as those where a family or individual in the clan controls at least 20 percent of cash-flow rights.

A Credit Suisse study last year showed family enterprises made up half the listed companies and 32 percent of total market capitalisation in 10 Asian economies covered in the research.

They are also major employers, accounting for 57 percent and 32 percent of staff at listed companies in South Asia and North Asia, respectively.

That makes their survival crucial to the region's emerging economies.

But with such fortunes at stake, family feuds are inevitable.

Family disputes

India's richest man Mukesh Ambani became locked in a bitter dispute with his brother Anil over their father's vast Reliance empire when the patriarch Dhirubhai Ambani died in 2002 leaving no will.

An acrimonious five-year scrap over the assets forced their mother to intervene and carve the empire into two, although recently there have been rumours of a personal and business rapprochement between the brothers.

Last year the family of Macau casino tycoon Stanley Ho was embroiled in a bizarre row over the future of his multi-billion-dollar empire, with the 90-year-old accusing relatives of forcing him to relinquish power.

Ho's sprawling clan comprises at least 17 children born to four women who he refers to as his wives.

The saga has seen Ho — a one-time playboy considered the father of Macau's casino scene — publicly battling two branches of his family over SJM Holdings, the centrepiece of a fortune worth at least $3.1 billion.

"The needs and desires of family members and the desires of the business may not always coincide," Sajen Aswani, a third-generation member of the family-run Tolaram Group in Singapore, said without referring to any particular case.

"So the challenge of the leadership of family business is to ensure that there is harmony between the two," said Aswani, whose firm is a member of the Family Business Network, a global organisation of such firms.

Asia's richest are dominated by family money, often starting with a company founded by an entrepreneurial patriarch.

Hong Kong's Li Ka-shing is Asia's richest man with his flagship Cheung Kong Holdings and his billionaire son Richard is head of PCCW, Hong Kong's largest telecom company.

South Korea's Samsung, whose founder Lee Byung-Chull started off in the 1930s selling fish and produce to China, and LG Group which is another family-controlled conglomerate, have become household names globally.

The main challenge

But many of Asia's lesser known small and medium-size enterprises are also run by families.

Deb Loveridge, Asia Pacific managing director at human resource services firm Randstad, said that as family businesses become more sophisticated, hiring qualified non-kin to key posts has become essential.

Loveridge said research showed that a primary challenge for companies across Asia — be they family owned or not — is finding talented leaders to take the business to the next stage of growth.

Non-family firms can draw from the depth of their global operations, but family firms have a much more limited pool to choose from.

"Family companies will do well to acquire new talent," Loveridge said.

"The question for them though is opportunities they can provide five and 10 years on in order to retain those people and develop them so can they see the longer term career path."

"How does a person achieve that career path if within a family structure key positions are held by family members?"

Some Asian family firms are already breaking with tradition.

India's Tata group last year named a successor to its veteran chairman and business icon Ratan Tata, by appointing a non-family member at the helm for the first time in the conglomerate's 143-year history.

But many are not so nimble, and choose to stick with family members even if they possess few management skills.

Fan from the Chinese University of Hong Kong said his research found that five years after a company founder hands over leadership to the next generation, the firm "declined in value by an average 60 percent".

AFP

‘Umno warlords will not let Najib succeed’

Posted: 01 Feb 2012 03:00 PM PST

Sometime ago I met The Economist correspondent Dr Richard Cockett who asked me whether Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak will succeed in his transformation ideas.

I said, Najib will not suceed. And why not? Because Umno won't let him succeed.

Take the case of his New Economic Model (NEM). Nowadays we hardly hear about it. In the 2011 Umno general assembly, Najib did not even mention it.

Instead he devoted much of his speech sounding very combative and full of vehemence. What he did at the time was to actually retrograde to Umno cavemen politics – stick and stones.

So how is he going to push his tranformation agenda? Knowing Najib, he will revert to the 'old' tested ways of 'patronage'.

He will select cronises and push through his economic agenda by giving directly negotiated projects masked by seemingly transparent methods.

The 'chosen few' will be recommended by the "man who can walk on water" (former premier Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad).

Najib's ideas rejected

If you recall, in the 2010 Umno general assembly, all Najib's big ideas were rejected and thwarted by Umno delegates.

They were obviously mirroring the general objection to Najib's adventurist ideas which were his alone and most probably, scripted by expensively paid consultants.

His idea of 1Malaysia with the hazy notions of inclusiveness and outward readiness was immediately rejected by the delegates who insisted on a "Malay first" policy on everything.

So what 1Malaysia is Najib talking about?

Najib's plans to transform the economy and especially that of the Malays through his NEM founded on hazy notions of affirmative policies based on free market economics and affirmative policies based on merits were met with howls from delegates who insisted on the continuation of NEP-like policies.

In the end, Najib was left standing alone and could only muster his last trump card to claim high pedestal, and that is that he is the son of Tun Razak (second prime minister).

No one can dispute that. Genetically he is, but culturally, he isn't. Najib doesn't have the leadership qualities of Tun Razak.

Najib up against Umno wall

How can he push his liberalist economic agenda through a mindset accustomed to patronage?

Will the Umno warlords, who have only known survival through the party's patronage system allow an anointed successor, even if he is the son of Tun Razak, to dismantle a system that has provided them with succor?

Now, that would be suicidal.

Better to sacrifice Najib than allow a system that has spawned hordes of tenderpreneurs from being replaced his blasphemous idea.

In short, Najib faces a brick wall in Umno and has nowhere to go. Either he faces the Umno firing squad or capitulate.

How then is he going to push his transformation agenda?

The writer is a former Umno state assemblyman and now a DAP member. He is a FMT columnist.

Fuziah: AELB, Mosti caved in to ‘unknown pressure’

Posted: 01 Feb 2012 05:20 AM PST

PETALING JAYA: Kuantan MP, Fuziah Salleh, believes that an unseen but powerful hand was behind the granting of a temporary operating licence (TOL) to Lynas Corp.

The Australian mining giant received its long awaited TOL today following the Atomic Energy Licencing Board's (AELB) meeting on Monday.

The TOL is however subjected to five conditions and a breach of any one of them would result in the suspension or revocation of the licence.

Three of those five conditions insist that Lynas disclose the details of its Permanent Disposal Facility (PDF) and take full responsibility of waste management which includes sending it back to the original source if necessary.

Not a single detail of the PDF was included in Lynas' Radioactive Waste Management Plan (RWMP) which was available for public viewing for three weeks last month.

Most of the public feedback questioned the vagueness of this facility and Lynas' plan to recycle and commercialise the residue.

Fuziah, who is Lynas' strongest detractor, pointed out that AELB's insistence on more details of the PDF was a confirmation that Lynas' RWMP is flawed and incomplete.

"These are loopholes not conditions," she told FMT in an immediate reaction.

"The fact that AELB said it would revoke the TOL if Lynas doesn't meet these conditions shows that they know the licence shouldn't have been issued in the first place.

"Their conditions are incongruent with their decision. Hence why I believe that both AELB and Mosti are under tremendous pressure or instruction by an unknown source to approve this licence.

"No responsible government would allow its people to be treated like lab rats," she said.

Groups to file suit

Fuziah said that anti-Lynas groups would now proceed with a judicial review of AELB's decision and would likely file a suit within a week.

"Our lawyers sent a letter to AELB last week on behalf of the Kuantan people who oppose the plant.

"The letter pointed out that no detailed Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) has been conducted since last June."

"The EIA is a living document and should be frequently updated to include health and social impact assessments.

"We thought that AELB would take our letter seriously but they issued the licence instead," Fuziah said.

Lynas last week announced that it has raised US$225 million (RM700 million) in bonds to complete Phase One of the plant and will be delaying operations to the second quarter of the year.

Lynas receives ‘conditional’ licence to operate

Posted: 01 Feb 2012 04:11 AM PST

PETALING JAYA: The Atomic Energy Licencing Board (AELB) and the Science, Technology and Innovation Ministry (Mosti) have granted Lynas Corp its long awaited temporary operating licence (TOL) for its rare earth plant in Gebeng.

In a joint media statement this evening, AELB and Mosti said that the decision was made after taking into consideration public views and feedback on Lynas' application permit.

The 300-page document was displayed for public viewing for three weeks beginning January 3 at various locations in Selangor and Pahang.

According to AELB, 334 people viewed the documents and 1,123 feedback forms were submitted as of January 26. The Board met on Monday where the decision to award the TOL to Lynas was made.

"The awarding of the TOL is subject to a number of conditions and will be suspended or revoked if those conditions are breached,and a reapplication will not be entertained," said the statement.

"In addition to that, the residue management for as long as Lynas is under the TOL is the sole responsibility of the company which includes returning the residue to its original source if necessary."

Conditional approval

AELB and Mosti have set out five conditions for the Lynas Advanced Materials Plant (LAMP). The first is that Lynas must submit all details of the Permanent Disposal Facility (PDF).

Second is for the plan and location of the PDF to be submitted regardless of the findings from research and development, commercialization, recycling and reuse of the residue.

Third is for the plan and location of the PDF to be submitted and be granted approval during the duration of the TOL and not exceeding 10 months from the licence awarding date.

Fourth is for Lynas to adhere to the terms of financial guarantee under the relevant laws and according to the recommendations made by Lynas (M) Sdn Bhd that US$50 million (RM150 million) be paid in installments to the Malaysian government.

And finally the Board has the right to elect an independent consultant to assess Lynas' adherence to the standards and regulations that have been set. The cost of this consultant will be borne by the license.

Lynas last week announced that it has raised US$225 million (RM700 million) in bonds to complete Phase One of the plant and will be delaying operations to the second quarter of the year.

Pakatan plots unlikely path to power

Posted: 01 Feb 2012 02:36 AM PST

By Stuart Grudgings

DENGKIL: Anwar Ibrahim is free and he knows how to work a crowd. Wading into a throng of supporters at a rally near the capital Kuala Lumpur last week, the veteran Malaysian opposition leader was relishing his unexpected freedom after being acquitted on sodomy charges that could have ended his career.

Microphone in hand, he drew loud laughs and cheers as he wisecracked about government's "cronyism" and what he said were its attempts to label him a homosexual.

The High Court acquittal in January of the opposition's only true unifying figure has given the three-party alliance a formidable campaigner in national elections expected within months, adding to its momentum after historic gains in 2008 elections.

Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak is expected to call the election by June while economic growth remains relatively strong, well before his mandate ends in March 2013.

Halijah Ismael, a middle-aged woman watching from her stall selling traditional medicine, said it was time to give Anwar a chance at governing after 55 years of unbroken rule by Umno and its allies.

"Enough is enough," said Halijah, who said she used to be active in a local Umno political group before growing disillusioned.

The polls will be a test of whether Najib's gradual efforts to reform the state-heavy economy and its race-based political system are enough to reverse 2008′s shock losses that deprived the ruling coalition for the first time of its prized two-thirds majority in parliament.

Backed by Umno's well-oiled election machine, Najib will probably win the election. The government controls most newspapers and television stations and has already started using its largesse, handing out cash payments to low-income families and raising pay and pensions for civil servants.

But the opposition and many analysts believe that weariness with the ruling coalition will enable Anwar's coalition to extend its gains from last time, when it won five state governments out of 13 and 82 seats out of 222 in the national parliament.

That could prove politically fatal for Najib by prompting powerful conservative elements in Umno to revolt, paving a future path to power for the opposition if the government swings too far to the right.

Anwar and other opposition officials told Reuters they have a two-pronged strategy for the election. First, they will make a stronger pitch to ethnic Malays in rural areas who have traditionally supported Umno, hammering on recent corruption allegations against government officials.

"We have learnt from our failure to get support from the rural heartland," Anwar told Reuters in an interview at his PKR headquarters on Kuala Lumpur's outskirts.

Two-pronged strategy

Second, they will tout what they see as economic success stories in states that have been governed by the opposition since 2008. The opposition government of Penang state in Malaysia's northwest, for example, has dismantled preferential treatment for ethnic Malays in public tenders and attracted more investments than any other state in 2010.

Anwar says he would move quickly to reform the pro-ethnic Malay affirmative action system – enshrined in the 1971 New Economic Policy – that he says unnecessarily raises tensions with minority Chinese and Indians while mostly benefiting a well-connected, wealthy few.

"We have to go down and tell the Malays that our policy, a more transparent policy, would benefit them more than the New Economic Policy that is enriching the leaders and their cronies," Anwar said.

Opinion polls show the majority of ethnic Malays support affirmative action policies, but Anwar aims to tap into a growing suspicion that the system mostly benefits elites and fuels corruption. He says he would introduce a policy based on economic need rather than race.

Malays account for about 56 percent of Malaysia's 28 million population, with Chinese and Indians making up 33 percent and 11 percent respectively.

The opposition is placed to make big enough advances that "Najib will more or less lose his mandate within Umno," said Wan Saiful Wan Jan, the head of the IDEAS thinktank in Kuala Lumpur.

"The nationalist side within Umno will become more vocal and that will destabilize Najib's reforms," he said.

Anwar pledges to make the judiciary independent, lift restrictions on the media and hold more open tenders for government contracts, which he says are too often handed out to Umno "cronies."

The government says the inexperienced opposition cannot be trusted with power and is making promises it can't keep, such as writing off student loans and reducing fuel prices.

"This is a recipe for economic disaster. One need not be an economist to figure out that this will destroy the economy," Najib was quoted as saying by state news agency Bernama last week.

Battle for frontline states

The charismatic Anwar's acquittal allows him to write another chapter in his remarkable political comeback. The former student radical climbed the ranks of Umno to be deputy prime minister before being fired in 1998 by then prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad and charged with corruption and sodomy.

He spent six years in jail before a court overturned the charges, which Anwar said were politically motivated, only to face fresh allegations in 2008 that he sodomised a former male aide. State prosecutors quickly appealed his latest acquittal, meaning the issue will likely loom throughout the campaign.

The 64-year-old Anwar's freedom to campaign adds an X factor to an election that was already tough to call given a scarcity of reliable opinion polls. Pollsters failed to predict the extent of opposition gains four years ago, a result that prompted a 10 percent one-day plunge in Kuala Lumpur's main stock index as risk-averse investors took fright.

Anwar invokes the spirit of the Arab Spring in Malaysia, whose government is struggling to retain support among younger, urban voters and has some of the region's strictest security laws. Najib last year repealed two of the most notorious laws, but a new bill that bans street protests has been criticised by human rights activists as repressive and cast doubt on his reformist credentials.

"I say an Arab Spring in terms of the spirit and enthusiasm of the masses to rise against a corrupt establishment, but we still have an avenue through elections," Anwar told Reuters.

To improve on its 2008 performance, the opposition needs to make headway in three key states – Sabah and Sarawak on the eastern island of Borneo, and Johor, which borders Singapore.

The ruling coalition effectively won the election in those states in 2008, restricting the opposition to just three parliamentary seats out of 83. Anwar said that he was confident of winning 8-10 seats in Sarawak, where the opposition made strong gains in a state election in April.

Ong Kian Ming, a political scientist at Kuala Lumpur's UCSI university, said voting trends suggested the opposition could win between 10 and 20 seats in those three "frontline" states – not enough to form a government, but maybe enough to prompt unrest within Umno that would force Najib out.

Still, the opposition faces an uphill struggle in rural areas, where voters are more conservative and more likely to get their news from pro-government media than from websites like Malaysiakini.com that are the main outlet for critical reporting on the government.

"I think the country as a whole is just not ready yet for that change to happen," said Wan Saiful.

- Reuters

Isu kepala babi: Selangor tawar RM10,000

Posted: 01 Feb 2012 02:20 AM PST

SHAH ALAM: Kerajaan Negeri Selangor menawarkan ganjaran wang tunai sebanyak RM10,000 kepada mana-mana individu yang dapat memberikan maklumat mengenai penemuan satu kepala babi di Masjid Nurul Iman, Batu 18 Rawang awal pagi semalam.

Perkara itu diumumkan Exco Kebajikan, Hal Ehwal Wanita, Sains, Teknologi dan Inovasi, Rodziah Ismail ketika sidang media selepas mesyuarat exco kerajaan negeri di bangunan SUK di sini petang ini.

Beliau berharap orang ramai dapat membantu polis dengan memberi maklumat untuk menangkap individu yang tidak bertanggungjawab tersebut dengan menghubungi talian di 1-800-888-2824.

"Ini bukan kali pertama perkara ini timbul dan kesan dari itu kita tak mahu ramai pihak jadikan ia isu sensitif.

"Malangnya yang lepas tiada tangkapan. Mungkin dengan usaha orang awam membantu polis maka akan membawa mereka yang lakukan hal ini dengan secepat mungkin. Itu objektif kita," kata Rodziah yang juga Ahli Dewan Negeri (Adun) Batu Tiga.

Menurut Adun Rawang Gan Pei Nei, satu kepala babi ditemui di perkarangan masjid berkenaan pada jam lima pagi semalam oleh ahli jawatankuasa masjid apabila mereka membuka pintu pagar utama untuk membuat persiapan solat Suboh.

Syabas guna taktik paksaan

Sementara itu, syarikat konsesi air, Syarikat Bekalan Air Selangor (Syabas) pula didakwa menggunakan taktik paksaan agar kerajaan negeri meluluskan pembinaan Loji Rawatan Air Sungai Langat atau Langat 2.

Exco Kesihatan, Pekerja Ladang, Kemiskinan dan Kerajaan Prihatin Dr Xavier Jayakumar menyatakan rasa kesal di atas hal itu sambil menyifatkan taktik terbaru Syabas itu sebagai tidak beretika.

"Taktik terbaru Syabas yang tidak meluluskan pembangunan baru dan pada masa depan dengan alasan bekalan air tidak mencukupi seperti yang didedahkan oleh Menteri Tenaga Teknologi Hijau dan Air, Datuk Seri Peter Chin Fah Kui dalam kenyataan semalam adalah tidak beretika dan mesti dikutuk," kata Xavier.

Dr Xavier yang juga Adun Sri Andalas menegaskan kerajaan negeri tidak akan menentang pembinaan Langat 2.

Dalam pada itu, Exco Perumahan, Pengurusan Bangunan dan Setinggan, Iskandar Abdul Samad menasihatkan Datuk Seri Noh Omar untuk tidak mempolitikkan masalah rakyat.

Katanya, Menteri Pertanian dan Industri Asas Tani itu sepatutnya
bersungguh-sungguh membantu pembeli rumah di Ukay Bistari,Hulu

Kelang daripada hanya mencari publisiti.

Iskandar berkata, terdapat kekeliruan dan persoalan ketika majlis serah kunci oleh Noh kepada pembeli pangsapuri Residensi Bistaria 30 Januari lepas.

"Ada laporan dari Majlis Perbandaran Ampang Jaya menunjukkan pemaju pada majlis itu belum lagi memohon untuk mendapat Sijil Layak Menduduki atau CF.

"Oleh itu saya menasihati Datuk Seri Noh supaya tidak mempolitikkan masalah rakyat tapi sebaliknya menumpukan masa, tenaga untuk selesai isu National Feedlot Corporation (NFCorp) yang membabitkan kementerian beliau," kata Iskandar yang juga Adun Cempaka.

Eight drown, six missing as boat capsizes

Posted: 01 Feb 2012 02:09 AM PST

KUALA LUMPUR: Eight people drowned while six others were missing after a boat capsized off Kota Tinggi in Johor on Wednesday.

Initial investigation revealed that the boat was ferrying 25 people of Afghan, Pakistani and Iraqi origin.

The boat was en route to a neighbouring country illegally via Malaysia, police told state news agency Bernama.

Eleven people on board were rescued as search is underway for the six missing.

Police said the dead bodies were sent to a hospital for autopsy.

- Xinhua

MACC vows to chop down illegal loggers

Posted: 01 Feb 2012 02:01 AM PST

KUALA LUMPUR: The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) has pledged to go after all illegal loggers throughout Malaysia regardless of their political affiliations.

MACC's director of investigations Mustafar Ali told the media today that the agency was not interested in the timber companies' political links but in their activities.

"There have been many allegations of such links between timber tycoons and politicians but we don't care who they are," he said at the launch of Transparency International (TI) Malaysia's "The Forest Watch Project".

"MACC is very transparent, professional and independent in carrying out its duties and as long as a person is involved in corrupt activities, we will go after them."

Mustafar was however unable to provide information on how many perpetrators had been charged to date. But he pointed out that amendments to the National Forestry Act 1984 had pushed the number of illegal logging cases in Peninsular Malaysia from 419 in 1993 down to 24 in 2011.

He added that 88 complaints on illegal logging were received by MACC last year but few were investigated due to lack of solid evidence and witnesses.

"It's difficult for us to act based on generic information like allegations or poison pen letters," he explained. "But the MACC takes the issue of corruption in forestry very seriously."

"We are not just fire-fighting by going after the perpetrators but also looking into the system and procedures from logging concessions to the workers involved."

Probe on Taib

Illegal logging and corruption are particularly rife in East Malaysia and the most high-profile name linked with these activities is that of Sarawak Chief Minister Abdul Taib Mahmud.

Taib is currently being investigated by MACC for his alleged involvement in timber corruption. But since the case was opened last June, MACC had kept mum over the status of the investigation.

Even today, Mustafar refused to divulge any details on the probe and merely assured the the media that it was proceeding.

TI president Paul Low meanwhile expressed confidence that the file on Taib would not be quietly closed without MACC's findings being made public first.

However, he pointed out that throrough work was required to unearth these findings and that MACC would need more time.

"Fighting corruption in forestry doesn't just involve enforcement but also policies and processes," he explained. "Policy relates to how much land should be cleared and how much should be gazetted as forest reserve."

"The process involves the awarding of projects to selected companies under an open tender. And here transparency of specifications and conditions must be available before the tender is opened."

"There are so many allegations being made and the best way to put a stop to them is to have a more transparent and a stricter tender process especially by the state governments."

Empowering the citizens

According to Low, illegal logging activities were "under control" in Peninsular Malaysia but still rampant in Sabah and Sarawak. When asked for statistics, however, he admitted that TI had not compiled them yet.

Neither had "The Forest Watch Project" been launched in East Malaysia although Low emphasised that there were "obvious plans" to heighten public awareness of the project there.

The project is a three to five year initiative involving the use of Google Earth to monitor and assess forest cover changes.

The public is encouraged to act as the eyes and ears of the forest by viewing satellite images of forests in Malaysia and alerting the authorities via www.timalaysia-forestwatch.org.my on any suspicious activities.

"It's about empowering citizens to do survelliance," Low said. "Their reports will be received by teams within TI and the Forestry Department for further investigation and action."

Lim ticks off Najib over ang pow fiasco

Posted: 01 Feb 2012 01:35 AM PST

GEORGE TOWN: Malaysians will be convinced that Perkasa has no links with Barisan Nasional only if Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak and Umno openly cut off all ties with the Malay supremacist organisation.

DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng criticised Najib for attemping to fool the public into believing that the taboo white ang pow envelopes distributed by Perkasa at its Chinese New Year do last Sunday had nothing to do with BN.

In trying to distance his government from Perkasa, Najib has said that the incident was a learning experience for race relations in Malaysia.

Lim said Najib's failure to condemn Perkasa showed how protective Putrajaya is of the organisation even at the expense of trampling on the sensitivities of the Chinese community.

"How can he dismiss this disrespectful and insensitive gesture so frivolously when white packets are traditionally used for Chinese funerals?" asked Lim in his blog posting today.

The Penang Chief Minister said time and time again Malaysians have seen Perkasa and its chief Ibrahim Ali getting away with most seditious actions and statements.

When Perkasa can get away with such vile and seditious threats, he said it was crystal clear that the organisation has the full backing of Umno and the BN leadership.

Despite acts such as burning the portrait of Bersih 2.0 leader S Ambiga, calling her as a "dangerous Hindu woman" and threatening the Chinese not to come out on July 9 last year to join the Bersih 2.0 rally, no action has been taken on Perkasa.

'MCA is tacitly collaborating with Perkasa'

He said Najib was trying to distance himself from the ang pow fiasco by claiming that Ibrahim, as an independent MP without any official position, has nothing to do with BN and the government.

"But no one believes this," said Lim. "In an interview with Al Jazeera two years ago, he defended Perkasa saying they are "not so extreme" if one understood their demands."

Lim alleged that Umno and BN leaders have consistently supported Perkasa, attended its functions and have even adopted their views on national policies.

He said MCA is tacitly collaborating with Perkasa, noting that Sri Desa Branch chief and Seputeh division committee member Tiew Chew Ming had said "Perkasa fights for all people regardless of race."

Lim said that the late Dr Zainal Aznam, a member of the National Economic Advisory Council (NEAC) which drafted the New Economic Model (NEM), had blamed the BN government for submitting to Perkasa's demand by dropping the proposed Equal Opportunities Commission.

The commission was to be part of the NEM.

"The PM must realise that his open support has emboldened Perkasa to act in an insolent manner, preaching hatred and extremism not to mention exposing his 1Malaysia as empty sloganeering," said Lim, the Bagan MP.

Also read:

White 'ang pow' nothing to do with govt, says Najib

Ibrahim Ali jamin tiada lagi ‘angpau putih’

Posted: 01 Feb 2012 01:28 AM PST

RAWANG: Presiden Pertubuhan Pribumi Perkasa Malaysia (Perkasa) Datuk Ibrahim Ali memberi jaminan pihaknya tidak akan memberikan angpau berwarna putih semasa menyambut perayaan Tahun Baru Cina pada masa akan datang.

"Jika Perkasa anjurkan jamuan Tahun Baru Cina selepas ini saya jamin peristiwa lepas tidak akan berlaku lagi," katanya kepada pemberita selepas melawat Masjid Nurul Iman Batu 18 di sini hari ini.

Mengakui kesilapan itu, beliau mempertahankan insiden itu tidak disengajakan apabila jamuan yang diatur dalam masa singkat itu sebenarnya memberikan sampul surat putih, bukannya sampul duit raya.

Katanya, pihaknya gagal mencari angpau merah memandangkan banyak kedai tutup semasa perayaan dan memutuskan untuk memasukkan wang RM10 ke dalam sampul surat berwarna putih.

"Perkasa tiada niat langsung mengguris sensitiviti masyarakat Tionghua, kami ikhlas membelanjakan duit meraikan perayaan Tahun Baru Cina," katanya.

Malah katanya tiada seorang pun tetamu menegurnya tentang kesalahan menggunakan sampul warna putih.

"Kenapa tak tegur saya ketika itu sedangkan ada wartawan berbangsa Cina buat liputan tapi terus hentam saya dalam media," soalnya.

Pemberian angpau berwarna putih pada satu perhimpunan Tahun Baru Cina anjuran Perkasa pada Ahad lepas di Kampung Baru, Kuala umpur menimbulkan reaksi negatif pelbagai pihak kerana dianggap menghina adat resam kaum Cina yang biasanya diberikan semasa majlis kematian.

Cameron Highlands BN a ‘mess of disunity’

Posted: 01 Feb 2012 01:25 AM PST

KUALA LUMPUR: A veteran Umno member has decried what he calls a "mess of disunity" in Barisan Nasional's Cameron Highlands division, laying the blame on Umno division chief Wan Rosdy Wan Ismail.

Cameron Highlands BN is now split into two factions, with one side pledging support for MP SK Devamany and the other backing MIC president G Palanivel's alleged attempt to replace him as candidate for the constituency in the coming election.

Since FMT reported on Monday that Wan Rosdy had a secret meeting with Palanivel (main photo), the rival groups have come out in the open to declare their stand.

Mahiruddin Ahmad Khairuddin, who has been a member of Cameron Highlands Umno for 20 years, told FMT many members of the division were unhappy with Wan Rosdy's leadership, often accusing him of using his position for personal gain.

Mahiruddin alleged that the now famous secret meeting was an instance of the division chief's attempt to feather his own nest.

"We want him to explain what was discussed in the meeting," he said.

He said he had written to the Prime Minister and the Pahang Menteri Besar to complain about Wan Rosdy's "destructive" leadership.

According to him, Cameron Highlands BN has become weak not because of any shortcoming attributable to Devamany, as alleged by Palanivel's supporters, but because of Wan Rosdy's leadership of the Umno division.

In the last two days, Umno Youth and Puteri Umno, along with MIC Youth and the Felda Youth Council, have proposed that Palanivel be fielded in Cameron Highlands in place of Devamany. But Wanita Umno and several NGOs have declared their support for the incumbent.

Mahiruddin scoffed at the Felda Youth Council's declaration of support for Palanivel, saying its officials knew nothing about the MIC leader. "How many times have they met Palanivel?" he asked.

He challenged Puteri Umno to give a convincing explanation of why it thought two terms was enough for Devamany, noting that Wan Rosdy was also in his second term as the state assemblyman for Jelai.

He also urged Umno's national leadership to take action against Cameron Highlands Puteri Umno treasurer Norzalina Mohd Noor for threatening to cast spoilt votes against Devamany (photo).

He said BN should choose candidates who would bring benefits to ordinary citizens, not those who would use politics for personal gain.

Meanwhile, Belia 4B Cameron Highlands has declared its support for Devamany.

"Devamany is a down-to-earth leader," said Razali Mohd Sani, vice chairman of the youth group.

"He has never missed any Belia 4B programme and he has the support of the younger generations of Malays."

‘Mereka tak faham, tembak tak betul’

Posted: 01 Feb 2012 01:12 AM PST

ALOR SETAR: Menteri Besar Kedah Datuk Seri Azizan Abdul Razak berkata pihak yang mempertikaikan keputusan Kolej Universiti Insaniah (Kuin) menggantung lima pelajarnya, tidak memahami undang-undang yang digunakan universiti milik kerajaan negeri itu.

Azizan yang juga Pengerusi Kuin menjelaskan tindakan yang dikenakan bukan mengikut Akta Universiti dan Kolej Universiti (Auku) 1971 kerana Auku adalah bagi Institusi Pengajian Tinggi Awam (IPTA) sedangkan Kuin adalah IPT Swasta (IPTS).

"Mereka yang tak faham…tembak tak betul menyebabkan semua orang keliru dan pening kepala. Saya dah beri jawapan (undang- undang) IPTS lain daripada IPTA," katanya kepada pemberita selepas mempengerusikan mesyuarat Exco kerajaan negeri di sini hari ini.

Azizan yang juga Pesuruhjaya PAS negeri berkata beliau telah menerangkan perkara itu kepada Presiden PAS Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi

Awang dan hari ini beliau mengarahkan setiausaha politiknya supaya ke Kuala Lumpur bersama dokumen berkenaan untuk menerangkannya lagi.

"(Pengurusan Kuin) sebagai satu badan bebas, apa keputusan dibuat selagi tak bercanggah dengan prinsip nyata biar mereka putuskan.

Kes mahkamah

Saya tak boleh campur tangan. Saya pun tak boleh cakap banyak kerana perkara ini telahpun dibawa ke mahkamah…bukan kami tetapi pelajar tu yang bawa ke mahkamah," katanya.

Katanya difahamkan Kuin telah melantik peguam Karpal Singh untuk mewakili mereka dalam kes itu.

Lima pelajar universiti itu digantung pada April lalu kerana memprotes tindakan universiti mengosongkan asrama mereka di kediaman Ar -Razi, di sini.

Bagaimanapun, empat daripada pelajar terbabit sudah dibenarkan menyambung semula pengajian baru-baru ini, manakala seorang lagi masih dalam penggantungan.

Sebelum ini, Pengarah Komunikasi PKR Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad dan bekas pensyarah Universiti Islam Antarabangsa Malaysia (UIAM) Dr Abdul Aziz Bari meminta supaya pakatan pembangkang mengambil tindakan terhadap Azizan kerana mendakwa Menteri Besar itu menyokong kewujudan Auku, sedangkan manifesto Pakatan Rakyat dalam Buku Jingga menjanjikan mereka akan menghapuskan akta berkenaan.

Bersetuju dengan Buku Jingga

Azizan berkata beliau bersetuju dengan Buku Jingga tetapi pelaksanaan Buku Jingga itu adalah selepas pakatan pembangkang membentuk kerajaan pusat.

"Ada yang boleh digunakan sekarang, ada yang tidak boleh. Setiap negeri ada masalah masing-masing. Ada yang sesuai yang dilaksanakan di Semenanjung tetapi tidak di Sabah dan Sarawak. Ada yang boleh di Kelantan tetapi tidak di Kedah.

"Bukan saya menentang. Buku Jingga tu bagus tetapi ada perkara kena tunggu suasana yang mengizinkan," katanya.

Mengenai kenyataan Abdul Hadi untuk tidak bertanding pada pilihan raya umum ke-13 (PRU-13), Azizan berkata sebagai ketua parti, Abdul Hadi perlu bertanding.

"Saya tak tau apa sebab (Abdul Hadi buat kenyataan itu) sedangkan dia masih mampu. Dia asas kepada parti dan tidak ada buat kesalahan apa pun. Malah kalau ikut kesihatan, dia lagi sihat daripada saya," katanya.

Ditanya sama ada beliau akan bertanding pada PRU-13, Azizan berkata semuanya bergantung kepada pucuk pimpinan parti.

- Bernama

Perkasa mahu rumah ibadat dikawal 24 jam

Posted: 01 Feb 2012 12:54 AM PST

RAWANG: Pertubuhan Pribumi Perkasa Malaysia (Perkasa) mahu rumah ibadat kini dikawal rapi oleh pengawal keselamatan termasuk menggunakan khidmat polis dan Ikatan Relawan Rakyat Malaysia (Rela) bagi mengelak kejadian provokasi berulang.

Presiden Perkasa Datuk Ibrahim Ali berkata Kementerian Dalam Negeri (KDN) perlu memanfaatkan sepenuhnya tenaga 2.8 juta anggota Rela dengan mengawal semua tempat ibadah termasuk masjid, surau, dan madrasah di seluruh kawasan.

Beliau turut menggesa agar rukun tetangga berfungsi membuat kawalan 24 jam, selain mencadangkan agar meletakkan anggota polis mahu pun pengawal keselamatan yang dibiayai oleh Menteri Agama.

"Kalau rumah Perdana Menteri dan Menteri boleh letak polis suruh jaga kenapa di masjid tak boleh," katanya kepada pemberita selepas melawat Masjid Nurul Iman di Batu 18 di sini tengahari tadi.

Dalam kejadian pagi semalam, satu kepala babi panggang ditemui terletak dihadapan tangga pintu utama masjid tersebut.

Kepala itu ditemui siak masjid kira-kira 5.15 pagi ketika hendak membuat persiapan solat Subuh sebelum melaporkan kejadian itu ke balai polis berdekatan.

Sehubungan itu, Ibrahim dalam responnya mendesak polis bertindak profesional dengan segera membawa dan menghukum pihak yang tidak bertanggungjawab ke muka pengadilan dengan segera.

Sambil mengecam insiden itu, beliau turut mempersoalkan kejadian yang sama pernah berlaku di masjid lain namun polis sehingga kini tidak mengambil apa-apa tindakan.

Katanya, ini kejadian keempat selepas insiden yang sama terjadi di Masjid Jumhuriah Taman Datuk Harun dan Masjid Taman Sentosa di Petaling Jaya pada 27 Januari tahun lalu, Masjid Al-Falahiah di Taman Desa Jaya Johor Bahru 30 Disember tahun lalu, serta Surau

Akademi Pengajian Islam Universiti Malaya (UM) April 2009 sewaktu pemilihan kampus.

Sentimen perkauman dan agama

Sementara itu, ditanya mengenai kenyataan Ketua Menteri Pulau Pinang Lim Guan Eng yang turut mengecam insiden itu dan menganggap tindakan itu sebagai pengecut untuk mengapi-apikan sentimen perkauman dan agama untuk Pilihan Raya Umum 13, Ibrahim sebaliknya berkata pemimpin Pakatan Rakyat perlu menunjukkan keikhlasan lebih daripada itu.

"Saya mengalu-alukan pandangan beliau tetapi mereka perlu bertindak lebih daripada hanya sekadar memberi kenyataan bersifat gimik politik," katanya.

Sementara itu, Ketua Polis Datuk Tun Hisan Tun Hamzah berkata setakat ini pihaknya masih menjalankan siasatan dan memberi jaminan akan menyiasat daripada pelbagai sudut.

Katanya, kes itu disiasat dibawah 295 Kanun Keseksaan atas kesalahan mencemarkan tempat sembahyang dengan niat mengaibkan agama.

Walau bagaimana pun katanya, masih tiada sebarang tangkapan dibuat.

DAP: Gov’t abusing EPF cash to win votes

Posted: 01 Feb 2012 12:05 AM PST

KUALA LUMPUR: DAP leader Tony Pua has claimed that Putrajaya is squandering public funds for its election push when it proposed to channel RM1.5 billion from the Employees Provident Fund (EPF) into its home loan scheme.

The Petaling Jaya Utara MP said the scheme, meant to help those unqualified for bank loans to purchase homes, was an abuse of public funds for political reasons.

It was a proposal announced by Federal Territories and Urban Well-being Minister Raja Nong Chik Raja Zainal Abidin.

The funds would be used to help some 20,000 people who were still renting in the city to buy homes under the Federal Territories Foundation.

The Najib administration embarked on a vigorous campaign to aid the urban poor – key constituents to Barisan Nasional's effort to regain the capital city. Only one of the constituencies here is BN held.

While Pua supported the idea, he questioned the move to use EPF funds, a move he said had become too frequent when its purpose was to safeguard the retirement funds of its members.

As many as 11 million or almost half the Malaysian population contribute to the EPF.

The Petaling Jaya MP blasted the government for treating the sovereign fund as a lender "of last resort" and said the EPF was not a social welfare organisation.

This could set a bad precedent for the future where the EPF could be exposed to more similar programmes in the future.

"By setting a precedent for it to be used as 'social welfare', the EPF can in future be further abused to finance political programmes to win votes under the guise of the same," he said.

Can they afford to service the loans?

He also warned that the scheme could also jeopardise applicants' retirement funds.

If they cannot afford to get bank help for homes, they would likely have trouble servicing their loans, he added.

The DAP publicity chief pointed out that if Putrajaya felt that the housing unit was credit-worthy collateral, why not let banks take it as collateral.

"Why are the EPF funds being mobilised for housing loans?" he asked.

Home ownership is one of the key issues to win the votes as evident by Putrajaya's intensive policy aimed at easing securing home loans for low income earners who form the huge chunk of the electorate.

But opposition leaders said the potential to default was high and used data indicating drastic increase in household debt to back their argument that these policies would expose the country's finances similar to the US subprime crisis.

Existing financial institutions should suffice to lend potential buyers, Pua said.

‘Black City Day’ march to object MRT project

Posted: 31 Jan 2012 11:34 PM PST

KUALA LUMPUR: Chinatown traders today staged a "Black City Day" march from Jalan Sultan to Bukit Bintang to protest against the Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) construction here.

Calling it a "Black City Day", some 30 black-shirted traders and their supporters waved black flags on a three-hour "heritage walk" at 9:30am from the Klang Bus Station before ending at the McDonalds Bukit Bintang outlet.

(The two locations are also the sites designated for the Jalan Sultan and Bukit Bintang MRT stations. The term 'Black City Day' is also a play on KL's anniversary, Federal Territory Day.)

Leading the way was Chinese Assembly Hall (KLSCAH) Stanley Yong Yew Wei, who said it was "unwise" for the MRT's project owners MRT Corp to build underground tunnels here.

"MRT Corp wants to construct underground tunnels (here)…This is very unwise, because even though they used the best (tunnelling) method in the world, it will not guarantee the stability of the old buildings of Jalan Sultan and Jalan Petaling."

"(MRT Corp) should keep the character of KL as it is," he told reporters at a press conference.

In mid-August, dozens of lot-owners in Jalan Sultan and Bukit Bintang were told that their buildings were going to be taken through land acquisition for the construction of underground MRT tunnels.

At the time, the lot-owners feared that their buildings would be demolished to make way for the massive public transport project.

Unhappy with being notified about the matter at the very last minute, the lot-owners took their grouses to politicians, and warned the government not to grab their land by force.

Since then a large number of the traders have been negotiating with MRT Corp (wholly-owned by the Finance Ministry) over the matter, with some coming to "mutual agreements".

Others, such as those who marched today, were opposed to any construction in the area. Instead, they proposed that the government realign the MRT tracks to travel along Jalan Tun Tan Cheng Lock.

Will turn away visitors

The government however, according to Yong, has been ignoring them.

"For the last four months, we have been requesting MRT to have a dialogue with us. (But the past) four months has brought us to nowhere," he said.

He added that any heavy construction would affect the "two to three million" visitors coming here per month.

DAP's Bukit Bintang MP Fong Kui Lun also attended the march. Dissatisfied, he said that MRT Corp had yet to share the project's "social impact assessment" with the public.

He told reporters that the government had put up a public notice board along Jalan Sultan two days before Chinese New Year.

The notice board, he said, was supposedly raised for people to write their opinions about the upcoming MRT.

During the march, FMT noticed that the said notice board had a few comments supporting the MRT's construction, most opposed the project.

"Re-align the road, we want to come back!" wrote one Isanna from Sweden.

A tourist known as Samantha wrote: "Hi, my name is Samantha. I am (an) Australian. Please don't knock down the building. Chinatown is the best part of Kuala Lumpur. Keep it safe xoxo."

An anonymous writer wrote: "Some people have lived here for (a) few generations. Please do not destroy their livelihood!"

Majlis Permuafakatan Perkampungan Warisan chairman Ishak Surin, who was there to give his support, advised the Chinatown traders to keep on fighting for their land.

"We are against (the MRT construction), and hope our friends in Jalan Sultan and Jalan Petaling will be firm in (fighting for) their rights," he said.

He added that KLites had a responsibility to heritage sites such as Chinatown, and needed to take care of them.

Breaking up wealth concentration

Posted: 31 Jan 2012 11:30 PM PST

The past year has seen the government and the opposition unveil their respective economic reform policies. Even if these reform policies and their attendant programmes are implemented they will not be able to resolve the country's economic problems. This is because the policies advocated by both sides of the political divide are merely palliative. They do not address the root or fundamental cause of the problem of structural deformation of the country's economy.

How has this deformation come about? What are its characteristics? And what can be done to bring about a reversal or correction of the deformation so that we have a really transformed economic system that can live up to its full potential?

First we need to recognise that wealth in any country – and Malaysia is no exception – is created by economic activity engaged in by individuals or enterprises that bring profits or gains to the entrepreneur. Much of this wealth creation and subsequent accumulation is legitimate. It is based on material reward arising from work (or gift) and is socially and ethically acceptable. It comes from risk-taking and from the social utility and superiority of the products and services generated by the individual or enterprise.

Wealth generated and accumulated by individuals through legitimate means and conforming to the norms of justice and fairness is not only desirable but beneficial to society and the economy.

But what about wealth that is created or amassed by less than legitimate or illegitimate or illegal means? Is it a minor or non-issue and do we just ignore it as is the case with the Barisan Nasional government?

Outflow of massive illegal wealth accumulation

One important clue to the massive wealth capture by illicit means in Malaysia was exposed recently by the Global Financial Integrity, a US-based watchdog.

In its study on "Illicit Financial Flows from Developing Countries" it estimated that Malaysia was fifth in the world on cumulative total illicit financial flows (IFF) since 2000.

For 2009 alone, IFF (non-normalised) amounted to approximately U$47 billion (approximately RM145 billion at the exchange rate of RM3.1 = US$1) and over the cumulative nine years, total IFF amounted to US$350 (approximately RM1,086 billion).

Two methods of estimation were used in the study, one being the World Bank residual model (using the change in external debt or CED), and secondly, trade mispricing (using the Gross Excluding Reversals method or GER).

Through the balance of payments (a component of CED), it captures unrecorded capital leakages i.e. illicit transfers of the proceeds of bribery, theft, kickbacks, and tax evasion. Outflow of unrecorded transfers due to trade mispricing was captured under the GER method.

Based on the study, Malaysia's nine-year average normalised i.e. conservative IFF, amounted to US$14.2 billion (42%; RM43.9 billion) due to CED while GER accounted for $19.6 billion (58%; RM60.8 billion). Meanwhile, average non-normalised IFF was US$15.4 billion (44%; RM47.5 billion) due to CED and US$19.6 billion (56%; RM60.8 billion) due to GER.

MNCs and Illicit Financial Flows

According to the study, "illicit flows involve capital that is illegally earned, transferred, or utilised and covers all unrecorded private financial outflows that drive the accumulation of foreign assets by residents in contravention of applicable capital controls and regulatory frameworks. Hence, illicit flows may involve capital earned through legitimate means such as the profits of a legitimate business".

If taxes were levied on the illegal outflows, the country's finances would have benefitted to the tune of close to US$100 billion. When the GFI's findings were made public recently, the finger of blame for the massive outflows was placed by the MP for Kota Belud, Abdul Rahman Dahlan, on multinational corporations (MNCs). Indeed, MNCs have been a convenient scapegoat for transfer pricing woes in developing countries where they have major operations.

One local observer – a specialist in transfer pricing – has demolished this accusation for Malaysia. According to his letter of Dec 27, 2011 to Free Malaysia Today, "transfer pricing has been the one of the most scrutinised subjects by the Malaysian Inland Revenue Board since the Transfer Pricing Guidelines was introduced [in 2003]."

He has argued that "more likely than not, where there are cases of transfer mispricing, MNCs would always step forward and rectify the situation. This is so because "getting caught by authorities in doing illegal activities will most likely cause serious damage to business integrity and reputation."

He concluded that "compliance by MNCs is one of the most stringent as far as I understand from a corporate culture perspective, or at least for cases I have seen."

So if MNCs are not the culprit for the illicit financial outflows, who are the real culprits?

The Global Financial Integrity study has noted that besides transfer pricing outflows – MNCs alone are not to blame for this; local conglomerates and GLCs also play the same game with greater insider knowledge – IFF was caused by illicit transfers arising from the proceeds of bribery, theft, kickbacks, and tax evasion.

Malaysia is in fact the only country where IFF is caused by a comparable proportion of transfer and non-transfer pricing transgressions.

Real culprits in illegal wealth accumulation

While the study has been helpful in providing some hard data on the quantum of the illicit financial outflows, it does not provide much assistance on other key details such as who are responsible for the outflow; the countries of fund relocation; etc.

At this stage, we can only hazard a guess as to the likely individuals or parties involved in the non-transfer pricing illicit outflow. The most likely culprits are those who have been able to accumulate enormous wealth and who for various reasons find it expedient or necessary to conceal their wealth accumulation as well as to diversity their wealth havens and assets away from Malaysia.

The GFI study does not cover the illicit wealth accumulated locally and not yet remitted to foreign shores. The size of this locally retained illicit wealth is likely to be several if not many times more than that sent abroad.

A crude estimate of the extent of legal wealth concentration in the country can be obtained from the 40 individuals identified by Forbes as the richest billionaires for Malaysia. Collectively this group was worth $62.5 billion in 2011. In addition there must be many other extremely wealthy individuals who have avoided making the list through their ability to conceal their wealth and others who though not making the top 40 list still possess enormous wealth.

The most widely rumoured name not making the Forbes list has to be Taib Mahmud, the chief minister of Sarawak, who together with his family is reputed to have shares in more than 330 companies in Malaysia alone and more than 400 companies around the globe worth several billion US dollars.

Various quarters have questioned the legitimacy of the wealth accumulation engaged in by the chief minister. A recent article in the blogsite Sarawak Headhunter provides in-depth details into what is alleged to be the income stream of the chief minister's financial vacuum machine.

These include:

Income from timber licences
Surcharge on timber exports
Kickbacks from timber shipping companies
Agency and other fees levied on shipping companies
Privatization of government companies
Illegal logging receipts
Federal government contracts
Alienation of state land to plantations

State contracts

The chief minister has refuted these claims and has argued that that his daughter's considerable property empire was amassed through the daughter and son-in-law's business acumen in investing wisely the gratuity which Taib earned from his earlier service in the federal government.

This may well be true but if so, it needs to be substantiated by an opening of the financial records and bank accounts of the family and the companies owned or controlled by the family in Malaysia and abroad. Only then can the authorities and public determine the truth of the allegations of financial and political impropriety.

That the chief minister and his family own an extraordinary amount of wealth – held locally and abroad – at least is not denied. Some idea of the enormous size of the Taib family wealth emerged when Taib's daughter-in-law filed a RM400 million claim on her estranged husband, Mahmud Abu Bekir Taib, in court recently, including what she claims is her share of property worth RM300 million.

These tantalizing details of the extraordinary wealth accumulation by Taib and a small group of Malaysians show a common pattern. Firstly, they have all been beneficiaries of the BN government and its policy aimed at working with an elite few individuals in driving the economy forward.

Many if not all of the names that appear on the Forbes list are regarded as cronies of past prime ministers Dr Mahathir Mohamad, Abdullah Ahmad Badawi and the present Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak, and are widely perceived as owing their considerable wealth to their political loyalty to BN.

All the business empires of the former "Sugar King" Robert Kuok, Genting Highlands' late Lim Goh Tong, Public Bank's Teh Hong Piau, YTL's Yeoh Tiong Lay, Astro's Ananda Krishnan, Air Asia's Tony Fernandez and the rising Syed Mokhtar Al-Bukhary – deservedly or undeservedly – are seen as built on government preference and patronage. This connection is what has provided them with head starts and privileged monopolies without which their enterprises could never have come about, let alone flourish.

Getting to the bottom of how the business empires of our richest Malaysians have taken shape may be a useful way of dealing with the thorny question of how wealth concentration – whether legitimately derived or under a cloud of illegitimacy – has occurred.

We should have no illusions about the obstacles that lie ahead of such investigative efforts. We should also be mindful that in countries where illegal wealth accumulation by the leaders of impoverished countries has drawn national and international ire, attempts at recovery of the wealth, much of which has been spirited abroad and stashed in overseas banks and assets, has been a long-drawn and difficult process.

Admittedly the hope for any confiscation of illicit or illegitimate wealth is distant and dim. The time may not even be ripe to insist on a full-blown opening up of the records and having the truth come out on how the crème de la crème of our business and political leaders have accumulated their fortunes.

But there may be need for public scrutiny in a few special cases in Malaysia despite the concern that such efforts may be construed as an anti-capitalist or anti-BN witch hunt.

National discussion on wealth accumulation

The time is right at the least though for a national discussion on what are the pros and cons of the current economic system which encourages the concentration of wealth and its illegal outflows on such a systemic basis, and whether this is the right economic model for the country.

The time is also right to focus on sectors and processes which have been the main playgrounds of unfair or illicit wealth accumulation; and to implement actions aimed at decisively containing or neutralising them.

Best practice examples are readily available for example, in the natural resource sector of countries with the same natural wealth as us. These countries such as Norway have been able to avoid the mistakes that we have made in exploitation of our mineral and forest resources which have permitted opaque policies and procedures, and condoned corrupt or shady businesses that have reaped windfall illicit gains.

For the national discussion on wealth concentration and outflows to take place, we need to break the conspiracy of silence by our political elites that have befitted from the system and that have collaborated in the accumulation of illicit wealth and wealth generated from dubious means.

We need the professionals to play their role. We need more studies by academics and civil society to uncover where illicit and less than legitimate accumulations are taking place and what can be done to plug up leakages and bring to justice the offenders and culprits. We need more whistle blowers to step forward.

Discussion needs to be followed by action, whether by the Barisan or Pakatan government.

This action needs to be more than just the tweaking of economic policy as envisaged by the Pakatan parties. It needs to be a fundamentally new paradigm of development based on the de-concentration of wealth and its more equitable distribution.

New paradigm of development

The radically new paradigm of development that puts the spotlight on the wealth of the country (within and outside) as well as on the wealthy, and with a major focus on the eventual breaking down of wealth concentration – beginning with illicit wealth – is needed for three reasons.

Firstly, it is a superior approach to the narrowly race-based New Economic Policy model that has dominated the country's economic life and which is based on a simplistic caricature of affirmative action policy.

Secondly, our oil wealth is rapidly depleting and our treasury is depleted. Going after wealth that has been illegally accumulated or rightfully belongs to the state will provide the country some breathing space until we get our act together on the other pieces of the bigger economic transformation jigsaw.

The final reason is that the primary cause of poverty and stunted development in Malaysia is an economic system that promotes excessive concentration of wealth. So long as the excessive concentration of wealth exists, our poverty and deformed development problem will remain unresolved.

It has been said that economics is not only about production and wealth creation. It is also about morality, and the first moral principle is that the strong owe a duty towards the weak. It is the role of government to ensure that the strong and wealthy fulfil their duty and not to encourage them in wrongdoing in their obsessive wealth accumulation.

Lim Teck Ghee is the director of Centre for Policy Initiatives.

Also read:

Illicit outflows: Investigate Malaysia's heavy losses

Malaysia's illegal capital outflow tripled in last decade

EC: Dubious voters were from pre-2002

Posted: 31 Jan 2012 11:15 PM PST

PETALING JAYA: Prior to having an online database in 2002, anyone could register as a voter without providing supporting documents, said the Election Commission.

Its deputy chairman Wan Ahmad Wan Omar said this could be the reason why there were over 42,000 dubious names on the electoral list.

"And we had no online system to verify the registered names with the National Registration Department (NRD)," said Wan Ahmad.

Yesterday, EC chairman Abdul Aziz Mohd Yusof announced the removal of 42,025 dubious names from the electoral roll after checking the data with the NRD for the past three months.

The EC had displayed the names for public verification since Oct 27 last year and even extended the dateline from last Dec 31 to Jan 31.

Of the 42,025 names, the EC said it could only authenticate 26 of them, while the rest are to be deleted from roll.

On how the 42,000 over names were registered in the first place, Wan Ahmad said he was in the dark as well but offered a theory.

"Prior to 2002, one can represent a family member to register and even friends can register for one another without providing identification cards for verification," said Wan Ahmad.

However, Wan Ahmad dismissed any notion that the dubious voters had cast their votes in the previous polls.

"Voters need to produce their MyKad prior to voting. Surely, if there had been discrepancies in the details, they would not have been allowed to vote by our officers," said Wan Ahmad.

Asked whether there were other dubious names in the electoral roll, Wan Ahmad said the 42,000 over names were the only ones that could not be verified by the NRD.

"We checked the entire 12.4 million registered voters' list and only the 42,000 names were found to be questionable," said Wan Ahmad.

EC should have been proactice

With the new electoral roll, Wan Ahmad said he hoped that the public would be satisfied with the EC's clean up process, saying they have followed all procedures by the book.

"And we are working hard to ensure that the electoral roll used for the next general election would be the cleanest," he said.

Bersih steering committee member Maria Chin Abdullah , however, criticised the EC for taking 10 years to clean up the electoral roll despite being aware of problem.

She added that with the advent of the online system, the EC could have cleaned up its list in no time after synchronising its list with the NRD.

"They should have rectified it when they first discovered it. For the EC to have allowed dubious names to be in the electoral roll is partly why there are so many irregularities now," said Maria.

Maria said the EC should have been pro-active in its approach and not clean up its electoral roll only after a public uproar.

"If we hadn't complained, the EC would not have done anything. They should stop this publicity stunt and get down to some real work.

"Show us a list that is absolutely clean. It is not our job to complain, it is their job to clean up the roll," she said.

Tindak Malaysia, a group that advocates voter rights, said the EC should first decide whether they were working in the interest of the rakyat.

Its representative, PY Wong said even the Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC) set up to clean up the election process had identified many flaws in the system.

"And mind you, it is the EC's task to clean up its electoral roll. With Wan Ahmad's statement, should we be worried? I definitely am," said Wong.

He also said that if the EC was having problems in cleaning up its electoral roll, it should seek help from other government departments or even non-governmental organisations (NGO).

"Nobody really knows how the EC is handling its electoral list. It's shrouded in secrecy and no one can make objections without undergoing tough bureacratic hurdles," he said.

On whether he believed the 42,000 over names were the only dubious ones in the list, Wong said it was hard to say as the public has no access to the NRD and EC's database.

"PAS had previously claimed there were about 100,000 dubious names in the electoral roll. No one really knows," he said.

PSC welcomes clean up

Meanwhile, chairman of the Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC) on electoral refrom, Maximus Ongkili, welcomed the EC's announcement.

He said that the PSC endorses the move to clean-up the electoral roll.

"This is part of the cleaning process of the electoral (roll) undertaken by the EC and is endorsed by the PSC," said the Kota Marudu MP in a statement to FMT.

Cleaning-up the electoral roll was one of the the eight recommendations made by the commitee in its prelimenary report tabled in parliament last November.

It also recommended that Mimos Bhd, a strategic agency under the purview of the Science, Technology and Innovation Ministry (Mosti) oversee verification on several hotly contested issues such as two voters with same identification cards, many voters registered under the same address and deceased voters who are still on the electoral roll, among others.

FMT learnt that there has yet to be any developments regarding Mimos's role in cleaning up the roll. This contradicted with PSC's announcement in early December that the agency "could already work on verifying the electoral roll" by the end of 2011.

When asked to verify this, Ongkili said that Mimos' work was on-going with the NRD and the EC but did not elaborate further.

He added that updates on Mimos along with other matters relating to electoral reform will be discussed during PSC's meeting on Feb 9.

Also read:

42,000 dubious voters struck off the list

Japan’s Sharp forecasts $3.8 billion loss

Posted: 31 Jan 2012 11:15 PM PST

TOKYO: Japanese electronics maker Sharp said Wednesday it expected a full-year net loss of $3.8 billion, blaming falling prices, a high yen and the global economic slowdown.

The firm expects a net loss of 290 billion yen for the year to March, reversing an earlier projection of a six billion yen net profit.

For the nine months to December it made a net loss of 213.5 billion yen, compared with a 21.83 billion yen profit in the corresponding period in the previous year, it said.

During the same period, operating loss came to 9.1 billion yen, reversing operating profit of 66.5 billion yen in the previous year, while sales fell 18.3 percent to 1.9 trillion yen, Sharp said.

"Major price falls of products and devices such as LCD colour televisions and solar batteries as well as a dramatic increase of the yen" resulted in the lower revenues, the company said in a statement.

Sharp booked an extraordinary item of 80.9 billion yen for structural reforms and losses related to the suspension of a large LCD plant in Japan after the devastating earthquake and tsunami in March.

It also booked corporate tax and other expenses of 115.2 billion yen after revaluing deferred tax assets on its books.

For the year to March, the company expects only to break even at the operating level, compared with an earlier forecast of 85 billion yen in profit.

It lowered its sales estimate by 8.9 percent to 2.55 trillion yen from 2.80 trillion yen.

-AFP

Asian markets mixed as US data, Europe fears weigh

Posted: 31 Jan 2012 10:35 PM PST

HONG KONG: – Asian shares were mixed in cautious trade Wednesday amid weaker-than-expected US economic data, slumping Japanese corporate earnings and ongoing uncertainty over Europe's debt crisis.

Markets were broadly unmoved by official data from China showing manufacturing activity improved slightly in January, while a separate study by HSBC showed a continued contraction, albeit at a slower pace.

Tokyo ended flat, edging up 7.28 points to 8,809.79, Seoul rose 0.18 percent, adding 3.45 points to 1,959.24, and Sydney slipped 0.87 percent, or 37.0 points, to 4,225.7.

In the afternoon Hong Kong was flat and Shanghai fell 0.21 percent.

Wall Street was mixed on Tuesday after the Conference Board's consumer confidence index fell to 61.1 in January from 64.8 a month earlier, showing a downturn in Americans' hopes for an economic rebound.

The S&P-Case Shiller Index on home prices across the country fell for the fifth straight month in November, despite record-low mortgage interest rates that analysts hoped would help the sector rebound.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.16 percent while the broader S&P 500 and tech-heavy Nasdaq were both flat.

Investors have cheered a European Union agreement on stricter controls to maintain balanced budgets across the region, but continued wrangling over a Greek debt writedown has left the public debt crisis still unresolved.

Greek Prime Minister Lucas Papademos has said he hoped to reach a deal with banks "in the coming days" after weeks of complex negotiations aimed at slashing 100 billion euros from the country's 350-billion-euro debt mountain.

Without a deal, Athens could not tap a second bailout package, keeping alive worries that the country may default on its debt.

"As markets grow thick-skinned to the drawn-out (Greek debt) talks, they still have the potential to cause widespread damage," Justin Harper, head of research at IG Markets in Singapore, said in a note to clients.

China said its official purchasing managers index (PMI) rose to 50.5 in January, up slightly from 50.3 in December, expanding for the second straight month.

A reading above 50 indicates the sector is expanding while a reading below 50 suggests a contraction.

Markets also reacted to weak Japanese corporate earnings, dented by the March 11 quake-tsunami disaster, a subsequent nuclear crisis and record flooding in Thailand that dented Japanese manufacturers' supply chains.

Exporters have also been struggling with a high yen, which makes their products more expensive overseas and erodes repatriated profits from foreign operations.

On Tuesday, electronics giant Toshiba reported a 70 percent dive in nine-month earnings, while automaker Honda's nine-month net profit slumped by almost three-quarters from the previous year.

Australian media stocks were broadly higher after Morgan Stanley bought Fairfax shares totalling 7.6 percent of the company in a raid that Dow Jones Newswires reported as having come from mining billionaire Gina Rinehart.

Fairfax shares soared on the news and closed 10 percent higher.

On currency markets, the euro bought $1.3068 and 99.61 yen in afternoon Asian trade, compared with $1.3080 and 99.74 yen in New York late Tuesday.

The dollar stood at 76.17 yen from 76.24.

-AFP

White Ang Pow Incident a Lesson for Perkasa, Says Ibrahim Ali

2012-02-01T03:43:00.001-08:00

White Ang Pow Incident a Lesson for Perkasa, Says Ibrahim Ali

White Ang Pow Incident a Lesson for Perkasa, Says Ibrahim Ali
Idris Jala: Why must I be Malaysian first?
'Ang Pow Putih', Perkasa Akui Tersilap
Perkasa Gesa Setiap Masjid Sediakan Pengawal Keselamatan
Eight foreigners drown as boat overturns
Key contractor pulled out of Lynas plant due to safety concerns, says NYT
Dr Chandra Muzaffar: Common Values Vital in Uniting Malaysians
Moderate Earthquake Hits Southern Sumatra
Eight Drown, 11 Rescued, Six Still Missing in Kota Tinggi Boat Capsize Tragedy
Aussie Company Staff Awestruck by A$15 Million Bonus
Sabah CM Wants Smooth Distribution of BR1M
Zulfadli's Father Targets His Son To Be Among 100 Players by Year End
Malaysia’s opposition plots unlikely path to power
Six Months' Jail for Cop in Teen Shooting Case
Remain Steadfast and Continue to Work Hard, Agong Tells FT Folks
Policeman Charged with Corruption
Perlis MB: Teachers Must Not Fall for Lies Spread to Topple Government
Lightning Strike Kills Pupil, Injures a Teacher, Three Others
IGP Among FT Award Recipients
Anwar’s Statement on Israel Reveals Pakatan’s Dicey Policy, Says Kota Belud MP

White Ang Pow Incident a Lesson for Perkasa, Says Ibrahim Ali

Posted: 01 Feb 2012 02:46 AM PST

KUALA LUMPUR, 1 FEBRUARY, 2012: Datuk Ibrahim Ali today said Perkasa has taken heed of the comments made by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak on the white 'ang pow' issue and that the incident was a lesson to the Malay NGO.

Idris Jala: Why must I be Malaysian first?

Posted: 01 Feb 2012 02:21 AM PST

KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 1 – Datuk Seri Idris Jala said today that nationality, race and religion are of equal importance when determining an individual's true Malaysian identity. As such, the Minister in the Prime Minister's Department said the "Malaysian first, Malay next" dilemma should not arise as being Malaysian as well as Malay are different ...

'Ang Pow Putih', Perkasa Akui Tersilap

Posted: 01 Feb 2012 01:16 AM PST

KUALA LUMPUR, 1 FEBRUARI, 2012: Presiden Pertubuhan Pribumi Perkasa (Perkasa) Ibrahim Ali hari ini berkata Perkasa mengambil iktibar mengenai komen yang dibuat oleh Perdana Menteri Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak berhubung isu 'ang pow' putih pada sambutan Majlis Rumah Terbuka Tahun Baru CIna anjuran Perkasa.

Kata Ibrahim, insiden tersebut menjadi pengajaran kepada Perkasa supaya lebih berhati-hati supaya tidak menyentuh sensitiviti budaya kaum lain pada masa hadapan.

"Ya, memang benar ianya satu pengalaman kepada Perkasa dan semua pihak untuk lebih berhati-hati supaya sesuatu tindakan tidak menyentuh sensitiviti budaya kaum tertentu," kata Ibrahim.

Perkasa Gesa Setiap Masjid Sediakan Pengawal Keselamatan

Posted: 01 Feb 2012 01:13 AM PST

KUALA LUMPUR, 1 FEBRUARI, 2012: Pertubuhan Pribumi Perkasa (Perkasa) mengutuk sekeras-kerasnya tindakan melontar kepala babi ke dalam kawasan masjid.

Presidennya, Dato' Ibrahim Ali, menggesa setiap ahli politik samada dari Umno, MCA, Gerakan, PAS, DAP dan PKR supaya tidak hanya mengeluarkan kenyataan mengutuk sebaliknya membuat laporan polis berhubung perkara tersebut sekiranya mereka benar-benar pemimpin yang bertanggungjawab.

"Sebelum ini sudah tiga masjid dilempar kepala babi. Kini yang terbaru di Masjid Nurul Iman Batu 18 Rawang yang menjadi masjid ketiga dalam negeri Selangor sejak Pakatan Rakyat memerintah," kata Ibrahim.

Eight foreigners drown as boat overturns

Posted: 01 Feb 2012 01:22 AM PST

JOHOR BARU, Feb 1 – Eight people drowned while 11 others were rescued when their boat capsized off Teluk Semayong, near Kota Tinggi. Six more are missing. All of them are believed to be foreigners. Kota Tinggi Police Chief Supt Che Mahazan Che Aik said the boat was believed to be illegally ferrying men from Afghanistan, Pakistan and Iraq to a ...

Key contractor pulled out of Lynas plant due to safety concerns, says NYT

Posted: 01 Feb 2012 01:02 AM PST

KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 1 – A Dutch chemical firm refused to supply crucial resins for Lynas Corp's controversial RM2.5 billion rare earth plant in Kuantan due to safety concerns, according to the New York Times. The influential newspaper cited engineers working for the Australian miner at the Gebeng industrial zone site and internal company e-mails as ...

Dr Chandra Muzaffar: Common Values Vital in Uniting Malaysians

Posted: 01 Feb 2012 12:37 AM PST

KUALA LUMPUR, 1 FEBRUARY, 2012: The common values which refer to the principles shared by all religions and cultures are important elements in the formulation of Malaysian identity, according to 1Malaysia Foundation chairman Dr Chandra Muzaffar.

Moderate Earthquake Hits Southern Sumatra

Posted: 01 Feb 2012 12:27 AM PST

KUALA LUMPUR, 1 FEBRUARY, 2012: A moderate earthquake measuring 5.9 on the Richter scale struck Southern Sumatra, Indonesia at 3.14pm Wednesday.

Eight Drown, 11 Rescued, Six Still Missing in Kota Tinggi Boat Capsize Tragedy

Posted: 01 Feb 2012 12:08 AM PST

JOHOR BAHARU, 1 FEBRUARY, 2012: Eight people drowned, 11 others were rescued while six more are still missing, all foreigners, after their boat capsized off Teluk Semayong waters, Sedili Besar, near Kota Tinggi this morning.

Aussie Company Staff Awestruck by A$15 Million Bonus

Posted: 01 Feb 2012 12:06 AM PST

MELBOURNE, 1 FEBRUARY, 2012: A bus company here has stunned its staff by paying them bonuses to the tune of A$15 million for their hard work and loyalty.

Sabah CM Wants Smooth Distribution of BR1M

Posted: 01 Feb 2012 12:04 AM PST

KOTA KINABALU, 1 FEBRUARY, 2012: Chief Minister Datuk Seri Musa Aman wants those involved in the disbursement of the 1Malaysia People's Aid (BR1M) to ensure it is done smoothly.

Zulfadli's Father Targets His Son To Be Among 100 Players by Year End

Posted: 01 Feb 2012 12:02 AM PST

KUALA LUMPUR, 1 FEBRUARY, 2012: Zulkiffli Sidek, the father-cum coach of World Junior Champion Zulfadli Zulkiffli, hopes to send his son to more international competitions to improve his ranking in the World Badminton Federation (BWF).

Malaysia’s opposition plots unlikely path to power

Posted: 31 Jan 2012 11:03 PM PST

DENGKIL, Feb 1 — Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim is free and he knows how to work a crowd. Wading into a throng of supporters at a rally near the capital Kuala Lumpur last week, the veteran Malaysian opposition leader was relishing his unexpected freedom after being acquitted on sodomy charges that could have ended his career. Microphone in hand, he drew ...

Six Months' Jail for Cop in Teen Shooting Case

Posted: 31 Jan 2012 09:48 PM PST

SEREMBAN, 1 FEBRUARY, 2012: The Magistrate's Court here sentenced a police constable to six months' jail for shooting a teenager without any justification, two years ago.

Remain Steadfast and Continue to Work Hard, Agong Tells FT Folks

Posted: 31 Jan 2012 09:44 PM PST

PUTRAJAYA, 1 FEBRUARY, 2012: Yang di-Pertuan Agong Tuanku Abdul Halim Mu'adzam Shah has urged the people of the federal territories to remain steadfast and to continue to work hard amid uncertainty in the global economy.

Policeman Charged with Corruption

Posted: 31 Jan 2012 09:44 PM PST

BUTTERWORTH, 1 FEBRUARY, 2012: A policeman pleaded not guilty at the Sessions Court here to three counts of corruption involving RM2,500 last year.

Perlis MB: Teachers Must Not Fall for Lies Spread to Topple Government

Posted: 31 Jan 2012 09:43 PM PST

KANGAR, 1 FEBRUARY, 2012: Teachers, especially in Perlis, must not fall for the lies spread by certain quarters who are trying to topple the government for their personal interests.

Lightning Strike Kills Pupil, Injures a Teacher, Three Others

Posted: 31 Jan 2012 09:42 PM PST

IPOH, 1 FEBRUARY, 2012: A pupil was killed while four others including a teacher were hurt in a lightning strike at the Sekolah Kebangsaan Mazuin school field in Kuala Kangsar, yesterday.

IGP Among FT Award Recipients

Posted: 31 Jan 2012 09:42 PM PST

PUTRAJAYA, 1 FEBRUARY, 2012: Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Ismail Omar headed a list of 279 recipients of awards, medals and honors in conjunction with the Federal Territories Day.

Anwar’s Statement on Israel Reveals Pakatan’s Dicey Policy, Says Kota Belud MP

Posted: 31 Jan 2012 09:27 PM PST

KUALA LUMPUR, 31 JANUARY, 2012: Kota Belud member of parliament Datuk Abdul Rahman Dahlan said Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim's recent statement in which he expressed full support in protecting the security of Israel published on the Wall Street Journal shows a glimpse of Pakatan Rakyat's dicey policy.

Ada sesuatu yang tidak kena dengan Angkasa

2012-02-01T03:33:00.001-08:00

Ada sesuatu yang tidak kena dengan Angkasa

Ada sesuatu yang tidak kena dengan Angkasa
Anwar jauh menyimpang dari pendirian Malaysia
Ada sesuatu yang tidak kena dengan Angkasa
Anwar jauh menyimpang dari pendirian Malaysia
Remembering Muhammad Asad and his 'Message'
Ibrahim Libya: Who was he really?
When poor English is a dangerous thing
More than the colour of an angpow
Video seks: Skrip filem ‘Fitnah II’
Kepala babi: PAS desak polis siasat terperinci
PAS jangan terkilan MB jaga Islam
Pemuda Umno: Singkirkan Devamany dari Cameron Highlands
Korupsi di Malaysia canggih, kata Anwar

Ada sesuatu yang tidak kena dengan Angkasa

Posted: 31 Jan 2012 02:44 PM PST

Pengerusi Koperasi Ukhwah Datuk Mustapa Kamal Maulut berkata jumlah itu melebihi daripada anggaran belanjawan tahunan asal yang hanya meluluskan peruntukan sebanyak RM400,000 sahaja.

Malah beliau mendakwa pembelian pada tahun 2010 itu juga dibuat tanpa mendapat persetujuan elaun daripada Persidangan Kebangsaan Tahunan Angkasa.

Mustapa, yang juga bekas ahli koperasi Angkasa berkata pihaknya telah membuat laporan kepada Suruhanjaya Pencegahan Rasuah Malaysia (SPRM) terhadap lapan pegawai Angkasa, selain laporan polis yang dibuat dua tahun lalu.

Mereka adalah Yang DiPertua Angkasa Prof Dr Mohammed Ali Baharom, Timbalan Yang DiPertua Datuk Fatah Abdullah, Naib Presiden Arime Zainuddin, serta pegawai Angkasa Murtadho Bahari, Jamal Abdullah, Nasir Khann Mohammed Yaakob dan Suresh Kumar.

"Mereka secara terang-terangan telah menyalahgunakan kuasa lembaga Angkasa namun sehingga sekarang tiada sebarang tindakan daripada laporan yang dibuat," katanya kepada FMT.

Mustapa mendakwa, salah laku ini dapat dihidu dan beliau mula bangkit mempersoalkannya dan menentang pentadbiran lembaga pengarah Angkasa.

Posted: 31 Jan 2012 02:37 PM PST

Menteri Muda Di Pejabat Ketua Menteri (Hal Ehwal Islam), Datuk Ir. Haji Daud Abdul Rahman berkata, kekejaman Israel terhadap rakyat

Palestin dikecam hebat oleh masyarakat antarabangsa termasuk Malaysia sejak kepimpinan perdana menteri yang pertama lagi.

Beliau berkata, kenyataan Anwar yang ditemu ramah akhbar Wall Street Journal baru-baru ini, itu secara langsung jelas menunjukkan penerimaan dan sokongan Anwar terhadap segala tindakan yang dilakukan oleh Israel terhadap rakyat Palestin selama ini.

"Kita berasa sedih dan hairan dengan kenyataan terbuka Anwar mempertahankan keselamatan Israel yang dianggap sungguh memalukan.

Mungkin semua ini dilakukannya untuk mendapatkan sokongan dari negara Barat.

"Beliau (Anwar) nampaknya sudah terlalu jauh berubah daripada seorang pemimpin yang suatu ketika dulu lantang mengutuk kekejaman rejim Israel, hari ini beralih arah menjadi penyokong," katanya.

Beliau berkata demikian ketika ditemui pemberita pada Majlis Penyerahan Tabung Baitulmal Sarawak (TBS) yang turut dihadiri oleh Pengurus Besar TBS, Haji Abang Mohammad Shibli Haji Abang Mohd. Nailie, Pengarah Jabatan Agama Islam Sarawak (JAIS), Abang Shamsuddin Abang Seruji dan YDP Majlis Islam Sarawak (MIS), Datu Haji Putit Matzen.

Posted: 31 Jan 2012 02:44 PM PST

Pengerusi Koperasi Ukhwah Datuk Mustapa Kamal Maulut berkata jumlah itu melebihi daripada anggaran belanjawan tahunan asal yang hanya meluluskan peruntukan sebanyak RM400,000 sahaja.

Malah beliau mendakwa pembelian pada tahun 2010 itu juga dibuat tanpa mendapat persetujuan elaun daripada Persidangan Kebangsaan Tahunan Angkasa.

"Mereka secara terang-terangan telah menyalahgunakan kuasa lembaga Angkasa namun sehingga sekarang tiada sebarang tindakan daripada laporan yang dibuat," katanya kepada FMT.

Mustapa mendakwa, salah laku ini dapat dihidu dan beliau mula bangkit mempersoalkannya dan menentang pentadbiran lembaga pengarah Angkasa.

Posted: 31 Jan 2012 02:37 PM PST

Menteri Muda Di Pejabat Ketua Menteri (Hal Ehwal Islam), Datuk Ir. Haji Daud Abdul Rahman berkata, kekejaman Israel terhadap rakyat

Palestin dikecam hebat oleh masyarakat antarabangsa termasuk Malaysia sejak kepimpinan perdana menteri yang pertama lagi.

"Kita berasa sedih dan hairan dengan kenyataan terbuka Anwar mempertahankan keselamatan Israel yang dianggap sungguh memalukan.

Mungkin semua ini dilakukannya untuk mendapatkan sokongan dari negara Barat.

"Beliau (Anwar) nampaknya sudah terlalu jauh berubah daripada seorang pemimpin yang suatu ketika dulu lantang mengutuk kekejaman rejim Israel, hari ini beralih arah menjadi penyokong," katanya.

Posted: 31 Jan 2012 06:32 PM PST

Ibrahim Libya: Who was he really?

Posted: 31 Jan 2012 03:52 PM PST

FEB 1 — Excerpt from Memali incident chapter: Mak Su's brother, Pak Andah, popped by for tea. There were always people coming in and out of the house for a chat or a meal. Mak Su was a generous host; it was tea after hot tea, and goreng pisang, ondeh-ondeh, fried rice — there was always something to serve guests. People in her house meant ...

When poor English is a dangerous thing

Posted: 31 Jan 2012 03:42 PM PST

FEB 1 — Think poor English standards aren't a problem? Well, my sister almost wasn't born… because our mother barely knew English. It's almost comic, the story. Our parents were in the Philippines at the time; my father was doing his Masters. My mother was pregnant with baby number three: my second and most hard-headed sister. They had planned a ...

More than the colour of an angpow

Posted: 31 Jan 2012 03:40 PM PST

FEB 1 — Call it as you see it, Ibrahim Ali has a knack of keeping himself relevant. I don't know what he was thinking when he merrily gave white angpows to elders during a Chinese New Year gathering hosted by Perkasa (you didn't see this coming either, did you?) but I am inclined to give him the benefit of the doubt only because I find him so ...

Video seks: Skrip filem ‘Fitnah II’

Posted: 23 Mar 2011 08:47 PM PDT

Syarat wajib untuk mana-mana filem sebelum ianya dibuat memerlukan skrip atau jalan cerita yang jelas akan menarik seramai mungkin penonton ke arahnya dan seterusnya memberi keuntungan yang tinggi kepada pengeluar atau penerbitnya. Skrip itu akan diteliti berkali-kali dan diubah-ubah mengikut citarasa penerbit sebelum pelakon-pelakon berbakat dipilih untuk menuturkan dan menggayakan dengan sepenuh hati setiap ayat dari skrip itu berlatarbelakangkan 'special effect' atau kesan khas yang kadangkala cukup mempersonakan dan menyakinkan penonton bahawa situasi itu seolah-olah realiti atau kenyataan dan bukan lakonan semata-mata.

Malah filem yang diolah dengan cukup baik akan lebih diterima penonton daripada filem-filem yang lemah dari aspek skrip penulisannya, pelakon dan arahannya.

Ramai di kalangan penyokong dan pendokong Pakatan Rakyat beranggapan bahawa isu Video Lucah yang mengaitkan nama Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim (DSAI) adalah satu lagi 'Filem' keluaran 'B* production' yang sama motifnya tetapi agak berbeza dari skrip dan jalan ceritanya. Ramai yang menanti-nanti apa pula jalan cerita seterusnya. Sejauh mana benarnya anggapan itu, ayuh sama-sama kita saksikan, sejauh mana bagusnya skrip penulisan, jalan cerita, pelakon dan arahannya jika ianya betul-betul sebuah 'Filem' genre politik kejam yang lebih hebat dari 'Filem' sebelumnya.

Yang pastinya 'Filem' ini tidak pernah melalui lembaga penapisan filem sebelum tayangannya kerana sudah pasti ianya tidak mematuhi undang-undang malah budaya masyarakat negara ini.

Kenyataan media oleh DSAI tempoh hari nyata memberi amaran yang cukup tegas kepada pihak tertentu bahawa DSAI dan keluarganya tidak gentar dengan keluaran 'Filem' terbaru ini kerana sudah 13 tahun melaluinya.

Pakatan Rakyat secara umumnya harus kreatif di dalam meneka jalan cerita seterusnya supaya persiapan seawalnya dapat dilakukan jika ianya betul-betul sebuah 'Filem'.

Meramal jalan cerita seterusnya dan kesannya untuk membentuk strategi tindakan awal dengan beberapa pelan sokongan cukup penting dalam 'survival' politik DSAI.

Ayuh!!!, sama-sama kita mendoakan agar mereka yang zalim ini dan juga mereka yang menyokong kezaliman ini diadili oleh Allah S.W.T di dunia dan di akhirat kerana doa orang yang dizalimi itu tidak ada hijabnya yang menghalang.

Kepala babi: PAS desak polis siasat terperinci

Posted: 30 Jan 2012 05:25 PM PST

Ketua Penerangan PAS Pusat, Datuk Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man berkata, tindakan tersebut diyakini dilakukan oleh pihak tidak bertanggungjawab dengan menggunakan sentimen agama bagi mencetuskan provokasi di kalangan rakyat negara ini.

Menurutnya, tindakan seperti itu tidak sepatutnya berlaku di negara ini kerana ia jelas boleh mengancam ketenteraman awam jika tidak ditangani dengan betul.

Katanya, sebelum ini beberapa kejadian seperti itu telah berlaku di negara ini dan setelah disiasat oleh pihak polis didapati pihak yang melakukannya bukannya dari kalangan bukan Islam.

"Contohnya dalam kejadian di Johor baru-baru ini. Setelah disiasat oleh pihak polis didapati pihak yang melakukannya adalah orang Melayu sendiri yang mengaku beragama Islam," katanya ketika dihubungi Harakahdaily, di sini, hari ini.

Media hari ini melaporkan satu kepala babi ditemui di pintu masuk Masjid Nurul Iman di Batu 18 Rawang, Selangor, pada jam lima pagi ini oleh ahli jawatankuasa masjid sebaik sahaja mereka membuka pintu pagar utama masjid itu.

Pihak polis dari Balai Polis Rawang yang terletak tidak jauh dari masjid itu yang dihubungi tiba di lokasi pada jam 7.30 pagi untuk menjalankan penyiasatan.

Mereka kemudiannya telah meninggalkan masjid itu setelah mengambil bahan bukti serta menyiasat di kawasan sekitar kira-kira dua jam, manakala kes itu pula akan disiasat oleh jabatan siasatan jenayah.

Adun Rawang, Gan Pei Nei dan Exco Kerajaan Selangor, Ronnie Liu turut berkunjung ke tempat kejadian setelah dimaklumkan tentang kejadian itu.

Mereka mengutuk tindakan itu dan menyifatkannya sebagai perbuatan provokatif yang cuba menyinggung sensitiviti agama serta bermotifkan politik memandangkan pilihan raya umum semakin hampir.

Gan turut yakin kejadian tersebut tidak berlaku secara spontan kerana Masjid Nurul Iman telah bertapak di kawasan itu sejak 48 tahun lalu.

Manakala Ronnie pula menjelaskan, Gan akan mewakili kerajaan negeri pada mesyuarat jawatankuasa masjid malam ini dan akan melaporkan kepada Menteri Besar mengenai kejadian itu untuk tindakan susulan.

Menurut Tuan Ibrahim, pihak polis amat perlu mempercepatkan siasatan mengenai kejadian itu dan membawa penjenayah ke muka pengadilan.

"Perbuatan seperti itu dan sebarang provokasi agama, keselamatan dan bangsa amat perlu dihentikan. Jadi pihak yang bertanggungjawab perlu dikenakan tindakan yang sewajarnya," tegasnya.

Beliau yang juga Pesuruhjaya PAS Pahang berharap agar kesemua pihak akan menghadapi kejadian itu dengan matang agar tidak terheret sama ke dalam kancah provokasi yang boleh memburukkan lagi keadaan.

"Jangan sekali-kali ada pihak yang mengapi-apikan lagi keadaan, sebaliknya hadapilah dengan matang," tegas beliau.

PAS jangan terkilan MB jaga Islam

Posted: 30 Jan 2012 03:03 PM PST

SAYA tidak fikir Menteri Besar Selangor, Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim ada agenda sendiri apabila beliau mengambil portfolia Agama Islam dan tidak mengambil Dr. Rani sebagai Exco baru sedang Dr. Rani adalah ketua PAS Selangor.

Saya fikir Khalid dan keduanya Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim tidak mengenepikan PAS dan ketuanya dalam membuat keputusan itu. Bodohlah Khalid jika dia tidak berbincang dengan Dr. Rani dan PAS sebelum keputusan itu dibuat. Dan saya percaya MB Selangor itu sudah ada maklum balas dari pimpinan PAS apabila keputusan itu dibuat.

Jangan ditanya mengapa Dr. Rani tidak jadi Exco baru. Biarkan ia menjadi rahsia antara Khalid dan Dr. Rani dan antara Anwar dan Ustaz Hadi.

Memandangkan Khalid adalah ahli tadbir yang cekap dan tempoh pilihan raya umum adalah dekat, maka dia tahu banyak tentangan pentadbiran agama yang tidak jelas apa yang telah dibuat sejak tahun 2008 dulu.

Dengan kuasanya sebagai ketua kerajaan dan kecekepannya sebagai pentadbir, dia tuntu dapat imbangan apa yang tidak dapat dibuat dulu dengan apa yang patut dibuat dalam waktu singkat nanti.

Dalam waktu yang singkat ini Dr. Rani sebagai Pesuruhjaya PAS Selangor perlukan penuh masa dan tenaga untuk menggembleng tenaga bagi membangun tenaga dan semangat PAS penghadapi pilihan raya. Dia mesti buat apa yang tidak dibuat dulu.

Tidak sempat dan tidak cukup tenaganya untuk membuat dua kerja penting dalam masa kurang dari setahun atau sekadar beberapa bulan lagi saja bagi meletakkan PAS yang tempat yang terbaik.

PAS mesti capai keputusan lebih baik kali ini. Tetapi Dr. Rani cuma ada waktu yang singkat untuk memenuhinya. Kalau dia tidak dapat buat lebih baik dari tahun 2008, dia mesti jangan kurang dari pencapaian sekarang.

Saya percaya Dr. Rani dan Khalid Ibrahim telah berkongsi pengetahuan bagi memastikan Selangor dapat dipertahankan dengan keputusan yang lebih baik.

Khalid dan Anwar tahu bahawa kemenangan Pakatan di Selangor dan di seluruh negara antaranya adalah atas penyertaan padu dan kekuatan PAS. Jika diketepikan PAS, maka rugi besarlah Pakatan. Tidak sampailah ia ke Putrajaya.

Jangan fikir Anwar dan Khalid begitu lemah untuk memahami suasana politik di negara ini.

Cuma bagi Dr. Yunus yang diberi tanggungjawab atas Adat Istiadat Melayu, Belia dan Sukan dalam waktu yang singkat sekarang berdepat dengan cabaran untuk menyuntik cara bekerja dan berfikiran Islam dalam pentadbiran.

Bagaimana adat Melayu itu dapat menjadi adat Islam supaya semua adat itu sesuai dengan kemahuan ibadat? Jangan lagi adat itu terus bersalut dengan kerja tahyul, kurafat dan gejala jahiliyah.

Dr. Yunus diberikan satu corak belia yang diketahui sedang dilanda oleh gejala dan gelombang keruntukan akhlak. Belum lagi dasar belia nasional dapat menangani isu keruntukan akhlak itu. Dr. Yunus diberi satu tanggungjawab besar bagi menyelesaikan masalah di negerinya sedang ia tidak dapat dan belum dapat diselesaikan oleh Kementerian Belia dan Sukan.

Dr. Yunus diberi tanggungjawab itu bukan sekadar untuk menyusun dan mengadakan program belia bagi menjadikan belia ssebagai produk dinamik dalam pasaran buruh, tetapi adalah untuk menyuntik watak dan ruh Islam di kalangan belia. Bagaimana belia bukan Islam dapat dijinakkan dengan cara hidup dan berfikiran Islam?

Bagaimana ahli sukan dan belia Budha, Hindu dan Kristian boleh menyesuikan pegangan agamanya dengan cara hidup dan pemikian Islam mereka ada saksiah Malaysia yang tidak sama dengan belia di Vietnam, Thailand dan Myanmar tetapi tetap sebagai ahli sukan dan belia yang dinamik.

Kerja membudayakan Islam dalam alam dan masyarakat belia dan sukan adalah sama penting dengan mendinamikkan pentadbiran Islam di MUIS dan JAIS. Jangan fikir peranan Islam amat kecil di jabatan-jabatan yang dijaga oleh Dr. Yunus dan fungsi di Jabatan Agama.

Pahala seorang Exco yang menjadi berbagai portfolio yang dapat membawa cara bekerja Islam di tempat masing-masing adalah lebih ketara dari orang yang tidak dapat menjalankan kerja Islam di Majlis dan Jabatan Agama Islam. Belum tentu menghalang orang yang tahu agama bercakap di surau kerana tiada tauliah suatu yang berpahala.

Menyekat gejala murtad berpahala tetapi menyekat pendakwah tanpa tauliah belum tentu berpahala. Maka jangan fikir tempat Dr. Yunus sekarang bukan termasuk bidang penting bagi Islam. Yang penting di mana PAS dilempar, dia boleh bawa Islam itu.

Pemuda Umno: Singkirkan Devamany dari Cameron Highlands

Posted: 30 Jan 2012 01:42 PM PST

Usul itu dibuat sendiri oleh Ketua Umno bahagian, Azizi Ahmad. Bagaimanapun, katanya, tidak ada perbincangan khusus oleh Umno bahagian tentang usul tersebut.

Aziz juga menolak dakwaan untuk membawa Presiden MIC Datuk G Palanivel bertanding di parlimen Cameron Highlands dalam pilihan raya ke 13.

Tetapi beliau mengakui ramai orang Melayu tidak gemar dengan berapa tindakan ahli parlimen sekarang Datuk SK Devamany.

`Cawangan Umno berkubur'

"Ada cawangan Umno di sini yang berkubur kerana tidak mendapat perhatian ahli parlimen.

"Beliau juga membantu NGO yang menyokong beliau sahaja," kata beliau.

Azizi menambah, ada pemimpin Umno bahagian yang marah dengan Devamany.

READ MORE HERE

Korupsi di Malaysia canggih, kata Anwar

Posted: 30 Jan 2012 01:38 PM PST

Beliau membandingkan dengan Indonesia yang menurutnya berlaku secara terang-terangan.

"(Di Malaysia) tahap korupsi itu tinggi tapi tidak kelihatan, itu hebatnya kita," kata pemimpin pembangkang itu Malaysia itu dalam pidato kebudayaan dengan tema 'Kepemimpinan dalam Dinamika Perubahan Ekonomi Politik' di Taman Ismail Marzuki (TIM), Cikini, Jakarta Pusat, semalam.

Menurut Anwar, ketidak kelihatan korupsi itu kerana Malaysia bekas jajahan Inggeris.

"Inggeris ini tahapnya hebat," tambah Anwar seperti dilapur detiknews.com.

Di Indonesia, kata beliau korupsi dipengaruhi oleh penjajahnya Belanda.

Belanda dikenal sebagai negara yang keras sehingga korupsi Indonesia tidak lagi terlihat seperti di Malaysia.

`Atas meja, bawah meja'

"(Di Indonesia) di atas meja di bawah meja jalan," ujar Anwar yang menyebabkan hadirin tertawa.

Anwar mendakwa, cara korupsi di Indonesia itu tidak dapat diterapkan di Malaysia.

READ MORE HERE

White Ang Pow Incident a Lesson for Perkasa, Says Ibrahim Ali

2012-02-01T03:13:00.001-08:00

White Ang Pow Incident a Lesson for Perkasa, Says Ibrahim Ali

White Ang Pow Incident a Lesson for Perkasa, Says Ibrahim Ali
Ukraine shuts down leading file-sharing site (AP)
Idris Jala: Why must I be Malaysian first?
'Ang Pow Putih', Perkasa Akui Tersilap
Perkasa Gesa Setiap Masjid Sediakan Pengawal Keselamatan
Eight foreigners drown as boat overturns
Key contractor pulled out of Lynas plant due to safety concerns, says NYT
Dr Chandra Muzaffar: Common Values Vital in Uniting Malaysians
Moderate Earthquake Hits Southern Sumatra
Eight Drown, 11 Rescued, Six Still Missing in Kota Tinggi Boat Capsize Tragedy
Aussie Company Staff Awestruck by A$15 Million Bonus
Sabah CM Wants Smooth Distribution of BR1M
Zulfadli's Father Targets His Son To Be Among 100 Players by Year End
Why Social Recommendation Services Need to Get Even More Personal (Mashable)
Petitions Demand Apple Improve Foxconn Conditions (Mashable)
You'll Download Physical Objects Sooner Than You Think, Thanks to Kids Like These (Mashable)
eBay CEO: NFC Payments Need Standardization to Succeed [VIDEO] (Mashable)
Google Will Start Country-Specific Censorship for Blogs (Mashable)
'Mob Mentality' Destroyed SOPA, Says Viacom CEO (Mashable)
Malaysia’s opposition plots unlikely path to power

White Ang Pow Incident a Lesson for Perkasa, Says Ibrahim Ali

Posted: 01 Feb 2012 02:46 AM PST

Ukraine shuts down leading file-sharing site (AP)

Posted: 01 Feb 2012 02:26 AM PST

AP - Ukrainian authorities say they have shut down a popular file-sharing website, saying it violated copyright laws.

Idris Jala: Why must I be Malaysian first?

Posted: 01 Feb 2012 02:21 AM PST

'Ang Pow Putih', Perkasa Akui Tersilap

Posted: 01 Feb 2012 01:16 AM PST

Perkasa Gesa Setiap Masjid Sediakan Pengawal Keselamatan

Posted: 01 Feb 2012 01:13 AM PST

Eight foreigners drown as boat overturns

Posted: 01 Feb 2012 01:22 AM PST

Key contractor pulled out of Lynas plant due to safety concerns, says NYT

Posted: 01 Feb 2012 01:02 AM PST

Dr Chandra Muzaffar: Common Values Vital in Uniting Malaysians

Posted: 01 Feb 2012 12:37 AM PST

Moderate Earthquake Hits Southern Sumatra

Posted: 01 Feb 2012 12:27 AM PST

KUALA LUMPUR, 1 FEBRUARY, 2012: A moderate earthquake measuring 5.9 on the Richter scale struck Southern Sumatra, Indonesia at 3.14pm Wednesday.

Eight Drown, 11 Rescued, Six Still Missing in Kota Tinggi Boat Capsize Tragedy

Posted: 01 Feb 2012 12:08 AM PST

Aussie Company Staff Awestruck by A$15 Million Bonus

Posted: 01 Feb 2012 12:06 AM PST

MELBOURNE, 1 FEBRUARY, 2012: A bus company here has stunned its staff by paying them bonuses to the tune of A$15 million for their hard work and loyalty.

Sabah CM Wants Smooth Distribution of BR1M

Posted: 01 Feb 2012 12:04 AM PST

KOTA KINABALU, 1 FEBRUARY, 2012: Chief Minister Datuk Seri Musa Aman wants those involved in the disbursement of the 1Malaysia People's Aid (BR1M) to ensure it is done smoothly.

Zulfadli's Father Targets His Son To Be Among 100 Players by Year End

Posted: 01 Feb 2012 12:02 AM PST

Why Social Recommendation Services Need to Get Even More Personal (Mashable)

Posted: 31 Jan 2012 11:34 AM PST

Mashable - Yen Lee is the founder and president of Uptake, a social travel company that pairs personalized recommendations from friends with an extensive, searchable catalog of expert and consumer travel insights. Yelp, TripAdvisor and Amazon user reviews aren't enough anymore. Crowd insights are no longer meaningful to the individual simply because they're "user generated." People don't care about finding the needle in the haystack -- unless they trust the needle in the first place.

Petitions Demand Apple Improve Foxconn Conditions (Mashable)

Posted: 31 Jan 2012 11:10 AM PST

Mashable - Two online petitions beseech Apple to improve working conditions in the Chinese factories that make its products. The petitions, both filed within the last two weeks, follow a renewed round of criticism directed at the company over labor practices at overseas facilities like the Foxconn factory in Shenzhen, China.

You'll Download Physical Objects Sooner Than You Think, Thanks to Kids Like These (Mashable)

Posted: 31 Jan 2012 10:03 AM PST

Mashable - File-sharing site The Pirate Bay caused an Internet stir last week when it introduced a new content category called "Physibles," essentially designed to allow people to pass one another physical objects for download. The term refers to data files that are actually able to become physical objects via 3D printing technology. Before long, The Pirate Bay said in a blog post, "you will print the spare parts for your vehicles.â€

eBay CEO: NFC Payments Need Standardization to Succeed [VIDEO] (Mashable)

Posted: 31 Jan 2012 08:53 AM PST

Mashable - Mashable's Davos coverage is presented by BMW i, a new concept dedicated to providing mobility solutions for the urban environment.

Google Will Start Country-Specific Censorship for Blogs (Mashable)

Posted: 31 Jan 2012 07:59 AM PST

Mashable - Google figured out Twitter's trick for avoiding universally censoring content weeks ago, but it managed to go unnoticed -- for a while. That is, until TechDows wrote about Blogger's plan for country-specific URLs Tuesday.

'Mob Mentality' Destroyed SOPA, Says Viacom CEO (Mashable)

Posted: 31 Jan 2012 07:27 AM PST

Mashable - "Are you surprised at the speed [SOPA and PIPA] fell apart?" AllThingsD's Peter Kafka asked Viacom CEO Philippe Dauman at a gathering of several hundred media and technology professionals in Laguna Nigel, Calif., Tuesday morning. "It became a mob mentality," Dauman complained, referring to the week-long series of online protests against SOPA and PIPA that culminated in blackouts from Wikipedia and Reddit and the censorship of Google's logo on Wednesday, Jan. 18. Both bills were tabled just days later.

Malaysia’s opposition plots unlikely path to power

Posted: 31 Jan 2012 11:03 PM PST

'Ang Pow Putih', Perkasa Akui Tersilap

2012-02-01T02:18:00.001-08:00

'Ang Pow Putih', Perkasa Akui Tersilap

'Ang Pow Putih', Perkasa Akui Tersilap
Perkasa Gesa Setiap Masjid Sediakan Pengawal Keselamatan
Eight foreigners drown as boat overturns
Key contractor pulled out of Lynas plant due to safety concerns, says NYT
Dr Chandra Muzaffar: Common Values Vital in Uniting Malaysians
Moderate Earthquake Hits Southern Sumatra
Eight Drown, 11 Rescued, Six Still Missing in Kota Tinggi Boat Capsize Tragedy
Aussie Company Staff Awestruck by A$15 Million Bonus
Sabah CM Wants Smooth Distribution of BR1M
Zulfadli's Father Targets His Son To Be Among 100 Players by Year End
Malaysia’s opposition plots unlikely path to power
Six Months' Jail for Cop in Teen Shooting Case
Remain Steadfast and Continue to Work Hard, Agong Tells FT Folks
Policeman Charged with Corruption
Perlis MB: Teachers Must Not Fall for Lies Spread to Topple Government
Lightning Strike Kills Pupil, Injures a Teacher, Three Others
IGP Among FT Award Recipients
Anwar’s Statement on Israel Reveals Pakatan’s Dicey Policy, Says Kota Belud MP
Anwar wants Azizan to negotiate with students
Cut all ties with Perkasa to prove sincerity, Guan Eng tells Najib

'Ang Pow Putih', Perkasa Akui Tersilap

Posted: 01 Feb 2012 01:16 AM PST

Perkasa Gesa Setiap Masjid Sediakan Pengawal Keselamatan

Posted: 01 Feb 2012 01:13 AM PST

Eight foreigners drown as boat overturns

Posted: 01 Feb 2012 01:22 AM PST

Key contractor pulled out of Lynas plant due to safety concerns, says NYT

Posted: 01 Feb 2012 01:02 AM PST

Dr Chandra Muzaffar: Common Values Vital in Uniting Malaysians

Posted: 01 Feb 2012 12:37 AM PST

Moderate Earthquake Hits Southern Sumatra

Posted: 01 Feb 2012 12:27 AM PST

KUALA LUMPUR, 1 FEBRUARY, 2012: A moderate earthquake measuring 5.9 on the Richter scale struck Southern Sumatra, Indonesia at 3.14pm Wednesday.

Eight Drown, 11 Rescued, Six Still Missing in Kota Tinggi Boat Capsize Tragedy

Posted: 01 Feb 2012 12:08 AM PST

Aussie Company Staff Awestruck by A$15 Million Bonus

Posted: 01 Feb 2012 12:06 AM PST

MELBOURNE, 1 FEBRUARY, 2012: A bus company here has stunned its staff by paying them bonuses to the tune of A$15 million for their hard work and loyalty.

Sabah CM Wants Smooth Distribution of BR1M

Posted: 01 Feb 2012 12:04 AM PST

KOTA KINABALU, 1 FEBRUARY, 2012: Chief Minister Datuk Seri Musa Aman wants those involved in the disbursement of the 1Malaysia People's Aid (BR1M) to ensure it is done smoothly.

Zulfadli's Father Targets His Son To Be Among 100 Players by Year End

Posted: 01 Feb 2012 12:02 AM PST

Malaysia’s opposition plots unlikely path to power

Posted: 31 Jan 2012 11:03 PM PST

Six Months' Jail for Cop in Teen Shooting Case

Posted: 31 Jan 2012 09:48 PM PST

SEREMBAN, 1 FEBRUARY, 2012: The Magistrate's Court here sentenced a police constable to six months' jail for shooting a teenager without any justification, two years ago.

Remain Steadfast and Continue to Work Hard, Agong Tells FT Folks

Posted: 31 Jan 2012 09:44 PM PST

Policeman Charged with Corruption

Posted: 31 Jan 2012 09:44 PM PST

BUTTERWORTH, 1 FEBRUARY, 2012: A policeman pleaded not guilty at the Sessions Court here to three counts of corruption involving RM2,500 last year.

Perlis MB: Teachers Must Not Fall for Lies Spread to Topple Government

Posted: 31 Jan 2012 09:43 PM PST

KANGAR, 1 FEBRUARY, 2012: Teachers, especially in Perlis, must not fall for the lies spread by certain quarters who are trying to topple the government for their personal interests.

Lightning Strike Kills Pupil, Injures a Teacher, Three Others

Posted: 31 Jan 2012 09:42 PM PST

IPOH, 1 FEBRUARY, 2012: A pupil was killed while four others including a teacher were hurt in a lightning strike at the Sekolah Kebangsaan Mazuin school field in Kuala Kangsar, yesterday.

IGP Among FT Award Recipients

Posted: 31 Jan 2012 09:42 PM PST

PUTRAJAYA, 1 FEBRUARY, 2012: Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Ismail Omar headed a list of 279 recipients of awards, medals and honors in conjunction with the Federal Territories Day.

Anwar’s Statement on Israel Reveals Pakatan’s Dicey Policy, Says Kota Belud MP

Posted: 31 Jan 2012 09:27 PM PST

Anwar wants Azizan to negotiate with students

Posted: 31 Jan 2012 10:40 PM PST

KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 1 — Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim called today for Datuk Seri Azizan Abdul Razak to take a softer stance with the five students suspended from Kedah-owned Kolej Universiti Insaniah's (KUIN) last year in the debacle that has called into question Pakatan Rakyat's (PR) commitment to academic freedom. The opposition leader explained to ...

Cut all ties with Perkasa to prove sincerity, Guan Eng tells Najib

Posted: 31 Jan 2012 10:50 PM PST

KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 1 — Lim Guan Eng told Datuk Seri Najib Razak today to cut all ties with Perkasa, saying it is the only way to convince Malaysians that the controversial Malay rights group has no links with Barisan Nasional (BN). The Penang chief minister said in a statement here that Najib's "open support" for Perkasa only encourages the group ...

DAP condemns pig’s head at Rawang mosque, calls for calm

2012-01-31T21:22:00.001-08:00

DAP condemns pig’s head at Rawang mosque, calls for calm

DAP condemns pig’s head at Rawang mosque, calls for calm
Putrajaya abusing EPF to fund home loans, says Pua
California Teacher Charged with Abusing Almost Two Dozen Kids
Tun M Wants Scientists to Come Up with Products Suited for Global Use
Chief Secretary to the Government Agress to Cuepacs Request
Teman Karib Bakal Suami Ana Raffali, Nikah 25 Februari Ini
Ibrahim Ali: Anwar Willing to Support Israel to Win GE13
Nong Chik: People Must Stop Giving Money to Beggars
Coroner's Court Told Baharudin Died of a Heart Attack
Iran Ready to Make Film on Gaza 22-Day War
Clashes Continue Between Syrian Army, Armed Groups Amid International Uproar
Malaysia, Australia to Sign Trade Pact in May
California Teacher Charged with Abusing Almost Two Dozen Kids
Tun M Wants Scientists to Come Up with Products Suited for Global Use
Chief Secretary to the Government Agress to Cuepacs Request
Teman Karib Bakal Suami Ana Raffali, Nikah 25 Februari Ini
Ibrahim Ali: Anwar Willing to Support Israel to Win GE13
Nong Chik: People Must Stop Giving Money to Beggars
Coroner's Court Told Baharudin Died of a Heart Attack
Dissent grows over rumoured healthcare tax under ‘1 Care’ scheme

DAP condemns pig’s head at Rawang mosque, calls for calm

Posted: 31 Jan 2012 08:49 PM PST

KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 1 – The placing of a severed pig's head at a Rawang mosque yesterday was insensitive and a coward's act aimed at fanning racial tensions ahead of elections, the DAP's Lim Guan Eng said today. The opposition party's secretary-general denounced the act and urged the government to immediately investigate the matter and put an end to ...

Putrajaya abusing EPF to fund home loans, says Pua

Posted: 31 Jan 2012 08:22 PM PST

KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 1 — A plan to pipe RM1.5 billion from the Employees Provident Fund (EPF) into a scheme offering home loans for those who cannot qualify for bank assistance has sparked outrage from a DAP MP. Tony Pua called the Barisan Nasional (BN) government's move an abuse of public funds for political reasons. The opposition Pakatan Rakyat ...

California Teacher Charged with Abusing Almost Two Dozen Kids

Posted: 31 Jan 2012 06:21 PM PST

LOS ANGELES: A former elementary school teacher in Los Angeles has been arrested for allegedly molesting nearly two dozen children after photos of students posed in bondage positions were passed to the Sheriff's Department, ABC News reported.

Tun M Wants Scientists to Come Up with Products Suited for Global Use

Posted: 31 Jan 2012 06:06 PM PST

KUALA LUMPUR, 31 JANUARY, 2012: Former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad tonight called on scientists from tropical countries to conduct more research to produce high-technology products which are globally suitable regardless of climate differences.

Chief Secretary to the Government Agress to Cuepacs Request

Posted: 31 Jan 2012 06:01 PM PST

PUTRAJAYA, 31 JANUARY, 2012: Chief Secretary to the Government Tan Sri Mohd Sidek Hassan has agreed to the request by Cuepacs to have another three of its senior leaders co-opted into the special task force to review the Public Service New Remuneration Scheme (SBPA).

Teman Karib Bakal Suami Ana Raffali, Nikah 25 Februari Ini

Posted: 31 Jan 2012 05:53 PM PST

Akhirnya terjawab sudah teka teki mengenai tarikh perkahwinan Ana Raffali. Ikatan persahabatan yang terjalin selama enam tahun bersama Ahmad Aznaim Abdullah (Naim, 30), akhirnya membawa ke jinjang pelamin. Peyannyi berusia 26 tahun itu mengesahkan sendiri, akan bernikah dengan teman karibnya itu, pada 25 Februari depan.

Ibrahim Ali: Anwar Willing to Support Israel to Win GE13

Posted: 31 Jan 2012 05:44 PM PST

KUALA LUMPUR, 1 FEBRUARY, 2012: Datuk Ibrahim Ali said he was not surprised by the statement Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim made during an interview with The Wall Street Journal recently in which the Opposition leader expressed full support for actions taken in protecting Israel's security.

Nong Chik: People Must Stop Giving Money to Beggars

Posted: 31 Jan 2012 04:22 PM PST

KUALA LUMPUR, 31 JANUARY, 2012: People must stop giving money to beggars and instead offer their contributions to orphanages, non governmental organizations or registered religious centres.

Coroner's Court Told Baharudin Died of a Heart Attack

Posted: 31 Jan 2012 04:17 PM PST

KUALA LUMPUR, 31 JANUARY, 2012: The Coroner's Court inquest into taxi driver Baharudin Ahmad's death during an illegal assembly on July 9 last year, was told today that he had died of a heart attack.

Iran Ready to Make Film on Gaza 22-Day War

Posted: 31 Jan 2012 08:11 AM PST

TEHRAN: Iran is ready to make a movie about the 22-day resistance of the Gazans against Israel, Mehr News Agency (MNA) reported Iran's Minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance, Seyyed Mohammad Hosseini, as saying.

Clashes Continue Between Syrian Army, Armed Groups Amid International Uproar

Posted: 31 Jan 2012 08:09 AM PST

DAMASCUS: Clashes continued Tuesday between the Syrian army and armed groups in some parts of the unrest-hit country, as the international condemnation was growing hours ahead of a scheduled meeting at the United Nations Security Council to discuss the Syrian crisis.

Malaysia, Australia to Sign Trade Pact in May

Posted: 31 Jan 2012 08:07 AM PST

KUALA LUMPUR, 31 JANUARY, 2012: The Malaysia-Australia Free Trade Agreement (MAFTA) will be signed this May after the conclusion of the talks on the agreement, slated in March, said Minister of International Trade and Industry Datuk Seri Mustapa Mohamed.

California Teacher Charged with Abusing Almost Two Dozen Kids

Posted: 31 Jan 2012 06:21 PM PST

Tun M Wants Scientists to Come Up with Products Suited for Global Use

Posted: 31 Jan 2012 06:06 PM PST

Chief Secretary to the Government Agress to Cuepacs Request

Posted: 31 Jan 2012 06:01 PM PST

Teman Karib Bakal Suami Ana Raffali, Nikah 25 Februari Ini

Posted: 31 Jan 2012 05:53 PM PST

Ibrahim Ali: Anwar Willing to Support Israel to Win GE13

Posted: 31 Jan 2012 05:44 PM PST

Nong Chik: People Must Stop Giving Money to Beggars

Posted: 31 Jan 2012 04:22 PM PST

KUALA LUMPUR, 31 JANUARY, 2012: People must stop giving money to beggars and instead offer their contributions to orphanages, non governmental organizations or registered religious centres.

Coroner's Court Told Baharudin Died of a Heart Attack

Posted: 31 Jan 2012 04:17 PM PST

Dissent grows over rumoured healthcare tax under ‘1 Care’ scheme

Posted: 31 Jan 2012 03:18 PM PST

KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 1 — Public outrage is growing over a proposed "1 Care" scheme to restructure the country's healthcare system that critics claim would force employees and businesses to contribute 10 per cent of their monthly income to a government-run insurance fund. Although details of the scheme are still vague and Health Ministry officials ...

Dissent grows over rumoured healthcare tax under ‘1 Care’ scheme

2012-01-31T16:03:00.001-08:00

Dissent grows over rumoured healthcare tax under ‘1 Care’ scheme

Dissent grows over rumoured healthcare tax under ‘1 Care’ scheme
‘Docile’ Malays turned into criminals
Myanmar youth make their voices heard
Remember Perak
KL shares close higher
Cuepacs steps up fight against new scheme
Pig’s head found at Rawang mosque
Land tribunal ‘judges’ must know ‘native adat’
NGOs: We want Devamany
EC not keen on ‘friendly suit’
Borneonisation: Govts want case struck out
Railway folk contest suit by developer
Imran blames T20 for India’s Test plight
Belia Felda juga tolak Devamany pertahan Cameron Highlands
Chinese ‘will retaliate’ against Taib’s stunt
Asian markets mostly up, nerves set in over Greece
White ‘ang pow’ nothing to do with govt, says Najib
PKR mahu RCI jika Salleh tidak didakwa
Court sets April 4 for trial in NFCorp case
42,000 dubious voters struck off the list

Dissent grows over rumoured healthcare tax under ‘1 Care’ scheme

Posted: 31 Jan 2012 03:18 PM PST

KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 1 — Public outrage is growing over a proposed "1 Care" scheme to restructure the country's healthcare system that critics claim would force employees and businesses to contribute 10 per cent of their monthly incomes to a government-run insurance fund. Although details of the scheme are still vague and Health Ministry officials ...

‘Docile’ Malays turned into criminals

Posted: 31 Jan 2012 03:01 PM PST

It would be difficult to find among the Malays any distinct ethnic traits that would enable anyone to label any group of Malays as being a criminal class.

You cannot say that the Malays from Selangor are more criminally inclined than those from Kelantan.

Nor can you say that rural Malays are more inclined to criminality or illicit behaviour than the Malays in the urban area.

There are no Malay gangsters that could rival Kalimuthu of Batang Kali or Botak Chin. The Mat Rempits are Malays but the most damage they do are to themselves, not to others.

I cannot recall any criminal incident of any significance that the Malays are or were involved in.

In all, the Malays, considering that they make up over 60 percent of the population, are a docile and law-abiding lot.

Yes, there is no distinct Malay criminal class and yet the most vicious amongs us Malaysians are those within PDRM (Royal Malaysian Police). And those within PDRM are mostly Malays.

PDRM's Malay thugs

These well-armed Malays in helmets and heavy boots with truncheons and menancing riot gear think nothing about wading into unarmed Malaysian turf and beating the life out of these Malaysians – men and women, the young and the old.

And they are a law unto themselves. They have been conditioned by the government to think that they have the right to treat the people of this country worse than the way we treat our animals.

Just consider what they do to people who are cruel to animals in Queensland:

"Queensland's Animal Care and Protection Act of 2001 provides for a massive maximum $75,000 fine for animal cruelty or two years' jail. For a breach of duty of care to an animal, the fine is a maximum of $22,000 and/or six months' jail."

Here (in Malaysia) what these policemen do are par for the course. Malaysian police officers "murder" suspects in custody and "torture" detainees under the ISA with a familiarity of seasoned operatives skilled in their work.

Their response to queries about these excesses is given in a contemptuous manner like that of the SS troops under Hitler or the Tom To Macoutes under Papa Doc in Haiti.

This is what our police have become – no longer regarded as the defender of the rakyat but an offender capable of inflicting harm and terror on the ordinary people.

Maybe this is what this Umno government wants PDRM to be – if so, then it only shows what mayhem these Malays are capable of doing if they are let loose while in uniform.

I shudder to think what the army would be capable of doing if called upon to do so by this same Umno government.

It is also the Malays in PDRM who are the first face of corruption that the public sees.

Un-Islamic acts anytime, anywhere

Every day thousands upon thousands of Malaysian find themselves in situations with Malay policemen who think nothing about asking for a bribe in order to allow traffic infringements to be "excused".

And these happens during the Ramadan month, during the hours of prayers. It happens at anytime and anywhere they can get a dollar out of the long-suffering public.

And here again another Malay criminal class can be said to be alive and well!

Those civil servants in the various ministries do the same thing, too.

You go to Immigration. You pay money to get things done and you pay them to Malays. You go to JPJ (Road Transport Department) and Puspakom to get things done and you get things done by paying Malays, too.

Malays are the people who would be involved in the evaluation of quotations, tenders, projects and any spending by this Umno government.

All these people are another class of criminal Malays that has come into being because the Umno government allows for this criminal culture to flourish in order for Umno itself to flourish.

But the biggest criminal class of Malays are without doubt the Malay politicians who are in Umno.

Umno legitimised stealing

Think of it – who are the biggest thieves of our nation's wealth? Politicians. And the majority of politicians who are in power are Malays within Umno.

And it is these Malay politicians in Umno, to my shame, who have been instrumental in the Malays being labelled as the biggest thieves of our nation's wealth.

Allow me to quote Thomas Paine: "He who has robbed another of his property, will next endeavour to disarm him of his rights, to secure that property; for when the robber becomes the legislator he believes himself secure."

Now isn't this how Umno works? Umno governs our nation. What these Umno politicians take, they take legally.

And when you can legislate to make your taking of the nation wealth legal – you really have got it made.

And yet despite the harm they have done to our nation, we have not seen one politician hanged for their crime because they call what they do "public service" – when actually the only service they do is to themselves.

Umno has got the best Malay politicians that money can buy.

What is our history now for the past 20 over years since Dr Mahathir Mohamad took over?

It is simply a history of how Malays who are Umno politicians have squandered the blood and treasure of our nation. Billions plundered by those Malays in high public office who abused the executive responsibility entrusted to them by the public.

I need not go further than to remind you of the RM$500 million given in commission by our then Defence Minister Najib Tun Razak to Razak Baginda for the purchase of the Scorpene submarine.

And the recent and still unravelling, National Feedlot Corporation (NFCorp) debacle whose mind-boggling purchases of real estate properties by a business supposedly doing cattle farming is not only in the realms of Bernard Madoff, but puts to shame even what Robert Kuok or Li Ka Shing would have done with their money.

And these are all Malays who do these things!

CT Ali is a reformist who believes in Pakatan Rakyat's ideologies. He is a FMT columnist.

Myanmar youth make their voices heard

Posted: 31 Jan 2012 03:00 PM PST

by Marie Vallerey

YANGON: Myanmar's youth, no strangers to the country's long struggle for democracy, are increasingly daring to emerge from the political shadows as the regime promises a new era of openness.

Their enthusiasm offers much-needed new blood for Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD) party, whose top ranks are filled with elderly men in their 80s and 90s known as the "uncles".

With the opposition gearing up for April 1 by-elections expected to propel Suu Kyi and possibly dozens more party members into Parliament for the first time, many young people are heeding the call to battle.

"I want to fight for the truth," 25-year-old NLD member Thuzar Lwin told AFP at the party's ramshackle Yangon headquarters, where she was helping to re-register recently freed dissidents on the membership list.

"I believe in my leader Aung San Suu Kyi."

Young Myanmars have often been at the vanguard of their country's decades-old resistance to oppression and military rule, but in the past they often waged their campaign on the street or in the shadows.

Now they feel more able to make their voices heard.

"They always suspected us, the government. Not now. Now we are free again," said 21-year-old student Zar Yar Phyo.

New generation

In 1988 students were at the forefront of the biggest ever uprising against the military regime, which cracked down brutally on protesters, resulting in up to 3,000 deaths and leaving students under the close watch of the authorities.

Almost two decades later in 2007, the same activists again took to the streets to join monk-led protests dubbed the "Saffron Revolution" that were crushed by the regime.

Many were handed long prison sentences for their roles in the unrest and some were only recently released by the new military-backed government as part of prisoner amnesties long demanded by the international community.

Now in their 40s, they are making way for a new generation.

"We're not as young as we were, the former students of the 1988 movement. So we're trying to work with members of the young generation and in another month or so we expect to stand united," said NLD youth spokesman Myo Nyunt.

"Now many, many young people want to join our NLD party."

Not all youth activists, however, are choosing to sign up to the NLD in their struggle.

Underground movement

Bo Bo, 23, quit university in 2008 and joined the Generation Wave underground movement, which uses music, poetry and other forms of peaceful expression.

The group has now started to organise more open activities to campaign for political and human rights.

"I wanted to do something for the country," he said.

"In the 2007 Saffron Revolution I saw many bad things such as they attacked the monks who protested on the road very peacefully. It made me really angry and also it encouraged me to do politics and to do more for the country."

Some 30 members of the group were thrown in prison. They were released as part of the sweeping changes that are also being felt on the streets.

"We are not going to form a political party. We would like to be an activist organisation, that's all," Bo Bo said.

Many young voters in the constituencies involved in the April by-election, where 48 seats will be at stake, will be casting ballots for the second time.

The new government has promised that this time the vote will be free and fair, unlike a 2010 nationwide election that was marred by widespread complaints of cheating and swept the army's political allies to power.

The regime has since surprised observers with a series of reforms, including welcoming the NLD back into the political mainstream, inking ceasefire deals with ethnic minority rebels and releasing hundreds of political prisoners.

Tens of thousands of jubilant supporters greeted Suu Kyi on the campaign trail at the weekend, and there is a new sense of optimism in the air.

"I think it is changing now more than ever," said student Zar Yar Phyo. "Everything can happen today in Myanmar."

AFP

Remember Perak

Posted: 31 Jan 2012 03:00 PM PST

There has been widespread rumours that Parliament will be dissolved anytime in February with Feb 6 being bandied about as one of the likely dates to pave the way for polling on March 11 (there seems to be a general consensus on this March date for the polls from various sources). This goes to explain the heightened political activity in Perak from late last year till the present.

The recent big activity in Perak is, of course, the National Chinese New Year Open House celebration hosted by Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak in Sitiawan on Jan 28. It is just too much of a coincidence that Perak is hosting this big event. Something is on the boil and yes, many are already saying that the continuous presence of Barisan Nasional bigwigs in Perak is an indicator that polls will be held very soon.

In the meantime, Perakians will be "celebrating" two dramatic anniversaries in February:

Feb 5 – the third anniversary of the fall of the Pakatan Rakyat state government; and

Feb 9 – the second anniversary of Umno's Zambry Abdul Kadir being declared as the menteri besar by the Federal Court who upheld the Court of Appeal's decision via a 5-0 verdict in favour of the Umno man.

A quick recap on how the Perak power-grab came about. Just before the Chinese Lunar New Year of 2009 (Year of the Ox) at around the third week of January, Umno's state assemblyman for Bota, Nasarudin Hashim, jumped over to PKR and this triggered off a string of defections and dramatic events that would be instrumental in the downfall of Perak.

The main event was the disappearance of three Pakatan lawmakers who suddenly became incommunicado with their party leaders only to appear several days later at a press conference together with the then deputy prime minister Najib Tun Razak to declare that they were BN-friendly.

The names of the "Terrible Three" are Jamaluddin Mohd Radzi (state assemblyman of Behrang, ex-PKR); Kapt (B) Mohd Osman Mohd Jailu (state assemblyman of Changkat Jering, ex-PKR); and

Hee Yit Foong (state assemblyman of Jelapang, ex-DAP).

This dastardly deed by Najib just before assuming the prime ministership on April 3, 2009, gives a clear indication of the sort of leader that he is – someone diabolical who has no scruples and is willing to achieve his goals by hook or by crook, with the latter being the usual means employed.

Sadly too, Malaysians have no say on the choice of prime minister as the post is handed over from one Umno president to the next Umno president. The solution then would be to boot out Umno and Barisan Nasional (BN) entirely by voting them out in the coming 13th general election.

As the polls are to be called very soon, BN leaders have stepped up their campaign in Perak. Long lines of the RM500 cash aid recipients are shown in the mainstream papers and banners have been put up by BN in the rural areas and small towns in Perak to tell all and sundry that the cash aid comes from the BN political coalition. The BN federal government is thus deceiving the rakyat as this cash aid is from the taxpayers' money.

'Homestay projects'

Besides the cash aid, Umno members are having "homestay" projects in 135 villages in Larut, Parit Buntar, Bagan Serai, Bukit Gantang, Taiping, Padang Rengas (parliamentary seat of Nazri Aziz), Beruas and Lumut wherein Umno members will stay with the village folk to show their so-called care and concern for the rakyat and, at the same time, bad-mouth the opposition while singing praises of Umno.

This project is carried out in areas that Umno thinks are not to easy to win over. The parliamentary seats of Parit Buntar, Bukit Gantang, Taiping and Beruas belonging to Pakatan are very "black areas", according to Umno.

Going by the results of the previous general election, there are 16 state seats in Perak which can swing either way due to small winning margins of less than 1,000 votes. Here are the results from the previous polls in March 2008:

1. Selama – BN won by a margin of 355 votes.

2. Kubu Gajah – BN won by a margin of 66 votes.

3. Kuala Kurau – PKR won by a margin of 467 votes.

4. Alor Pongsu – BN won by a margin of 95 votes.

5. Selinsing – PAS won by a margin of 547 votes.

6. Kuala Sapetang – PKR won by a margin of 564 votes.

7. Trong – BN won by a margin of 916 votes.

8. Kamunting – BN won by margin of 555 votes.

9. Pokok Assam – DAP won by a margin of 865 votes.

10. Lubok Merbau – PAS won by a margin of 72 votes.

11. Manjoi – BN won by margin of 348 votes.

12. Kepayang – DAP won by a margin of 490 votes.

13. Manong – BN won by a margin of 749 votes.

14. Pengkalan Baharu – BN won by margin of 14 votes.

15. Sungai Rapat – BN won by a margin of 636 votes.

16. Teja – PKR won by a margin of 175 votes.

Besides the above swing seats, there has been a shifting of voting streams (polling centres) done by the Election Commission and an increase in the names of at least 40,000 dubious voters and postal voters. Below is a sample:

1. Kamunting – an increase of 1,102 voters.

2. Temenggor – an increase 690 voters.

3. Pengkalan Hulu – an increase of 506 voters.

4. Chenderiang – an increase of 255 voters (the sole MCA seat belonging to Dr Mah Hang Soon).

5. Sungai Rapat – an increase of 248 voters.

6. Pangkor – an increase of 5,669 postal voters (Zambry's seat).

The increased political activity in Perak had started last year. Activities included Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin's visit to the state to distribute a large allocation of funds to religious schools and MCA president Dr Chua Soi Lek's forays into Perak rural villages to drum into the rural Chinese that hudud law is a certainty if Pakatan wins control of the federal government.

Power tussle in Perak Umno

Even in Perak Umno itself it is a hotbed of political activity. There are three camps in Umno tussling for power: Zambry's camp; Second Finance Minister Ahmad Husni Hanadzlah's camp; and

Sungai Rapat state assemblyperson Hamidah Osman's camp.

Ahmad Husni is Najib's man while Zambry is still known as the Court MB trying to get into Najib's good books.

The blogger who made an accusation against Nga Kor Ming (DAP's Taiping MP) pertaining to a tailoring contract even went to see Zambry first before making the accusation.

This is called "The Saiful Tactic" (as Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan went to see the prime minister for a scholarship before accusing Anwar Ibrahim of sodomy).

Zambry also lacks leadership qualities due to his flip-flopping. He has made a statement that only winnable candidates are to be fielded in the coming polls and those who lost in the previous general election will be dropped only to backtrack later by saying that recycled candidates will be fielded.

There is much goings-on in the Umno camps as each one is fighting for power for himself.

In the meantime, to woo over the Malay voters, Umno leaders are still using the same old line of "(Former Pakatan MB) Nizar (Jamaluddin) derhaka" and "Nizar is DAP's puppet". Whether this will work or not is still left to be seen.

At the end of the day, the Perak power-grab executed by BN via undemocratic, unprincipled and unethical means is clearly illegal but as usual this is Malaysia Boleh and anything goes.

Before Malaysia really becomes the world's laughing stock, it is up to all Malaysians and not just Perakians to boot out BN so that Perak and Malaysia can shine again in the world's political stage. Already there is talk on the ground that dubious voters and phantom voters can win the day for BN.

Therefore, the rallying cry for Pakatan should be "Remember Perak", similar to the American battlecry for courage "Remember the Alamo".

Selena Tay is a FMT columnist.

KL shares close higher

Posted: 31 Jan 2012 02:04 AM PST

KUALA LUMPUR: Share prices on Bursa Malaysia closed higher today on late buying interest.

Dealers said the local bourse ended in tandem with higher regional markets after encouraging comments by Greek Prime Minister Lucas Papademos that significant progress was made in talks with private sector creditors about his country's debt woes.

"Markets now are awaiting formal confirmation that an agreement on debt restructure has been struck with private investors and that a second rescue funding package will be provided to the Greek government," a dealer said.

The FBM KLCI jumped 7.74 points to close at its intra-day high of 1,521.29 after opening 3.47 points higher at 1,517.02 compared with yesterday's closing.

The Finance Index gained 17.58 points to 13,442.67, the Plantation Index earned 1.43 points to 8,729.42 and the Industrial Index advanced 20.4 points to 2,803.82.

The FBM Emas Index added 46.25 points to 10,587.2 and FBM Mid 70 Index perked up 25.15 points to 12,159.88 but the FBM ACE Index slipped 24.9 points to 4,496.59.

Gainers beat losers by 415 to 394 while 353 counters were unchanged, 315 untraded and 22 others suspended.

Turnover dropped to 1.78 billion shares from 2.307 billion shares while the value rose to RM2.18 billion from RM1.841 billion yesterday.

Of the actives, Coastal-CA earned six sen to 9.4 sen and DRB Hicom-CG rose four sen to 22.5 sen while Compugates Holdings was flat at 8.5 sen.

Among heavyweights, Maybank and Petronas Chemicals added one sen each to RM8.20 and RM6.67 respectively, CIMB rose two sen to RM6.91 and Sime Darby advanced five sen to RM9.14.

Trading in Cybertowers was halted from 4.12pm today and will resume on Thursday.

Meanwhile, Greenyield will transfer to the Main Market from the ACE Market on Feb 8.

Volume on the Main Market declined to 952.52 million shares worth RM2.05 billion from 1.18 billion shares valued at RM1.66 billion yesterday.

Turnover on the ACE Market fell to 229.15 million units valued at RM38.86 million from 452.77 million units worth RM75.194 million.

Warrants decreased to 599.31 million units worth RM87.96 million from 670.182 million shares valued at RM102.406 million.

On a sectoral basis, consumer products accounted for 110.29 million shares, industrial products 181.61 million, construction 48.24 million, trade and services 323.01 million, technology 38.01 million, infrastructure 38.09 million, finance 81.42 million, hotels 484,500, properties 73.51 million, plantation 34.57 million, mining 25,000, REITs 7.51 million and closed/fund 192,000.

- Bernama

Cuepacs steps up fight against new scheme

Posted: 31 Jan 2012 02:00 AM PST

KUALA LUMPUR: Cuepacs has set up an action committee as its latest step in its fight against the Public Service New Remuneration Scheme (SBPA).

A 15-member team, led by Cuepacs deputy president, Azih Muda, will present a paper on its recommendations to Prime Minister, Najib Tun Razak, by early March.

These recommendations were compiled during a two-day workshop on SBPA which was attended by all Cuepacs officials.

Cuepacs president, Omar Osman, told the media this afternoon that the paper would be based on the five items that Cuepacs has already submitted for review by the SBPA task force.

"The prime minister introduced the SBPA in the hope that it would be better than the Malaysian Remuneration Scheme (SSM) but instead it is the worst scheme we have ever seen," he said.

"And this is because the Public Services Department (PSD) never consulted us in drafting the scheme and then kept the details a secret from us."

Among the recommendations is a review of the Civil Service Premier Post (JUSA) level. Omar stated that of the current 36 posts, only seven are qualified for a Premier classification.

He listed the seven as the Chief Secretary to the Government, Secretary-General of Treasury, Director-General of Public Services, Treasury Auditor-General, Attorney-General, Chief Justice and Accountant-General of Malaysia.

Omar also slammed the mismatch of job titles and functions under the SBPA. Under the scheme, "drivers" will now be known as "operations manager", "hostel supervisor" as "administrative supervisor" and "nursing trainer" as "health trainer".

"There is a complete imbalance here," he pointed out. "The reasoning behind the title change it to supposedly add prestige to the job but there are better ways of doing this."

Lopsided salary adjustments

Omar confirmed earlier claims by PAS vice president, Mahfuz Omar, that those in the Premier group had already been given offer letters and that some of them are already receiving the new salary under the SBPA.

"Who authorised this?" he demanded. "I also have text messages from pensioners who have received as much as RM9,800 in pensions under the SBPA."

"These are the surprises that we are being subjected to because of the SBPA's lack of transparency."

Omar also maintained his earlier threat to pull out from the SBPA task force if no additional Cuepacs representatives are included on the panel.

He has asked for Azih Muda, secretary-general Lok Yim Pheng and financial secretary Jaafar Mansor to also sit on the task force as he alone cannot represent 1.3 million members.

The head of the SBPA task force, Ismail Adam, yesterday said that he had no objections to the three coming on board but that the power to make appointments rested with the Chief Secretary to the Government, Sidek Hassan.

"We have no heard anything on this matter yet but if the three are not invited to the second task force meeting on Feb 8 then I will officially resign on that day," Omar said.

The SBPA was meant to be implemented on Jan 1 but has been delayed due to strong objections over the lopsided salary adjustment between senior government officials above Grade 54 and those below.

Cuepacs is conducting a roadshow until April on the SBPA and civil servants have until Feb 15 to submit their protests on the scheme.

Pig’s head found at Rawang mosque

Posted: 31 Jan 2012 01:58 AM PST

RAWANG: A roasted pig head was found at the steps of the Nurul Iman Mosque at Batu 18 here early this morning.

While speculation awas rife on the motive of the culprits, police and PKR leaders have called for calm.

At 5.15am, mosque caretaker Nadzlan Ambak stumbled upon the object when opening the gates of the mosque.

"I saw something yellow, then when I moved closer I saw the head. Neatly placed, facing me," said Nadzlan, 70.

Police have classified the case under Section 295 of the Penal Code for desecrating a place of worship. However, no suspects have been identified so far, Selangor police chief Tun Hisan Tun Hamzah said this afternoon.

Tun Hisan also said a motive was being ascertained.

The police had arrived at 7.30am and left about two hours later with the pig head as evidence for further investigation.

PKR Rawang assemblyperson Gan Pei Nei urged quicker police action and said inaction will simply lead to more of such incidents.

"The message we seem to be getting, if nobody is arrested, is that such acts are condoned," Gan told reporters at the mosque.

Provocative acts

Gan said in Rawang's history, there has not been such provocative acts. "Such acts should not be tolerated. I'll continue to do what I can and follow up with the mosque and police".

Earlier, he told an online news portal that the actions were probably politically motivated as the 13th general election was around the corner.

PKR's Selayang MP William Leong said: "We deplore the irresponsible, despicable and provocative act done by irresponsible person. Police should arrest and, upon conviction, use the maximum penalties allowed by law

"We've had too much. The cow-head stomping in Shah Alam, the burning of churches, stone throwing at a Sikh temple and now pig heads."

"If there's politics, we should debate about policies, we should never use religion or race to incite violence. No one can gain from it," said Leong.

Mosque committee member Azman Mohd Noor said the mosque is shocked at the action as they have been friendly to the surrounding community.

"We have Chinese-Muslims and Indian-Muslims and we have no enemies. Anyone with problems should come talk to us," he said.

The last time pig heads were also found in a mosque was in Johor, where five pig heads were discovered at the entrance of Al Falah mosque in Taman Desa Jaya, Johor Baru.

Pig heads were dumped at mosques in 2010 during the same time the controversy surrounding the usage of the word "Allah" was still raging. During that time, mosques and churches were also vandalised.

Land tribunal ‘judges’ must know ‘native adat’

Posted: 31 Jan 2012 01:35 AM PST

KUCHING: Chief Judge of Sabah and Sarawak Richard Malanjum's proposal for the authorities to set up a land tribunal in Sabah to hear native land-related cases must ensure that the body is bestowed with full "powers", a prominent native customary rights (NCR) lawyer here said.

Baru Bian, who is also state PKR chairman, while lauding Malanjum's suggestion, said the more important factor in setting up such a tribunal is its composition and authority.

"This is very encouraging news which is line with our earlier proposal. Now the most important thing is the composition and power of the tribunal.

"The basic requirements and qualifications of a High Court judge are that he is familiar with natives 'adat' and culture.

"They must be independently appointed," Bian said.

He was responding to a statement by Malanjum that a native land tribunal should be set up in Sabah to provide a more effective alternative to resolving disputes involving native land.

Malanjum said that a dedicated body, similar to the Waitangi Tribunal in New Zealand, would be more flexible and therefore able to settle disputes faster and more efficiently.

He has suggested that it "may be time for the state to consider setting up such a commission, instead of just throwing native land dispute cases to civil courts".

"In some cases, judges from Peninsular Malaysia, who may not be that familiar with Sabah's native customary land rights, have to preside in local cases and as a result, these cases may be decided as they would have been in similar land cases in the peninsula," Malajum reportedly said.

Pakatan's idea

Bian said Pakatan Rakyat Sarawak comprising PKR, DAP and PAS had, in the last election, included the setting up of a land commission in its manifesto.

Among others, the commission would assist the state and the natives to solve the increasing problems connected to NCR land.

Bian, who is Ba'Kelalan assemblyman, had raised the proposal at the State Legislative Assembly in its June meeting last year and urged the government to set up the land commission.

He had argued that establishing a land commission was "crucial" because the court and the state government had different ideas on NCR land.

The government is of the view that NCR land covered only areas farmed before Jan 1, 1958.

But the court had ruled that NCR land also included "pemakai menua" and "pulau galau".

Bian's suggestion was rejected outright by the state government.

Currently, there are more than 200 NCR land cases pending hearing in the High Court, and many have been in the court for more than five years.

"Lately there has been some improvement. With the setting up of the tribunal, many of the cases can be expedited," Bian said.

NGOs: We want Devamany

Posted: 31 Jan 2012 01:31 AM PST

KUALA LUMPUR: Two non-governmental organisations have pledged their support for Cameron Highlands MP SK Devamany and urged Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak to retain him in the next general election.

R Balakrishnan, 65, chairman of Sai Baba Centre said that residents of Cameron Highlands were satisfied with the deputy minister's service and performance.

"He comes to the ground often and sorts out the people's problems. There is no reason to drop him (as the candidate in the next polls)," he added.

Asked about the rumours that MIC president G Palanivel was eyeing the seat, Balakrishnan said this should not be the case.

He said it would be unfair for Palanivel to ride on Devamany's success.

"We know what happened in Hulu Selangor," he said, referring to the seat where Palanivel was defeated in the 2008 general election and overlooked as candidate for a by-election in 2010.

"If we look at the result, it is crystal clear that Hulu Selangor voters did not reject Barisan Nasional or MIC but rejected Palanivel only," he added.

BN reclaimed the Hulu Selangor parliamentary seat in the 2010 by-election after fielding a newcomer from MIC, P Kamalanathan.

According to Balakrishnan, Palanivel was the first MIC candidate in the history of by-elections to be rejected by the prime minister after the former was nominated by the then party president.

"Is this the kind of candidate we want in Cameron?" he asked.

Balakrishnan also warned that he would campaign against Palanivel if the latter was fielded in Cameron Highlands.

Meanwhile, Thiruvalluvar Mandram representative S Vasu warned that BN risked losing Orang Asli votes if it dropped Devamany.

"Devamany is always visiting the Orang Asli villages and helping them," he said, pointing out that Cameron had the highest number of Orang Asli voters.

Furthermore, he added, Palanivel was not familiar to the locals and this would also work against BN.

Also read:

Pemuda Umno: Singkirkan Devamany dari Cameron Highlands

Belia Felda juga tolak Devamany pertahan Cameron Highlands

Palani in plot to take over Cameron Highlands?

EC not keen on ‘friendly suit’

Posted: 31 Jan 2012 12:48 AM PST

GEORGE TOWN: More than a year has passed since the Penang government proposed what it called a "friendly suit" to determine whether current laws allow for local government elections, and the Election Commission (EC) still appears reluctant to play ball.

EC chairman Abdul Aziz Mohd Yusof told reporters today he had yet to overcome his confusion over the proposal.

In October 2010, Penang executive councillor Chow Kon Yeow told a press conference that the state was seeking the EC's cooperation in getting a judicial pronouncement on the legality of holding local elections.

"We want the EC to join us in a friendly petition to the Federal Court to resolve this issue," he said. "We will propose that neither party would seek costs from the other, whatever the decision turns out to be."

This followed the EC's negative response to Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng's request for it to conduct elections for Penang's two municipal councils. The commission said there was no law that enabled it to run the polls. It gave the same response to the Selangor government.

"I have been advised that the EC cannot conduct the elections because the law that allowed it has been repealed," Abdul Aziz told newsman today after he had concluded a briefing session for returning officers and other election staff.

"I have told both state governments that there was no enabling law to conduct such polls.

"I don't understand why the Penang government wants to file the suit."

He said the onus was on state governments to ask the Local Government Council under the Housing and Local Government Ministry to draft a law to enable local elections.

"Penang should do that," he said. "But if it still wants to sue, I don't understand."

A panel of lawyers commissioned by the Penang government contends that the Local Government Elections Act of 1960 has yet to be repealed, noting that it was in fact revised in September 1991.

But state legal adviser Faiza Zulkifli has told Lim's administration that according to Section 15 of the Local Government Act (1976), all provisions relating to local government elections have ceased to have any force.

Chow, however, said the constitutionality of Section 15 was under question. He believes that it goes against Article 113 (4) of the Federal Constitution, which states that federal or state law may authorise the EC to conduct elections.

Article 128 of the Constitution provides for Federal Court jurisdiction in such a matter.

Chow said if the Federal Court ruled in the Penang government's favour, the EC could be instructed to carry out the elections.

He did not discount the possibility of Penang enacting a law in line with powers bestowed on the state under Article 113 (4).

Borneonisation: Govts want case struck out

Posted: 31 Jan 2012 12:26 AM PST

KOTA KINABALU: Both the federal and Sabah governments have applied to the High Court here to strike out the joint suit against them by a former policeman and a ex-teacher who are seeking several declarations relating to Borneonisation.

Yesterday, senior federal counsel Noor Hisham Ismail for the federal government and senior state counsel Zaleha Rose Pandin for the Sabah state government, told Justice David Wong Dak Wah that former inspector Bernard Fung Fon Chen, 70, and 35-year-old Nazib Maidan Dally have no locus standi to bring up the suit.

Noor Hisham also submitted, among others, that the court is not the proper forum to ventilate on policy issues.

He also submitted that the court should not entertain the suit brought by the plaintiffs because it was an attempt to circumvent the strict requirement for judicial review under order 53 of the Rules of the High Court.

As to the claim by Fung of not being promoted to the higher rank although he had the qualification and committed to the work and also the claim by Mohd Nazib that he was not trained as teacher before his teaching job was terminated in early 2005, Noor Hisham submitted that promotion and appointment is a matter of management prerogative.

Meanwhile, Zaleha informed the court that she adopted what Noor Hisham had submitted to the court.

She submitted it should be the state Attorney-General who should take an action against the federal government pertaining to Borneonisation issues.

The court set March 19, for further arguments.

Govts failed to fulfil IGC terms

In their originating summons filed on Aug 8, 2011, the duo named the federal and state governments as the first and second defendants respectively.

They are seeking a declaration from the court that the federal government had failed and or neglected to expeditiously and fully carry out the Borneonisation of the federal public services in the state.

They are also seeking a declaration that the state government had failed or neglected to fully implement the assurance, undertakings and the recommendations contained in the Report of the Inter-Governmental Committee (IGC), 1962 dated Feb 27, 1963 in relation to the Borneonisation of the federal public services in the state and which are not implemented by express provision of the Constitution of Malaysia.

Fung and Nazib are also seeking a declaration that the federal government had failed and neglected to advise the King under Article 153 (2) of the Federal Constitution to ensure reservation for the natives of Sabah such reasonable number of positions in the public services of the federal government in particular in the federal departments in the state.

They are also seeking a declaration that the federal government had failed to fully implement the specific assurance and recommendation in paragraph 7 of Annex B to the IGC Report that the chief minister of the state shall be consulted before the federal Cabinet advises the King on the reservation of reasonable number of positions in the federal public services for the natives of the state.

The two are also seeking a declaration that the state government had failed to take such executive or other appropriate action to implement the assurance and recommendation contained in the IGC Report before the federal Cabinet advises the King in respect of the exercise of his power under Article 153.

They noted that such advice in relation to Sabah shall be given only after consultation with the chief Minister of Sabah.

Other reliefs sought by Fung and Nazib are a declaration that the natives of Sabah or the people belonging to the state of Sabah have a legitimate expectation that the Borneonisation of the federal public service in the state in terms of the assurances and undertakings in the IGP Report shall be fully and expeditiously implemented, costs and other relief as the court may deem fit and proper to grant.

Railway folk contest suit by developer

Posted: 31 Jan 2012 12:18 AM PST

KUALA LUMPUR: Residents of Kampung Railway in Sentul are contesting a suit brought by Sentul Raya Sdn Bhd, a subsidiary of YTL Corporation, which wants them evicted from their land.

The High Court here today fixed March 1 for case management so that Sentul Raya, the developer, and 102 defendants can file their respective affidavits.

It is understood that more residents' names, including their extended families, will be added to the suit.

Sentul Raya, on Dec 2 last year, filed a lawsuit against the residents, seeking a court order to evict the residents from the land which they have been occupying for over a 100 years.

Sentul Raya, represented by B Thangaraj, claimed the land was rightfully theirs and that the villagers were trespassers as they had no permission from the landowner to be on the land.

However, the residents argued that they have lived on the land, which previously belonged to Keretapi Tanah Melayu Berhad (KTMB), for about 120 years.

M Subramaniam, 76, the oldest defendant named in the suit, said that his father had started work with KTMB (then Malayan Railway) in 1943.

"The settlement was previously a tin mine. KTMB was established in 1885 and the Sentul Railway Workshop is among the oldest KTMB facilities in Malaysia," said Subramaniam.

He said that it was not right to call the residents "squatters" as they were by right "settlers" or "equitable owners of the land" who are fourth generation descendants of railwaymen.

"We built our homes with the permission of KTMB," said Subramaniam, adding that Kampung Railway now has facilities like temples, sundry stores, lorry depots, restaurants and so on."

Report to be filed with MACC

Subramaniam questioned, in his affidavit, the legality of the land transfer from KTMB to Sentul Raya, alleging possible fraud.

"What is strange is that Sentul Raya is not a company under KTMB. It's a private company worth RM2 and now they are suddenly the owners of the land.

"Something's fishy in the transaction and I suspect elements of fraud in the sale of the land. The residents will be making a report with the MACC soon," said Subramaniam.

He wants the court to declare the residents as rightful owners of the land and that Kampung Railway be gazetted as a heritage village and renamed 'Taman Kampung Railway Sentul Indian Settlement'.

The residents should also be given freehold grants for the land or, in the alternative, be given terrace houses of at least 2,000 square feet costing RM200,000 without costs.

Lawyer and HRP's pro-ten secretary general P Uthayakumar, who represented 31 of the residents, including Subramaniam, said that he found it strange that the defendants were "not allowed" to do a search at the land office.

"We tried many times but were not allowed to do the necessary checks. We have hired a private land clerk to help us.

"How was the KTM land sold to Sentul Raya? It is a mystery. How much was it bought for? Was it bought at market price? This is just a RM2 company," said Uthayakumar.

Imran blames T20 for India’s Test plight

Posted: 31 Jan 2012 12:16 AM PST

NEW DELHI: Pakistan cricket legend Imran Khan has blamed the lucrative Twenty20 Indian Premier League for India's recent dismal Test showing, saying the focus should be on the game's longer format.

India were humiliated 4-0 in the recent series away to Michael Clarke's Australians to record eight successive overseas Test defeats following a similar hammering in England last year.

"I can only use one word to describe India's form… consistent. To lose eight Test matches in a row overseas is an achievement," Imran, the former Pakistan captain, said in the first annual Tiger Pataudi Memorial Lecture in Kolkata on Monday night.

"It's a wake-up call for Indian cricket. A team that won the World Cup and was number one in Tests a few months back is in the doldrums.

"If you want to be the leaders you can't keep losing. If you pay so much emphasis on Twenty20 cricket, you've got to pay hugely."

The annual IPL tournament revolutionised cricket when it burst on to the scene in 2008 with a high-octane blend of international star players, short matches and Bollywood glamour.

Imran, who led Pakistan to their only World Cup triumph in 1992, said Test cricket should always be the top priority, as it is the greatest examination of players' temperament and technique.

"India has to decide soon whether it prefers glamour, Bollywood and money to Test cricket," he said. "In my 20 years of cricket, I never made so much money as a mediocre player in T20 does today.

"The connoisseurs will rate a player by his Test record and not what he's done in T20s. Test cricket is the ultimate test of a player and that's the reason Test records carry value.

"Talent can excel in one-dayers, but in Test cricket, your temperament and technique is tested besides the talent."

Imran also said India needed to overhaul their domestic cricket to make it more competitive.

"In India and Pakistan, there's a huge jump from first-class cricket to international cricket," he said.

Imran — now an increasingly influential politician in Pakistan — also paid glowing tribute to former India captain Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi, who died in September of a lung infection aged 70.

Nicknamed "The Tiger" for his brilliant fielding, Pataudi quit Tests in 1975 with 2,793 runs in 46 matches and six centuries despite losing the sight in his right eye in a car accident in England.

"If Tiger hadn't lost an eye, he would have broken all records," said Imran. "His quality of strokes was amazing. Mere mortals couldn't play them."

-AFP

Belia Felda juga tolak Devamany pertahan Cameron Highlands

Posted: 31 Jan 2012 12:03 AM PST

CAMERON HIGHLANDS: Selepas Pemuda Umno Cameron Highlands menolak Datuk SK Devamany mempertahankan kerusi parlimen itu, kini kumpulan belia Felda di kawasan tersebut menyuarakan hal sama.

Pengerusi Majlis Belia Sungai Koyan, Norfarulrafiq Razali berkata, "dalam keadaan apa sekali pun, kami menolak naib presiden MIC itu."

Pada 8 Julai tahun lalu, kumpulan berkenaan menghantar memorandum kepada Ketua Penerangan Umno, Datuk Ahmad Maslan supaya menggugurkan Devamany dalam pilihan raya umum ke 13.

Mereka juga mempamerkan sepanduk yang menyatakan mereka menolak Devamany di Cameron Highlands.

Waktu itu Ahmad merasmikan program di Felda Sungai Koyan 3 dekat sini.

Norfarulrafiq mendakwa ada 4, 000 pengundi muda di Felda dalam parlimen Cameron Highlands.

Beliau mendakwa, pemuda Felda mempunyai kuasa penting kerana kemenangan Devamany dalam pilihan raya umum 2008 kerana sokongan pengundi muda berkenaan.

Pemuda MIC juga tolak Devamany

"Jika beliau bertanding lagi dalam pilihan raya ke 13 ini, kami tidak akan mengundi beliau lagi. Kami mungkin tidak tidak keluar mengundi atau mengundi pembangkang.

"Kami tidak menolak MIC tetapi tidak mahu Devamany. Dia tidak membawa sebarang pembangunan kepada penduduk setempat terutama di DUN Jelai," katanya.

DUN Jelai diwakili oleh Ketua Umno Cameron Highlands, Datuk Wan Rosdy Wan Ismail yang juga exco kerajaan negeri Pahang.

"Kami tolak Devamany kerana beliau hanya pandai berjanji tidak mahu menunaikannya.

"Beliau juga jarang tunjuk muka kecuali rakyat mengadu atau pemimpin atasan datang ke Cameron Highlands," dakwa Norfarulrafiq.

Menurutnya, untuk pilihan raya akan datang Presiden MIC, Datuk G. Palanivel merupakan calon terbaik di Cameron Highlands.

Katanya, beliau yakin Menteri di Jabatan Perdana Menteri bagi kaum India akan mendapat undi yang lebih banyak dari Devamany.

Sementara itu, Ketua Pemuda MIC Cameron Highland, M Veloo turut sama menolak Devamany sebagai calon parlimen kawasan tersebut.

"Beliau tidak memberikan peruntukan wang untuk aktiviti pemuda," kata Veloo.

Veloo turut mengalu-alukan kehadiran Palanivel bertanding di Cameron Highland.

Turut baca:

Pemuda Umno: Singkirkan Devamany dari Cameron Highlands

Chinese ‘will retaliate’ against Taib’s stunt

Posted: 30 Jan 2012 11:53 PM PST

KUCHING: Taib Mahmud's divide-and-rule politics with the Chinese community in Sarawak may well backfire on him in the coming parliamentary elections.

His noticeable absence from Sarawak United People's Party's (SUPP) Chinese New Year open house last Monday has angered members who believe that as the Chief Minister of the state, he should not take sides in SUPP's internal strife.

Also absent were BN component party presidents William Mawan of Sarawak Progressive Democratic Party (SPDP) and James Masing from Parti Rakyat Sarawak (PRS).

Both are senior ministers in Taib's state Cabinet along with SUPP's former deputy secretary-general Wong Soon Koh.

Thousands of Chinese from Serian, Siburan, Bau and Kuching were disappointed at Taib's absence. They viewed it as an insult to both SUPP president and the party.

Taib's excuse for not attending the open house was his "age" but that didn't stop him for visiting the homes of prominent Chinese leader in Miri and Sibu with Wong and leaders of his group.

Speaking to FMT, Sarawak PKR vice-chairman See Chee How said that it was obvious that Taib was playing a "game" of trying to divide the community.

"It was so obvious right from the first day; he was playing that game. Probably he was trying to show that he was not happy with the federal government.

"But this is not the time to do it. It is not good to use festive occasions such as the Chinese New Year, Gawai Dayak, Hari Raya and Christmas to divide the people.

"These are occasions where we should unite the people of various races," said See, who is the Batu Lintang assemblyman.

Taib killing SUPP

See said that Taib's stunt to further divide SUPP was actually a move to try kill off SUPP at the end of the day.

"But in the process, Taib may also lose support from the Chinese in areas controlled by PBB, SPDP and PRS, as leaders of these parties did not respect the Chinese during the Chinese New Year.

"They (the Chinese voters) will surely retaliate come the parliamentary election," he added.

SUPP is currently deeply divided. On one side is federal minister Peter Chin's camp. Chin was elected last month to lead a beleagured SUPP, in a contentious triennial delegates conference (TDC). On the other side is Wong.

Wong was groomed to succeeded former president George Chan who had stepped down following the party's dismal performance in last April's state election. SUPP lost 13 of the 19 seats it contested.

But at the 11th hour, Chin announced his interest in the presidency. It is said that Chin had the blessing of Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak to contest for the top post in SUPP.

A bitter dispute ensued with Wong and his team who lodged reports with the Registrar of Societies (ROS) over irregularities by Chin's supporters in branch-level polls.

Wong and team then boycotted the TDC, forfeiting their right to contest in the party's presidential polls. They are of the view that both the TDC and the elections were illegal.

So when Najib officiated at the TDC, Taib was nowhere to be seen.

No sign of retiring

His absence prompted many political observers to think that Taib was deliberately trying to embarrass Najib and SUPP leaders.

Taib could have several reasons for not attending the SUPP's TDC.

One of them could be the numerous allegations of corruption and abuse of power against Taib by several quarters which want Najib to take action.

The other reason could be that Najib is said to have been trying to put pressure on Taib to step down as he (Taib) could be the reason why the Chinese would vote against BN in the coming parliamentary election as they did in the state election.

Taib had promised Najib to quit as chief minister soon after the state election. But until today, nothing is heard of Taib's stepping down.

Asian markets mostly up, nerves set in over Greece

Posted: 30 Jan 2012 11:43 PM PST

HONG KONG: Asian markets mostly rose today after European leaders agreed on a treaty aimed at ending huge deficits, but traders remained cautious as Greece continued talks to slash its debt mountain.

Upbeat Japanese data also gave support but the euro remained weak as the Greek issue rumbled on and traders looked for safe havens, while the strong yen raised the possibility the government would step into forex markets again.

Tokyo rose 0.11%, or 9.46 points, to 8,802.51 and Seoul climbed 0.79%, or 15.24 points, to 1,955.79, while in the afternoon Hong Kong added 0.35% and Shanghai was flat.

But Sydney ended 0.23%, or 10.0 points, lower at 4,262.7.

Yesterday, in Brussels, 25 of the 27 European Union nations adopted a new pact – to be formally signed in March – that will require governments to usher in laws on balanced budgets and impose near automatic sanctions on those who violate deficit rules. Britain and the Czech Republic refused to sign.

The leaders also set up a permanent rescue fund to begin operations a year early in July, although they will discuss before that whether to boost its size from an initial 500-billion-euro (US$660 billion) target.

However, while the plan is aimed at avoiding future deficits, Athens remains locked in talks with its creditors to convince them to accept a 50 percent hit on their investment.

The deal – which has been held up by a row over the amount of interest Greece must pay on the remainder of the debt – is key to the country getting access to a second bailout from the European Union and European Central Bank.

While Prime Minister Lucas Papademos has expressed confidence an agreement will be met, traders remained on edge.

Ric Spooner, chief market analyst at CMC Markets in Sydney, said in a note: "Markets now appear to have reached a level where they need formal confirmation that an agreement on debt restructure has been struck with private investors and that a second rescue funding package will be provided to the Greek government.

"After the rally of recent weeks, equity markets may remain nervous at current levels until these issues have been formally resolved," he said, according to Dow Jones Newswires.

A call by Germany for the Greek government to be placed under wardenship received scant backing from other European leaders, and Greece's education minister called the idea "the product of a sick imagination".

In Tokyo, data showed Japan's annual industrial output fell 3.5% in 2011 – hit by the March 11 quake-tsunami and floods in Thailand – but rose by a more-than-expected 4.0% on month in December.

It also showed household spending saw its first increase since the March disasters.

The euro bought US$1.3191 and 100.53 yen in afternoon Asian trade, compared with US$1.3134 and 100.34 yen in New York late yesterday. The dollar slipped to 76.21 yen from 76.34.

The dollar's ongoing weakness prompted Japan's finance minister to again suggest possible intervention after stepping in several times last year as the nation's exporters felt the pinch from a strong yen.

"If there is excessive volatility or really speculative movement, I will be vigilant against it, and I will take decisive steps if necessary," Jun Azumi told a regular briefing.

Azumi voiced hopes that Europe's debt crisis would ease, helping Japanese stock markets stabilise.

On oil markets, New York's main contract, West Texas Intermediate crude for delivery in March, gained 47 US cents to US$99.25 a barrel in the afternoon.

Brent North Sea crude for March delivery was up 70 US cents to US$111.45.

Gold was at US$1,736.40 an ounce at 0610 GMT, against US$1,735.90 late yesterday.

In other markets:

Taipei ended 1.48%, or 109.67 points, higher at 7,517.08. Chunghwa Telecom rose 1.37% to Tw$96.2 while HTC fell 1.52% to Tw$485.5.
Wellington fell 0.33%, or 11.02 points, to 3,296.20. Fletcher Building slipped 1.66% to NZ$6.52 and Telecom Corp was down 0.95% at NZ$2.095, while Air New Zealand was unchanged on NZ$0.91.

- AFP

White ‘ang pow’ nothing to do with govt, says Najib

Posted: 30 Jan 2012 11:40 PM PST

KUALA LUMPUR: The use of white envelopes along with the customary "ang pow" red packets at Perkasa's Chinese New Year gathering last Sunday has nothing to do with the government, said Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak.

He said leader of the NGO, Ibrahim Ali, is an independent member of parliament. Perkasa is a Malay right-wing group.

"As such, the while packet distributed at the Chinese New Year function should not be construed to be acceptance by the government," Najib said in a posting on his Chinese-language "Ah Jib Gor" Facebook page.

"I think that as long as we can have a better understanding of Chinese culture and promote sensitivity to cultural taboos, such controversial events can be avoided.

"We all know that 'ang pow' means a red envelope, dominated by red rather than other colours," he said, adding that the incident can be used as a social experience.

Yesterday, Perkasa was asked to apologise for insulting the Chinese community by using white envelopes as "ang pow" packets at its first Chinese New Year "open house". White envelopes are reserved for funerals in Chinese custom.

Gerakan vice-president Mah Siew Keong had said that giving cash in white envelopes during Chinese New Year, which is meant to be a prosperous and joyful festival, showed that Perkasa chief Ibrahim Ali is "greatly insensitive and insincere".

MCA Youth secretary-general Chai Kim Sen had said that Perkasa's action was disrespectful to Chinese culture and custom.

He said Ibrahim should act in the people's interests and understand the multi-cultural society and the taboos and prohibitions of each ethnic group and religion.

Perkasa deputy president Abdul Rahman Bakar had explained that due to the large turnout at the open house at the Sultan Sulaiman Club in Kampung Baru, the red "ang pow" packets ran out and white envelopes were used instead.

- Bernama

PKR mahu RCI jika Salleh tidak didakwa

Posted: 30 Jan 2012 11:31 PM PST

KUALA LUMPUR: PKR menggesa Satu Siasatan diRaja (RCI) dibuat bagi menyiasat ketelusan polis dan Suruhanjaya Pencegahan Rasuah Malaysia (SPRM) mengendalikan skandal Nasional Fidlot Kebangsaan (NFC).

Ketua Wanita PKR Zuraida Kamaruddin berkata kredibiliti boleh dipersoalkan kerana SPRM sehingga sekarang tidak mengenakan sebarang tindakan tegas terhadap Pengerusi NFC Datuk Seri Dr Mohammad Salleh Ismail.

Sebaliknya, ahli perniagaan Datuk Shamsubaharin Ismail dijadikan 'kambing hitam' apabila didakwa cuba menipu Salleh, katanya.

"Kami mahu Salleh disiasat dan dituduh dimahkamah sama seperti Shamsubaharin," katanya selepas menyerahkan laporan kepada SPRM di Jalan Cochrane di sini pagi tadi.

Zuraida dan Ahli Parlimen Subang S Sivarasa pagi tadi menyerahkan salinan laporan polis yang dibuat Shamsubaharin 27 Januari lalu di Hospital Besar Klang.

Laporan itu diterima oleh Penolong Penguasa SPRM, Norshimah Abdul Ghani dan Ketua Unit Siasatan, Maznah Che Muda.

Shamsubaharin dalam laporan itu mendakwa beliau yang dilantik sebagai penasihat korporat dan perunding NFC dipaksa Salleh supaya merasuah polis dengan harapan skandal NFC dapat ditutup.

Tekanan itu diterimanya melalui beberapa panggilan telefon dan khidmat pesanan ringkas (sms) daripada Salleh dan juga beberapa pegawai NFC yang lain.

"Ini bukan tuduhan liar. Dia (Shamsubaharin) ada bukti dan sanggup pertahankan tuduhan beliau.

Beri masa 2 minggu

"Oleh itu Salleh mesti dituduh melakukan rasuah kerana beliau dalang sebenar tapi sampai sekarang tiada apa-apa tindakan," kata Sivarasa.

Sehubungan itu, Sivarasa dan Zuraida memberikan tempoh dua minggu bagi SPRM mengenakan tindakan terhadap Salleh sebelum menggesa penubuhan RCI.

Katanya, tindakan segera perlu diambil bagi melindungi Shamsubaharin agar kejadian sama yang menimpa Teoh Beng Hock dan Sarbaini tidak akan berulang.

"Kami akan lakukan terbaik bagi melindungi Shamsubaharin dalam skandal NFC," tegas Zuraida.

Sebelum ini, Penasihat DAP Lim Kit Siang juga pernah mendesak agar RCI ditubuhkan bagi menyiasat penyelewengan geran RM250 juta yang diluluskan Kabinet kepada NFC.

Court sets April 4 for trial in NFCorp case

Posted: 30 Jan 2012 10:55 PM PST

KUALA LUMPUR: The Sessions Court here today set two days from April 4 for the trial of businessman Shamsulbahrin Ismail who is charged with cheating National Feedlot Corporation (NFCorp) director Mohamad Salleh Ismail of RM1.755 million.

Judge Rozilah Salleh set the date when the case came up for mention today.

Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) prosecution unit chief Abdul Razak Musa told the court that the prosecution will call 15 witnesses.

Shamsulbahrin, 46, is charged with cheating Mohamad Salleh by purposely promising a consulting service with the intention to dishonestly induce Mohamad Salleh, who is NFC executive chairman, to agree to pay for the service.

Shamsulbahrin, who is chief executive officer of Samsulbahrin Resources Sdn Bhd, is charged with committing the offence at a restaurant in Bukit Tunku here at 6 pm on Nov 20 last year.

He is also charged with cheating Mohamad Salleh by deceiving him into surrendering cheques worth RM1.755 million. The offence was allegedly committed at Solaris Mont Kiara here between Nov 25 and Dec 6 last year.

Both the charges were made under Section 420 of the Penal Code which provides for imprisonment of up to 10 years, with whipping and a fine, upon conviction.

Shamsulbahrin was represented by Zarina Ismail.

- Bernama

Also read:

'NFCorp chairman asked me to bribe cops'

42,000 dubious voters struck off the list

Posted: 30 Jan 2012 10:39 PM PST

GEORGE TOWN: A total of 42, 025 dubious voters would be removed from the electoral roll when the Election Commission verification process on the voters' list ends at midnight today.

EC chairman Abdul Aziz Mohd Yusof said the EC could not verify these voters after coordinating with the National Registration Department (NRD) to authenticate them for the past three months.

The EC has displayed names of total 42,051 dubious voters for public verification since Oct 27 last year. It extended the dateline for the verification process from last Dec 31 to Jan 31.

Of the names, only 26 were able to be verified while the rest remained unverified and dubious, thus would be deleted from roll.

"We have given enough time for all names to be verified.

"The unverified names will be deleted," Abdul Aziz told newsmen after an EC state-level briefing session for election returning officers and agents here. Also present was state election director Morat Pora.

The verification was invoked by demands set by electoral reform coalition Bersih 2.0. The first of Bersih's eight-point demand to EC was to clean up the electoral roll of dubious voters.

As of the end of last year, the country has 12,400,437 registered voters out of the 16,131,571 eligible citizens above age 21.

Abdul Aziz called on the remaining 3,731,134 or 23 per cent eligible citizens to exercise their rights by registering themselves immediately.

Of these three million citizens, he said Malays formed the biggest group, followed by Chinese, Indians and others.

"Registration process is simple and easy.

"You just have to take your identity card, go to the nearest post office and register yourself … even the form would be filled up by the staff," he said.

Penang has 803,304 registered voters, with 157,618 or 18.5 per cent eligible citizens yet to be registered.

The EC's record shows that an average 300,000 people are registering as new voters in each quarter.

Foreign voters

On overseas Malaysians' right to balloting, Abdul Aziz said the country's foreign office, Wisma Putra, has declined to undertake the task to conduct an open balloting process for them due to its complications.

Among the reasons given were that the 'foreign' Malaysians were staying all over the world and some were frequently shifting places.

Moreover, Abdul Aziz said the question on who should be eligible for voting must also be determined.

He raised question on whether those long-staying Malaysians of 15 to 20 years in foreign countries shall be allowed to vote when they had already lost touch with Malaysia.

He said the EC would accept those Malaysians, who are working overseas for past three to five years as they would still be attached to the country.

As for now, he said the EC has decided that early postal voting would be the right answer to the problem.