Archive for May, 2011
Nurul Izzah gets threat to kidnap daughter
By Asrul Hadi Abdullah Sani | May 13, 2011
The Malaysian Insider
KUALA LUMPUR, May 13 — PKR vice president Nurul Izzah Anwar said today that she had received a text message containing a threat to kidnap her three-year-old, daughter.
The mother of two told reporters that the person warned her against continuing to support Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim or else her daughter would end up sharing the same fate as Sharlinie Mohd Nashar.
Sharlinie, 5, was abducted in 2008 at a playground near her house in Petaling Jaya and remains missing.
The Lembah Pantai MP, who is also Anwar’s eldest child, believes that the threat was politically motivated to end her father’s career.
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10 days in May (5)
Tweets @limkitsiang:-
Read Utusan print online 2day: triumphalist vindicated FP :”Pemimpin Kristian akur Islam agama Islam”; “Tiada hasrat cabar agama Islam”.
Utusan totally no remorse over seditious/treasonous headline:”Kristian Agama Rasmi?” abt Christian Msia plot.Culprit r Christian not Utusan?
MakkalOsai suspended 1mth; 2-wk suspended ChinaPress Chief editor;4-yr SarawakTribune closure; SinChew reporter detained under ISA 4true rpt
Utusan’s heinous/seditious/treacherous “Christian Msia” headline just reprimand! Where is justice? Fair Play? Completely wrong msg 2Msians
Home Ministry dept heads responsible 4publications shd resign. Hishammuddin not fit 2b Home Minister subordinating national interests 2Umno
Najib’s Animal Farm
Posted by Kit in 1Malaysia, Islam, nation building on Friday, 13 May 2011
By David Martin
May 13, 2011 | MalaysianInsider
I read George Orwell’s Animal Farm when I was helping my brother out with his university assignment back when I was in secondary school.
The story seemed a bit nonsensical to me back then. Talking animals who revolted against their masters. Pigs taking over as the leaders of the farm. A pig named Napoleon, no less.
Then again, when you grew up in the Mahathir era, the rakyat were more gullible back then weren’t they? With the advent of technology in the 21st century, it’s harder to keep a lid on the truth.
I woke up early this morning to read on The Malaysian Insider that Utusan Malaysia was merely given a warning for publishing unsubstantiated news (read: lies) for its front page headline by the all-powerful Home Ministry.
My mind is cast back to several years back when the oldest newspaper in Sarawak, The Sarawak Tribune had its printing permit taken away merely for publishing a photo of a man looking at the infamous prophet’s cartoon. That was deemed serious enough for a suspension which ultimately led to the demise of the daily.
A couple of years back, the same ministry decided to stir things up a bit by hauling up the Catholic weekly, Herald, for using the word “Allah” in the publication. Their reason was a flimsy one at best, that the word was exclusive to Islam despite its widespread use worldwide by Christians predating even the formation of Malaysia. Read the rest of this entry »
Swiss President Orders an Investigation into Taib’s Assets! – Exclusive
Posted by Kit in Corruption, Foreign, Sarawak on Friday, 13 May 2011
Sarawak Report | May 12th, 2011
In a fullsome letter to the Swiss-based NGO, the Bruno Manser Foundation, the President of the Swiss Federation Micheline Calmy-Rey has revealed that she has forwarded information about Taib Mahmud’s assets in Switzerland to the regulatory body FINMA (the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority) for investigation.
Calmy-Rey (pictured left at the Davos World Economic Forum, which is hosted annually in Switzerland) is the country’s Head of State.
The letter, sent on April 8th, is revealingly entitled: “Freezing of possible assets of Abdul Taib Mahmud, head of government of the Malaysian state of Sarawak, in Switzerland”.
In the letter the Swiss President makes clear that the country’s authorities take extremely seriously the concerns that have been raised internationally about Taib’s profiteering from timber corruption and are unhappy that such assets may have been invested in Switzerland.
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PM-Christian meet confounds more than clarifies
Posted by Kit in 1Malaysia, Islam, nation building on Friday, 13 May 2011
By Terence Netto
May 13, 11 | Malaysiakini
One headline ‘Christian leaders pledge to respect Islam’s status‘ was intimation enough about what went on at yesterday’s meeting between Christian leaders and Prime Minister Najib Razak.
Ostensibly called to sooth ruffled Christian feathers over allegedly inflammatory reports in Utusan Malaysia, the meeting, as some had feared, did not just fail to come to grips with the underlying issue; it confounded it, if Najib’s remarks to the media afterwards were a guide.
The PM said he was encouraged by two undertakings given by the Christian leaders he met: one, that they will respect the status of Islam as the official religion of this country; and two, that they will cooperate in nurturing peace and harmony among the various faiths.
By implication, these undertakings had to be rendered because there have been doubts about the track record of Christians in respect of the two matters.
Two chapters of our very recent history ought to be noted for perspective.
Early last year, when the ‘Allah’ issue was rife, a series of arson attacks on churches occurred without stirring Christians to high dudgeon: they knew agent provocateurs were at work and that an adverse reaction would only aggravate matters. Read the rest of this entry »
Brain drain: Understanding the root causes
Posted by Kit in Brain drain on Friday, 13 May 2011
Ronald Benjamin
The Malaysian Insider
May 12, 2011
MAY 12 — The ongoing brain drain has become a topic of intense debate since a World Bank official said that Malaysia would have had five times the foreign direct investment if not for its pro-Bumiputera policy. This comes at a time where there are about a million skilled Malaysian workers overseas who have no intention of coming back to the country.
Perkasa has claimed that even the Malays are leaving Malaysia due to the discrimination in the private sector, but fell short of providing detailed arguments on what it means by private sector discrimination.
All these debates only deal with positions that interest a particular political position without any serious attempt to resolve the issues through objective criteria that require politicians to accept truths about the real situation.
Politicians need to have the courage to take the nation along the right path — especially in creating an environment and cultural mindset for work excellence and in reducing the chronic brain drain. Read the rest of this entry »
What rubbish is this, Najib?
Jacob Sinnathamby
The Malaysian Insider
May 12, 2011
MAY 12 — Let me understand this correctly. Some discredited blogger put out something incredible about Christian pastors wanting to take over Malaysia and that fountain of all rubbish, Utusan Malaysia, published it.
There is no evidence that any such plan is in the works, and yet today, at the so-called fruitful meeting between Najib Razak and church leaders, the church leaders had to give the when-it-suits-him leader of all Malaysians an assurance that Christians respected the position of Islam in the country and had no desire to dispute it.
How wonderful. The rascals who stirred up this rubbish have not been taken to task but the “victims” have been asked to give some undertaking not to misbehave.
This is akin to your house being robbed and your family harmed but having the police sympathise with the robbers. Read the rest of this entry »
Utusan let off with ministry warning
Posted by Kit in Media, Najib Razak, UMNO on Thursday, 12 May 2011
The Malaysian Insider | May 12, 2011
KUALA LUMPUR, May 12 — The Home Ministry has slapped Utusan Malaysia with a warning letter for publishing an unsubstantiated front-page article alleging a Christian plot to usurp Islam as the religion of the federation, which sparked a furore among the country’s majority Muslims and minority Christians.
The ministry today issued a statement that the editor-in-chief of the Umno-owned newspaper, Datuk Aziz Ishak, has been invited to the ministry to explain the daily’s violation of the Printing Presses and Publishing Act 1984.
The Malaysian Insider learnt he went to the ministry in Putrajaya at 4pm with another senior editor.
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10 days in May (4)
Posted by Kit in Constitution, Islam, Media, Najib Razak, Religion, UMNO on Thursday, 12 May 2011
Tweets @limkitsiang:-
Unmitigated 1Msia disaster – only way 2describe outcome of Najib’s meeting w church leaders over Utusan’s outrageous “Christian Msia” lies.
Who in dock of public opinion? Church leaders or Utusan/UMNO? Ch ldrs’ undertakings 2respect Islam’s position/Constitution when not issues?
No word whatsoever from Najib on “mean/fast action” (MohdArshadRaji) agnst Utusan/Umno cyber ringleaders 4Utusan “Christian Msia” outrage?
No wonder in these “10 Days in May” more Msians say: “THOUGHT PAK LAH WAS BAD ENUF. Golly, Najib is annoyingly hopeless!” Real Pathetic.
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Utusan publishes notice on blogger’s ‘explanation’
Malaysiakini | May 12, 11
Utusan Malaysia, which came under heavy fire over its unsubstantiated report alleging a ‘Christian state’ conspiracy, today carried a notice that Bigdog, the blogger who created the controversy, had published an “explanation” on his blog.
Contrary to the earlier approach of highlighting Bigdog’s allegation at its front page, Utusan only published a two-paragraph notice on an inside page, without reporting the contents of the so-called “explanation”.
“Bigdog, who sparked controversy when he revealed the pledge by pastors during their meeting in Penang recently to make Christianity as the official religion of the federation, has come forward to make an explanation about this issue,” read the notice titled “Bigdog’s explanation”.
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Christians pledge to respect Islam’s position, says Najib
Posted by Kit in Islam, Najib Razak, Religion, UMNO on Thursday, 12 May 2011
Bernama | May 12, 11
Najib Abdul Razak said leaders of Christianity in the country have pledged that they respect the position of Islam as official religion and have no intention of challenging the provision enshrined in the Federal Constitution.
The prime minister said the group had also given their undertaking to cooperate in nurturing peace and harmony between the various faiths so that Malaysia would continue to be a peaceful and prosperous nation.
“I am glad to inform that Christian leaders have given two very important and meaningful undertakings (today),” he told reporters after attending a luncheon with the Christian leaders at his office in Putrajaya today.
Read the rest of this entry »
DAP creating two-race system, says Soi Lek
By Shannon Teoh | May 12, 2011
The Malaysian Insider
KUALA LUMPUR, May 12 — Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek has accused DAP of dividing the country and causing the Chinese community to be isolated in the opposition.
“DAP’s suggestion of a two-party political system will soon turn into a two-race political system. The Chinese will be the opposition while the others will be in government,” the MCA president said in a video posted by his party on video-sharing site YouTube yesterday.
The former health minister’s statement mirrors that of Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, who accused DAP of running a racist campaign in the April 16 Sarawak election in which the party doubled its presence in the state assembly from six to 12.
“Malaysia faces a grave danger of being divided by two parties — one Malay-dominated by default and the other Chinese by choice. This will not be good for Malaysia.
Read the rest of this entry »
Christian group airs grouses over Utusan report to PM
By S Pathmawathy | May 12, 11
Malaysiakini
Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak today heard complaints from Christian leaders over Utusan Malaysia’s “irresponsible reporting” for claiming that there was a conspiracy to turn Malaysia into a Christian state.
“We only said we are very disturbed and unhappy… (over the) irresponsible, potential riot-type seditious words (which) shouldn’t be published in mainstream media or any media for the matter,” said Bishop Ng Moon Hing of the Christian Federation of Malaysia (CFM).
Ng (right) was speaking to reporters after a 45-minute closed door meeting with the prime minister in Putrajaya.
He said it was a fruitful meeting as this was first time the group had been engaged in this way.
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Utusan Malaysia doesn’t speak for Malay majority
Posted by Kit in Media, Najib Razak, UMNO on Thursday, 12 May 2011
By Maclean Patrick | May 12, 2011
Free Malaysia Today
What is the ultimate aim of Utusan Malaysia? Is Utusan Malaysia hell-bent on destroying the peace and harmony with sectarian violence? Or is the newspaper the unpaid spin doctors of corrupt political leaders?
Utusan Malaysia’s reporting, if we can call it that, seems to serve the needs of a few who want to maintain an atmosphere of fear and distrust among the communities living in Malaysia.
The few we are talking about here must be in a position of power. Otherwise, what is the reason for Utusan Malaysia not being reprimanded for its brand of reporting.
Utusan Malaysia is not racist; instead it is propagating an even worse mind-set –xenophobia or an excessive fear of strangers. Is Utusan Malaysia referring to those who are not Malays as strangers?
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Guan Eng to Najib: Replace Utusan editors
Posted by Kit in Lim Guan Eng, Media, Najib Razak, UMNO on Thursday, 12 May 2011
By Susan Loone | May 12, 11
Malaysiakini
Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng wants the editors and reporters of Utusan Malaysia involved in the DAP-Christian state conspiracy issue to be replaced.
According to Lim, this is the only way Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak can convince Malaysians that Utusan does not enjoy full legal immunity and that Umno, its largest shareholder, diagrees with the newspaper publishing “dangerous lies.
“Najib Razak can also convince Malaysians by directing Utusan Malaysia to withdraw and apologise for the false report and replacing the editors and reporters involved in such dangerous lies that can burn 1Malaysia,” he added.
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Letter from a Malaysian to his PM
Posted by Kit in Constitution, Letters, Najib Razak on Thursday, 12 May 2011
By Singa Pura Pura
I am but a lone voice. But a million lone voices make a million votes. You know that now. So I’ll tell you what this loner needs. And I’ll tell you directly. No UMNO, no MCA, no MIC, no Gerakan or any other historical parties. Just you and I my PM.
And it’s not a threat, it’s a fact. Facts are not threats.
I want a few good men of my choice on the Bench. A better A-G. A better IGP. A much better Home Minister. The removal of a few incompetent ministers. And the addition of a few able ministers of my choice. They can be from anywhere, as long as they are answerable in and to Parliament.
I want you to outlaw Perkasa as you have Hindraf. And I would like you to suspend Utusan Malaysia for a quarter of the period your predecessor had suspended The Star – although the latter’s indiscretion was less than one eighth that of the former. Do the math and be fair.
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‘Utusan’ best recruiting agents for Pakatan
Posted by Kit in DAP, Media, Pakatan Rakyat, UMNO on Thursday, 12 May 2011
By Yin Ee Kiong | 12 May 2011
CPI Asia
First things first: DAP’s ban on Utusan Malaysia is wrong. Wrong because it is hypocritical to damn Umno-BN when they ban certain media from covering party or official functions and now DAP is doing the same thing.
DAP banning Utusan is wrong because it is the right of every paper to attend events so that they can report to their readers. Let the readers decide on the veracity of each report and let the authorities deal with the paper if it has overstepped the mark. Wrong because to call for freedom of the press on the one hand and now to ban a paper on the other all only the party does not like what it’s reporting is an indefensible position to take.
And wrong again to kick up such a ruckus as it did over the Utusan issue. It is enough to refute such false statements. There is no need for the brouhaha because it is in the opposition’s interest that Utusan and their fellow travellers be given enough rope to hang themselves.
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The rise of pop-litical culture
Posted by Kit in DAP, Elections, Sarawak, Zairil Khir Johari on Thursday, 12 May 2011
By Zairil Khir Johari | May 12, 2011
The Malaysian Insider
Midway through the Sarawak campaign I received a text message from an unfamiliar number. The sender turned out to be a woman in Kuching, wanting to know when my next layover at the state capital would be.
Feeling perplexed, I glanced at my campaign itinerary. Some days I didn’t even know where I was. Spaced out as I was by the constant travelling, I was even more bemused by the rest of her message.
She went on to explain that her teenage daughter had a collection of five Ubah (the DAP hornbill mascot) plush toys, four of them bearing autographs of various party leaders and ceramah speakers. One of them, still in its original plastic wrapping, had been especially reserved for my John Hancock. Hence, she wanted to know if Kuching would be part of my tour.
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DAP plans to censure Hisham, Rais
Posted by Kit in DAP, Parliament, UMNO on Thursday, 12 May 2011
By Patrick Lee | May 12, 2011
Free Malaysia Today
PETALING JAYA: The DAP may move motions of censure in Parliament against two Umno ministers for their reactions over an alleged Christian plot.
DAP national vice-chairman M Kulasegaran took Home Minister Hishammuddin Hussein and Information, Communications and Culture Minister Rais Yatim to task for their acceptance of the plot without any prior investigations.
“These are two government leaders in charge of ministries that should immediately investigate the malicious and baseless report.”
“Yet, instead of giving immediate orders to investigate the report and calling for calm among the people, they have chosen to play politics,” he said.
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