Archive for June, 2015

Parti baharu bukan kumpulan terbuang

A Shukur Harun
The Malaysian Insider
30 June 2015

Selepas dikalahkan dengan cara paling hina di muktamar PAS baru-baru ini, golongan progresif dan sederhana dalam parti itu merancang menubuhkan sebuah parti baharu lepas Hari Raya Aidilfitri sebagai memenuhi harapan baharu rakyat Malaysia.

Penubuhan parti ini juga untuk meneruskan legasi perjuangan Allahyaram Datuk Fadzil Mohd Noor dan Allahyarham Datuk Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat yang sangat terbuka dan demokratik.

Kumpulan ini mulanya bernama Kumpulan 18 (G18) kini dinamakan “Kumpulan Harapan Baharu” kerana jumlahnya bertambah.

Ia memang berhak mendakwa sebagai pewaris perjuangan kedua-dua tokoh yang amat disayangi majoriti rakyat Malaysia itu.
Ini kerana, golongan progresif ini sangat serasi dengan metodologi perjuangan dua tokoh tersebut iaitu menjadikan PAS parti yang inklusif, tidak jumud dan ekstrem, menyebabkan PAS diterima pelbagai kaum dan agama, meskipun ia tetap memperjuangkan Islam.

Atas inisiatif mereka dan disokong oleh pelbagai badan bukan kerajaan (NGO) serta masyarakat sivil, mereka merancang menubuhkan parti baharu, di mana buat sementara ini dipanggil G18 – mengambil sempena 18 tokoh yang dikalahkan itu. Nama rasmi parti baharu itu akan diumumkan sempena pelancarannya beberapa minggu lagi. Read the rest of this entry »

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Khalid warns PAS’ growing trend of exclusiveness

Malaysiakini
Jun 30, 2015

PAS will be seen as theocratic and autocratic if it continues to be exclusive by recruiting members only from among religious studies graduates, warned Shah Alam MP Khalid Samad.

In his latest blog posted today, the professional faction leader cautioned the growing trend of exclusiveness, which rejects non-ulama members.

He said this contradicted with the teachings and attitude of late spiritual leader Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat, who emphasised the cooperation of ulama and professionals in the party.

Such exclusive attitude will cause the community to stay away from the Islamic party, Khalid cautioned.

As a consequence, PAS will fail in its duty as a political party, which should be open and act fairly to all parties, he added. Read the rest of this entry »

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Is Shabery prepared to have a debate with Tony Pua on TV on 1MDB to gauge whether Pua has popular support for his sterling role in demanding accountability and transparency in the 1MDB scandal?

The UMNO/Barisan Nasional agenda to remove DAP MP for PJ Utara, Tony Pua from Parliamentary Public Accounts Committee (PAC) hearings on the 1MDB scandal is still on stream and seeking to gather greater support, enlisting Ministerial endorsement after the campaign opener by Prime Minister’s choice lawyer Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah and former Cabinet Minister and PAC Chairman Datuk Sri Shahrir Abdul Samad.

This is why the Communications and Multimedia Minister Datuk Seri Shabery Cheek has waded into the 1MDB/PAC controversy to spearhead the UMNO/BN guerrilla campaign and tactics demanding that Pua be removed from the PAC hearings on the 1MDB scandal.

Shabery claimed that by his outspokenness on the 1MDB scandal, Pua had “not only shamed the PAC, but also the parliamentary system itself and was no longer qualified to sit in the PAC”.

Shabery was quite hysterical when he charged: “He (Pua) makes biased statements, he should be ashamed, his party should be ashamed, his supporters and those associated with him should also feel ashamed.”

Shabery has indeed made a sorry spectacle of himself.

It is Shabery who should be thoroughly ashamed, and UMNO/BN and the Cabinet who should feel ashamed, for his hysteria and spearheading the UMNO/BN guerrilla campaign and tactics to remove Pua from PAC hearings on 1MDB scandal. Read the rest of this entry »

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PAS now a ‘closed group’, says Faiz Fadzil

By Hafiz Yatim and Yap Jia Hee
Malaysiakini
Jun 30, 2015

INTERVIEW Although the struggle of PAS is still centred around Islam, the party now has deviated from what was envisioned by its late president Fadzil Noor.

Faiz Fadzil, the fifth child of Fadzil – who passed away suddenly in 2002 – said the openness advocated by his father has resulted in the party entering the mainstream of politics in the country.

“Now PAS is backward, closed. I believe my father, if he was here, would not be happy.

“I remember the statement of my late father during the PAS muktamar of 2000 or 2001. He said PAS had to be open and cooperate with other political parties as we cannot do it alone.

“By doing this, it would not put PAS outside the orbit of the Islamic struggle but we should not narrow Islam to only focus on hudud,” Faiz said in an interview with Malaysiakini last week.

The strategy adopted by PAS now, following the election of the conservative ulama group as party leaders, has taken the party backwards, to where it was in the 1970s and 1980s, Faiz, 38, said.

PAS was now ‘a closed group’ following the muktamar and the party elections held early this month. Read the rest of this entry »

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MACC should do soul-searching why its credibility on war against corruption in high political places is zero and explain why it has failed to land a single shark in the past six years

The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) should come out of its cushy air-conditioned offices and go to the ground and do a soul-searching why its credibility on the war against corruption in high political places is zero, whether the RM42 billion 1MDB scandal, the MARA property corruption scandal blowing up in Melbourne or the recent Wall Street Journal expose that 1MDB funds were used to bankroll Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s campaign in the 13th general elections.

It is a reflection of the MACC’s utter lack of credibility and impotence as far as fighting corruption in high political places is concerned that 10 days after the Wall Street Journal report (June 19) on electoral abuses and corruption in the 13th General Elections, several NGOs, led by Coalition for Free and Fair Elections (Bersih 2.0), Centre to Combat Corruption and Cronyism (C4) and Transparency International Malaysia (TI-M) had to gather at the MACC to demand action by the anti-corruption agency yesterday.

What have the MACC officials been doing in the past 10 days over the WSJ report?

Just twiddling thumbs?

Have MACC officers called in the officers and personnel from 1MDB, Genting Plantations and Yayasan Rakyat 1Malaysia (YRIM) in the past 10 days to begin investigations arising from the Wall Street Journal report?

Has the MACC opened a file to investigate whether Najib as Prime Minister had misused his position and channel funds from 1MDB to bankroll his 13GE campaign?

Or has absolutely nothing been done on the Wall Street Journal report in the past 10 days? Read the rest of this entry »

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PAS is past. Masa untuk PR2.0

– Riesya H.
The Malaysian Insider
29 June 2015

Ditakdirkan negara kita dijajah Belanda (dan bukan British), dan sistem pilihan raya kita semacam sistem di Indonesia, negara kita ini bukan lagi milik Umno/Barisan Nasional. Tetapi sudah menjadi milik rakyat. Pakatan Rakyat (dengan undi popular 5.6 juta), jauh meninggalkan BN (Cuma 5.2juta). Congak mudahnya, BN Cuma layak menerima 105 kerusi. Selebihnya adalah kerusi milik rakyat. PR.

Tapi, apakan daya. Kata P.Ramlee, “cubaaan!!”

Perlu direkodkan, dari 5.6juta undi PR, sejumlah 1.8juta adalah undi pemula. Orang yang pertama kali mengundi PR. Orang yang mempertaruhkan harapan demi masa depan yang baru. Orang yang teruja dengan slogan “ini kali lah”. Read the rest of this entry »

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Malaysians owe debt of eternal gratitude to Wan Junaidi who resolved week-long mystery about allegations of Justo’s 1MDB “tampered emails” – no evidence whatsoever but just “logical assumption”!

Malaysians owe the Deputy Home Minister, Datuk Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar a debt of eternal gratitude for he has resolved a mystery which had vexed thinking Malaysians for a week – the allegations of about 1MDB “tampered emails” which surfaced after the arrest of Swiss national and former PetroSaudi International (PSI) IT executive, Xavier Andre Justo at a house in Koh Samui, Thailand the previous Monday (June 22).

Type in “1MDB tampered email” in Google search and there will be scores of news report about the allegations about “tampered emails” associated with the 1MDB scandal – all a week-old vintage after Justo’s arrest.

For months and years since the surfacing of the RM42 billion 1MDB scandal, nobody had ever raised the issue of “tampered emails”.

Even after shocking expose four months ago when the whistleblower website Sarawak Report in its article “Heist of the Century” of Feb. 28 announced that together with London Sunday Times, they have completed an in-depth investigation into “thousands of documents and emails” relating to the transactions by 1MDB, including its initial joint venture with the little-known oil company PetroSaudi International from 2009, nobody had breathed a word about “tampered emails”.

Even the police report lodged in the United Kingdom at the London Police’s National Fraud and Cyber Crime Report Centre by PSI on March 1 was not about “tampered emails” but about confidential emails and servers had been hacked into and the contents made public.

Why did the issue of “tampered emails” burst into the public domain and only after the arrest of Justo, but only in Malaysia but not elsewhere in the world and not even in Thailand where Justo was arrested for blackmail – with one Minister after another assuming that it is Gospel truth and threatening action against the media and all and sundry who spoke up on the 1MDB scandal? Read the rest of this entry »

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A new RM17.8 bil twist in 1MDB ‘guarantee’

P. GUNASEGARAM
KiniBiz
JUNE 29, 2015

TIGERTALK

Tony Pua and 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) are in dispute over whether there’s a government guarantee or not over US$4.71 bil (RM17.8 bil) IPIC loans to the latter. But taking off the semantics and just maintaining the meaning shows Pua is clearly right.

Latest developments at self-styled strategic development company 1MDB indicates yet again that it is not fully forthcoming on the problems that are affecting it, in this case a loan and guarantee arrangement between 1MDB and Abu Dhabi’s International Petroleum Investment Company (IPIC) and its subsidiary Aabar Investments PJS involving US$4.5 billion (RM17 billion).

MP Tony Pua first highlighted this referring to a London Stock Exchange (LSE) statement by IPIC on changes to its debt settlement arrangements with IPIC. Presumably, since IPIC is an international borrower whose debts are listed on the LSE, it had to make those disclosures to the exchange.

That IPIC statement clearly sets out obligations under the debt settlement agreement. Essentially, the terms covered were as follows:

*on 4 June 2015, IPIC provided US$1 billion to 1MDB for it to immediately settle some liabilities. On the same day IPIC assumed obligations to pay (on an interim basis) all interest due under two IPIC guaranteed 1MDB financings amounting to US$3.5 billion.

*by 30 June 2016, about a year from now, IPIC is to have received a transfer of assets representing the RM1 billion cash payment, the US$3.5 billion debt and any debt forgiveness.

*Upon the completion of the transfer of assets, IPIC will directly assume liability for all payment obligations under the US$3.5 billion debt and forgive certain financial obligations of the 1MDB Group to the IPIC Group.

*Finally, 1MDB and MOF (Ministry of Finance) have agreed to perform the obligations in the binding term sheet and to indemnify IPIC and Aabar for any non-performance, and vice versa. IPIC has met the US1 billion cash payment and will meet the interim interest payments under the US$3.5 billion debt from existing liquidity available.

From the fourth condition, it emerged clearly that the MOF now also assumes liability together with 1MDB for transferring the necessary assets to IPIC. Read the rest of this entry »

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‘Conservatives reverting PAS to a kampung party’

Malaysiakini
Jun 29, 2015

The “narrow minded” in PAS today have undone all the hard work undertaken by former party president Fadzil Noor to raise the status of the party from its provincial roots.

So said PAS leader Khalid Samad on his blog today, in a lament that alleged conservative elements are destroying efforts to make the party inclusive and relevant to the national political and Islamic scene.

“Unfortunately, the attitude of openness that was shown by the late Fadzil Noor isn’t being perpetuated by the narrow minded.

“Allegations of ‘infiltration’ (by external parties), ‘wanting to grab power’ and ‘grand design’ are often mentioned by those who disagree with (Fadzil’s) approach,” said Khalid, who is Shah Alam MP.

Relating the achievements of Fadzil and how the latter built up the party by engaging with and through the help of outside parties such as Islamic NGOs and civil society, Khalid said the latest developments in the party were steps backwards.

“Today this narrow-minded attitude has regained control of most of the leadership of PAS, as it had been before the days of Fadzil. Read the rest of this entry »

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Najib misses opportunity in 11MP

– Ramesh Chander and Bridget Welsh
The Malaysian Insider
29 June 2015

As debate in Malaysia’s Parliament draws to a close on the 11th Malaysia Plan (11MP) that lays out targets for the country to achieve “developed” nation status by 2020, the focus has primarily centred on the unrealistic assumptions contrived for the macro-economic framework for the blueprint.

Little attention has concentrated on the consistency of the assumptions and how the 11MP compares with previous policy frameworks. A close look at the 11MP reveals serious gaps and shortcomings, raising questions about whether the proclaimed milestones of development by 2020 can indeed be achieved. Read the rest of this entry »

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UMNO party polls deferred by 18 months is in one sense good news as Najib will be an easier target in 14GE with avalanche of scandals and continued festering of internal UMNO warfare

In one sense, the 18-month postponement of UMNO party polls is good news as Datuk Najib Razak will be an easier target in the 14th General Election with the avalanche of scandals – socio-economic and political – as well as the continued festering of internal UMNO warfare.

Never before in Malaysia has a Prime Minister amassed such a huge brew of socio-economic and political scandals within so short a time, creating a most explosive mix with far-reaching consequences in the next general election.

Umno secretary-general Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor was not being candid when he merely admitted that the postponement of the Umno election was due to “current political crisis” but not related to 1MDB, as the truth was that the postponement was caused by “current political crisis arising from scandals like 1MDB”.

Unlike the 13GE, the RM42 billion 1MDB scandal will be the lead “scandal” in the 14GE although desperate attempts are being made to defuse it, including an elaborate script of “The Empire Strikes Back” based on the notion that the allegations of the 1MDB scandals were all based on the “tampered” emails (not only unsubstantiated to date but clearly impossible) including the last desperate option of a winding-up and asset-stripping of 1MDB.

But even after being wound up, 1MDB scandal will remain alive in the 14GE although it will be one in a shoal of seething multiple scandals – whether economic and financial like the Felda Global Venture (FGV), Tabung Haji, GST, weak Malaysian ringgit and now MARA’s Australia property scandals, or socio-political like Najib’s major failures including his signature 1Malaysia Policy, Global Movement of Moderates initiative, the National Transformation Programme, the worst racial and religious polarization in the nation’s history. Read the rest of this entry »

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Malay youths deny joining DAP to champion race

The Malaysian Insider
29 June 2015

Malay Subang DAP Socialist Youth (Dapsy) leaders have denied that they joined the party to champion their own race, saying instead that they fought for all Malaysians regardless o‎f their background.

They said they chose DAP because they were tired of race-based politics, and they believed a multiracial party was the best platform to ensure that democracy thrived in the country.

“In contrast to the allegations that we joined DAP to fight for Malay rights, we actually joined DAP because we are tired of hearing and seeing our country’s politics revolve around championing a certain race.

“‎We joined DAP not to alleviate our race’s leadership, but to raise the leadership of the rakyat. Not to fight for our race’s rights, but the rights of every rakyat as enshrined in the Federal Constitution,” they said in a statement.

The statement was signed by Subang Dapsy chief E‎dry Faizal Eddy Yusof‎,‎ Subang Dapsy vice-chief Young Syefura Othman, Subang Dapsy treasurer Tarmizi Anuwar and Subang Dapsy publicity chief Numan Saadan. Read the rest of this entry »

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National and international shame that Malaysia’s anti-corruption ranking so low when MACC sets world record with the greatest superstructure with the most number of bodies monitoring it to uphold integrity and accountability

It is no use the Anti-Corruption Advisory Board coming out with a sanctimonious statement that the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) should be given room to conduct a full and thorough investigation into the MARA property corruption scandal in Australia, and urging “all parties, including politicians” to refrain from making statements which could jeopardise the image of MACC.

Both the MACC and its Advisory Board should know that it is its own record and performance as an anti-corruption fighter which is the most powerful determinant of its image whether it is a fearless and feared anti-corruption fighter or just a “toothless tiger” as far as the corrupt among the “high and mighty” in the political world is concerned.

Next month is the sixth death anniversary of innocent DAP aide, Teoh Beng Hock, who lost his life in the very sanctum of MACC headquarters in Shah Alam on 16th July 2009, and up to now, no MACC officer has yet been penalised for Teoh’s death.

If MACC cannot even ensure that is officers uphold integrity and accountability in the death of Teoh Beng Hock, is it any wonder that public confidence in the MACC’s commitment to wage an all-out war against corruption and to upold integrity in high political places is virtually non-existent?

The MARA property corruption scandal in Australia will be an acid test whether the MACC is going to start showing that it has teeth and claws as far as fighting the corrupt among the high and mighty in the political world is concerned, or that MACC is only capable of abusing the powers as in the deaths of Teoh Beng Hock and Ahmad Sarbani Mohamad in April 2011. Read the rest of this entry »

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My Ramadan Prayer For Malay Salvation – Get Rid of JAWI and JAKIM

M. Bakri Musa
www.bakrimusa.com
29 June 2015

Ramadan brings exuberant displays of piety among Malays, consumed as we are with personal salvation. There is however, little reflection on our salvation as a society.

Hellfire or the ultimate punishment for us as a society would be to be dumped into the rubbish bin of mankind, dependent on the charity of others while living in a land so blessed by Almighty. The irony, as well as the fact that others thrive in Tanah Melayu, would make the punishment that much more unbearable.

We have ruled this country for over half a century; all instruments of government are in our hands, sultans as well as prime ministers are all Malays, and the constitution is generous to us. Yet we remain in a sorry state, reduced to lamenting our fate and blaming the pendatangs.

This lamentation is heard with nauseating frequency, coming from sultans and prime ministers to pundits and kedai kopi commentators. Seizing on that, some (and not just non-Malays) gleefully trumpet their own sense of superiority or denigrate the Malay culture and character.

A former chief minister of Trengganu, a predominantly-Malay and oil-rich state, asked how could we who have lived here for centuries, control the government, and are in the majority feel threatened by the immigrants. The fact that he posed the question reveals how clueless he was in addressing it. Alas his is the caliber of leadership we have been cursed with. Read the rest of this entry »

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Tunisia: murder of holidaymakers could dent tourism but not hope

Angelique Chrisafis
Guardian
26th June 2015

Hopes that scale of Sousse resort attack will not spark loss of confidence in a country regarded as relatively peaceful, compared with troubled neighbours

The slaughter of sunbathers and hotel staff on the beaches of a country that has always prided itself as a carefree, laid-back destination for package holidaymakers has dealt a huge blow to Tunisia.

The small north African country lit the first spark of the Arab spring four years ago, when its popular uprising toppled a corrupt dictatorship relatively peacefully. It is often looked to as the hope of the region. Unlike its troubled neighbours, it has managed to keep its political transition on course — crafting a new constitution, staging free presidential and parliamentary elections.

But with a struggling post-revolution economy that depends in large part on its beach resorts and foreign visitors, it was already facing the serious ongoing challenges of how to tackle unemployment, social unrest and strikes, and how to address the feeling among the poorest and the young that their demands, which inspired the revolution — the need for social justice, jobs and the fight to end corruption — are yet to be fully achieved. Read the rest of this entry »

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This Ramadan, a reminder of Islamisation

Zurairi AR
Malay Mail Online
June 28, 2015

JUNE 28 — To paraphrase a friend, Islamisation is no longer creeping in this country. Instead, it is marching down the streets banging the drums, and at no time is it as obvious as Ramadan.

There is just something about the combo of a blessed holy month with millions of hangry adherents that brings out the self-righteous and judgmental ones.

It is undeniable that there is a shift of public sentiment this year, with more and more Muslims publicly saying that fasting is their burden of faith alone, and non-Muslims should not be subjected to the same restrictions in public.

But perhaps we are not there yet. Read the rest of this entry »

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Apa lagi Melayu mahu sebenarnya?

Amin Iskandar
The Malaysian Insider
28 June 2015

Bukan Islam tidak boleh menggunakan kalimah Allah kerana ia boleh menyebabkan akidah orang Melayu tergugat.

Kanak-kanak bukan Islam tidak boleh makan di kantin sekolah pada bulan Ramadan kerana anak Melayu akan “terliur” dan terganggu puasanya.

Gadis bukan Islam tidak boleh berpakaian menjolok mata kerana berkemungkinan menyebabkan pemuda Melayu “tidak tahan”.

Sedangkan hampir di setiap kawasan perumahan terdapat masjid atau surau.

Setiap hari selepas sembahyang subuh, tazkirah atau kaset ceramah mengajak orang Melayu agar beriman dan membuat kebaikan dimainkan dengan kuat sehingga kedengaran walaupun dua kilometer jauhnya.

Akan tetapi orang Melayu masih lemah imannya. Jika terlihat sahaja perkara “mungkar”, keimanan mereka akan tergugat.

Apa dah jadi dengan orang Melayu pada hari ini? Read the rest of this entry »

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Salafism – Politics and the puritanical

Economist
Jun 27th 2015 | ALEXANDRIA AND AMMAN

Islam’s most conservative adherents are finding that politics is hard. But it beats the alternative

WERE it not for his bushy beard and trim moustache, Nader Bakkar could be mistaken for one of Egypt’s secular liberal politicians. The young spokesman for the Nour party is tolerant, reasonable and smart—he is about to begin a fellowship at Harvard. “We are reformers, not revolutionaries,” Mr Bakkar (pictured left) says of his party. “Compromise is not a bad word.” But his facial hair conveys a different message. Mr Bakkar and his party adhere to the ultra-conservative brand of Sunni Islam known as Salafism.

In the West that brand is most associated with extremist groups such as al-Qaeda and Islamic State (IS), whose members are sometimes called Salafist-jihadists; or the intolerance of Saudi Arabia, where adherents are called Wahhabis. The Saudis have used their oil wealth to spread the influence of Salafism across the Muslim world, funding Wahhabi-inspired mosques and madrassas—and, at times, extremist groups. As a result, some think Salafism is the fastest-growing Islamic movement.

It is also growing more diverse. All Salafists take a fundamentalist approach to Islam, emulating the Prophet Muhammad and his earliest followers—al-salaf al-salih, the “pious forefathers”—right down to their facial hair. They reject religious innovation, or bida, and support the implementation of sharia (Islamic law). Salafist scholars, though, are far from homogeneous, expressing different views on everything from apostasy to activism. Most notably, many Salafists now engage in politics despite a tradition of quiescence. But with little to show for their efforts, they must decide whether to push on, withdraw or pursue politics by other means, such as war or terrorism. Read the rest of this entry »

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MACC may be guilty of gross incompetence and inefficiency if after tip-off in March, it still have to sent officer to Melbourne to investigate MARA Inc property corruption as if fresh from scratch

I could not believe my eyes when I read the Bernama report in The Malaysian Insider yesterday.

Entitled “Mara Inc to open doors to Melbourne property deal probe”, the report quoted the MARA Inc Chairman Datuk Mohammad Lan Allani and the MARA Inc Chief Executive Officer Datuk Abdul Halim Rahim in a joint statement as saying:

“We welcome any investigation or inquiry in respect to our investment, locally and internationally.

“We will pledge our full cooperation and assistance to the relevant authorities for a fair and transparent investigation on the matter or any other matters in respect of MARA Incorporated Sdn Bhd”.

What impertinence! What impudence! Read the rest of this entry »

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LAGU PASIR

A. Samad Said
26.6.2015

Jalan bersama Waibi Kit Siang
di Pasir Tumboh di suatu petang
cepat terimbas papan dan paku,
palang jendela dan ensel pintu.

Petang sejarah langit yang lusuh
waktu unggas menghindari ribut,
gema guruh di ufuk nan jauh
mengerdip kisah banjir yang kalut.

Di Pasir Tumboh letih dan mengah
mereka julang panji maruah
sementara pondok dipulihkan
watikah qalbu pun dimasyurkan. Read the rest of this entry »

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