Mat Zain: Dropping Tajuddin suits raises doubt over Umno funds
Posted by Kit in Financial Scandals, Police, UMNO on Thursday, 18 August 2011, 2:55 pm
By Shannon Teoh
The Malaysian Insider
Aug 18, 2011
KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 18 — A former senior police investigator has questioned Putrajaya’s directive for all GLCs to drop civil suits worth billions of ringgit against Tan Sri Tajuddin Ramli, stating that the move raises the question of whether hundreds of millions of ringgit were being held by Umno nominees.
Datuk Mat Zain Ibrahim wrote in an article sent to The Malaysian Insider that the former MAS chairman held RM70 million in trust for Tun Daim Zainuddin who was finance minister during Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s administration.
“The question of whether the money belonged to Tun Daim, or was shared with someone else or if it belonged to Umno will become an issue. In short, the public has the right to raise 1,001 questions on this issue,” said the former city CID chief. Read the rest of this entry »
“Passing the buck” to PSC of all allegations of a flawed electoral system such as foreigners given the right to vote is completely unacceptable
Posted by Kit in Bersih, Elections, Parliament on Thursday, 18 August 2011, 1:58 pm
The “passing the buck” to the Parliamentary Select Committee on electoral reforms of all allegations of a flawed electoral system such as foreigners given the right to vote is completely unacceptable and would be proof that the PSC is mere political ploy and diversionary tactics.
Home Minister, Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein said yesterday that Pakatan Rakyat allegations of foreigners being given the right to vote will be addressed by the Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC) on electoral reform.
Why should this be the case. Shouldn’t serious allegations like the issue of citizenship to foreigners to give them the right to vote, which is a most treasonous action, be addressed and resolved immediately by the Election Commission, instead of deferring action and “passing the buck” to the parliamentary select committee which could only be formed in October?
An efficient and professional Election Commission would report to the parliamentary select committee what measures it has taken to address and resolve the serious allegations of a flawed electoral system instead of “passing the buck” to the parliamentary select committee in October to start from scratch to deal with them. Read the rest of this entry »
Four more ex-soldiers admit to postal vote fraud
Joseph Sipalan | Aug 17, 11
Malaysiakini
Postal vote manipulation has been a common practice in the military for many years – so it seems – now that more retired military personnel are speaking up.
Now, four ex-military personnel have confessed to committing election fraud – the same way an ex-army man said he did so earlier this month.
The four, who had served at army and air force bases across the country, say they marked thousands of postal votes in three separate general elections between 1978 and 1999.
The four – Major (Rtd) Risman Mastor, Kamarulzaman Ibrahim, Mohamed Nasir Ahmad and Mohd Kamil Omar – said they were ordered by their commanding officers to mark postal votes for the hundreds and thousands of personnel who were out in the field. Read the rest of this entry »
Malaysia Looks West for Investments
Posted by Kit in Economics, Najib Razak on Wednesday, 17 August 2011, 11:24 pm
By MATTHEW SALTMARSH
The New York Times
August 16, 2011
LONDON — With Europe’s economy mired in a debt crisis, governments in the region have been looking east for a helping hand, tapping the likes of China and Japan to buy their bonds and step up investments.
But at least one Asian country — Malaysia — still sees value in turning the opposite way, to enhance opportunities for its more assertive multinationals as well as bolstering investments from the West.
The Malaysian prime minister, Najib Razak, led a large official delegation last month to Britain via Turkmenistan, to capitalize on his country’s strong economy and investment inflows and assuage concerns about political agitation in the multicultural Southeast Asian country. Read the rest of this entry »
The dynamism of Penang
Posted by Kit in Penang, Penang Government on Wednesday, 17 August 2011, 9:13 pm
By TAY TIAN YAN
Translated by DOMINIC LOH
Sin Chew Daily
2011-08-16
Opinion
To get the attention of international media, in particular someone in the likes of The Economist, is not anything we can buy with money.
The Economist recently reported the transformation of Penang and its dynamic economy.
Penang is nothing more than just a tiny dot in our enormous world, and to fall into the limelight of international media and receive very high acclaims would be more like holding a winning lottery ticket in hand.
We need sheer luck to win the lottery, but a lot of effort and real strength to gain global recognition. Read the rest of this entry »
GDP growth slows to 4pc as global economy falters
By Lee Wei Lian
The Malaysian Insider
Aug 17, 2011
KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 17 — Malaysia’s economic growth decelerated to its slowest pace of four per cent since the 2009 recession as the country was hit by a slowdown in external demand and a moderation in government spending, Bank Negara said today.
This was the fifth consecutive decline in quarterly growth and down from the 4.6 per cent growth registered in the first quarter of this year.
Bank Negara governor Tan Sri Zeti Akhtar Aziz added, however, that stronger growth is expected in the second half of the year and that while there is no revision to the 5-6 per cent growth target for the year, it will “very likely be closer to 5 per cent.” Read the rest of this entry »
Without iron-clad assurances of meaningful electoral reforms in time for 13GE, a PSC is neither useful nor acceptable
Posted by Kit in Bersih, Elections, Najib Razak, Parliament on Wednesday, 17 August 2011, 12:49 pm
In less than 24 hours, the country appears to be back to square one on electoral reforms despite the Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s announcement of a parliamentary select committee.
Firstly, the swift contradiction by the Deputy Prime Minister, Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yasin that there is any real problem with the electoral system and that only some minor tweaks are required.
In one swift blow, Muhyiddin has vindicated the wariness, doubts and reservations in the responses to Najib’s announcement of a parliamentary select committee on electoral reforms whether it is a sincere and genuine effort to address electoral flaws and defects to ensure free, fair and clean elections or merely a diversionary tactic and stone-walling operation.
Secondly, the time-line spelt out by the Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, Datuk Nazri Aziz making clear that the parliamentary select committee on electoral reforms could well be an academic exercise if Parliament is dissolved before it could complete its report and its recommendations accepted and implemented as part of the electoral laws of the land. Read the rest of this entry »
Electoral Reform a Must Before Next General Election
Posted by Kit in Bersih, Elections, Kee Thuan Chye, Najib Razak on Wednesday, 17 August 2011, 11:41 am
By Kee Thuan Chye | 17 August 2011
Malaysian Digest
PRIME Minister Najib Razak is suddenly so generous in calling for electoral reform. He has even called for the establishment of a parliamentary select committee (PSC) to look into this. While it is still premature to say whether this will ensure effective participation by the Opposition in the process, it is nonetheless a radical change from his previous stubborn position against Bersih 2.0’s demands for free and fair elections.
As with much of Malaysian politics, there is probably more to all this than what appears on the surface. Najib must have been comforted by some assurance of electoral victory – and possibly a landslide one – before he would allow himself to accede to an initiative begun by Bersih 2.0. Otherwise, he would be seen to be weak by his own party, Umno, which no doubt would have players in the wings with knives behind their backs.
One hopes this assurance of certain victory does not involve giving illegal immigrants the right to vote. In light of Wanita PKR’s revelation that it has evidence of illegal immigrants taking an oath to vote for BN, this is disturbing.
Read the rest of this entry »
Pakatan demands to head polls review committee
Posted by Kit in Bersih, Pakatan Rakyat, Parliament on Tuesday, 16 August 2011, 5:36 pm
By Shannon Teoh | August 16, 2011
The Malaysian Insider
KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 16 — The federal opposition has demanded that they chair the prime minister’s parliament parliamentary select committee (PSC) on electoral reforms.
In a press statement issued this evening, Pakatan Rakyat (PR) said that Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s announcement “validates issues on electoral reform raised by Pakatan Rakyat and Bersih 2.0 and we consider it a huge feat and win for democratic forces in Malaysia.”
However they want a PR MP to chair the new committee.
“To prove good faith, we request the prime minister to incorporate the following demands (that) the head of the parliamentary committee should be from the opposition,” said the release sent by the coalition’s secretariat.
Read the rest of this entry »
The myopic Malaysian
Posted by Kit in Mariam Mokhtar, Muhyiddin Yassin, Najib Razak, nation building on Tuesday, 16 August 2011, 5:31 pm
Mariam Mokhtar | Aug 15, 11
Malaysiakini
If we are not happy with our car, we fix it or change to a better model. If we are dissatisfied with our clothing, we change tailors or buy another dress. If the restaurant food which is served is rubbish, we demand a refund or send it back to the kitchen. Some of us are even prepared to marry another woman if the current one(s) are unsatisfactory. So why not political parties?
Various people have urged Prime minister Najib Abdul Razak to resign but some people are hesitant because they fear that Najib’s deputy, Muhyiddin Yassin would take over.
To think that Muhyiddin (right) is the only choice means that Malaysians are still in a coma, or are too lazy to exercise their grey cells, or perhaps cannot see beyond their noses. Have these myopic Malaysians forgotten that Malaysia does have an opposition? And that they have a choice?
Read the rest of this entry »
A short rebuke of Ezam Mohd Nor
By Art Harun | August 16, 2011
The Malaysian Insider
AUG 16 — Dear Ezam,
With reference to your manic and almost maniacal spewing of hatred last Friday, I just have this to say to you.
You are an embarrassment.
This is Ramadan. Muslims fast during Ramadan. Good Muslims do not only fast and suffer mere physical pain during the fasting — a six-year-old can do that — but they reflect upon themselves and upon their surroundings and they abstain not only from food and drinks, but also from all things evil and ungodly.
The hunger pangs and thirst which Muslims suffer during the fast are just the surface of something which is deeper and more meaningful. Good Muslims correlate the mere physical abstention to a more meaningful spiritual experience. Without the spiritual experience and realisation of fasting, the act of fasting becomes and is reduced to a mere ritual and yearly routine.
Read the rest of this entry »
Chinatown land buy: ‘Prasarana abusing law’
By Teoh El Sen | August 16, 2011
Free Malaysia Today
PETALING JAYA: Syarikat Prasarana Negara Bhd, a 100% government-owned transport company, is abusing the law for the purposes of profit in making “unnecessary” property acquisitions in Chinatown, the DAP alleged today.
DAP publicity chief Tony Pua said the National Land Code 1965 was specifically amended in 1990 to allow for the acquisition of underground land without affecting surface property.
“This was done by inserting Part Five (A) (section 92A to 92G) under Clause 3. The amendment enables the disposal of ‘underground land’, which can either be alienated or leased or be subject to right of use,” he said.
“Clearly then Prasarana is attempting to hijack the above pieces of land which affect the heritage shoplots in Kuala Lumpur’s Chinatown for the purpose of making profit and not with the aim of undertaking the MRT project 100 feet underground,” said Pua, the Petaling Jaya Utara MP.
Read the rest of this entry »
Jais acting like Gestapo
Posted by Kit in Dr. Chen Man Hin, Islam on Tuesday, 16 August 2011, 2:21 pm
By Dr Chen Man Hin, DAP life advisor
JAIS should be open minded and not act like a Gestapo arm of Umno.
Since when did the constitution allow an organisation to barge into a religious building (church, temple) and boss around in the name protection of Islam?
It is the tradition that a religious building is open to everyone who wishes to pray, to seek advice or just to seek solace and respite. There is no compulsion for a person to enter or to leave.
So why was Jais so steamed up as to gate crash a social gathering in Damansara Utara Methodist Church, just because a few Muslims were present and having a conversation with other friends?
Jais inspectors could have joined the gathering and participated in the discussions to find out what was is going on. they could have left quietly if satisfied it was a social gathering, and not a meeting to preach to Muslims to convert them to a different faith.
Read the rest of this entry »
First shocker of Parliamentary Select Committee on electoral reforms
Posted by Kit in Bersih, Election, Parliament on Tuesday, 16 August 2011, 11:11 am
My first reaction yesterday to the announcement by the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak of a parliamentary select committee on electoral reforms is to welcome the proposal as it is a vindication of the 709 Bersih rally for free and fair elections – provided it is a genuine and sincere attempt to clean up the various defects and flaws in the electoral system.
However, the first shocker of the PSC on electoral reforms is the report that the Parliamentary Select Committee would have its first meeting tomorrow to discuss “everything that needs to be done” and reach a consensus on the matter.
How can this be when the Parliamentary Select Committee has not yet been formed and the respective Pakatan Rakyat parties have not been consulted and their agreement sought with regard to the PSC’s terms of reference and its membership? Read the rest of this entry »
You are no better than a thug
Posted by Kit in Islam, nation building on Tuesday, 16 August 2011, 9:28 am
— Azrul Mohd Khalib
The Malaysian Insider
Aug 16, 2011
AUG 16 — I read with much disappointment and irritation at Senator Mohd Ezam Mohd Nor’s behaviour as reported in “Ezam threatens ‘jihad’ against those proselytising Muslims” (August 12). Malaysians should reject the politics of intimidation, scare mongering and violence which appears to be espoused by Ezam.
He has also misrepresented the Jais raid situation as one where Islam is under attack. Let us be clear: Islam in Malaysia is not and has not been under attack. Both Hasan Ali and Ezam know it.
It is not necessary to play the martyr (Hasan Ali) or the defender of the faith (Ezam). The latter’s threats to wage war and to burn the offices of both Malaysiakini and The Malaysian Insider are criminal in nature and I call upon the necessary authorities to address them appropriately.
It is not necessary to resort to such bullying tactics and to bring down the level of engagement to that of thugs, samsengs and Ah Longs in a back alley. Such a person is surely morally bankrupt. Read the rest of this entry »
PM proposes bipartisan panel for polls reform
Posted by Kit in Bersih, Elections, Parliament on Tuesday, 16 August 2011, 12:23 am
Nigel Aw | Aug 15, 11 7:38pm
Malaysiakini
Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak announced today that the government will set up a parliamentary select committee to discuss electoral reforms before the next general election.
“Recently there have been demands for free and fair elections. The government’s response is that we will propose the setting up of a parliamentary select committee soon, which will be made up of members from both BN and opposition,” he said.
Najib said this in a speech at a ‘buka puasa’ event at the Malaysian National News Agency (Bernama) headquarters in Kuala Lumpur.
“The committee will discuss all electoral reforms that needs to be implemented in order to achieve bipartisan agreement without any suspicion that there is manipulation by the government,” he said. Read the rest of this entry »
History or Soviet-style propaganda? That is the question
Posted by Kit in Education, History, nation building on Monday, 15 August 2011, 7:20 pm
by Andrew Aeria
The Malaysian Insider
Aug 15, 2011
AUG 15 — If anyone from the Ministry of Education held an honest, open and non-patronising discussion with our secondary schoolchildren on the subject of history as it is presently taught in school, they would discover that a huge majority of students view it as a painfully boring and utterly worthless subject.
They would also discover that students learn practically nothing from the subject. Instead, students only force themselves to memorise vacuous facts about people and events merely to pass their exams; an indoctrination exercise that defeats the whole purpose of why we educate our children in the first place.
I should know. I taught an introductory-level university course, “Malaysian Social History” to undergraduates for a few years. And to my astonishment, I discovered how intellectually and emotionally impoverished my undergraduates were about history. Not that they had not studied and even passed the subject with flying colours in their SPM/STPM exams, but because what they had previously memorised in school was simply not worth remembering! Stunned by their lack of interest in the subject, I examined the current school history syllabus and its teaching methods. I discovered to my horror and dismay that it is presently more predisposed to Soviet-style propaganda instead of being a subject that nurtures a passionate appreciation of our rich heritage and common humanity. Read the rest of this entry »
Question of DAP joining BN to replace MCA does not arise at all
Posted by Kit in DAP, MCA, Pakatan Rakyat on Monday, 15 August 2011, 2:17 pm
The media has been abuzz following the Sin Chew Daily interview with Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz and his notion that DAP should join the Barisan Nasional.
The question of DAP joining the Barisan Nasional to replace MCA does not arise at all.
DAP is not a Chinese party fighting for Chinese rights but a Malaysian party fighting for the rights of all Malaysians whether Chinese, Malays, Indians, Ibans, Kadazans or Orang Asli as common Malaysian citizens who are entitled to an equal place under the Malaysian sun.
DAP leaders have toiled and sacrificed for their political beliefs in the past 45 years, persecuted and prosecuted in court, detained under the Internal Security Act for as long as four year and nine months, jailed and disqualified as MP and barred from elective office for five years for standing firm and steadfast on a matter of principle to fight for the rights of all Malaysians transcending race and religion – all these sacrifices not just for the DAP to replace MCA in the Barisan Nasional. Read the rest of this entry »
There are options available to save Chinatown
By Moaz Yusuf Ahmad | August 15, 2011
Free Malaysia Today
The members of The Association for the Improvement of Mass-Transit (Transit) have been following the MRT proposal since it was mooted (in fact even earlier than that).
One of our biggest complaints about public transport projects is that we have public displays, not public consultation.
In the case of the MRT project (or any other railway) must follow certain “fixed points” (many of which are also put in place without public consultation) and the operator is only required to share the “optimal” alignment with the public.
This was the way that the LRT and KL monorail were designed, according to the Railways Act.
Read the rest of this entry »
Lest we forget
By Masterwordsmith |August 14, 2011
The Malaysian Insider
AUG 14 — While Malaysians express outrage about the RM8-RM9 billion MAS scandal and the ‘reverse takeover’ of the national airline company through Air Asia — which is another multi-billion ‘backdoor asset stripping’ exercise — lets us not forget the RM6-RM7 billion patrol boat fiasco. As Dr Mahathir said: Melayu mudah lupa. Well, let us not lupa this.
In February ‘11, Defence Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi announced via a Bernama statement that the government has agreed to allocate RM6bil to build six second generation patrol vessels for the Royal Malaysian Navy. The rationale given for the expenditure was to “boost the economy while benefiting 632 vendor companies”. The Defence Minister clarified that they would ensure that “at least RM2bil of the allocation will benefit these vendor companies which are strategic partners of Boustead Naval Shipyard Sdn Bhd”. Then, many Malaysians were up in arms after that disclosure.
In October last year, The Star reported that the construction of six patrol vessels by Boustead Heavy Industries Corp Bhd (BHIC), a maritime engineering and defence-related services provider, may only begin as early as the fourth quarter of this year. Analysts estimated it would take another year before BHIC’s letter of intent (LOI) is firmed up and construction of the patrol vessels begin.
Read the rest of this entry »
