Dr M: With ISA gone, people are unafraid to lie

Former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamed claimed that the repeal of the draconian Internal Security Act (ISA) has fostered a carnival of lies, as the lack of possible punishment has allegedly made people bolder.

“Now that we have abolished ISA, people are now cheering. People now are freer to tell lies and do all kinds of nasty things,” he said at an event in Seri Kembangan last night

Mahathir lamented, “When they were not facing problems, they had no need for the ISA.

“But when they are faced with terror attacks, they did not hesitate to arrest people and detain them in Guantanamo Bay, even torture them.”

He was delivering a speech titled 'The Last Lap of Vision 2020: Can We
Achieve It?' at the 'Commemorating Vision 2020: An Evening with Dr Mahathir' yesterday.

The event was jointly organised by the Asian Strategy and Leadership Institute and Cheng Ho Multi-Culture Education Trust in conjunction with the 22nd anniversary of the announcement of Vision 2020. 

‘Not equal, but fair’

Mahathir said that while the sharing of economic and political power in the country was not equal, it was fair.

He argued that this was because no single race should dominate both spheres.

“We have to accept that no one wants to forget their racial origin. We don’t try to assimilate.  We try to integrate.

“Most of all we decided to share political power and economic power in this country. Share not equally, but fairly.

“This is the thing that (former PM) Tunku Abdul Rahman would have asked.

“No one race should try to dominate both political and economic power,” he said.

The former PM also reminded the audience to vote for BN to ensure the vision becomes reality
.
“It is safer if we have the same party as the government. I'm not campaigning, I'm just stating facts,” he said, adding that other BN leaders may modify the vision to leave “their mark” but the basics would remain the same.

Five Pakistanis admit getting 'express citizenship' in Sabah

Five Pakistanis have confessed that they obtained Malaysian citizenship from agents in Sabah during their first visit to Malaysia, and some of them have voted five times in the elections.

The latest case of ‘express citizenship’ was front-paged by Malay daily Sinar Harian today after its reporters visited one of the Pakistanis at his house in the Hutan Melintang state constituency in Perak.

They were detected by the Bagan Datoh PKR division during the process of examining the electoral roll.

It was found that four of the Pakistanis have been listed as voter in the electoral roll and all of them stay in the same house.

“When we were examining the voter list, we suspected the five names listed because they stay in the same house and are of Pakistani ethnicity,” Hutan Melintang PKR election director A Ganeson told the daily.

The party then visited the five at their house located in Taman Hutan Melintang and discovered that all of them have new MyKad, except one who holds the old identity card (IC).

"Five men aged between 30 and 40 claimed they obtained their ICs when they entered Malaysia for the first time.

All obtained ICs in Sabah

"They claimed that all of them obtained the ICs in Sabah through agents before moving to the peninsula," Ganeson said.

They also told him that some of them had voted in the elections as many as five times.

To verify Ganeson’s allegation, Sinar Harian went to the house together with PKR workers and met two of the five Pakistanis, while the others were not around.

After being told that the visitors were to conduct an election examination, the two cooperated and showed their ICs.

One of the two, Ali Hamsir, 54, also asked to have his old IC changed to a MyKad.

Asked how they obtained their ICs, Ali confirmed that all of them were brought to Sabah when they first entered the country, before they started working in the peninsula.

"I am married. My family is in Pakistan and every year I go back to visit them. To go there we need to apply for (Malaysian) passports because we are now Malaysians," he said.

PKR’s assemblyperson for Hutan Melintang, S Kesavan, told the daily that he is mulling over lodging a police report over the issue after the party finishes examining the electoral roll.

'EC has nothing to do with issuance of MyKad'

On the other hand, the Election Commission deputy chairperson Wan Ahmad Wan Omar clarified that his commission has nothing to do with the issuance of suspicious MyKad.

According to him, any voter whose name is in the electoral roll and has been verified by the EC as a voter has the right to vote.

"When the individual shows his or her MyKad and we check that his name exists (in the electoral roll), then he has the absolute right to vote.

"The story before that (on the issuance of MyKad) is not an issue," he was quoted as saying.

Wan Ahmad also called on the public, especially political parties, not to "sensationalise such stories".

National Registration Department director-general Jariah Mohd Said declined to comment, saying that she needs to study the allegation first before making any statement.

Bangladesh war crimes trial: Delwar Hossain Sayeedi to die

A tribunal in Bangladesh has sentenced Islamist leader Delwar Hossain Sayeedi to death for crimes committed during the country's 1971 war of independence.

The BBC's Anbarasan Ethirajan: Protesters erupted with joy at the verdict

The Jamaat-e-Islami chief was found guilty of charges including murder, torture and rape. He is the most senior figure convicted so far.

The verdict was cheered by his opponents but set off protests in which at least 30 people were killed.

Critics said the charges were politically motivated.

Lawyers for Sayeedi say they plan to appeal in the Supreme Court.

The Jamaat-e-Islami party rejects the tribunal and staged a strike on Thursday in protest. After the verdict was announced it called a further two-day stoppage for Sunday and Monday.

Thousands of police have been deployed in Dhaka to maintain security.

As well as the 30 killed, at least 300 people were injured in clashes between police and Jamaat supporters across the country, police told the Reuters news agency.

Jamaat was opposed to Bangladeshi independence but denies any role in war crimes committed by pro-Pakistan militias.

Official estimates say more than three million people were killed in the war.
Angry demonstrations

Security was tight around the capital, Dhaka, as the judgement was being read out. On hearing the verdict, protesters gathered at a busy intersection in the city erupted into cheers.

"We've been waiting for this day for the last four decades," one man told local television, the Agence France-Presse news agency reports.

Thousands had staged a protest in the capital on Wednesday, demanding the death sentence be handed down to him.

Recent weeks have seen a series of angry demonstrations demanding the execution of Jamaat leaders being tried by the tribunal. But there have also been protests against the court.

The verdict is the third issued by the controversial tribunal, which is trying a total of nine Jamaat leaders and two members of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party.

Sayeedi was accused of working with the Al-Badr group during the independence struggle and carrying out numerous atrocities, including forcibly converting Hindus to Islam.

His critics say that during the war he formed a small group to loot and seize the property of Bengali Hindus and those who supported independence.

The tribunal found Sayeedi guilty of eight out of the 20 charges levelled against him. These were murder, torture, rape and forcibly converting Hindus to Islam.

State prosecutor Syed Haider Ali described the verdict as a "victory for the people", AFP reports. But in court Mr Sayeedi protested, blaming the judgement on the influence of bloggers and pro-government forces.

Earlier this month another Jamaat leader, Abdul Kader Mullah, was sentenced to life for crimes against humanity. Huge crowds have been demanding he be executed.

In January, former party leader Abul Kalam Azad was found guilty in absentia of eight charges of crimes against humanity and sentenced to death.

In the wake of the public outcry calling for the execution of Abdul Kader Mullah, Bangladesh's parliament earlier this month amended a law which will allow the state to appeal against his life sentence.

The special court was set up in 2010 by the current Bangladeshi government to deal with those accused of collaborating with Pakistani forces who attempted to stop East Pakistan (as Bangladesh was then) from becoming an independent country.

But human rights groups have said the tribunal falls short of international standards. Jamaat and the BNP accuse the current government of pursuing a political vendetta.

Ipswich: Three guilty in Chevallier Street teen sex slave case

The house in Chevallier Street where the girl was held

THREE men have been convicted today of abducting a 13-year-old girl and forcing her to become 

their sex slave.

The girl, from a “troubled” family, was subjected to a string of assaults over four days after being trafficked from her home in London to a house in Chevallier Street, Ipswich, prosecutor Riel Karmy-Jones had told Norwich Crown Court.

Suran Uddin, 28, of St Matthew’s Row, Bethnal Green, London; Mohammed Sheikh, 31, of Seaton Point in Hackney, London; and Hamza Ali, 38, of Chilford Road, Waltham Forest, London, denied various sex offences during a three-week trial.

But following three days of jury deliberations, Uddin, Sheikh and Ali were today all found guilty of conspiracy to traffick in the UK, and supplying a class B drug to the victim.

Uddin was also convicted of two counts of rape.

Sheikh was convicted on a charge of causing a child to engage in sexual activity but was cleared of two counts of rape.

Ali was found guilty of a sexual assault but not guilty of rape.

The men will be sentenced at a later date.

Abdul Hammed, 46, of Wellington Street, Ipswich, was cleared of supplying a class B drug and two counts of rape.

The judge had earlier instructed the jury to find him not guilty of trafficking.

‘No political gain from Sugumar’s death’

PKR vice-president N.Surendran denies using security guard C Sugumar's death as political mileage and maintains that PKR is just fighting for justice.

PETALING JAYA: PKR vice-president N Surendran has denied that he is using security guard C Sugumar’s death to his political advantage.

When asked to comment whether PKR is politicising the death of Sugumar, he denied that neither he nor the party are making political mileage out of this case.

“It is an absolutely baseless answer given by those very people who should have taken action on Sugumar’s death, which is the government,” said Surendran.

On Feb 15, MIC Youth secretary C Sivaraajh urged Surendran to stop using Sugumar’s death as a tool to gain political mileage.

“Sugumar’s family is already devastated by his death and is enduring a lot of hardship,” said Sivaraajh.

Sugumar, a 40-year-old security guard died on Jan 23 after allegedly being beaten by the police after they handcuffed him.

Surendran however denied that PKR is politicising this case and claimed that they are just fighting for justice on behalf of Sugumar’s family.

“We are saying, arrest and charge all those who were involved in Sugumar’s death. And right now it is not just about Sugumar and his family, it’s about setting an example, a deterrent to prevent further deaths from occurring.

“So it’s definitely not a question of politics at all; it’s a question of fighting for justice,” he said.

Surendran added that if the authorities had acted properly, by calling for an independent investigation, there would not be a need for demonstrations to be conducted.

“Why are we forced to do demonstrations to get justice for Sugumar, the authorities should have given justice.

“We are forced to marshal public opinion in order to pressure the authorities to take action. That’s why we are doing demonstrations, because otherwise the government would not take action,” he said.

He added that the argument of him using this issue as political mileage is null because as a human rights advocate, he has been taking up death in custody cases for the past 15 years.

“Before I became PKR vice president, I was fighting publicly for death in custody cases, so where is the argument that I’m doing this for political mileage?” he queried.

Second post-mortem

With regard to the second post-mortem to be conducted on Sugumar, he clarified that there is no such thing as a private post-mortem here in Malaysia.

“Private hospitals do not do post-mortems, so we are thrown back on all the government hospitals.

“But how can we expect government pathologists to act independently when they have got extreme pressure coming right down from the Prime Minister himself in Sugumar’s case?” he said.

He said that although the prime minister denied intervening to prevent Thai pathologist Dr Pornthip Rojanasunand from conducting the second post-mortem, “it is clear to everyone that there is massive government pressure on the government pathologists.”

“We need a private pathologist, and since there are no private pathologists in Malaysia, that is why we went to Thailand and got Dr Pornthip but unfortunately the government blocked it.

“Now if we were to go to Indonesia or Australia, what is the guarantee that the prime minister or authorities would not block that also? The government must do the right thing and lift the block on Dr Pornthip,” he said.

On Feb 15, Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak refuted an allegation that he had prevented Dr Pornthip from conducting a second post-mortem on Sugumar.

It is not true… these are all fairy tales. Don’t listen to them. Not at all,” said the prime minister.

He said this in response to news portal reports which quoted Surendran as saying that Najib had communicated with Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra to stop Pornthip from conducting the post-mortem on Sugumar.

Surendran claimed that as a result of that, the Thai government decided that Pornthip should not conduct the post-mortem so as not to undermine relations between the two countries.
- See more at: http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2013/03/01/no-political-gain-from-sugumars-death/#sthash.JjlTqOyN.dpuf

We cannot go back, says prince

The Sulu Sultanate is prepared to take their claims over Sabah to the Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC) if Manila fails them.

LAHAD DATU: Irrespective of whether its soldiers are gunned down here or its people are arrested in Manila and thrown into jail, the Sulu sultanate will not budge on its claims over Sabah.

While the Sulu sultanate crown prince Raja Muda Agbimuddin Kiram, who is holed up in Felda Sahabat here along with his more than 200 men army, says going back will be “embarrassing”, his kin in Manila declared that arrest of their entire family in Philippines was “welcome” in response to Manila’s warning of criminal charges.

As at press time, three of Kiram’s men have been shot dead by the Malaysian security forces and four more were said to be injured. The Malaysian armed forces meanwhile lost two soldiers in the exchange.

Despite the threat of a rising death toll, Kiram said he and his followers will stay in the Tanduao villager here “until death” or until negotiations between the Philippine and Malaysian governments over their claims on Sabah is amicably settled.

“We cannot go back to the Philippines, because that will be a great embarrassment on our part. We have already stated our intention in coming here,” he said.

The Sulu sultanate wants a formal agreement over its Sabah claims with Putrajaya. It wants the Philippine government to set aside politics and look after its interest in the agreement. Thus far, this has not happened.

The sultanate’s grounds for the claim is Sulu’s historical links to Sabah, once known as North Borneo.

Sabah was given to the sultanate of Sulu by the sultanate of Brunei due to the former’s help in quelling a rebellion during the 17th century.

In 1878, the sultanate of Sulu leased Sabah to the British North Borneo Company. Britain eventually annexed Sabah in 1946. The disputed territory was then turned over by Britain to the Federation of Malaysia in 1963.

Manila on its part reportedly said the sultanate’s condition is unacceptable.

‘Cover up’

Meanwhile, earlier this morning, Kiram and his men, who have been holed up in Lahad Datu since Feb 9, have been under attack by the Malaysian security forces.

Both governments had initially issued denials over the intensity of the shootouts but ground reports of bodies being carried out of the “warzone” and “instructions” for all shops, banks and schools to shut down have forced responses from the respective authorities and the Sulu Sultan Jamalul Kiram III, brother to soldier Kiram.

According to Philippines media reports, Manila had warned the Sulu sultanate that the latter’s army in Sabah faced “possible criminal charges” as a result of its decision to enter a foreign territory while armed.

But the sultanate has vehemently denied entering a “foreign” territory, reiterating that Sabah is its homeland and that if pushed come to shove, its people will come to their rescue.

According to a Malacanang statement, some 800,000 Filipinos are in Sabah.

Meanwhile, Sulu Sultan Jamalul Kiram III’s spokesman Abraham Idjirani said earlier denials by both Malaysian and Philippine officials of death and injuries were just “to cover up the truth”.

He said despite the casualties the sultanate will continue to peacefully pursue its claim over Sabah.

“Bangsa Sulu will not take revenge but would pursue this matter peacefully,” Idjirani said.

He also added that the sultanate is looking at the possibility of taking the matter to the Organisation of Islamic Conference (OIC). If it does, it wouldn’t be the first time.

When former ousted Philippine president Ferdinand Marcos declared martial law in 1971 and his quarrels with Malaysia over Sabah reached a new pitch, then Malaysian prime minister Tunku Abdul Rahman took the opportunity to place the plight of the Moros, represented by the Mindanao National Liberation Front (MNLF), on the agenda of the OIC.

The Tripoli Agreement in Kuala Lumpur in June 1974 was the outcome.
- See more at: http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2013/03/01/we-cannot-go-back-says-prince/#sthash.j5QGCvZz.dpuf

‘Sulu sultanate eyeing the riches of Sabah’

The heirs of Sulu Sultanate have indicated that they want an increase in their annual 'rental fees'.

MANILA: Half a century after the Philippine government formally staked its claim on Sabah, on behalf of the Sultanate of Sulu, the history of that claim took an ugly turn when gunfight erupted between the sultan’s followers and Malaysian security forces today.

The followers of Sulu Sultan Jamalul Kiram III have been holed up in Lahad Datu, Sabah, to press their claim since since Feb 12.

Some 200 armed and unarmed followers of Kiram face possible arrest for defying Philippine President Beningo Aquino’s appeal to return to the Philippines. They also face violent extraction should the Malaysian authorities decide to use force to remove them.

“The Malaysian Standard” in a special report said the issues are sensitive, convoluted and involved the basis and motivation of the claim, the heirs, the payment of rental fees, and Malaysia’s role in the government’s peace deal with the Muslims in Mindanao.

The heirs of the Sultanate of Sulu had previously indicated that they wanted an increase in the annual “rental fees” that they had been receiving from the Malaysian government, which is RM5,300 or roughly P70,000.

One of the Sultan’s sons, Abdula Kiram, once lamented how measly the annual rental was compared with the billions of dollars that Sabah had been generating for the Malaysian government.

Hence, the Sulu Sultan Jamalul Kiram III and his followers could be eyeing a piece of the oil and gas pie that Malaysia has been monopolising.

Sabah is just a fourth of the Philippines’ landmass, yet it is richly blessed with oil and gas, contributing 14% of Malaysia’s natural gas and 30% of its crude oil reserves.

Sabah’s oil and gas industry has been operating for over 30 years, and in 2009 its oil and gas were the biggest contributor to the island’s gross domestic product.

Sabah’s oil reserves were calculated at 1.5 billion barrels in 2011, but new oilfields have been discovered since to raise the estimate substantially. The island’s gas reserves have been estimated at 11-trillion cubic feet, with four new oilfields being found in the waters in the last two years.

In 2011, Dr Hiew King Cheu, the MP for Kota Kinabalu, claimed that, as of March 31, 2011, Sabah had 15 oil wells producing as many as 192,000 barrels a day. At that output, he said, Sabah was actually producing the equivalent of RM53 million (P696 million) a day.

By contrast, the Philippines produces only 6,000 barrels of oil daily, according to data from the Energy Department. In 2012 the Philippines produced 1.64 million barrels of oil of which the Galoc oilfield accounted for 1.482 million barrels, which was 29% lower than the previous year.

The country’s biggest source of crude oil, the Galoc oil field, is expected to contribute P1.74 billion to the national coffers from 2012 to 2015, which is a far cry from Malaysia’s 5% yearly estimated royalty of about P12.5 billion from Sabah’s oil production.

With billions in existing and potential windfall from Sabah’s natural resources, it is apparently clear how much of a “national interest” Sabah is to any controlling entity.
- See more at: http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2013/03/01/sulu-sultanate-eying-the-riches-of-sabah/#sthash.xzEpT6m9.dpuf

Pakatan continues to deceive Indians

There has not been a single attempt by Pakatan to engage Hindraf into drawing up plans for the grouses they represent.
COMMENT

By N Ganesan

Is there a surprise in the fact that after Hindraf has tried very actively since August 2012 to work with Pakatan Rakyat to develop a win-win formula for Pakatan and for the Indian poor in the forthcoming elections, that Pakatan will turn around and give the Indian poor the shaft as they have done with their general election manifesto pledges?

In my mind there is some surprise. I expected that the political and electoral alignments may not work out.

But I did not imagine that Pakatan would do it with such callousness and then defend their actions unapologetically and with impunity that they did alright in their GE2013 electoral manifesto.

PKR strategy director Rafizi Ramli’s statement in his debate with MCA vice president Gan Ping Siew yesterday is most telling.

Let me quote him from media reports here. He is supposed to have uttered the following words “Pakatan manifesto is for all, not just Indians”.

What rubbish is this? Completely wild and in my opinion simply tells of Pakatan impunity.

In retrospect, this tendency to deceive the Indians in general and the Indian poor in specific have been clear from 2008 after the 12th GE.

For the tsunami that Hindraf created for Pakatan, there has not been one attempt, not one single attempt to engage Hindraf, the prime mover during that heyday into drawing up plans for the grouses they represented.

That was clearly a predictor for larger things to come. And we have just seen that.

I can understand their logic, said and repeated in so many ways. They only want the votes from the Indians but not their representation in the August houses of parliament and state assemblies.

The working class has no business there.

Their refrain is – just remain a pressure group, do not ask for seats, do not ask for leadership of ministries, just stay out there, get us the votes and then maybe we will give your Mandores some crumbs.

But you stay out there.

You see that re-enactment clearly in their latest stances.

The writer is Hindraf’s national advisor
- See more at: http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/opinion/2013/03/01/pakatan-continues-to-deceive-indians/#sthash.xjDJTqI7.dpuf

I did not invite a mob, says Nanban boss

He rejects Kayveas’ version of the Feb 21 incident and vows not to speak of the issue anymore.

PETALING JAYA: Malaysia Nanban has denied that it invited a People’s Progressive Party delegation to its office last week.

The newspaper’s director, Shafee Zaman Sikandar Batcha, said the denial would be his last comment on the Feb 21 incident, which news reports have referred to as an “ambush” by PPP President M Kayveas and his supporters.

Shafee was commenting on a statement that Kayveas issued on Feb 22, in which the PPP chief said he took offence at the word “ambush”, insisting that he had been “invited” to the Nanban office to be shown proof that an article critical of his party was based on fact.

Shafee told FMT that Kayveas, speaking over the telephone, asked him if he could pay a visit to Nanban.

“We agreed to the visit but didn’t expect so many people.”

The PPP chief showed up with about 60 supporters and asked to meet the writer of the offending article.

Shafee said Kayveas asked for proof of the article’s truth only after he had arrived at the office.

“He never asked me anything related to the issue over the phone,” he added.

“We have to protect the writer’s identity. What has happened to freedom of press?

“We even offered to hold a dialogue session to show proof and help resolve the issue, but they refused and stared using vulgar words against me and my staff.”

Shafee told FMT Nanban had no political interest.

“I am not a politician and Nanban is neither a political party nor affiliated to any. I want to stop this here. The public will not hear anymore comments from us.”

He said he had lodged a report with the Sentul police station.

“Let the police handle it. If Kayveas is not happy, he can go ahead with legal actions.”

In another development on the issue, MIC has denied Kayveas’ allegation that it was involved in the quarrel.

“Kayveas is diverting attention,” MIC secretary general S Murugesan said. “As far as I know, we did not send anyone to Nanban’s aid.”

Referring to comments on the issue by MIC figures, Murugesan said: “We only support press freedom. What is wrong with that?”
- See more at: http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2013/03/01/i-did-not-invite-a-mob-says-nanban-boss/#sthash.MqO2gdLF.dpuf

Pakatan won’t deliver, says Gerakan

People should not get excited over its election manifesto as its track record shows it's simply a ruse to fish for votes, says Baljit Singh

GEORGE TOWN: A local Gerakan leader said the people should not to get carried away with Pakatan Rakyat’s election manifesto because they won’t be able to deliver on it.

State Gerakan legal and human rights bureau head, Baljit Singh, said Pakatan had unrealistically promised many populist programmes just to fish votes to capture Putrajaya.

But once it had helmed the federal government, said Baljit, Pakatan would always resort to its standard modus operandi to justify any non-delivery.

“Pakatan promises the sun and the moon. But people should not get excited over it. Chances are it would not be fulfilled, especially based on Pakatan’s track record,” he said today.

Recalling a quote of Selangor MB Khalid Ibrahim that “a manifesto is not a promise”, Baljit said Pakatan may remind the people that it was not obliged to deliver on its election pledges.

He added that Pakatan allies, PKR, DAP and PAS, were operating more as individual parties rather than a single cohesive unit.

“Leaders of one party would always conveniently distance themselves and spurn their joint-responsibility to deliver an election promise made by a leader from another ally.”

‘Pakatan should not give false hopes’

He cited the demolition of Indian traditional urban village, Kampung Buah Pala, commonly known as Tamil High Chaparral, in 2009, to back his claim.

“Anwar told the villagers, “Kalau tak dapat geran dalam satu minggu, nama saya bukan Anwar Ibrahim.” (If the title is not given within a week, my name is not Anwar Ibrahim).

“He promised them that if the then opposition parties came into power, the state government would solve their problem within a week.

“That was in 2008, but at height of the fiasco, Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng, who is the DAP secretary general, famously said that he never promised anything to villagers.

“Clearly Lim distanced himself from Anwar and spurned his responsibility to deliver on behalf of Pakatan,” said Baljit.

If the first two excuses failed to work, the Gerakan man said Pakatan leaders would always lean back on their favourite blame game and attribute their failings to Barisan Nasional.

He said the DAP-led state government’s threat to take court action to hold local government election in Penang was Pakatan’s latest blame game on BN.

Baljit said the manifesto may not hold water since Pakatan was not a legitimately registered coalition, but an informal loose political pact formed just to oust BN and capture Putrajaya.

“They can’t even agree on a common symbol to get Pakatan registered as a coalition. They are honest, and would operate on separate agendas once the election was over.

“How and who then can voters hold responsible on non-delivery of Pakatan’s manifesto when the coalition was not even a legitimate political block? Are citizens being duped here?

“Pakatan should not give people false hopes and promises,” said Baljit.
- See more at: http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2013/03/01/pakatan-wont-deliver-says-gerakan/#sthash.feOEu75d.dpuf

Ex-Umno Member: 500,000 Blue ICs Issued To Immigrants Under Mustapha Harun’s Orders

Boo Su-Lyn and Emily Ding, TMI

About 500,000 blue identity cards (ICs) were given to Filipino and Indonesian immigrants in Sabah in the early 1990s under the orders of then-Sabah Umno chief Tun Datu Mustapha Harun, a former Umno member said today.

Siti Aminah Mahmud, who worked voluntarily in the Umno office in Kota Kinabalu, said today that the now-deceased Mustapha, who was the third chief minister of Sabah from 1967 to 1975, had told her that the ICs were issued to overthrow the Parti Bersatu Sabah (PBS) government.

“Datu Mustapha said this is (Tun) Dr Mahathir (Mohamad)’s project. Don’t be afraid of getting caught,” Siti Aminah told a press conference at the PKR headquarters here today, relating Mustapha’s briefing to her and other Umno members in Kota Kinabalu in 1990.

“Datu Mustapha said it was to increase the number of Malay voters to take down PBS,” added the 62-year-old woman.

About 500,000 blue ICs were given to Filipino and Indonesian immigrants in Sabah in the early 1990s. Siti Aminah said that she and other Umno members worked together with the National Registration Department (NRD) and village heads to issue about 500,000 blue ICs to Filipino and Indonesian immigrants from 1990 to 1994 in several areas of Sabah, including Tawau, Sandakan, Lahad Datu, Kota Kinabalu, and Semporna.

She added that she was detained under the Internal Security Act (ISA) from 1995 to 1997 for allegedly issuing fake ICs and falsifying NRD documents.

The 1994 Sabah state election saw PBS winning just 25 of the 48 state assembly seats.

But several PBS assemblymen defected to Barisan Nasional (BN) shortly after, causing the collapse of the PBS government.

Mustapha, who had founded the United Sabah National Organisation (USNO), is considered Sabah’s father of independence for his role in negotiating the state’s independence in 1963, before dying in 1995 at the age of 76.

USNO joined forces with former Sabah Chief Minister Tan Sri Harris Salleh’s Berjaya to form Sabah Umno after PBS defeated Berjaya in the 1990 state election.

Dr Mahathir, Malaysia’s longest-serving prime minister who was in power from 1981 to 2003, has been accused of spearheading the so-called “Project IC”, in which citizenship was allegedly given to immigrants for their votes.

Dr Mahathir told a press conference last month that foreigners in Sabah had indeed received citizenship, but stressed that it was “within the law”.

Harris, who administered the state from 1976 to 1985, has denied at the Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) on the illegal immigrant problem in Sabah of the existence of “Project IC”.

More than a quarter of Sabah’s population are foreigners, totalling a staggering 889,000 out of the 3.2 million-strong population in Sabah, or about 28 per cent, based on a 2010 census.

Sabah has 926,638 voters, according to a June report in English-language daily The Star.

Siti Aminah said today that one IC number would be issued to 20 or 30 people.

“One address is also used by 20 people,” she said.

“In one area, there’ll be a leader who will gather people. Once we reach, we’ll get their names. We don’t ask about their religions. We’ll see if they have Muslim names. If they don’t, we’ll change their names to Muslim names. Then we’ll take their pictures and thumb prints and send it to the Umno office,” she added.

Siti Aminah said the blue ICs would be processed in about a month and delivered in sacks to village heads.

“We’ll tell the village head, ‘Tok, please instruct the villagers to vote for Umno’,” she added.

Siti Aminah, who is now a PKR member, said she was unaware if the immigrants had paid for the ICs.

Senior Special Branch officer Supt Ahmad Fauzan Mohamad testified at the RCI last week that a syndicate involving then-Sabah NRD directors had made at least RM11 million from selling ICs to illegal immigrants in Sabah.

He also said that none of the 94 people, who were arrested under the ISA from 1995 to 2001 for their involvement in the syndicate, were ever charged in court.

Then-Sabah NRD director Ramli Kamarudin told the RCI last month that then-Deputy Home Minister, the late Tan Sri Megat Junid Megat Ayub, had ordered him to issue NRD receipts, which matched the names and IC numbers of registered voters, to immigrants.

Ramli had said that about 200 NRD receipts were issued in five or six state constituencies each, which the government considered difficult to win, before the 1994 Sabah state election.

Siti Aminah said she has not yet been called to testify at the RCI.

She also stressed that Opposition Leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, who was then Dr Mahathir’s deputy, was never mentioned in “Project IC”.

“Anwar had fought with Datu Mustapha and Megat Junid over Project IC,” she said.

Siti Aminah also said that according to Mustapha, “Project IC” started during Harris’ administration and was codenamed “03”, as well as “04” and “05” during Mahathir’s administration.

Insiden Lahad Datu: Kenapa Kerajaan Ambil Mudah Isu Keselamatan Negara?

KENYATAAN MEDIA
UNTUK EDARAN SEGERA

1 MAC 2013

INSIDEN LAHAD DATU: KENAPA KERAJAAN AMBIL MUDAH ISU KESELAMATAN NEGARA?

Saya ucapkan takziah kepada keluarga dua anggota keselamatan negara, Inspektor Zulkifli Mamat dan Sarjan Sabaruddin dari Unit 69 Komando yang terkorban dalam insiden bersenjata di Lahad Datu, Sabah hari ini.

Kerajaan Malaysia di bawah kepimpinan Dato’ Sri Najib Razak dan menteri yang bertanggungjawab menjaga urusan keselamatan dan pertahanan negara sewajarnya tampil menjelaskan kepada rakyat tentang peristiwa berdarah ini.

Mengapa sebegitu mudah sempadan negara dibolosi oleh sekumpulan warga asing bersenjata dan mengapakah kerajaan begitu berkompromi dalam menyelesaikan isu ini? Isu keselamatan negara tak sewajarnya dipandang remeh dan diambil mudah oleh pihak kerajaan. Rakyat perlu diberikan maklumat mengenai apa yang berlaku.

ANWAR IBRAHIM

Malaysia will survive GE13, says ‘Dr Doom’

By ZURAIRI AR - The Malaysian Insider

KUALA LUMPUR, March 1 — The Malaysian economy will weather the next general election and stay robust even with a change in government, renowned world economist Nouriel Roubini said today.

Roubini, also known in the media as “Dr Doom” for his consistently pessimistic economic outlook, gave his prediction today amid previous warnings by names such as veteran statesman Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad and former top cop Tan Sri Musa Hassan that Malaysia will descend into political and economic chaos should Pakatan Rakyat (PR) wins the next polls.

“I would say whatever the result is going to be, this country has shown institutional and political stability,” Roubini said here in his keynote address at the Datum Economic Forum 2013.

“Investors recognised that, and therefore as long as there is a democratic process, as long as there’ll be policy clarity after those elections, it’s certainly going to be positive.”

Roubini admitted that the electoral process itself will introduce elements of uncertainty for investors, but refused to comment on the election date that has yet to be announced.

“I think whether the decision will be taken imminently or shortly … whatever those results may be, this is a stable democracy that’s been committed to following economical policies to economic success

“It’s going to be positive,” he added.

Roubini also offered his observation on pre-election practices which are affecting Malaysia’s economic standing.

Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim (centre) officiates the Datum Economic Forum 2013 “Building Communities Enriching Lives” in Kuala Lumpur March 1, 2013. — Picture by Choo Choy May
“Whenever there’s an election, whoever’s in power before elections provides cash handouts to the people as a way of boosting chances of winning, and that increases a chance of deficit in an election year,” Roubini said.

“Hopefully that will be reversed after the election.”

Roubini, who was named as Top 100 Global Thinkers by Foreign Policy magazine, gained popularity after he predicted the United States sub-prime crisis and the subsequent worldwide recession in 2008 three years before it happened.

On January 2011, Roubini’s analysis firm Roubini Global Economics (RGE) commented that much-needed reforms to Malaysia’s pro-Bumiputera policies would likely be put on the back burner until Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak secures a new electoral mandate.

In the report titled “Wednesday Note — Malaysia’s Middle-Income Malaise” RGE reported that Umno was “unlikely” to revamp such policies “blocking” Malaysia’s rise to high-income nation status before the next general election for fear of antagonising Malay voters.

It also said that affirmative action policies have exacerbated the non-Bumiputera brain drain problem and also created a “strategic disadvantage” for local firms by limiting human and financial capital as well as “perpetuating an unlevel playing field” for entrepreneurs.

Roubini, an economics professor at New York University’s Stern School of Business, previously advised the World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF) and currently holds research fellowships at London’s Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR) and the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
- See more at: http://blog.limkitsiang.com/2013/03/01/malaysia-will-survive-ge13-says-dr-doom/#more-22548

ROS stops investigations into Suaram

The Star
By SHAILA KOSHY

KUALA LUMPUR: The Registrar of Societies (ROS) has stopped all investigations into Suaram. The Attorney-General will also not be taking any action against Suaram in relation to the ROS investigations.

Suaram lead counsel Edmund Bon told High Court judge Justice Zaleha Yusof this in chambers Thursday at the outset of their application for leave for a judicial review against the ROS notice dated Oct 5, ordering Suaram lawyer Roger Chan to produce privileged documents under Section 51(1) of the Criminal Procedure Code.

Bon said Suaram, which is registered as a company - Suara Inisiatif Sdn Bhd - received letters from the ROS and A-G on Wednesday saying that all investigations had stopped and the case was closed.

Senior federal counsel Shamsul Bolhassan confirmed the A-G would not be taking any further action.

Bon asked for an adjournment to March 11, saying there were more than 10 orders/notices/summonses that were issued to various individuals who were either related or not related to Suaram.

He said they wanted the A-G's Chambers to have the ROS issue a letter stating that they would withdraw or cancel all the orders/notices/summonses.

He said that if they did not get the letter, they would proceed with their application for leave in court.

Justice Zaleha ordered the respondents, who include the ROS, Home Minister and Inspector-General of Police, to issue the letter and fixed March 11 for case management.

PAS Flip-Flop Sign Of Mental Disorder - Political Analyst

By Haslinda Zainal

KUALA LUMPUR (Bernama) - The PAS flip flop on certain issues and disunity among members and partners, the DAP and PKR, are signs that PAS is suffering from mental disorder, said a political analyst.

Director of National Integration Studies Centre, Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris (UPSI), Prof Datuk Dr Zainal Kling said PAS is in a dilemma after making a decision that involves Islam and politics.

"PAS does not know what to do, follow the socialistof DAP or Islam. It said the wrong thing and had to retract, resulting in a mess," he told Bernama here today.

The issue of use of the word 'Allah' in the Malay version of the Bible is a big blow to PAS when the decision of the Pakatan Rakyat supreme ccouncil was announced by an opposition leader.

However, the decision was challenged by the PAS Ulama Shura Council which decided that the word 'Allah' could not be used by non-Muslims.

PAS president Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang should reverse the decision but until today, he has done nothing to rectify the problem.

PAS also disagreed with the candidate for the Prime Minister's post should the opposition succeed in capturing Putrajaya in the general election.

It suggested that the post he held by Abdul Hadi but DAP chairman Karpal Singh stressed the post should go to opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.

Zainal said PAS is increasingly desperate to garner support as general election beckons and has to resort to discrediting the government.

"PAS talks about welfare state, but Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak has done more than that. It does not how to counter and began talking about Pharaoh and chicken (Bantuan Rakyat 1Malaysia)."

He said PAS leaders should examine their faith in depth if it want to continue with the DAP and PKR.

"If you want to be a Muslim, you cannot be friends with socialists (DAP). If the opposition captures Putrajaya, PAS will have to sacrifice the Islamic state concept and lose the support of Muslims."

Malaysian Youth Clubs Global Relief chairman Akhramsyah Muammar Ubaidah Sanusi said youths are fed up with the flip flop stance displayed by PAS.

"The changing stance can be equated with hypocritical. PAS should be more transparent with its stand and not jump here and there, just to garner votes."

He was surprised that PAS could sit down with DAP and PKR which have no respect for the position of Islam in the country.

"PAS can remain as hypocrites (continuing with Pakatan)), or leave with dignity and refrain from committing sins," he added.

Meanwhile, Defenders of Islam (Pembela) secretary, Abdul Karim Omar believes PAS fear losing control of Kedah and Kelantan if they choose Anwar as candidate for Prime Minister.

He said it is better for DAP to drop PKR and DAP so that the party can uphold Islam.

"Maybe, it is better for PAS to be with Umno," he added.

Malaysia raids Sabah village to end deadlock

At least 10 reportedly killed in clashes in Malaysian territory occupied by armed clan from the Philippines.

A Filipino clan leader who occupied a Malaysian village in the territory of Sabah with nearly 200 followers, has said the Malaysian police opened fired at them, reportedly killing at least 10 of its members.

Raja Muda Abimuddin Kiram, leader of the armed group, told Al Jazeera's Jamela Alindogan on Saturday that authorities fired at them in an apparent bid to end the three-week stand-off that threatens to complicate the relations between the two countries.

Our correspondent said she "could hear gunshots [in] the background" when she talked to Kiram on the phone.

Raul Hernandez, spokesman for the Philippines foreign ministry, confirmed the incident but did not elaborate on the reported Filipino fatalities.

Hernandez, however, said two Malaysian police officers were killed and another one wounded, after their vehicle were reportedly fired upon by the Kiram group.

"The ambassador said that the stand-off is now over," Hernandez said refering to Datu Mohd Zamri, Malaysian ambassador to the Philippines, who met Philippine Foreign Minister Albert del Rosario.

Malaysian warning

In Malaysia, Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak said the armed Filipino clan should leave the area as soon as possible, according to the Bernama state news agency.

"We will not let this issue to prolong," he said. "We will do what it takes to defend the sovereignty of our country."

Members of a Muslim royal clan who call themselves the Royal Sulu Army from southern Philippines landed in a coastal village in Sabah on February 9 to claim the territory as their own, citing ownership documents from the late 1800s.

They ignored appeals from Philippine President Benigno Aquino III to leave immediately or face prosecution at home on charges of triggering armed conflict.

The group claimed that they made the decision to occupy the Sabah village in protest at the Philippine government's continued indifference to their claim.

Mar Roxas, the Philippine interior secretary, said that according to the Philippine police attaché in Malaysia, the police in Sabah fired warning shots. Roxas had no reports of any casualties.

Aquino urged on Tuesday Kiram's brother in the Philippine province of Sulu, Sultan Jamalul Kiram III, to order his followers to return home and called their action a "foolhardy act'' that was bound to fail.

Peace negotiations

The stand-off elevated the Sabah territorial issue, which has been a thorn in the Philippine-Malaysian relations for decades, to a Philippine national security concern.

The crisis erupted at a crucial stage of peace negotiations, arranged by Malaysia between the Philippine government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, the largest Muslim rebel group in the southern Philippines.

Aquino has said that the standoff may have been an attempt to undermine his government on the part of those opposing the peace deal, including politicians and warlords who fear being left out in any power sharing arrangements.

The Malaysian government continues to pay the Kiram clan of Sulu a supposed annual rent of $1,500 for the use of more than 73,000sq km of land Sabah.

The Philippines this week sent a navy ship with social and medical workers off Lahad Datu while trying to persuade the Filipinos to return home.

Source: Al Jazeera And Agencies