Ex-PKR MP freed, denies involvement in corruption

PKR's former Kapar MP S Manikavasagam has denied involvement in corruption. According to Bernama, he said this after being released from custody at 3pm today.

Manikavasagam was yesterday arrested by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC).
He was arrested with RM30,000 which he allegedly received from a contractor as inducement to secure a public amenities tender.

The arrest was confirmed by MACC director of investigations Azam Baki.

Manikavasam (top photo, right) is also Kuala Selangor PKR chief and PKR complaints bureau director.
PKR vice-president Tian Chua had said the party would be seeking a meeting with Manikavasagam to clarify what had happened.

Ridhuan Tee is amazing, says MIC man

A MIC leader is amazed at how controversial academic Ridhuan Tee Abdullah is able to sink to a level which, he claimed, would be an impossible feat for others.

“Whenever I think he cannot go any lower than he already has, he surprises me with his unenviable skill of lowering the bar several more inches,” S Vell Paari told Malaysiakini.

The MIC central working committee member was responding to Ridhuan’s comments on the Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) modules, which contained erroneous information on Hindus and Sikhism.

Asking critics not to be emotional, the academic had suggested that the slides be sent to an expert to determine if the contents could be accepted as a form of knowledge.

He also wanted the person responsible for the slides to be given a chance to defend his or her work.

However, Vell Paari said if Ridhuan needed an expert to determine if Hindus learned cleanliness from Muslims, as mentioned in the slides, then the latter too should be sent for expert evaluation.

“We need an expert to evaluate how this person is capable of making such moronic statements and be regarded as an academic at the same time.

“I am not sure what he teaches, but I am certain he would make an excellent geologist lecturer since his comments indicate he often has his head buried in the sand," he added.

Meanwhile, Vell Paari also questioned if the person responsible for the slides was attempting subtle preaching by casting other faiths in a negative light and placing Islam on a pedestal.

Although the MIC leader welcomed UTM’s move to initiate an internal investigation, he reiterated that nothing short of a dismissal would suffice.

“This person resorted to using false claims or outright lies in a module for educational purposes. As I said before, it can only come from a bigoted mind,” he added.

Vell Paari also suggested that a separate committee be formed comprising representatives from the Malaysian Hindu Sangam, Sikh religious bodies, MIC and Indian educationists to sit together with UTM to get to the bottom of the matter as well as to vet modules to ensure there were no erroneous claims.

“This is not an issue which can be forgotten with a mere apology.

“As it concerns the younger generation of Malaysians and those entrusted with disseminating knowledge to them, the future well-being of the nation is at stake.

“So a strong and clear message must be sent to deter such episodes from recurring,” he stressed.

‘Please stop the rumours’

ACTOR and comedian Acappan (pic) is asking the public to stop spreading rumours that he has converted to Islam, reported Kosmo!.

The rumours started when a photo of Acappan attending a buka puasa event at a mosque in Sepang circulated on social media.

In one of the photos, Acappan was seen with four other men, including former dangdut singer Iwan and actor Isma Aliff.

He was also rumoured to have traded in his birth name, Samynathan Rethinan, for a Muslim name, Shahrin Abdullah.

“I only took the photos as a keepsake,” said the 58-year-old actor.

Acappan, who acted in many Malay dramas in the 1990s, said the fake stories shocked his family before they discovered the truth.

“Please stop spreading these rumours because it involves my family’s dignity as well as mine,” said Acappan, who is a Hindu.

Rosmah’s aide stopped from meeting Rafizi

KUALA KANGSAR: A brief commotion occurred outside the Amanah operations centre here on Wednesday when an aide to Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor showed up for the press conference by PKR vice-president Rafizi Ramli.

Rafizi had been scheduled to reveal further allegations regarding the use of a private jet by Rosmah, wife of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak.

Reporters were aware last night that Rosmah’s aide, Datuk Rizal Mansor, planned to turn up at the press conference to rebut the allegations by Rafizi in person.

Rizal arrived around noon together with several other unidentified men and was seen shaking hands with Amanah candidate Dr Ahmad Termizi Ramli.

However, when they asked to enter the building, Amanah staff stopped them from doing so.

A verbal confrontation ensued between the two parties as Rafizi arrived and proceeded upstairs for the press conference.

Rizal and his companions later left the premises after being repeatedly told that they could not enter on grounds that only media personnel were invited.

Members of the media waiting in the room upstairs were subsequently asked by an Amanah representative to produce their media tags to verify their identities.

“We just want to make sure that there aren't those who wish to cause disturbance," Rafizi said before the start of the press conference.

Higher Education Ministry to work with UTM to resolve slides issue

KUALA LUMPUR: The Higher Education Ministry is to work with Universiti Teknologi Malaysia to resolve the issue over lecture material which is said to be derogatory to the Hindu and Sikh communities.

Higher Education Minister Datuk Seri Idris Jusoh (pic) said UTM vice-chancellor Prof Datuk Dr Wahid Omar would take all the required steps and action as necessary.

“The UTM vice-chancellor has gotten in touch with me and is looking into the issue. He has given his assurance to get to the bottom of it and take all required corrective steps,” he told Bernama when contacted on Wednesday.

UTM’s Tamadun Islam dan Tamadun Asia (Titas) subject slides caused an uproar among the Hindu and Sikh communities after they went viral on social media recently.

The slides claimed that Islam had introduced civility to the lives of Hindus and that they considered the dirt on the body as part of their religious practice to attain nirvana.

The Titas module was made mandatory for all tertiary students regardless of religion in 2013.

On Tuesday, Dr Wahid issued an apology over the slide material and said the slides were not approved by the ministry.

He gave the assurance that UTM would only use Titas slides endorsed by the Higher Education Ministry and experts on Asian Civilisation would be engaged to provide input when needed to prevent a recurrence of the incident.

Several Indian leaders, among them MIC president Datuk Seri Dr S. Subramaniam and Deputy Education Minister Datuk P. Kamalanathan, as well as NGOs also reacted to the matter. – Bernama

Rafizi: Why lease private jet when gov’t has three aircraft?

PKR secretary-general Rafizi Ramli has questioned the need for the government to charter another private jet when it already has three existing aircraft.

His question comes after his exposé made last week that prime minister’s wife Rosmah Mansor had used an Airbus (ACJ 319 A6-CJE) - a private jet owned by Emirates Airline - for a trip to Istanbul.

Based on his estimation, Rafizi said RM86.4 million was spent to charter the jet for two months.

Therefore, the Pandan lawmaker said the government’s existing jets should have been used instead for the trip.

The government currently has the ACJ319 9M-NAA which was bought a few years ago, and ACJ320 9M-NAB which was bought last year and is currently under maintenance.

In his press conference today, Rafizi reminded how the government had explained that ACJ320 9M-NAB was bought to replace BBJ737-700 M53-01.

But citing BBJ 737-700’s recent flight records, Rafizi said the jet was still actively used by the government.

The jet, however, was not in use between May 17 and 30. Jet ACJ319 9M-NAA, on the other hand, was used from May 24 to 29 for domestic flights.

Rafizi argued that BBJ 737-700 should have therefore been used instead.

“This would enable jet ACJ319 9M-NAA, which is newer and is usually used for international flights for the prime minister, be used during Rosmah's trip from May 25 to 27.

“If this was done, millions of the rakyat’s money would not have been wasted to lease a luxurious jet like the ACJ319 A6-CJE,” he said.

Meanwhile, Rafizi also questioned the reasons why BBJ 737-700 is still used by the government.
Since an advertisement in August 2015 that it was up for bidding, there has been no confirmation whether the jet had indeed been sold or otherwise, said Rafizi.
“Therefore, I urge Najib, as minister responsible in managing all of the government’s jets, to explain why BBJ737-700 has yet to be sold and why it is still being used, as this involves the rakyat’s money,” he said.

Rafizi last week revealed that Rosmah had used a private jet for a trip to Istanbul, Turkey, and that based on estimations, the jet - which was chartered for two months - had cost RM86.4 million.

Apart from the press conferences held last week and today, a special ceramah session is set to be held tonight. Rafizi said more details will be revealed in relation to the issue.

Zaid: Najib, Jho Low should explain 1MDB, not ‘wage earner’ Arul

Former minister Zaid Ibrahim has criticised 1MDB president and executive director Arul Kanda’s presence at an event in Sungai Besar to explain issues concerning the fund.

He said it should be Penang-born billionaire Jho Low, whose name has been repeatedly raised in the global investigations on 1MDB, doing the explaining to voters.

Apart from this, he added that Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak should also be invited to clear the air.

"1MDB needs to call (Prime Minister) Najib Abdul Razak and Jho Low to Sungai Besar.

"What’s the point of (having) Arul Kanda? Budak makan gaji (wage earner)," stated Zaid in a Twitter posting.

This morning, Arul spoke at an event organised by the Prime Minister's Department for civil servants in Sungai Besar, where a by-election would be held on June 18.

BN's candidate for Sungai Besar Budiman Mohd Zohdi was also present.

Taking the stage, Arul Kanda had stressed that the implementation of the goods and services tax (GST) was not meant to cover 1MDB's debts.

He also emphasised that the multi-billion deposits which entered Najib's personal bank accounts had nothing to do with 1MDB.

Jho Low has been a central figure after he was named as the alleged beneficiary of Good Star Limited, which received US$1.03 billion of 1MDB's funds.

This was disclosed in an alleged confidential letter by Bank Negara leaked to The Wall Street Journal.

Jho Low and his associates have also been named in several other 1MDB transactions where its funds cannot be accounted for.

Jho Low had denied any wrongdoings or links to 1MDB.

Free time

Meanwhile, DAP's Petaling Jaya Utara MP Tony Pua criticised Arul Kanda for being able to take time off to help BN on its campaign but yet refused to debate with him on 1MDB.

"He had previously gave the excuse that he needed to focus on assisting the investigation by Malaysian authorities and to resolve the complicated problem between 1MDB and the International Petroleum Investment Corporation (IPIC).

"Arul cannot possibly have so much free time on his hand to leave his more important duties, especially after being sued for US$6.5 billion on top of being involved in investigations at home and abroad," he said in a press statement.

Yesterday, IPIC announced that it was taking 1MDB and Malaysia's Finance Ministry to international attribution to recover funds owed by 1MDB to it as well as other compensations totalling US$6.5 billion.

Pua said if Arul Kanda did indeed have free time to make the trip to Sungai Besar, he would like to invite him to Pakatan Harapan's ceramah tomorrow to explain the issue.

"I believe the public is disappointed and angry at Najib's government and will welcome Arul's explanation about the gigantic scandal," he added.

The organiser of the event had denied the event was related to the by-election.