KL Festival 2010 Set To Entrall Audiences

KUALA LUMPUR, June 25 (Bernama) -- With the World Cup football fever still gripping the nation, the capital will play host to the Kuala Lumpur (KL) Festival 2010 by arraying over 100 arts and cultural events next month.

Maintaining the theme "Here the Arts Flourishes" since the festival kicked off in 2006, the city will be abuzzed with 115 events, including performing arts, visual arts, traditional games, language and literary events, tourism and recreational activities.

Banners on KL Festival have already adorned the streets since last week. The festival will take off after it is launched by Information Communication and Culture Minister Datuk Seri Dr Rais Yatim at Taman Tasik Titiwangsa on Sunday.

Several major locations around the capital have been chosen as venues, including Kuala Lumpur City Hall, Istana Budaya, National Film Development Corporation Malaysia (Finas), Kraftangan Malaysia, Tourism Ministry, National Arts and Culture Department, Petronas Gallery, Kuala Lumpur Tower, Actors Studio and Central Market.

Eight concerts of different musical genres are set to fascinate the audience.

They are Ella and the National Choir Concert at Istana Budaya, Gambus Concert: Tradition to Fusion (Taman Tasik Titiwangsa), Environmental Concert (Zoo Negara), Rain Vs Bunkface Concert (Live Hall KL, Life Centre).

RTM Rentak Juara Final Concert (Anniversary Theatre, Taman Tasik Perdana), Dir... the Voice of 1Malaysia Concert by the National Choir (Live Hall KL, Life Centre), Nanta Cooking Musical (Plenary Hall, KLCC) and Zainal 31st Green Anniversary Concert (KL Tower).

For theatre fans, the Malaysian version of a Broadway musical, "Shout! The Mod Musical" at Kuala Lumpur Performing Art Centre (KLPac) from July 17 to 21 is much awaited.

The musical, which revolves around five women who love the latest fashion during the 60s and 70s, will feature popular artistes like Ning Baizura as the lead character as well as Niki Palikat, Tria Aziz, Shanel Shanty James and Tisha Zarina.

Other theatre performances include Uda and Dara Musical, Cuci Musical, Mak Yong, Ulek Mayang, Semarak Bangsawan Aladdin, After Juliet (English) and Apedi Apedi (Tamil).

Movie goers will have eight films to choose from at Finas - Santau, My Spy, Evolusi KL Drift 2, Pisau Cukur, Lu Pikirlah Sendiri the Movie, Duhai Si Pari-Pari, Adnan Sempit and Niyang Rapik.

Other events in the pipeline are poetry recitation, a wedding promotion, coffin, Snake vs Snake and photo exhibitions, a street artists (buskers) performance and a Chinese opera.

The KL 1Malaysia Family Fair, 1Malaysia Contemporary Arts and Malaysia Mega Sale Carnival from July 24 to Sept 16 will be added attractions to foreign tourists.

The KL Festival 2010 is jointly organised by the Information Communication and Culture Ministry, the Tourism Ministry and the Federal Territories and Urban Well-being Ministrty in efforts to make Kuala Lumpur a world class cultural city.

Rafidah: Licensed betting will curb illegal gambling

The Star 
by IZATUN SHARI and MUGUNTAN VANAR

PETALING JAYA: Former Wanita Umno chief Tan Sri Rafidah Aziz has backed legal sports betting saying that it will help regulate gambling among non-Muslims.

She said licensing would curb the spread of illegal gambling which had been going on for many years.

“Illegal gambling does exist, including football syndicates. We’ve talked about it during several Cabinet meetings (in the past). Legalising it will provide non-Muslims an avenue for gambling.

“If it is not regulated, then we will not be able to know who is gambling and there will be no legal recourse if they are cheated,’’ she said.

Furthermore, she said conditions such as minimum age, maximum betting amount and where gambling operations are carried out could be laid out.

“Now, illegal syndicates do not have to pay taxes and play by their own rules.”

The activity, if legalised, would mean that the Government could collect revenue and channel them to a separate fund to help the needy, she added.

The controversy began last month when Berjaya Corp Bhd announced that the Finance Ministry had given approval for the re-issuance to Ascot Sports Sdn Bhd of the licence to carry out sports betting operations.

However, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak later said that the ministry had yet to issue the licence and that it was in the midst of finalising discussions over the terms and conditions.

Umno Youth has come out against the proposal, saying that it will bring more bad than good. Its chief Khairy Jamaluddin said that after getting views from the grassroots, its stand was to oppose legalised football betting.

“We hope a statement that the Government has agreed (to issue the licence) is not true,” he told reporters after opening the Tawau Umno Youth divisional delegates meeting.

Cheras Umno division chief Datuk Syed Ali Alhabshee stressed that it was appropriate for the Government to issue the licence but there should be stringent enforcement.

“Licence should be approved for gambling involving non-Muslims while Muslims are aware that gambling is prohibited by the religion,” he said in his blog yesterday.

Clinical Japan cruise past Danes

Two wonderful free-kicks from Keisuke Honda and Yasuhito Endo in the first half and a late Shinji Okazaki strike were enough for Japan to beat Denmark 3-1 at Royal Bafokeng Stadium and claim a place in the Round of 16. Japan, who will next face Group F winners Paraguay at Loftus Versfeld Stadium in Pretoria on 29 June, ended the hopes of a Denmark side who fell at the first hurdle for the first time.

Japan knew a draw would suffice to earn the runners-up spot in Group E and reach the second round, while Denmark needed all three points to leapfrog them into second place. Understandably, coach Takeshi Okada opted for the same side that impressed against Cameroon and the Netherlands. His counterpart Morten Olsen, meanwhile, made two changes to the side that had defeated Cameroon, bringing midfielder Thomas Kahlenberg in for Jesper Gronkjaer, and giving centre-back Per Kroldrup his FIFA World Cup debut in place of the suspended Simon Kjaer.

The Japanese got off to a bright start, with Daisuke Matsui forcing a good save from Thomas Sorensen following a Yoshito Okubo cross from the left, before Makoto Hasebe shot just over the bar. At the opposite end, Jon Dahl Tomasson broke free on the left side of the area before dragging a low shot narrowly wide. Japan made the breakthrough after 17 minutes, when Honda fired home a superb free-kick from 30 yards into the left-hand corner of Sorensen's goal.

Tomasson could have equalised soon after but he failed to connect with a lobbed pass from Christian Poulsen, and Eiji Kawashima did well to parry the ball away. Instead on the half-hour, the Danes fell further behind, Yasuhito Endo curling in a right-footed free-kick from 25 yards past the outstretched hand of Sorensen after Okubo had been fouled by Kroldrup.

With the Danes struggling to take control in the middle of the park, Olsen responded by replacing veteran Martin Jorgensen with Jakob Poulsen. Christian Poulsen tried his luck with a free-kick from distance that Kawashima comfortably gathered, but Japan did not just sit back and on a breakaway, right-back Yuichi Komano tested Sorensen with a shot from an acute angle, the Stoke City custodian turning the ball over the bar.

The second half opened with a scare for Denmark as Endo's looping free-kick was mishandled by Sorensen and bounced on to the left post behind him. For their part, Denmark had a couple of half-chances but neither Kahlenberg nor Tomasson could convert from close range. Jakob Poulsen then sent a shot straight at Kawashima, before Daniel Agger saw his free-kick punched away by the Kawasaki Frontale goalkeeper.

Japan remained a threat on the counter-attack, with Okubo sending a curling shot at Sorensen. Denmark also had a glorious chance to halve the deficit, only for Tomasson to miscue his shot from close range after Dennis Rommedahl had broken into the area from the right. Denmark desperately needed a goal to get back into the game, and it finally arrived from the penalty spot after 81 minutes. Hasebe pushed Agger from behind inside the area, and Tomasson stepped up to take the resulting penalty. Diving to his right, Kawashima parried the effort but the Danish captain responded well to flick in the rebound for his 52nd international goal – tying Poul Nielsen's all-time scoring record for Denmark.

However, there was still time for the Japanese to seal their victory, as substitute Okazaki slid the ball into an empty net after Honda's clever footwork had beaten a defender and Sorensen to set up their third goal of the night. It was the first time Japan had hit three in a FIFA World Cup match and Honda might even have added a fourth goal, but his shot sailed well over the bar just before the final whistle.

Robben returns as Dutch stay perfect

Arjen Robben came off the bench to help the Netherlands secure a 2-1 victory over Cameroon that seals top spot in Group E and sets up a last 16 date with Slovakia. Robin van Persie and Dirk Kuyt were on target either side of a Samuel Eto’o penalty at Cape Town’s Green Point Stadium as Bert van Marwijk’s Oranje preserved their unblemished record at South Africa 2010.

With the Dutch already through and the Indomitable Lions consigned to elimination, some might have expected a game lacking in passion and excitement. As it was, any fears of an under-strength Netherlands side facing an unmotivated Cameroon proved groundless, with both coaches sending out their strongest XIs in front of a noisy capacity crowd.

The Indomitable Lions were the first to threaten, with Aurelien Chedjou twisting into space 25 yards from goal and forcing a solid save from Stekelenburg after just three minutes. However, Cameroon’s early promise steadily diminished and, with 19 minutes played, the Netherlands should have moved in front.

Captain Giovanni van Bronckhorst split the Cameroon central-defenders with a terrific lofted pass for Robin Van Persie, but although the Dutch No9 controlled well on his chest, he fired in a tame volley on his weaker foot that Hamidou Souleymanou was able to gather comfortably. But the Dutch were getting closer, and after Souleymanou had again been called upon to deal with Van der Vaart’s curling free-kick, the unmarked Dirk Kuyt drilled a right-foot effort wide of the far post when he should really have hit the target.

The Liverpool striker made amends five minutes later, however, when he was involved in a slick interchange on the right flank with Van der Vaart and Van Persie that ended with the latter being threaded through on goal. Again, the chance fell to his right foot, but this time the Arsenal striker was deadly, coolly slipping the ball between the legs of the advancing Souleymanou.

The goal was Van Persie’s first at South Africa 2010, and he might have doubled his tally five minutes into the second half after his pace and powerful running took him clear of the Cameroon defence. This time though, he wasn’t able to outfox the keeper, with Souleymanou saving well from his powerfully-struck shot.

Van Persie made way for Huntelaar soon after and this change coincided with a switch in the balance of power, as Cameroon took control. First, Samuel Eto’o was denied by an excellent saving challenge from Joris Mathijsen, then Landry Nguemo side-footed just wide and, finally, with the best chance of the three, Maarten Stekelenburg saved from Jean Makoun’s unconvincing effort.

Frustrated from open play, Cameroon finally made the breakthrough from the penalty spot, Samuel Eto’o placing an inch-perfect spot kick high to the Stekelenburg’s right after Van der Vaart had handled inside the area. However, Van Marwijk still had a trump card to play in Arjen Robben, and after being introduced for his first taste of the 2010 FIFA World Cup™, the Bayern Munich winger provided the inspiration for his side’s winning goal.

In a typical display of skill and directness, Robben drove inside from the right, beyond Rigobert Song and curled a superb left shot against the inside of the post. Fortunately for the Dutch, the ball rebounded fortuitously to another substitute, Klaas Jan Huntelaar, and with Souleymanou stranded, the AC Milan striker made no mistake with a perfectly placed right-foot shot.

Paraguay seal top spot with Kiwi draw

Paraguay did what they had to do to top Group F with a scoreless draw with New Zealand in Polokwane on Thursday. The South Americans finished with five points, one ahead of Slovakia, who knocked out holders Italy in the group's other match, while the All Whites go out unbeaten after their third consecutive draw.

Chances were very few and far between in a contest between the naturally defensive New Zealanders and a Paraguay side who looked comfortable enough playing for the draw that would take them through. There were a few early opportunities from free-kicks, as Kiwi Chris Killen almost got to the end of a long ball to the far post and Paraguay captain Denis Caniza shot wide two minutes later, but given each side's well-organised defence, most of the action was restricted to the midfield. Caniza had the closest effort of the first period just before the half-hour mark, but his swerving shot was too high to trouble the goalkeeper.

New Zealand knew that a goal could send them through to the knockout rounds for the first time in their history, and they came out a bit more determined to go forward after half-time. The Oceanian representatives were almost rewarded in the 48th minute after some good work by Tony Lochhead down the left. The full-back's cross found Simon Elliott just outside the area, but the veteran midfielder blazed past the corner of the goal with plenty of space.

A measure of the lack of opportunities was that the first corner of the match did not come until the 62nd minute, but from that Paraguay went close to scoring. Claudio Morel took a clever short delivery, which reached the head of Cristian Riveros, but his glancing effort was saved by the quick reflexes of Mark Paston in goal. Paston proved himself the hero for New Zealand as Paraguay pushed hard for a winner as the match wore on. In the 76th minute, he dived well to save Edgar Benitez's shot, and then just got a touch at the feet of Lucas Barrios from the rebound to keep the ball out of his net. Shortly after, the big goalkeeper denied Roque Santa Cruz twice, once when he came off his line to smother at the striker's feet from a breakaway, next with a punch from a dipping shot off a free-kick.

It was still a historic finals for the All Whites, who won their first points in the FIFA World Cup, and finished the group undefeated and in front of four-time world champions Italy. Paraguay will now face the second-placed team from Group E, which will be the Netherlands, Japan or Denmark on 29 June in Pretoria.

Slovakia advance, eliminate Italy

Slovakia survived a late onslaught to beat Italy 3-2, reach the Round of 16 and eliminate their illustrious opponents. A Robert Vittek double and a stoppage-time lob from substitute Kamil Kopunek proved enough for Vladimir Weiss's team to advance as Group F runners-up, after late goals from Antonio Di Natale and Fabio Quagliarella had ensured a dramatic conclusion to a thrilling contest in Johannesburg.

Slovakia went into the meeting at Ellis Park needing victory to progress. While Italy also required three points to guarantee a place in the knockout phase, they knew a draw would likely prove enough, as transpired to be the case. Disappointingly for the FIFA World Cup™ holders, the visionary Andrea Pirlo was only fit enough to make the bench, but Gennaro Gattuso and Antonio Di Natale were handed starts.

Weiss had urged his Slovakia side to be bold but rational against Marcello Lippi's men, and they were clearly enjoying the better of the play in the initial exchanges. They could certainly claim to have had the better chances. In the sixth minute, Vittek nodded a long ball into the path of Marek Hamsik, but the latter could only drag his volley wide. And the two exchanged roles six minutes later, with Hamsik squaring the ball to Vittek, but Italy goalkeeper Federico Marchetti was quickest to react.

So, perhaps, it came as no surprise when, in the 25th minute, Marchetti found himself picking the ball out of the back of the net. The pressure of the occasion clearly got to Daniele De Rossi, whose pass was easily intercepted by Erik Jendrisek just outside the Italian box. He promptly found Vittek and the Slovakian fired into the bottom corner to give his side a deserved lead.

Marcello Lippi's men had failed to get going in their previous two matches, and they were lacking inspiration here, too. Di Natale, De Rossi and Simone Pepe all found themselves in potential scoring positions, but were unable to make them count. Gattuso's threatening cross was headed over by Martin Skrtel as Vincenzo Iaquinta looked to profit, but there was no real punch to the Italy attack. The AC Milan veteran was typically terrier-like in midfield, looking to knock the Slovakians out of their stride, but it was Weiss's side that continued to look the more likely scorers – Zdenko Strba forced Marchetti to palm his 35-yard drive off target, Miroslav Stoch had a shot blocked, and Juraj Kucka watched his long-range effort flash inches wide deep into first-half stoppage time.

Lippi reshuffled his side at the break, with Christian Maggio and Quagliarella coming on in place of Gattuso and Domenico Criscito, as Italy went in search of a crucial goal. Iaquinta almost the found the target five minutes in but his header lacked direction. The same could be said for his team as a whole, who were lacking the required creativity – which explained why the Italian fans, at last, found their voice when Pirlo was introduced to the game in the 56th minute, shortly after a woeful finish from Di Natale.

As Pirlo begin to guide proceedings from the centre of the park, Di Natale almost made up for his miss but Jan Mucha was equal to his curling shot. Italy were, at last, stepping up a gear and when Pepe's cross was beaten away by the Slovakia goalkeeper, Quagliarella could only look on in dismay as his left-footed shot was hooked off the line by Skrtel. Slovakia, however, remained a match for Italy and minutes after Stoch's drive had fizzed a yard over, Vittek thought he had put the game out of Gli Azzurri's reach when he beat Giorgio Chiellini to Hamsik's squared ball. However, Di Natale was able to pull one back ten minutes from time, before Kopunek restored the two-goal advantage. Quagliarella's late strike set up a thrilling finish, but it was not enough for Lippi's men, who were left to contemplate a disastrous FIFA World Cup campaign.

Police raid Belgian Catholic HQ

The Catholic church has been hit by child sex abuse scandals around the world Police have raided the headquarters of the Belgian Catholic church over allegations of child sex abuse. A Brussels prosecutor said the raid followed accusations "denouncing abuse of minors committed by a certain number of church figures". Jean-Marc Meilleur said police entered the archdiocese of Brussels-Maline, north of the Belgian capital, "in order to establish if these accusations are backed up or not". The Roman Catholic church in Belgium was rocked in April when 73-year-old Roger Vangheluwe, its longest-serving bishop, resigned from his Bruges post after admitting sexually abusing a boy for years. Belgium is one of a number of countries in Europe, along with the United States, in which abuse claims have recently been made against the Roman Catholic church. Pope Benedict XVI has condemned paedophile priests several times, and met with abuse victims in Australia, the US and Malta.

Detainees subjected to torture: UN team

MACC report against Taib's RM3 bil empire 'retracted'

(Malaysiakini) A complaint lodged with the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) against Sarawak Chief Minister Taib Mahmud for alleged misappropriation of state funds was retracted today when the commission refused to provide a copy of the report to the complainants.

According to complainant Ahmad Nazib Johari (left), a lawyer, this is not normal practice and slammed the MACC for failing to justify its decision.

"First the officers cited the MACC Act, then the Official Secrets Act and then the Criminal Procedure Code, but when we asked them to show the provisions of the law which state this, they refused, saying that it was their standard procedure," he told reporters after spending about three hours attempting to file the complaint.

He added that the officers at the commission's Selangor headquarters in Shah Alam also claimed that they had to exercise extra care as the case involved a high-profile individual.

Ahmad Nazib, a Sarawakian based in Selangor, along with two other Sarawakians - James Wong and Ting Chek Ming - had tried to jointly lodge the complaint with Selangor MACC deputy director Yip Pit Wong.

Yip was unavailable for comment when contacted.

"The report was written in (MACC's) book, and we wanted a copy to protect ourselves and to make sure that nothing was added to or removed from it," Ahmad Nazib said.

He added that they will try again soon but will come with two copies of a typed report which will require the attending MACC officer to acknowledge receipt.

"We were very inexperienced so now we know what to do. We'll likely try to lodge our complaint at the Putrajaya office instead," Ting said.

No action taken

According to Wong (right), their complaint was based on article published by an anonymous blog, sarawakreport.org, which featured Taib Mahmud's property empire in Canada worth up to RM3 billion.

The allegations also implicated Taib's children and siblings, who were said to have a slice of the large empire each.

Asked about the credibility of the allegations, he said: "The articles have been available online for a while and if they were wrong, Taib would have taken legal action."

Ahmad Nazib added that their responsibility was only to lodge a complaint and for MACC to investigate its credibility, pointing out that they were not representing any political party.

"We know of complaints made to Sarawak MACC which are not investigated so we are taking the opportunity of lodging one in the peninsula where we are now based, hoping for a better outcome," he said.

He added that the trio are aware of the identities of the "concerned citizens" behind the Sarawak Report blog, but "cannot disclose them yet".

In a statement later, MACC explained that Section 29(4) of the MACC Act 2009 bars the commission from providing copies of reports lodged.

Under this Act, a report shall be “kept secret and shall not be disclosed by any person to any person other than officers of the commission and the public prosecutor, until an accused person has been charged in court for an offence under this Act or any other written law in consequence of such report, unless the disclosure is made with the consent of the public prosecutor or an officer of the commission of the rank of commissioner and above.”

“This is normal procedure provided by the law, which should be obeyed. Refusal to give cooperation will disrupt and affect the investigation process of the case,” the statement read.

VIDEO: Police report against PM, DPM and Higher Education Minister. SPM 13As top Indian students denied Scholarships, Matriculation and University places.

Video HINDRAF / HRP: UMNO Demolish HINDU Temple.

Police report against PM, DPM and Higher Education Minister. SPM 13As top Indian students denied Scholarships, Matriculation and University places.

Report no: TRAVERS/005189/10

Penerima report: Azaliyah bt hambali

No personel: R141825

Pangkat: Konst/p

Police Report against-                                                                                                                                           24^th June 2010

Datuk Seri Najib Razak (Prime Minister of Malaysia)

Tan Sri Muyhiddin Yassin (Deputy Prime Minister and Education Minister)

Datuk Seri Mohamed Khalid Nordin (Higher Education Minister)

I, JAYATHAS A/L SIRKUNAVELU (IC.No: 670430-04-5341) Information Chief of the Human Rights Party Malaysia (HRP) hereby lodge a police report against the Prime Minister of Malaysia Datuk Seri Najib Razak, Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muyhiddin Yassin (Education Minister) and Higher Education Minister Datuk Seri Mohamed Khalid Nordin on the disbursements of JPA Scholarships, PTPTN study loans, Matriculation and University seats.

Article 8 of the Federal Constitution 8(1) provides that all persons are equal before the law and entitled to the equal protection of the law and Article 8(2) provides that there shall be no discrimination against citizens on the ground only of religion, race, descent of place of birth. Article 12 of the Federal Constitution – rights in respect of education. Article 12(1) read, "Without prejudice to the generality of Article 8, there shall be no discrimination against any citizen on the grounds only of religion, race and descent of place of birth." in the admission to any higher education institution that is government funded.

We hereby lodge this police report that there are an estimated 2,237 Malaysian Indian bright and intelligent students who scored up to 13A’s, 12A’s, 11A’s, 10A’s, 9A’s, 8A’s, 7A’s but who were denied their rights from receiving the 10,500 local and 1,500 overseas JPA scholarships, 40,000 Matriculation seats (Utusan Malaysia 2/11/08 page 4) and 847,485 Public University seats (NST 7/8/08) and also places in critical courses such as Medicine, Pharmacy, Dentistry, Engineering, Aeronautical Engineering, Accountancy, Law, Bio Technology etc. While Malaysian Indian students had been denied their rights, malay muslim student with a mere 2A’s and 3A’s are given places choices of their course and seats which is in contradiction with Article 8 and 12 of the Federal Constitution.

We hereby also lodge a police report that medical students studying in Russia, Romania, Ukraine, India and Indonesia have had their valid and lawful medical degrees maliciously derecognized on racial and supremacist grounds and with the intention of reducing the number of Malaysian Indian medical doctors when Malaysia is on the contrary facing a shortage of Medical doctors by 100%.

 

Government PTPTN study loans have also been denied to almost all Malaysian Indian students studying Medicine, Pharmacy, Dentistry, Law, Accountancy, Engineering, Aeronautical Engineering etc overseas and also even at the local Aimst University and other local private Universities and Higher Education Institutions.

The Certificate of No Objections requirement by the racist and supremacist UMNO led Malay-sian government for Malaysian Indian and Chinese students to study overseas is void, illegal, unconstitutional and an abuse of powers by the PM, DPM and the Higher Education Minister. We also question how and why then were 360 students allowed to study medicine in Egypt in 2007 with only their SPM qualifications (The Star 31/5/07).

We want the police to investigate PM Najib Razak, DPM Muyhiddin Yassin, the Higher Education Minister Mohamed Khalid Nordin and the UMNO led Malay-sian government on especially the violations of Article 8 and Article 12 of the Federal Constitution for denying the Malaysian Indian students of even their very basic right to education. This level of racism, religious extremism and supremacy does not exist in any other part of the world except in Najib Razak’s One Malay-sia. Today Malaysia is the most racist and supremacist country in the world.

Please investigate this and reply to me in writing within two (2) weeks failing which I shall assume the contents of this police report to be true.

This is my report

JAYATHAS A/L SIRKUNAVELU

Human Rights Party Malaysia (HRP)

Information Chief

012 6362287

UMNO will not publish names of JPA scholarship recipients. Ploy to deny top Indian students.

The government should direct the Public Services Department (PSD) to publish the list of all scholarship recipients as done for national services trainees.
“It is an annual problem that has been going on for many years. It is time for the government to publish the names of recipients, their identity card numbers and even their results,” Kohilan, who is Deputy Foreign Minister, told The Star here yesterday.
(See The Star 23/6/10 at page N 30).
But will be this possible only in Prime Minister Najib Razak’s One Malay-sia.
P. Uthayakumar

UMNO style gives one PSD scholarship, maximum media propaganda but takes away 2,236 scholarships @ RM 600,000.00 to RM 1,000,000.00 per overseas scholarship.

56 Indian top and a high achieving students in our list alone having scored 7As to 13As’.
But this is UMNO Prime Minister Najib Razak’s One Malaysia.
P. Uthayakumar

Maika Holdings: 66,459 poor Indians become poorer. UMNO’s Value Cap with RM 10 Billion allocation refuses to bail out poor Indians.

(See Starbiz 23/6/10 at page B3)
Value cap could easily pay out RM 2.6 billion at RM 26.00 for RM 1.00 investment 26 years ago.
But UMNO has easily bailed out Malay muslim renong, Perwaja Steel, Bank Bumi, Bank Rakyat and Bumi, Bank Rakyat and even paid out RM 3 Billion to Malaysian Chinese Multi Purpose Holdings.
But who speaks against UMNO’s Value Cap for these 66,459 poor and powerless Indians? PKR? DAP? PAS? Malaysiakini.com? NGOs’? Indian elite?
P. Uthayakumar

Top 10As’ economically powerful Chinese SPM scholars get media attention. But not 13As poor Indian students.

Top 10As’ economically powerful Chinese SPM scholars get media attention. But not 13As poor Indian students.
This UMNO’s racism has had spill over effect even on the media in Malaysia. These two Chinese girls rightly deserve all the attention.
But more so the estimated 2,000 over poor and high achieving Indian students who had scored 7As’ to up 13As’ but have been denied JPA government scholarships, interest free PTPTN study loans, University and Matriculation places etc.
The Chinese control 70% of the Malaysian economy and have outlets to send their children overseas for studies or to local private Universities .
Thousands of cash rich Chinese guilds and associations help out the poor Chinese students.
But even “multi-racial” Lim Kit Siang, Lim Guan Eng and DAP refuse to champion these Indian poor students. DAP, PKR and PAS also stops their 11 Indian MP mandores from championing for these poor Indian students as they will lose Malay votes!
Karunai Nithi @ Compassionate Justice.

PKR Indian mandore R. Sivarasa questions Altantuya in Parliament. Zero question on 13As’ Indian students denied scholarships?

See The Star 23/6/10 at page N 26.
Karunai Nithi @ Compassionate Justice

Protest Note to Prime Minister on Setapak Hindu temple demolished by UMNO despite Parliamentary Statement. PKR, DAP and PAS watch this “blood letting”.

NO.6, Jalan Abdullah, Off Jalan Bangsar, 59000 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Tel: 03-2282 5241 Fax: 03-2282 5245
Website: www.humanrightspartymalaysia.com Email: info@humanrightspartymalaysia.com
Your Reference :
In Reply :
Date : 24^th June 2010
YAB. Dato Seri Najib Razak
Prime Minister of Malaysia
Blok Utama Bangunan Perdana Putra,
Pusat Pentadbiran Kerajaan Persekutuan,                      Fax: 03-88883444
62502 Putrajaya                                               E-Mail: najib@pmo.gov.my
Y. B. Senator Dato Raja Nong Chik bin
Dato Raja Zainal Abidin
Menteri Wilayah Persekutuan,
Aras 4, Blok B2,
Menara PJH, Presint 2,
Pusat Pentadbiran Kerajaan Persekutuan,                Fax: 03-88891411
62100 Putrajaya.                                           Email: datoraja@kwp.gov.my
Y. Bhg Dato Ahmad Faud bin Ismail
Dato Bandar Kuala Lumpur                                   
Tingkat 27, Menara DBKL                 
Jalan Raja Laut Fax : 03-26919664
50350 Kuala Lumpur Email : datukbandar@dbkl.gov.my
En. Rolan bin Hj. Abd. Rahman

Pengarah                                                     
(Jabatan Keselamatan & Pengutakuasaan)     
Jalan Tun Razak                                 Fax : 03-40218260         
50400 Kuala Lumpur E-Mail : jkp@dbkl.gov.my
Protest Note to Prime Minister on Setapak hindu temple demolished by UMNO despite Parliamentary Statement. PKR, DAP and PAS watch this “blood letting”.
This morning at about 11.30 a.m we received a distress telephone call from one Jeevamalar that the Setapak Periaanna Muneswarar Hindu Temple was demolished by the UMNO One Malay-sian Prime Minister Najib Razak’s DBKL. In the background we hear the crying of the temple caretaker Madam Kasiamma and her family. Well done Dato Seri !
This is also despite the Ministerial Statement by the Federal Territories Minister in Parliament in 2008 (NST 11/7/08 page 13) that no more Hindu temples would be demolished in Malaysia in particular in the Federal Capital. This is the height of UMNOs’ mockery of Parliamentary democracy in One Malay-sia. There are precedents in Britian and other Western Democracies that when a Ministerial statement in Parliament is not complied with the said Minister would resign or would be forced to resign. But this will never happen in UMNO’s One Malay-sia. Unless of course a miracle happens! The adjoining temple holy Jasmine flower garden was also ruthlessly bulldozed.
Despite our letter dated 10/2/2010 to the Malay-sian Prime Minister (enclosed herewith) this UMNO barbaric, racist, religious extremist and supremacist act was done with criminal vengeance. This latest act by UMNO’s DBKL is a crime punishable with three years jail according to section 295 of the Malay-sian Penal Code ( Injuring or defiling a place of worship with intent to insult the religion of any class). But UMNO’s Attorney General Gani Patail will never or has any history of prosecuting the UMNO criminals but has history of instead prosecuting and sending to jail those who had opposed these crimes.
You and UMNO don’t seem to have learnt from the watershed 8^th March 2008 General election outcome! This level of racism, religious extremism and supremacy does not happen in any other part of the world. Congratulations because today Malaysia has evolved and emerged as the world’s most racist and supremacist country.
The 2.5 Million Malaysian Hindu community’s curse on you today is that your ruthless UMNO regime will fall and be wiped out in the 2012/2013 general elections.
A police report has today been lodged against UMNO and DBKL. But based on our previous experiences we expect zero criminal prosecution or a conviction by the Malay-sian Attorney General or the Judiciary for that matter. We have today advised this Hindu temple committee to defy UMNO and to rebuild the temple in its original site.
We hereby call upon the racist, religious extremist and supremacist Malay-sian UMNO led government to forthwith stop this act which is also against Article 11 of the Federal Constitution which guarantees freedom of religion.
The full facts on this Hindu temple are as per our earlier letter to UMNO Malay-sian Prime Minister dated 10/02/2010 which is enclosed herewith together with the demolished Hindu temple photographs.
Kindly revert to us accordingly.
Thank You.
Your faithfully,
P. Uthayakumar
Secretary General (pro tem)
c.c     His Excellency Mr. Manmohan Singh
Prime Minister of India,
South Block, Rai Sina Hill,                 
New Delhi,
India – 110011 Fax No: 0091-11-23019545
Shri S.M. Krishna
Minister of External Affairs,India
Room No. 169,                                 
South Block,
New Delhi – 110011 E-Mail : eam@mea.gov.in
Shri Lal Krisha Advani
Opposition Leader,
30 Prithvi Raj Road,                 
New Delhi – 110003                 
India E-mail: advanilk@sansad.nic.in
Madam Sushma Suvaraj
Opposition Leader, India
@ Vijay Jolly All India BJP Overseas Cell
Khasra No. 322, Neb Sarai, Near Ignou,     Fax No: 0091-11-29535454      
New Delhi -68 E-Mail: ewec@del3.vsnl.net.in 

Before Demolishment

 

After Demolishment

NO.6, Jalan Abdullah, Off Jalan Bangsar, 59000 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Tel: 03-2282 5241 Fax: 03-2282 5245 Website: www.humanrightspartymalaysia.com

Your Reference :

In Reply :

Date : 10/2/2010
YAB. Dato Seri Najib Razak
Prime Minister of Malaysia
Blok Utama Bangunan Perdana Putra,
Pusat Pentadbiran Kerajaan Persekutuan, Fax: 03-88883444
62502 Putrajaya E-Mail: najib@pmo.gov.my
Y. B. Senator Dato Raja Nong Chik bin
Dato Raja Zainal Abidin
Menteri Wilayah Persekutuan,
Aras 4, Blok B2,
Menara PJH, Presint 2,
Pusat Pentadbiran Kerajaan Persekutuan, Fax: 03-88891411
62100 Putrajaya. Email: datoraja@kwp.gov.my
Y. Bhg Dato Ahmad Faud bin Ismail
Dato Bandar Kuala Lumpur Fax : 03-26919664
Tingkat 27, Menara DBKL Email : datukbandar@dbkl.gov.my
Jalan Raja Laut
50350 Kuala Lumpur
En. Rolan bin Hj. Abd. Rahman
Pengarah
(Jabatan Keselamatan & Pengutakuasaan) Fax : 03-40218260
Jalan Tun Razak E-Mail : jkp@dbkl.gov.my
50400 Kuala Lumpur
Re : Malaysian Police S.B,UMNO & MIC mandore axis diffuses Sri Muniandy Muniswarar, Setapak hindu temple demolishment P.C.
This hindu temple is scheduled to be demolished tomorrow (11/2/2010) by way of a DBKL notice dated 3/2/2010 (see notice below) to make way for the building of a neighbourhood public park. Why can’t the park be built anywhere else? After all Malaysia is a very big country! Why yet again pick on a hindu temple. Another 3 hindu temples within the vicinity are also scheduled to be demolished. (see photos below). Yesterday (9/2/2010) we had sent out a media event notice for a Press Conference today (10/2/2010) and for an SOS letter to the UMNO Prime Minister, Federal Territories Minister, K.L Mayor and the KL City Hall enforcement director not to demolish this hindu temple on 11/2/2010.
We believe the Malaysian police special branch picked up on this our pro active action from our website and/or e-mails sent out today and together with UMNO and their Mandore MIC axis diffused the situation by neutralizing and turning over the temple President and devotees and instructing them not to attend the scheduled Press Conference at our HRP HQ office today as related by the said temple President to us this morning.
This UMNO Malay-sian government led by One Malay-sian Prime Minister Najib Razak even has the cheek to offer a 20 feet x 20 feet piece of alternative land for this hindu temple to be relocated. This land would not even be enough to build a toilet. But this is how UMNO continuously insults the minority Malaysian Indians and hindus in Malaysia. As if this is not insulting enough vide the KL City Hall letter dated 10/12/08 (see below) they had stated that this 20 feet x 20 feet piece of land is a temporary relocation meaning it is with the view to be demolished again at a future date. If at all why not a permanent land solution?
Why does this demolishment, relocation and/or temporary policy and/or arrangement does not happen to any Islamic mosques or suraus or any other Chinese, Christian, or Buddhist places of worship.
In Malay-sia one hindu temple is demolished every week nationwide.
Between 2004 to 2007, 96 hindu temples were demolished in the state of Selangor alone at an average of one hindu temple being demolished in every ten days. Based on this we estimate the national Malaysian average is at one hindu temple being demolished in every week. This was the official reply given by the Menteri Besar (Chief Minister) of Selangor at the Selangor State Assembly in reply to a written State Assembly question by the Kota Alam Shah Elected Representative Mr. Manoharan Malayalam who was then under detention (as a Hindraf legal adviser) without trial at Malay-sia’s very own Guantanamo Bay under the draconian Internal Security Act (ISA) (TN 30/10/08 at page 3).
The early indicators are that UMNO is starting on their hindu temple demolishment spree all over again which took a pause after the 100,000 hindraf peaceful aseembly on the 25^th November 2007 and the subsequent detention of in particular Hindraf Legal Adviser P. Uthayakumar.
UMNO Prime Minister Najib has no respect for Article 11 of the Federal Constitution which provides for freedom of religion and read with Section 295 (Injuring or defiling a place of worship with intent to insult the religion of any class) 296 ( Disturbing a religious assembly) and Section 298A of the Penal Code ( Causing etc., disharmony, disunity, or feelings of enmity, hatred or ill –will, or prejudicing, etc., the maintenance of harmony or unity, on grounds of religion).
The latest hindu temple demolished was the Om Sri Maha Kaliaman Alayam hindu temple in Setapak, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on 8/2/2010. ( see photos below).
This is also despite the Ministerial Statement by the Federal Territories Minister in Parliament last year (NST 11/7/08 page 13) that no more hindu temples would be demolished in Malaysia in particular in the Federal Capital. This is the height of UMNOs’ mockery of Parliamentary democracy in Malay-sia. There are precedents in Britian and other Western Democracies that when a Ministerial statement in Parliament is not complied with the said Minister would resign or would be forced to resign. But this will never happen in One Malay-sia. Unless of course a miracle happens!
And even the supposed multi-racial Opposition leaders of PKR, DAP, PAS, their 82 Members of Parliament (MP) in particular their eleven “mandore” MPs’ would never challenge this Federal Territories Minister’s Ministerial statement in Parliament, let alone championing the same outside Parliament on a needs, merits and seriousness based religious freedom issue as their political calculation may be that they may lose Malay votes by championing a hindu temple and/or a hindu religious rights issue. Further, after all the victims are merely the soft target and politically and economically weak ethnic minority Malaysian Indian hindus. (Note how UMNOs’ racist, religious extremist and supremacist mindset has spilled over to even PKR, DAP and PAS). This Opposition non action has in fact contributed to the hindu temple demolishments spree by UMNO and the critical Indian problems faced by the Malaysian Indians today because of the Opposition PKR, DAP and PAS’ refusal to play a check and balance role when and where it concerns and/or affects the Indians.
With UMNOs’ 52 years of continuous rule of Malaysia without a break in the chain (which happens only in some communist and dictatorial countries,) the net effect is this kind of UMNOs’ authoritarian and ruthless racist, religious extremist and supremacist policies goes on unabated and done with impunity.
For a permanent, harmonious, co-existing and forward moving solution we hereby call upon the Malaysian Prime Minister to:-
1) Retain this Sri Muniandy Muniswarar hindu temple where it is.
2) Grant state land to this and all other hindu temples in Malaysia and
gazette the same accordingly.
3) Similarly grant land to all hindu cemeteries, tamil schools and Indian
settlements and villages and gazette them accordingly.
The above will be a permanent and lasting solution opposed to the current piecemeal and temporary solutions especially as the Malaysian Indians are here in Malaysia to stay put permanently and to live and die here and never ever had the intention to be here on a temporary basis at all whatsoever.
For further and better particulars kindly access www.humanrightspartymalaysia.com.
Kindly revert to us accordingly.
P. Uthayakumar
Secretary General (pro tem)
c.c His Excellency Mr. Manmohan Singh
Prime Minister of India,
South Block, Rai Sina Hill, Fax No: 0091-11-23019545
New Delhi,
India – 110011
Shri S.M. Krishna
Minister of External Affairs
Room No. 169, E-Mail : eam@mea.gov.in
South Block,
New Delhi – 110011
Shri Lal Krisha Advani
Opposition Leader,
30 Prithvi Raj Road,
New Delhi – 110003 E-mail: advanilk@sansad.nic.in
India
Madam Sushma Suvaraj
Opposition Leader, India
@ Vijay Jolly All India BJP Overseas Cell
Khasra No. 322, Neb Sarai, Fax No: 0091-11-29535454
Near Ignou, E-Mail: ewec@del3.vsnl.net.in
New Delhi -68

City Hall destroys yet another place of worship

By B Nantha Kumar - Free Malaysia Today,


KUALA LUMPUR: Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) enforcement officers today demolished a place of worship and also deprived the land owner of her livelihood by destroying her jasmine farm in Setapak.

Kasiyammah Perumal, 55, said that about at 10.30am a group of DBKL enforcement officers in three vans arrived at her farm and wanted to demolish the place of worshship.

"They brought along a bulldozer. I was shocked because I did not receive notices or reminders of any sort from the authorities," said Kasiyammah.

She then showed the officers a letter issued by Deputy Minister of Federal Territories and Urban Well-being M Saravanan, giving her the approval to use the two and half acre land.

"When I showed the letter, one of the officers said, 'surat ini tak laku. Buang saja' (this letter is of no value. Just throw it).

"Even though I pleaded with them to give me time to remove my plants, they ignored me and proceed to destroy the plants which was worth RM10,000," added Kasiyammah.


When the enforcement officers started destroying the place of worship and broke an idol housed within using hammer, it was too much to bear for her and she fainted.

She found the structure completely demolished when she recovered, and to rub salt into her wound, one officer allegedly told her: "Don't worry, your god will help you."

Kasiyammah said she had been running her jasmine flower business in Setapak for nearly 25 years by cultivating them on her plot.

"I don't know where else I can secure my income now that my plants have been destroyed," she said forlornly.

"Their way to destroy this place was so repulsive and made me angry. Several of them kicked the statues I had installed inside my house of worship.

Kasiyammah said she was also disappointed with deputy minister Saravanan who did not answer her calls today.

"We telephoned him more than 30 times, but he did not respond. We trusted him and he has let us down," Kasiyammah.

'Non-Muslim expert' Rais told to shut up

By G Vinod - Free Malaysia Today,

KUALA LUMPUR: Information, Communication and Culture minister Rais Yatim's statement that gambling was a way of life for non-Muslims drew fiery responses from two parliamentarians.

DAP secretary-general and Bagan Pinang MP Lim Guan Eng said sarcastically: It seems Rais is now an expert on Chinese affairs.

“Just because a majority of non-Muslims gamble does not mean it is something we embrace as way of life,” said Lim, who is also Penang Chief Minister.

He added that the legitimate rights of the non-Muslims are enshrined in the constitution, therefore everyone should respect it.

“The non-Muslims have been demanding that the government eradicate corruption and uphold justice. Since it (the government) is so concerned about the non-Muslims now, perhaps it can start looking into those demands as well,” thundered Lim.

The DAP leader later clarified that though he is not against gambling altogether, he believes the government should not add to the already existing gambling avenues.

“I urge the government to regulate the already existing gambling channels, not add anything to it,” said Lim

Lim had previously said that he would not allow gambling outlets to operate in Penang even if the federal government approves sports betting.

Financial ruin

Meanwhile, MP for PJ Utara Tony Pua urged Rais to stop insulting non-Muslims and quit behaving like he represented the non-Muslims.

“He should stop acting as a representative of the non-Muslim community and shut up,” said Pua.

Pua added that when the Chinese gamble during the Lunar New Year, it was more of an entertainment-based activity rather than an addiction.

He also added that over-liberalising gambling will not bode well to the community in general.

“Once gambling is legalised, some people will not think twice to gamble away all their money which will cause financial ruin to their families,” said Pua.

A local daily reported yesterday quoted Rais as saying that gambling is way of life for non-Muslims and Muslims should not worry about it as the latter group is barred from any gambling premises.

'Autocratic' Sarawak govt slammed over Sesco

By FTM staff

KUCHING: A leader of PKR Sarawak, Dominique Ng, has slammed the state government for being autocratic in dealing with public properties.

Ng, who is Padungan state assemblyman, was commenting on the government's “flip-flop” over the privatisation of the Sarawak Electricity Supply Corporation (Sesco).

He said that the State Legislative Assembly had approved the privatisation of Sesco in 2004 but in just five years, the Barisan Nasional government had a change of mind.

It offered and has bought back all the privately owned shares of Sarawak Energy Bhd. Notice was given on the website and in national dailies on Nov 30 and Dec1, 2009.

“From public to private-owned in 2004, then back to government-owned in 2009: a major state asset has been tossed about twice without prior public hearing or consultation," said Ng.

“The rakyat have been kept in the dark. The government’s arrogance in denying the public any say in governance and in major public policy matters shows that it is non-transparent.

“Without explanation to the public, the government has bought back all the privately-owned shares of Sarawak Energy in 2009,” he said.

Cash-rich asset

Ng pointed out that Sesco was a cash-rich asset of the Sarawak government.

“What is the state of Sesco/Sarawak Energy now, following the privatisation in 2004 and de-privatisation in 2009?” he asked.

“This has become a pattern of the autocratic behaviour of the BN government. Sell at its whim, buy back on a fancy, motivated by greed -- whether it is Sesco, native customary rights land or Kuching government land,” he added.

"The BN government owes an explanation to the people of Sarawak: it must make available all annual financial reports of Sesco/Sarawak Energy from 2004 to 2009 to the public for scrutiny."

He said that while consumers suffered, Sarawak Energy made substantial profit. In 2005, the pre-tax profit was RM95 million compared with RM75 million in 2004.

“The government handed Sesco to Sarawak Energy without the latter having to pay, but the government had to pay a high sum on the buy-back offer,” he said.

Khairy is 'stupid', says Ibrahim

By Zainal Epi - Free Malaysia Today

KUALA LUMPUR: Perkasa president Ibrahim Ali has trained his gun, this time, on Umno Youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin, calling him “stupid” for defending MCA Youth head Wee Ka Siong.

He said Khairy did not detect the underlying meaning of Wee's statements when the latter asked if the government would reduce the number of Majlis Amanah Rakyat (Mara) scholarships following plans to scrap Public Service Department (PSD) scholarships.

“Khairy is smart but at the same time stupid for not seeing through Wee's statements,” he said.

The verbal spat between Wee and Ibrahim started when the former urged the government not to do away with PSD scholarships.

Wee had also reportedly said on June 16 that scrapping PSD scholarships went against Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak's 1Malaysia concept.

Ibrahim had accused Wee of questioning Malay rights by dragging Mara into the controversy.

“As far as Perkasa is concerned, we spoke the truth. We do not play politics, saying one thing today and another thing the next day.

“We stick to our stand regarding Wee’s statement on the PSD: we consider it racial.

“Leaders must have credibility and high moral because nobody will trust those who have credibility problem... ” he said.

Khairy had defended Wee, saying that Ibrahim was making a “ridiculous” fuss over nothing.

Taking a swipe at Khairy, Ibrahim said it was a pity that the Umno Youth chief did not have the capability to read “in between the lines” of Wee’s statement.

He quoted a Malay proverb to describe Khairy: “Cerdik tak boleh diajar, bodoh tak boleh ditegur (smart but do not want to learn, stupid but do not want to listen to comments).”

“I will continue to speak out and I do not care what others say,” he said.

Scholarship row: HRP files report against Najib & Co

By B Nantha Kumar - Free Malaysia Today,

KUALA LUMPUR: The Human Rights Party (HRP) today filed a police report against Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak, his deputy Muhyiddin Yassin and Higher Education Minister Khaled Nordin.

HRP information chief S Jayathas told reporters that Najib's government was allegedly abusing the right of top scoring Indian students to obtain scholarships, loans and university seats.

He cited the Federal Constitution which states that all are equal before the law. “But here the laws are overturned by Najib and his team,” he added.

Jayathas, who filed the report with the Brickfields police, said an estimated 2,000 Indian students who scored at least 7As in the SPM examination were not given scholarships.

“This is very unfair and we want the police to investigate Najib, Muyhiddin and Khaled for violating the constitution,” he added.

In his report, Jayathas also mentioned the de-recognition of medical degrees from Russia, Ukraine, India and Indonesia, where there are a large number of Malaysian Indians students.

He claimed that it was deliberately done with the intention of reducing the number of Malaysian Indian doctors.

Meanwhile, Jayathas said HRP was unhappy with the lack of response from the Prime Minister's Office on the memorandum sent by the party regarding the scholarship issue.

"We gave them one week to meet the Indian community to address the scholarship issue. But until now, there has not been a single phone call,” he added.

The four-point memorandum, sent on June 15, called for an increase in the Public Service Department’s overall budget allocation for scholarships.

The memorandum also called for the abolishment of the Sijil Tinggi Pelajaran Malaysia (STPM) exam and the introduction of a pre-university exam instead for all races.

Ex-Hindraf leader lands KSSB director post

Ganabatirao after his ISA release

By Stephanie Sta Maria - Free Malaysia Today,

KUALA LUMPUR: Former Hindraf leader V Ganabatirau has been appointed as the director of Selangor state-owned sand mining company Kumpulan Semesta Sdn Bhd (KSSB).

Contacted today, the lawyer told FMT that he was surprised by his appointment, which he came to know after he returned from a trip to India two days ago.

“I am still in shock. I don't think I am in a position to comment even on my job scope right now as I am still digesting the news,” he said.

“I wasn't told the reason behind my appointment but I believe it is based on my Hindraf's services, my legal background and my prior experience in a housing development company,” added the DAP member.

The former Internal Security Act (ISA) detainee said he appreciated the trust Selangor Menteri Besar Khalid Ibrahim and DAP have placed in him to set KSSB's house in order.

Ganabatirau revealed that he had an unofficial meeting with KSSB's executive director Ramli Abdul Majed.
“I still haven't met the other two (new) directors. In fact, I don't even know who they are. But I need time to better familiarise myself with KSSB and its business before having a meeting,” he said.

KSSB landed in the spotlight after PKR's Kapar MP S Manikavasagm accused the company's officials of corrupt practices.

The allegation paved the way for a three-day public inquiry conducted by the Select Committee on Competency, Accountability and Transparency (Selcat).

Selcat concluded that KSSB faced mismanagement issues but found no evidence of corruption.

Manikavasagam: Ganabatirau is the right choice

Meanwhile, Manikavasagam has pledged his full support to the three new KSSB directors, particularly Ganabatirau, whom he described as a “very close friend”.

“All three are under the Pakatan Rakyat banner and I'm ready to assist them in any way. I will back whoever is appointed as long as they cleanse KSSB of corruption,” he said.

The Kapar MP commended Khalid for picking Ganabatirau as the latter is a “fighter”.

“Both of us have worked on many corruption cases and I am confident that he will be able to do what is necessary in KSSB,” he said.

Ganabatirau has pledged to consult Manikavasagam soon to gather the latter's input and help regarding KSSB.

Ganabatirau was recently overlooked for a senator position reportedly due to lack of confidence among DAP party members.

The KSSB appointment is believed to be a gesture of recognition by DAP for his services.

Switch Jew for Muslim and it would remain the same

I did not write the following. It was e-mailed to me and I thought it would make most interesting reading indeed. Now, if a Muslim had written this with regards to Islam, it would have turned out exactly the same. That is the ironical part about this piece. Anyway, read on and form your own opinion about the matter.

NO HOLDS BARRED

Raja Petra Kamarudin

In her radio show, Dr Laura Schlesinger said that, as an observant Orthodox Jew, homosexuality is an abomination according to Leviticus 18:22, and cannot be condoned under any circumstance. The following response is an open letter to Dr. Laura, penned by a US resident, which was posted on the Internet. It's funny, as well as informative:

Dear Dr. Laura:
Thank you for doing so much to educate people regarding God's Law.  I have learned a great deal from your show, and try to share that knowledge with as many people as I can.  When someone tries to defend the homosexual lifestyle, for example, I simply remind them that Leviticus 18:22 clearly states it to be an abomination ... end of debate.

I do need some advice from you, however, regarding some other elements of God's Laws and how to follow them.

 1. Leviticus 25:44 states that I may possess slaves, both male and female, provided they are purchased from neighbouring nations.  A friend of mine claims that this applies to Mexicans, but not Canadians.  Can you clarify?  Why can't I own Canadians?

 2. I would like to sell my daughter into slavery, as sanctioned in Exodus 21:7.  In this day and age, what do you think would be a fair price for her?

 3. I know that I am allowed no contact with a woman while she is in her period of Menstrual uncleanliness - Lev.15: 19-24.  The problem is how do I tell?  I have tried asking, but most women take offense.

 4. When I burn a bull on the altar as a sacrifice, I know it creates a pleasing odour for the Lord - Lev.1:9.  The problem is my neighbours.  They claim the odour is not pleasing to them.  Should I smite them?

 5. I have a neighbour who insists on working on the Sabbath.  Exodus 35:2 clearly states he should be put to death.  Am I morally obligated to kill him myself, or should I ask the police to do it?

 6. A friend of mine feels that even though eating shellfish is an abomination, Lev. 11:10, it is a lesser abomination than homosexuality.  I don't agree. Can you settle this?  Are there 'degrees' of abomination?

 7. Lev. 21:20 states that I may not approach the altar of God if I have a defect in my sight.  I have to admit that I wear reading glasses.  Does my vision have to be 20/20, or is there some wiggle-room here? 

 8. Most of my male friends get their hair trimmed, including the hair around their temples, even though this is expressly forbidden by Lev. 19:27.  How should they die?

 9. I know from Lev. 11:6-8 that touching the skin of a dead pig makes me unclean, but may I still play football if I wear gloves?

 10. My uncle has a farm.  He violates Lev. 19:19 by planting two different crops in the same field, as does his wife by wearing garments made of two different kinds of thread (cotton/polyester blend). He also tends to curse and blaspheme a lot.  Is it really necessary that we go to all the trouble of getting the whole town together to stone them? Lev. 24:10-16. Couldn't we just burn them to death at a private family affair, like we do with people who sleep with their in-laws? (Lev. 20:14)

I know you have studied these things extensively and thus enjoy considerable expertise in such matters, so I'm confident you can help.

Thank you again for reminding us that God's word is eternal and unchanging.

Your adoring fan,

James M. Kauffman, Ed.D. Professor Emeritus, Dept. Of Curriculum, Instruction, and Special Education University of Virginia.

PS. It would be a dammed shame if I couldn’t own a Canadian.

Judi bawa kecelakaan - sami

(Harakahdaily) - Sami yang juga selaku ketua agama Buddha Wat Phutaksin, Semerak, dekat sini yang dikenali dengan Thannun (gambar) mengakui amalan judi tidak dibolehkan di dalam ajaran agama berkenaan.
Thannun berkata, mengikut ajaran Buddha amalan judi boleh mendatangkan kecelakaan selain hukuman serta balasan tuhan akan dikenakan terhadap mereka yang terlibat dengan amalan tersebut.

“Hukuman atau balasan sebab dan akibat judi, di dalam agama Buddha kita panggil hukum karma. Hukuman itu akan dikenakan sama ada ketika di atas dunia ini lagi mahupun di hari esok (selepas mati)."

“Sebenarnya kita di dalam Buddha pun punyai kepercayaan tentang adanya syurga dan neraka. Sesiapa beramalan baik akan masuk syurga dan jahat akan masuk neraka."

“Di dalam satu kitab Buddha ada menyebut bahawa terdapat beberapa pintu kecelakaan bagi orang yang melakukan sesuatu perkara yang tidak baik, salah satunya ialah judi,” katanya semasa ditemui di wat tersebut awal pagi ini.

Menurutnya lagi, di dalam kepercayaan Buddha juga judi  boleh menyebabkan taraf kehidupan seseorang itu menjadi rendah dan hina malah tidak dihormati terutamanya di kalangan pemimpin.

“Macam raja, menteri apabila dikait dengan judi taraf mereka jatuh kerana dia akan dipandang rendah, rakyat tidak hormat, inilah maksud mendatangkan kecelakaan itu,” katanya.

Living on RM3,000: Who is the government kidding?

by Deborah Loh | The Nut Graph

IT never goes down well, leaders telling citizens how to manage their finances. Especially when the public are more familiar with leaders who live lavish lifestyles than with those who live humbly.
The latest advice to the urban masses is that living on RM3,000 a month is “manageable”, provided one stops subscribing to Astro and owning a car. “This city is liveable for those earning RM3,000 a month, provided they do not live in luxurious places,” said Federal Territories and Urban Well-Being Minister Datuk Raja Nong Chik Raja Zainal Abidin.
What can we make of such advice? Is the minister wrong or right? And in saying what he did, is the government being callous and missing other parts of the picture?
Making do
How would earning RM3,000 a month and living in the city be manageable or, conversely, a challenge? Let’s take a single person with no dependents. By conservative estimates, there are basics to cover like the monthly car installment (RM500), phone bill (RM80), room rental (RM400), and food (RM500). That leaves about RM1,000 to spare after deducting contributions to the Employees Provident Fund, Socso and income tax.
Where goes the remaining RM1,000 or less? Working singles are likely to set aside a sum for elderly parents. Some, especially if they are the eldest child, are tasked with helping their parents save money for their younger siblings’ education. There’s petrol if one has a car, personal grooming, the occasional trip to the doctor, or a family emergency. To have quality of life, you don’t expect people not to spend money on outings with friends or on entertainment just so that their budgeting is “manageable”. After all that, is there anything left for savings?
Yes, I know of single city dwellers who don’t own a car and use a motorbike or public transport, and who don’t hang out much with friends or enjoy nice meals, so they can stretch their ringgit. Some of these people draw far less than RM3,000 a month. The starting pay for graduates can be as low as RM1,800. Among non-graduates, a clerk or a despatch rider may earn only RM800.

Raja Nong Chik (Wiki commons)

The above only looks at a single-person household. How much more difficult would it be for a four- or five-person household where one spouse doesn’t work? Do these families manage to save at all, or does everything go to just making ends meet? What does Raja Nong Chik expect of poor Malay Malaysian households where the median income is reportedly RM2,531 a month?
Settling for the minimum?
Those who agree with Raja Nong Chik concede that supporting a family on RM3,000 a month is a struggle, but add that a minimum level of comfort and ease can still at least be enjoyed.
What is “minimum”? If they cut their Astro subscription, there are still the five local television channels for news and entertainment. If they give up their car and rely on public transportation, they’ll still get to their destinations, albeit with a lot of time wasted. Public healthcare is cheap, public education is almost free, essential food items are subsidised, and public housing, if the family is able to secure it, is as low as RM150 a month.
“Hardship” is then relative, depending on personal and lifestyle choices. To live simply within one’s means, or to live on credit? To remain married or single? To have a few children, just one, or none at all?  The difference also lies in how much convenience or inconvenience one can take, and how much comfort or enjoyment one is willing to forgo.
With RM3,000, a struggling family can make ends meet, but will be less able to afford treats or holidays for the children. A single person can afford renting his or her own room, but a household earning the same amount has no choice but to squeeze four people or more into a tiny flat.
What’s missing?
Given the above scenarios for both a single person and a family, living on RM3,000 a month in the city might be “manageable”, albeit uncomfortable and stressful. But it makes the government’s call to “change your lifestyle”, just as it did after raising petrol prices, insulting. For many, there’s little more they can change.
Is it then realistic to expect people to continue living at the minimum of just being able to cover the basics?

Change Your Lifestyle

Of course, we have the government’s plans to raise income levels, to make Malaysia a high-income nation. But if plans for this, as outlined in the New Economic Model (NEM), are to focus on the low-income group, Raja Nong Chik, as a cabinet minister, should realise that 80% of households earn less than RM3,000 a month. Of this, the bottom 40% are earning less than RM1,500 a month.
Are there even enough households earning RM3,000 a month for him to say that living on that amount is “manageable”?
From what we’ve seen, there isn’t a concrete plan on how to raise the income of 80% of households earning less than RM3,000 a month. So far, it’s just a stated objective in the first stage of the NEM’s unveiling. Then again, the NEM apparently isn’t the government’s official position, but only a “trial balloon” by the National Economic Action Council. So says Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak in trying to distance the government from the NEM’s calls to adjust pro-bumiputera economic policies.
What then of the government’s 10^th Malaysia Plan (10MP), which also targets per capita income increase? Among its objectives is to raise the average monthly income of the bottom 40% of households from RM1,440 to RM2,300 by 2015.
But it isn’t clear how the 10MP can achieve this. The status quo on bumiputera equity is retained, despite it having failed to distribute wealth equally among poor bumiputera. The plan mentions skills training for the unemployed, improving access to healthcare, housing and education, and income assistance for the poor. But all these are welfare measures rather than direct steps to increasing income.
Instead, plans for a minimum wage for security guards were scuttled, debate for and against a minimum wage aside. Calls to empower women to participate in the workforce have not been clearly translated into policy, despite the fact that the bulk of low-income earners are women.
What’s missing in public policy is a holistic perspective on just what it takes for the poor to get by daily. Little wonder, then, that some leaders can so glibly say that RM3,000 a month in the city is manageable

DAP wants parliamentary probe on Najib’s Sibu ‘promises’

By Shazwan Mustafa Kamal | The Malaysian Insider

KUALA LUMPUR, June 24 —The DAP demanded today that Datuk Seri Najib Razak be referred to the parliamentary rights and privileges committee over “inconsistencies” concerning money promised by the prime minister during the recent Sibu by-election campaign.

“Najib, through a written reply yesterday to Sibu MP Wong Ho Leng and Bandar Kuching MP Chong Chien Jien, had said that the government had not promised any projects to Sibu folk during the by-election in Sibu.

“This is a clear lie. We have the recording on Youtube, which has now attracted over 90,000 views. It shows Najib, during a speech in Rejang Park, promising RM5 million if people voted for BN,” said Chong.

During a last-minute pitch on the eve of the by-election, Najib announced an allocation of RM5 million for flood-mitigation projects in Rejang Park provided the BN candidate was elected.

“If Robert Lau becomes the MP on Sunday, on Monday I will ask [for] the cheque to be prepared. Do we have a deal or not? We do! You want the RM5 million, I want Robert Lau to win,” Najib told the crowd.

The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) has also agreed to investigate claims that the prime minister committed an election offence during the Sibu vote, with his pledge to solve flash floods there if Barisan Nasional retained the Parliamentary seat.

The DAP had earlier today in Parliament moved to refer Najib under Standing Orders 36(12) to refer to him to the parliamentary rights and privileges committee for “misleading Parliament.”

Speaker Tan Sri Pandikar Amin said that he would look into the matter first before deciding any further action.

“This money was an assurance given by the PM. I want the money. The Sibu people want the money. He (Najib) should be responsible for this,” said newly-minted MP Wong.

The Najib administration revealed yesterday that it had approved 107 projects and programmes collectively worth RM37.7 million during the recent Sibu by-election.

However, the government denied that the approval for the projects was done because of the Sibu by-election to attract voters to vote for Barisan Nasional (BN).

“The projects which have been approved for the Sibu parliamentary seat have been planned by the government long before the by-elections had been called, same as every parliamentary and state seat throughout the country,” said the statement.

“We want to know if the RM5 million promised by PM is part of the RM37.7 million used for projects in Sibu. If it is not, where is the money promised by PM? His denial contradicts what he said in Sibu,” added Chong.

Zunar's 1FunnyM'sia banned >:( 'Where is Justice?' next?

Zunar at the press conference we held together

I wanted to offer my ‘condolences’ to Zunar, having just read the news:

The Home Ministry has banned a Malaysiakini book by popular cartoonist Zulkifli Anwar Ulhaque, or better known as Zunar, under the Printing Presses and Publications Act 1984.
In addition to Zunar’s ’1Funny Malaysia’ – which is published by Kinibooks, a subsidiary of Malaysiakini – two other comics were also banned.
Home Ministry secretary-general Mahmood Adam said the ban was issued following the contents in the three publications that were deemed unsuitable and undesirable for public reading.
In a statement issued today, Mahmood said the book banned was titled ‘Perak Darul Kartun’ and the two comics titled ‘Isu Dalam Kartun’ and ’1Funny Malaysia’.

Unsuitable and undesirable?
Yeah, maybe if you’re BN and planning to stay in power forever >:(
It was very recently, that our friend Najib said:

In his speech titled “A New Vision for Malaysia”, the Prime Minister made clear that he was not opposed to dissent or opposition because he believed legitimate views deserved to be heard.

I think the PM’s hypocritical definition of legitimate is at best, laughable, and at worst fiendishly self-serving.
It remains to be seen what will happen with my own publication, Where is Justice – but perhaps best you get a copy now before it meets a similar fate.
This banning is a shameful act of cowardice, and I hope Zunar knows that we are behind him all the way!