Land dispute: MIC man says dissolve party if...

A branch leader says MIC should be dissolved if it does not return a plot of land claim to have been allocated for a Tamil schoool.

KLANG: MIC should be dissolved if it fails to return a plot of land purportedly allocated for a Tamil school in Damansara.

And the ultimatum came from a MIC grassroots leader himself, Taman Mujur branch chairman V Thiagarajan.

Speaking to FMT, the vexed local leader said MIC would become irrelevant to the Indian community if it continued to overlook the issue.

The Effingham Tamil school is located in Bandar Utama. The accusation about the land grab first surfaced in 2009, with former students and residents of the area claiming that the developer of Bandar Utama had set aside six acres for the school in 1999.

They claimed that the late K Sivalingam, a MIC leader and an executive councillor in the then Barisan Nasional-led Selangor state government, decided that only three acres should be given to the school and the rest to the party.

However, MIC claimed that there was an error in the description of the proprietor in the land title and that the party is the rightful owner of the three acres.

‘I have evidence’

Thiagarajan said that he has evidence that the Bandar Utama developer allocated the land to the school and not MIC.

According to a plan drafted in 1996, the district land office registered the land under the name of the primary school.

“The total size of the land is 12 acres. And the housing developer awarded six acres for both the Tamil school and a religious school respectively,” said Thiagarajan.

“However, in a new plan drafted in 2005, the plot was divided into two separate plots where three acres was for the school and another three acres for MIC,” he added.

He also asked if there was indeed an error, why did MIC take almost 10 years to rectify it?

Refusing to accept the explanation, Thiagarajan claimed that there was something fishy concerning the deal and urged MIC president G Palanivel to return the land.

“Do not turn the Effingham Tamil school issue into another Padang Jawa temple issue like in 2007, where the demolition of the temple was one of the reasons behind MIC’s heavy losses in the 2008 general election,” he warned.

FMT could not reach MIC secretary-general S Murugesan for comments.

Dr M: Maintain current system to achieve Vision 2020

The present system had proven to be the best solution for a multi-racial country like Malaysia, says the former prime minister.

SIBU: The current system of wealth and power sharing should be maintained for the country to achieve its Vision 2020 objective of becoming a developed nation, former Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad said.

The system, especially power sharing implemented by the country’s first prime minister Tunku Abdul Rahman, had proven to be the best solution for a multi-racial country like Malaysia, he said.

“We have this concept of working together of different political parties representing different races under a coalition.

“It has obviously worked very well, first under Perikatan, then the Alliance, and now the Barisan Nasional.

“They had and have won elections after elections and formed the governments at either the federal or state levels,” he said when addressing about 1,000 Sibu residents here last night.

Mahathir was here on a one-day visit at the invitation of the Bumiputera Graduate Association.

He said despite being a multi-racial and multi-religious country, Malaysia was now a country of great unity, stability and progress because of the system.

“Of course there is this bit of unhappiness as no one, not any race, not any group can hope or expect to get 100 percent of what they think is theirs by right.

“But this is the characteristic of a society that is fair and just to everyone. We are doing the right thing when almost everyone feels a little bit unhappy,” he said.

He said people should continue to realise the need for them to make some sacrifices in order to gain from something more worthwhile.

“People should not believe in making demands which cannot be met or in confrontations as this will generate tensions and fightings and this will mean the end to the great progress we have made,” he said.

On wealth sharing, he said it had been the policy for all states to share the country’s wealth.

He said the country’s wealth were in its oil and gas resources and in its oil palm, rubber and pepper industries.

“But our wealth also come from the many big businesses centred in places like Kuala Lumpur where there are very many rich people in the country. Our system is such that the richer you are, the more you are taxed,” he said.

Mahathir said proceeds from such wealth and taxes were re-distributed nationwide by the government so that small states like Perlis could finance its development and progress instead of being left out.

He said that if one were to say that one’s wealth was for his state alone, then the wealth of Kuala Lumpur should be spent only within the city.

“But this is not fair as Kuala Lumpur is the place where everyone wants to congregate because of the superior facilities in communications, travel and in doing all kinds of businesses,” he said.

Mahathir reiterated that it was because of the fairness in the re-distribution that “development is coming up everywhere in the country”.

-Bernama

Cincin RM72 juta sudah pulang?

Tidak cukup duit gaji Najib dikumpul sejak mula jadi menteri hingga sekarang untuk membelinya. Maka Najib mesti menghilangkan keraguan orang tentang cincin itu supaya tiada wang negara disalahgunakan dan tiada urusan yang tidak betul melayakkan cincin itu boleh menjadi milik isterinya.

Subky Latif, Harakah Daily

ADAPUN cincin ajaib yang diposkan kepada isteri Perdana Menteri, Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor telah dipulangkan kepada yang mengirim.

Berita yang dibongkar oleh Cikgu Bard, seorang pemimpin ternama PKR betapa adanya cincin yang semahal sekitar RM72 juta dihantar kepada Rosmah secara pos dan terpaksa melalui pemeriksaan kastam itu adalah benar apabila Menteri Nazri Aziz mengesahkannya dalam Parlimen.

Menteri Nazri dalam jawapannya kepada soalan mengenainya di Parlimen memberitahu bahawa cincin itu telah dikembalikan kepada syarikat pemunyanya.

Apabila ia telah dikembalikan kepada sipengirim, bererti pernah dibawa masuk ke negara ini dan dihantar kepada Rosmah di alamatnya.

Bagaimana ia dibawah masuk telah didedahkan oleh Cikgu Bard. Bagaimana ia dipulangkan tidak pula diketahui.

Berita rasmi mengenai cincin ini hanya yang disahkan oleh menteri Nazri di Parlimen. Penjelasan menteri di Parlimen diterima sah. Anggota Parlimen tidak boleh membuat kenyataan palsu di Parlimen. Jika dibuktikan anggota Parlimen membuat kenyataan palsu di Parlimen, maka hilang kelayakannya sebagai anggota Parlimen.

Berita ia sudah dikembalikan itu boleh diterima. Tetapi penapian Rosmah betapa cincin itu dihantar kepadanya sebagai fitnah tidak dipercayai. Orang percaya cincin itu telah dihantar kepadanya dan telah diterimanya.

Jika diadakan penyiasatan telus di Jabatan Kastam, nescaya orang dapat tahu bagaimana cincin itu sampai ke Jabatan Kastam dan cara mana kastam mengendalikannya? Kastam juga tentu dapat menceritakan ke mana cincin itu dihantar selepas diperiksa kastam?

Yang menjadi misteri sekarang ialah bagaimana cincin itu boleh dihantar ke Malaysia dan kepada orang yang dikirim di alamatnya?

Adakah syarikat yang mengirimnya sekadar untuk menunjuknya saja kepada Rosmah?

Adalah tidak munasabah cincin yang semahal itu boleh dihantar begitu saja kalau tiada persetujuan atau permintaan dari orang yang dihantar?

Kalau atas tujuan untuk dipertontonkan kepada orang Malaysia dan kemudian dipulangkan balik, mengapa tidak dihantar kepada Raja Permaisuri Agong yang kedudukan baginda adalah lebih tinggi dari isteri Perdana Menteri?

Rosmah memang terkenal sebagai seorang yang lincah dan diketahui pula suka bermewah serta gemar kepada benda-benda yang mewah.

Jika cincin itu untuk tujuan pameran, tiada berita tentang pameran barang mewah termasuk cincin itu. Adalah mustahil pameran diadakan sekadar untuk menunjukkan sebentuk cincin itu saja.

Kalau untuk dipamer, tentulah tuan punya cincin itu sendiri datang kerana dia akan dapat menjawab semua pertanyaan para peminat tentang cincin itu. Adalah mustahil cincin itu dipamerkan tanpa kehadiran tuan punya bagi menjamin keselamatan cincin itu.

Agak ajaib jika cincin itu sekadar dipinjamkan kerana ia bukan benda yang murah. Apa jaminan jika cincin itu hilang?

Tiada jawapan yang dapat diterima bagi tuan punya melepaskannya kepada orang lain selain dari dijual.

Orang seperti Rosmah dipercayai tidak akan melepaskannya apabila ia sudah di tangannya. Sedaya upayanya dia akan menjadikannya hak miliknya. Setinggi mana pun harganya tidaklah penting sangat tetapi dia ada cara untuk menyelesaikannya dan dia ada cara bagaimana Perdana Menteri Najib dapat membantu mendapatkannya.

Kita tidak menyanggah penjelasan Menteri Nazri ia telah dikembalikan kerana kita menghormati kata-kata di Parlimen adalah benar dan tiada yang tidak benar.

Tetapi siapa saksi cincin itu telah beredar dari tangan Rosmah? Apa bukti ia sudah diterima semula oleh tuan punya?

Apa pun perkiraan antara kedua tuan punya dan orang yang menerima cincin adalah urusan dan transaksi kedua mereka.

Negara, kerajaan dan rakyat ada hak untuk mengetahui urusan cincin itu. Kita yakin Rosmah mahu memilikinya. Tuan punya tentu sudah diyakinkan urusan niaganya dan penyerahan cincin itu tidak mendatangkan risiko.

Tidak cukup duit gaji Najib dikumpul sejak mula jadi menteri hingga sekarang untuk membelinya. Maka Najib mesti menghilangkan keraguan orang tentang cincin itu supaya tiada wang negara disalahgunakan dan tiada urusan yang tidak betul melayakkan cincin itu boleh menjadi milik isterinya.

Sukar orang untuk mempercayai adanya urusan tentang cincin itu boleh dibawa ke sini.

Silap Rosmah ialah mengapa cincin itu tidak dipakai dan dibawa pulang sendiri? Tiada siapa tahu jika ia tidak dipos.

Jawatankuasa khas rangka akta ganti ISA

Utusan Malaysia
Oleh AZIAN AZIZ

SHAH ALAM 5 Okt. - Satu jawatankuasa khas telah ditubuhkan untuk merangka dan meneliti dua akta baru yang bakal menggantikan Akta Keselamatan Dalam Negeri (ISA).

Peguam Negara, Tan Sri Abdul Gani Patail berkata, jawatankuasa itu dianggotai oleh beliau serta profesional undang-undang antaranya tiga bekas ketua hakim bergelar Tun dan dua peguam bela.

Beliau berkata, jawatankuasa itu akan turut merujuk kepada beberapa pakar perundangan dari luar negara yang mempunyai pengetahuan dan pengalaman mengendalikan kes-kes melibatkan keganasan antaranya Amerika Syarikat, United Kingdom dan Jepun.

Menurut beliau, mereka akan mengadakan perbincangan berterusan dengan Suruhanjaya Hak Asasi Manusia (Suhakam), agensi kerajaan terlibat dan akhirnya mendapat pandangan masyarakat sebelum akta itu dibentangkan di Parlimen.

"Saya ingin memberi jaminan bahawa dua akta baru ini yang melibatkan undang-undang jenayah dan keganasan serta subversif akan mengambil kira perimbangan di antara hak asasi dan keselamatan awam.

"Cuma, saya minta semua pihak agar memberi kami peluang untuk melakukannya (merangka akta), pelajari betul-betul dan seterusnya mengemukakan draf yang terbaik," katanya.

Beliau berkata demikian selepas menyampaikan syarahan perdana Peguam Negara bertajuk Isu Semasa Berkaitan Undang-Undang Pencegahan di Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM) di sini hari ini.

Mengenai kajian semula beberapa akta antaranya Seksyen 27 Akta Polis 1967 yang membabitkan demonstrasi, katanya, pihaknya akan memastikan pindaan yang bakal diperkenalkan dalam akta itu akan difahami oleh semua pihak.

"Kita akan memastikan tiga faktor diambil kira iaitu peserta demonstrasi, pihak berkuasa dan orang yang akan mendapat kesan daripada demonstrasi yang diadakan seperti peniaga dan lain-lain," jelas beliau.

Ditanya sama ada tindakan terhadap Bekas Setiausaha Agung Parti Komunis Malaya (PKM), Chin Peng akan terhapus dengan pemansuhan Akta Buang Negeri 1959 (Akta 79), Gani menjawab:

"Bagi mereka yang dikenakan tindakan di bawah Akta Buang Negeri 1959, mereka akan dilepaskan secara serentak atau berperingkat selepas kes mereka diteliti, tetapi Chin Peng tidak pernah dikenakan tindakan di bawah akta itu. Jadi dia tidak ada kena mengena."

Gani turut menjelaskan, keputusan kerajaan memansuhkan ISA dan Akta Buang Negeri tepat pada masanya kerana ia tidak lagi relevan dengan situasi sekarang sebagaimana Ordinan Darurat 1969.

Sodomy II: Najib, Rosmah need not testify

Anwar has failed to show the relevancy and materiality of both Najib and Rosmah to the trial, ruled the judge.
FMT ALERT

KUALA LUMPUR: Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim has failed in his bid to haul up Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak and his wife Rosmah Mansor to court to testify in his Sodomy II trial.

Judge Mohamad Zabidin Mohd Diah today allowed an application by the couple to set aside the subpoenas compelling them to be defence witnesses in the trial.

“After going through the affidavits and submissions, I found that the defendants have failed to show the relevancy and materiality of both Najib and Rosmah to the trial,” said Mohamed Zabidin.

On Monday, the judge heard submissions from the couple’s lawyers as well as from lawyers representing Anwar.

Anwar’s argument is that it was important to have Najib and Rosmah to testify in his trial so that he could find out what had transpired in a meeting involving the prime minister and the complainant Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan.

Anwar also wants Rosmah to explain about her meeting with Muhamad Rahimi Osman, a close friend of Saiful. (Rahimi was said to have gone to Rosmah to seek assistance on behalf of his friend.)

Najib and Rosmah have, however, stressed that they have no knowledge of the alleged sodomy and stated they were not relevant to the trial.

Both had denied conspiring with anyone to incriminate Anwar despite Najib admitting in his affidavit that he had met Saiful two days prior to the alleged sodomy.

Najib’s lawyers had alleged that Anwar was embarking on a “fishing expedition”.

Last month, Najib and Rosmah were subpoenaed by Anwar’s defence team to appear as defence witnesses.

On Sept 21, Najib and Rosmah filed the applications to set aside the subpoenas, which was heard before the trial judge today.

Anwar, 64, claimed trial on Aug 7, 2008, to committing carnal intercourse against the order of nature at the Desa Damansara Condominium in Bukit Damansara between 3.10pm and 4.30pm on June 26, 2008.

Meanwhile, Anwar’s trial continues.

Tung Shin incident "blown out of proportion"

The Sun Daily
by Karen Arukesamy and Alyaa Alhadjri

KUALA LUMPUR (Oct 5, 2011): Home Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein today defended the police's standard operating procedure (SOP) in dispersing Bersih 2.0 demonstrators, saying the Tung Shin hospital incident during the July 9 rally had been blown out of proportion.

Referring to the Health Ministry probe which concluded police had broken their own SOP by firing water cannon and smoke bombs into the hospital compound during the rally, Hishammuddin said the police are not the only ones to be blamed for the incident.

“On Tung Shin there is a spin – it is looking as though the standard operating procedure of the police is at fault.

“This is just one incident and the fact they are just looking at one particular incident relating to internal disciplinary action based on SOP, to me is like making a mountain out of a molehill,” Hishammuddin told reporters at the Parliament lobby today.

The Home Minister said there was a need to widen the scope of the probe and not just pick one particular incident.

“The report is already done but we need to widen the scope of investigation," he added.

Hishammuddin also said the incident at the hospital was one of “six or seven” incidents that involved the wrongdoing of “one errant police officer”.

“This does not mean that those who are at fault, including the police officer, will not be prosecuted. But the Attorney-General will decide on that. This is a process that we have to go through,” he said.

Meanwhile Inspector General of Police Tan Sri Ismail Omar, who was also present, said there is “nothing wrong with the SOP”.

Failing to explain further, he just said the investigating committee will check on the report and that the police officer is from a “different department”.

The Home Ministry in a press statement released late yesterday night had reportedly admitted that police had breached the SOP and had acted unethically in the dispersal of demonstrators of the Bersih 2.0 at the Tung Shin Hospital based on the Health Ministry’s highest level internal investigation committee’s report.

Home Ministry secretary-general Tan Sri Mahmood Adam said his ministry will refer the personnel concerned to the Royal Malaysian Police (PDRM)'s disciplinary committee for its consideration and further action.

Meanwhile, at a separate press conference at Jalan Tun Razak police station today, KL CID Chief SAC Datuk Ku Chin Wah said disciplinary action will be taken against a police officer with the KL police contingent for using "forced violence" to disperse protesters taking part in the July 9 Bersih 2.0 rally.

Ku said the officer was identified by the police from one of the many videos circulated online of incidents which took place on the day, including of alleged police brutality.

"He was seen in the video to be wearing a red handkerchief that covered his face, but we have identified him and submitted our investigation paper to the DPP (Deputy Public Prosecutor)," said Ku.

He however said the DPP decided that no further action can be taken as no victims had came forward during the investigation process.

"We had completed our investigations in August and received a reply from the DPP last month," said Ku, who however did not elaborate on the exact incident he was referring to.

He said the officer concerned will be referred to the PDRM Disciplinary Committee for future action.

In an immediate response, Bersih 2.0 steering committee member Dr Wong Chin Huat questioned the police's motive behind narrowing its investigation to only one individual.

"That is why no victims can be found. All other reported cases does not stand," he claimed.

How tax reliefs subsidise the rich

Come Budget Day, many taxpayers will be hoping for more tax reliefs on all sorts of expenditure. But do you know such tax reliefs actually favour the rich?
Not only that, they tend to benefit powerful business lobby groups such as private hospitals and insurance companies.
Economist Subramaniam Pillay explains in more detail in an article on the Aliran website ahead of Budget Day.
With policies like these, it it any wonder then that the rich are getting richer?

Nude squat probe finds no impropriety by officers

The two Singaporeans were detained for driving through an unmanned Immigration inspection lane.

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 5 — The Immigration Department’s probe into a recent nude squat incident involving two Singaporean women has found that its officers exercised their responsibilities in a “good and orderly” fashion, the Home Ministry said today. In a written response to Fong Po Kuan (DAP-Batu Gajah), the ministry said the women were examined by a female officer, as required under the department’s standard operating procedures (SOP).
Fong had urged the ministry to furnish the full details of the probe, including why the women were forced to perform nude squats, how they had passed the Johor immigration officials without being checked and the number of such incidents.
The ministry explained that the women were detained on June 9 under Section 6(1)(C) of the Immigration Act for entering Malaysia without a valid pass.
According to the probe, the women had entered Malaysia without being checked as the department’s counter had been closed.
“At the time, there were no immigration officials on duty at the counter,” said the ministry.
The women were then brought to the Pekan Nanas detention depot and were made to undergo standard “inspection procedures”, which were carried out by female immigration officials.
“According to the investigation, the officials involved in the inspection ensured that their responsibilities and duties were carried out in a good and orderly fashion,” the ministry concluded.
According to a Singapore Straits Times report on June 14, the two women who drove to Johor Baru for supper on July 9 were questioned by Malaysian immigration officials, handcuffed, thrown behind bars and made to do squats while naked.
The two women claimed they drove through uninspected because the immigration lane was unmanned, and that no one answered the intercom.
Following their punishment, they were allowed to return to Singapore after 48 hours with a warning.
Both women have reportedly vowed never to return to Malaysia after the incident, which drew criticism from opposition MPs who called the act “humiliating and ridiculous.”
The ST added that one of the women, known as Chang, would be taking legal action.
The Malaysian Immigration Department suspended two officers following the incident but it insists that the detention was legal under the Immigration Act as they had entered the country without passing through biometric fingerprint checks.
The Malaysian Insider reported on June 29 that a special multi-agency panel had concluded its investigations into the nude squat incident after the republic submitted written reports from their affected citizens.
“The written reports have been handed over to Malaysian authorities,” a source told The Malaysian Insider.
It is also understood that the island state has demanded an explanation from Malaysia after an earlier request for details concerning the case.
The incident also caused a furore in during the last Parliament session, with opposition MPs from DAP demanding an explanation from the Home Ministry.

Perkasa minta siasat transaksi saham Sime Darby-E&O

Siasatan terperinci perlu dibuat jika wujudnya krisis kepentingan, penyelewengan dan salah laku penjawat awam, kata ketua penerangan Ruslan Kasim.

KUALA LUMPUR: Pertubuhan Peribumi Perkasa Malaysia (Perkasa) hari ini mengemukakan aduan kepada Suruhanjaya Pencegahan Rasuah Malaysia (SPRM) berhubung isu pembelian 30 peratus ekuiti syarikat Eastern & Oriental Berhad (E&O) bernilai RM776 juta oleh Sime Darby Berhad (Sime Darby).

Laporan itu dibuat oleh Ketua Penerangan Perkasa Ruslan Kasim di Bangunan SPRM Wilayah Persekutuan, Jalan Cochrane di sini petang tadi.

Bercakap kepada pemberita, Ruslan berkata siasatan terperinci perlu dibuat jika wujudnya krisis kepentingan, penyelewengan dan salah laku penjawat awam ke atas transaksi dagang dan pembelian saham terbabit yang berharga RM2.30 seunit.

Ruslan berkata, transaksi berprofil tinggi dalam jangka masa singkat menunjukkan timbulnya keraguan tentang peranan yang dimainkan oleh Pengerusi Suruhanjaya Sekuriti (SC) Tan Sri Zarinah Anwar dalam transaksi yang melibatkan suaminya sendiri yang juga Pengerusi Bukan Eksekutif E&O Datuk Azizan Abdul Rahman.

‘Insider trading’

Beliau mendakwa wujud aktiviti dagangan dalaman (insider trading) memandangkan beberapa pengarah E&O termasuk Datuk Azizan didapati telah membeli saham syarikat tersebut sebelum diumumkan pembelian 30 peratus oleh Sime Darby.

“Walaupun Zarinah terpaksa mengumumkan beliau tidak campur tangan dalam siasatan berkaitan dengan urusan tersebut, tetapi apakah tiada kemungkinan imej dan pengaruh yang dimilikinya sebagai Pegerusi SC dapat pula mempengaruhi sebarang tindakan dan keputusan sepanjang siasatan dilakukan.

“Kenapa dalam keadaan baru lepas menanggung kerugian berbilion ringgit, Sime Darby sanggup membayar sehingga 60 peratus lebih dari harga pasaran E&O?,” soal Ruslan selain turut membangkit persoalan penglibatan individu yang menjadi dalang dalam permainan transaksi ini.

Sehubungan itu, beliau mendesak SPRM bertindak dengan segera menyiasat isu ini tanpa pilih bulu sama ianya melibatkan ‘ikan paus’ atau ‘ikan bilis’ dan mengheret mereka yang terlibat ke muka pengadilan jika terbukti wujudnya salah guna kuasa.

Siasatan ini amat diperlukan sekaligus bagi melindungi dan menjamin ketelusan, kewibawaan dan integriti sebuah badan pengawas selia kewangan sektor awam berprofil tinggi seperti SC, katanya.

Isu membabitkan Azizan timbul selepas beliau didakwa telah membeli kira-kira 450,000 saham syarikat hartanah daripada pasaran terbuka membabitkan lima transaksi berasingan sejak April dan Ogos tahun ini.

Tiga daripada transaksi dibuat antara Julai dan Ogos dan transaksi terakhir membabitkan pembelian 100,000 saham pada 12 Ogos lalu.

Penguasaan itu menjadikan Sime Darby sebagai pemegang saham terbesar dalam syarikat hartanah yang memiliki Hotel E&O di Pulau Pinang.

Sementara itu, SC yang diketuai dua pegawai kanannya Datuk Francis Tan dan Datuk Gumuri Hussain telah mula melakukan siasatan menyemak transaksi saham E&O-Sime Darby sejak bulan lalu, manakala Zarinah terpaksa menarik diri dalam siasatan itu.

Pakistan's Stolen Cultural Heritage

Pakistani fasting Buddha (photo credit: Christie's)

(Asia Sentinel) Christie’s halts a planned auction of a rare Pakistani artifact
At the behest of UNESCO, the fine arts auction house Christie’s has halted a planned auction this month of a fasting Buddha, a nearly 2,000-year-old statue from the Gandhara civilisation, which was believed to have been stolen from Pakistan and sold to a private collector in Germany in the 1980s.

The grey schist figure of the emaciated Siddhartha, or ‘Fasting Buddha’, was called the most fascinating 3rd or 4th century Gandhara piece in Christie’s entire collection. Islamabad’s Department of Archaeology and Museums was spurred to look deeper for Pakistan-origin artifacts that might have reached the auctioneer surreptitiously for sale. The search revealed that Christie’s was in possession of 60 more Gandhara-period relics with price tags ranging from $2,000 to $200,000.

Pakistani authorities must prove their claim that the sale was illegal if they are to recover the Buddha. What will become of it remains to be seen, yet this news evokes realization of the country’s cultural heritage despite its increasingly tarnished image as a hub of myopia and intolerance.

Located at the crossroads of South Asia, Central Asia, Western Asia and the Arab Gulf region, Pakistan’s heritage is in fact both diverse and unique. Its historical sites range from the ancient urban settlements of Mohenjo-daro from the Indus Valley civilization of Sindh and the rich Buddhist Ghandara civilization, to Mughal monuments, shrines of Muslim mystics, Sikh and Hindu temples and colonial period architecture, as well as numerous natural wonders.

However, at present the cultural diversity of Pakistan and its invaluable natural landscapes receive little attention in comparison to the gigantic political, social and economic problems confronting the country. It is also unfortunate that the present international image of Pakistan obscures the cultural heritage of the country, leading to its increased international isolation. In order to reverse such disturbing trends, it is vital to draw attention to its unique cultural heritage and harnesses its potential to promote a more balanced picture of the country.

In order to do so, it is necessary for relevant government institutions to make greater efforts to protect and promote the aspirations of the diverse range of ethnic and linguistic groups which reside in Pakistan. Instead of devising top-down bureaucratic interventions, efforts must be made to encourage increased participation of marginalized local communities, including women, in conservation and management of varied national cultural assets, including historical buildings, local literature, folklore and even music. After all, this heritage is a testament to the rich diversity of cultures and religions in this land for centuries.

Pakistan’s Ministry of Culture acknowledges the need to recognize and promote its cultural diversity, including appreciation and respect for the multitude of cultures that have been a part of Pakistan’s history.

However, its low priority and the lack of sufficient resource allocation to realize this goal has resulted in rather ad hoc attempts to promote cultural heritage, mostly in the form of renovation or preservation of a very limited number of historical sites, such as the 17th century Shalimar Gardens built by the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan or the 16th century Lahore Fort built by the Mughal emperor Akbar. There is an absence of practical measures for protection, conservation and maintenance of numerous other heritage sites strewn across Pakistan.

Last year, a Quaid-i-Azam University survey documented 450 heritage sites in Islamabad and Rawalpindi alone which are in desperate need of protection and preservation. These sites included Buddhist settlements, ancient caves, rock shelters and temples. Preservation and promotion of traditional skills and crafts, music and literature is under similar threat due to lack of suitable conservation policies and financial support.

Pakistan’s natural heritage is similarly being subjected to the onslaught of population pressures and commercial exploitation. While the government has taken some steps to protect the environment by creating Environmental Protection Agencies at the federal and provincial levels, these entities continue to struggle with a host of resource and capacity deficiencies due to which they remain ineffective in halting the threat of encroachment, deforestation and pollution of Pakistan’s irreplaceable natural heritage.

Cultural tourism perhaps offers the best means to promote cultural assets, while at the same time deriving economic benefits out of them. There are ample international examples from Southeast Asia, and parts of Africa and South America indicating how cultural and ecological sites can be preserved through adoption of sustainable tourism plans. Although there is huge dormant potential for tourism in Pakistan, growing insecurity in the country must be tackled first.

(Syed Mohammad Ali is a freelance columnist and consultant. This article was written for the Common Ground News Service.)

Najib: Malaysia Needs World-class Educational Institutions With World-class Leadership

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 5 (Bernama) -- Malaysia not only needs an education system that nurtures creative and analytical human capital but also world-class educational institutions with world-class leadership, Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak said.

This was in line with the government moves towards an innovation-led economy, the prime minister said.

"We are taking a series of measures to encourage more young people to think the unthinkable and forge a bold new path -- shaping a supportive ecosystem, creating new opportunities and funding enablers for innovation," he said in his speech at the Students In Free Enterprise (SIFE) World Cup 2011 dinner here, Wednesday night.

His speech was delivered by his deputy Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin who is also Education Minister.

Najib said the Malaysian government was "determined to do everything to support innovation" by creating an environment in which corporations, research organisations and individuals were better able to engage in innovative activities.

"Measures to achieve this include developing human capital, investing in innovation infrastructure and nurturing new ventures through incubators," he said.

Najib wanted to see more commercially-viable innovations and urged the private sector to come forward and collaborate with universities and schools to innovate new products which had the potentials to contribute to economic growth and to societal well-being.

"But the success of our innovation agenda will depend on our ability to value openness, to embrace critical thinking and to encourage risk taking and experimentation; because sometimes we all get things wrong before we get them right," he said.

Najib also said that there was a need revamp the education system "to unlock individual skills and talents" and to produce well-rounded individuals.

"Poor performance in education today will have negative impact on the country's tomorrow, as higher education levels are consistently correlated with robust economic growth," he said.

Indonesia: Radical Islam infiltrating top universities says counter-terror agency

Jakarta, 3 Oct. (AKI/Jakarta Post) - Radicalism has found its way into several of Indonesia's top universities, according to the national counter-terrorism Agency (BNPT) .says
.
“We are seeing a massive increase in radicalism. It is penetrating some top-quality and favourite universities such as [the University of Indonesia] and [the Bandung Institute of Technology],” BNPT chief Ansyaad Mbai said Tuesday.

Mbai added that he had received reports from several university leaders about radical movements within their institutions.

“BNPT has received reports from rectors, deans and rector’s assistants concerning issues of radicalism at their campuses,” he said.

Radicalism had not only been found among students studying religion, but also students of other faculties such as engineering, mathematics and science, Ansyaad said.

Will Pakatan, Hindraf team up?

Hindraf believes it still has the 'power' to swing votes and that Pakatan is making a mistake by ignoring its overtures.
ANALYSIS

Hindraf Makkal Sakti and its offspring Human Rights Party (HRP) are blithely wooing Pakatan Rakyat to forge an electoral alliance to face its common enemy – Umno-helmed Barisan Nasional – in the fast-approaching 13th general election.

But signs are clear that Pakatan is not interested.

Pakatan allies – PKR, DAP and PAS and, to a certain extent, Parti Sosialis Malaysia (PSM) – may have realised that Hindraf was the most influential factor that convince the Indian voters to shift their traditional allegiance with BN in the last general election.

Many Pakatan candidates were seen then working hand-in-hand with Hindraf activists to secure votes.

The Indian swing contributed to Pakatan’s massive electoral gains at the expense of BN.

But post-2008 election, Pakatan has practically decided to end its marriage with Hindraf, especially after the formation of HRP.

Pakatan is aiming to win over the Indian votes without Hindraf’s support.

Pakatan’s body language signals that it is happy with current set-up and does not want to include Hindraf and its political offspring HRP.

Fed up with Pakatan

HRP and Hindraf’s constant criticisms, justified in many cases, against Pakatan state governments for not doing enough or nothing at all for the Indian community, have not gone down well with Pakatan’s top brass, especially the Indian elected representatives.

Apparently ethnic Malay and Chinese leaders in Pakatan do not want an Indian-based party in their fold.

“They would rather prefer ethnic Indian individuals… to join PKR or DAP.

“In that way, the Pakatan top brass – dominated by Malays and Chinese – can control, tame, weaken and breed the Indian elected representatives as their mandores.

“Pakatan definitely did not want a strong grassroots movement championing the Indian cause within its sphere,” said a political observer.

But despite Pakatan’s virtual rejection, the Hindraf-HRP axis still dreams of teaming up with Pakatan merely to vote out Umno-BN from Putrajaya.

Hindraf-HRP adviser N Ganesan told newsmen last week that the group’s immediate political objective was to remove Umno from power.

“This is important to enable us to achieve our long-term goal to eliminate racist and religious supremacist state-sponsored policies trampling on the rights of minorities,” he said.

Both Hindraf and HRP have realised that this could not be achieved without forging close working ties with Pakatan.

Indications are that the next general election could be quick snap polls and just around the corner.

Pakatan to lose states

If recent Hindraf brainstorming session in Singapore is anything to go by, Pakatan would fail to capture its holy grail, Putrajaya.

According to Hindraf’s analysis, Pakatan stands to lose between 22 and 50 state seats and 10 and 18 parliamentary constituencies across the country in a 20 to 50 percent Indian vote swing.

Hindraf claims Pakatan would lose Kedah and Selangor, and would not regain Perak.

Hindraf analysts also claimed that eight cabinet ministers risked losing their seats. Even some segments of Pakatan’s own grassroots believed in the computation.

They conceded that Hindraf-HRP could make a decisive difference in the next election.

But, unlike in 2008 when Hindraf gave a free lunch to Pakatan by throwing its support behind the opposition coalition, this time it wants Pakatan to make some seat concessions for HRP.

Hindraf has Indian support

Critics, however, argued that Hindraf was taking too much credit for Pakatan’s electoral success in 2008.

Of course, Indian votes alone did not win the day for Pakatan.

Significant shifts in Malay and Chinese votes were also a major reason for Pakatan’s win.

That explains why Pakatan leaders now prefer to play into the popular bi-racial gallery comprising the ethnic Malay and Chinese vote banks, rather than actualising the multi-racial concept.

Critics have also argued that Pakatan and Hindraf were not competent for each other because of the latter’s Indian agenda.

But then both groups were competent in 2008.

Hindraf-HRP claims that it can move Indian votes for Pakatan, especially the working class Indians who make up some 70 percent of the community.

Hatred for Umno

Critics argued that most well educated Indians were not with Hindraf-HRP because they despised racist politics.

“Educated Indians feel they would be better off under Pakatan than Hindraf,” they said.

But a random survey among educated Indians revealed most backed Hindraf’s Indian stance and acknowledged that Pakatan had done “very little” for the Indians.

Indeed, most argued that the Malays and Chinese have gained the most from the 2008 political change, while ethnic Indians, who were instrumental for it, were largely sidelined and isolated.

“For Pakatan, Malay issue is a national issue and Chinese issue is a multi-racial issue.

“But an Indian issue is a racial issue,” said a national school Indian teacher.

Their hatred for Umno is the only factor stopping these well educated Indians from going back to BN.

The Pakatan strategy is to capitalise on this sentiment to fish educated Indian votes without Hindraf-HRP support.

But the Hindraf-HRP alliance believes Pakatan would fail without it.

Tricky question

The alliance is putting its faith in Indian voters whom they believe will respond to it in the next polls as they did the last time.

“Pakatan and Hindraf-HRP must work together to end Umno’s rule,” insisted Ganesan.

Hindraf-HRP has already offered an olive branch to Pakatan to work together for the next polls to oust Umno and company from the federal government.

But Pakatan is unlikely to entertain it because some leaders and supporters believe that HRP candidates would lose their deposits if they contested alone.

But Hindraf-HRP leaders believe they have nothing to lose and, moreover, they would gain more political strength by taking the centre-stage in the next general election.

They insist that it is Pakatan which has more to lose with non-cooperation.

It looks like this is shaping up to be a one-upmanship political game between Pakatan and the human rights socio-political movement.

With election around the corner, any cooperation would have to take place fast.

For cooperation to happen, it will take a great deal of wisdom to shake off egos, arrogance and short-sighted thinking.

Whether Pakatan will ever accept Hindraf-HRP axis into its fold will remain a tricky question.

Report: Police acted unethically in dispersing July 9 protesters (Update)

The Sun Daily
by Husna Yusop

PUTRAJAYA (Oct 4, 2011): The Home Ministry today admitted that police had breached the standard operating procedures (SOP) and had acted unethically in the dispersal of demonstrators of the Bersih 2.0 rally on July 9 at the Tung Shin Hospital.

Its secretary-general Tan Sri Mahmood Adam said the Home Ministry will refer the personnel concerned, to the Royal Malaysian Police's disciplinary committee for its consideration and further action.

In a statement issued late today, Mahmood cited the Health Ministry's highest level internal investigation committee's report on the incident saying water cannon was sprayed by policemen towards the demonstrators who were gathering at the multi-level car park and the main entrance of Tung Shin Hospital.

"However, this action is merely intended to disperse the groups of protesters gathered there," Mahmood said.

It was also stated that tear gas was shot towards the Waz Lian premises by the police force, targetting at protesters who were gathering in a public car park outside Tung Shin.

"However, the claim that there was firing of tear gas into Tung Shin grounds is not true because it happened outside the hospital," Mahmood quoted the report.

Another incident was the throwing of smoke grenades by the police towards protesters gathering at the parking lot of the Chinese Maternity Hospital.

"With regards to the smoke grenade incident, the investigation found out it did not happen within the Tung Shin Hospital compounds but in the Chinese Maternity Hospital, which, in terms of administration, is separated from Tung Shin.

"The Chinese Maternity Hospital had ceased its operations since September 2006, as the whole premises was undergoing macro or major renovation starting December this year," Mahmood said.

"This decision clearly shows that the ministry views seriously the work ethics of each of its personnel and would not compromise in taking disciplinary action if it was proven the SOP has been violated by any of them," he said in a statement late today.

Muhyiddin Warns Schools Barring Students From Taking Exams

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 5 (Bernama) -- Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin Wednesday warned of action against schools which deliberately prevented any pupil or student from sitting for important examinations.

Muhyiddin, who is also education minister, said the Education Ministry was scrutinising the reports it had received on the matter.

There have been reports recently that some schools prohibited pupils weak in their studies from sitting for examinations so as to maintain a high pass rate.

Muhyiddin said the teachers could not be blamed if the pupils or students themselves did not wish to sit for the examinations.

The deputy prime minister spoke to reporters after a visit to Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Seri Hartamas near here to have a first-hand look at the students sitting for the 2011 Penilaian Menengah Rendah (PMR) examination which began yesterday.

The PMR students were taking their English Language Paper 1 examination then.

Muhyiddin reiterated that schools should not be too obsessed with attaining academic excellence to the extent that they denied any pupil or student his or her right to sit for important public examinations.

"No one should be denied his or her right to sit for a public examination," he said.

He reminded schools not to repeat the mistake and to ensure that every pupil or student was provided ample opportunity to get a proper education and sit for examinations to gauge their achievement.

Muhyiddin also said that an award would be introduced this year to accord recognition to parent-teacher associations which helped to raise the achievement of pupils or students.

He said an evaluation would be made of these associations which actively collaborated with the school administration to elevate the achievement of the pupils or students.

Why are we facing a gas shortage?

We are known to have rich reserves of natural gas. So why is Petronas facing a shortage in gas supply, which has resulted in crippling losses for Tenaga Nasional?

Source: Petronas Financial Results Announcement quarter ended 30 June 2011

Petronas used to deliver 1200 million standard cubic feet per day (mmscfd) of gas to the power generation sector. The supply has now dropped to around 900mmscfd this year.
The shortage is squeezing the life out of TNB, which has had to resort to fuel substitutes that are six times more expensive than gas. TNB posted serious losses in its third quarter and its fourth quarter results could be just as dire.
A proposal has reportedly been put forward that some of the independent power producers should share the higher costs.
Energy costs for TNB in FY2010 added up to RM19.1bn of which RM12.5bn went to the IPPs, reported The Edge last month. TNB will now have to shell out an additional RM400m per month in fuel costs. Imagine, it had to reportely put a tender out for fuel supply on two occasions and even had to import electricity from Singapore! The gas supply situation must be really grim if you have to import electricity from Singapore!
The worst part is that, if nothing is done, the higher costs could soon be passed to consumers, perhaps in December or after the coming general election, which some believe could be held by the end of the year.
According to Petronas, the gas shortage is due to subsidised gas prices (tell us, who benefited the most?) and the use of gas as a substitute for coal and this has spurred the demand for gas. Declining reserves and aging facilities have also taken its toll, it added.
Petronas also highlights the following:

• Subsidised gas prices since 1997 created impetus for gas demand as a substitute for coal and oil = pushing demand beyond organic requirements.
• Declining reserves coupled with aging facilities stretched supply dynamics = eventual gap between supply and demand.
• Little room for error on supply management.
• We have intensified mitigation actions to alleviate the gas shortage.
• Material portion of future supply = derived from imports at market prices = 1997 subsidies gradually withdrawn.

Less well known is the impact of a fire last December at the Bekok C gas platform, located 200km off-shore from the east coast of the peninsula. The resumption of full supply has been repeatedly delayed.
But even if supply from Bekok C is fully restored, will the shortage be resolved? Perhaps unlikely.
The funny thing is that Malaysia is ranked 14th in the world in terms of its gas reserves, according to the Gas Malaysia website.

As at 1 January 2008, the natural gas reserves in Malaysia stood at 88.0 trillion standard cubic feet (tscf) or 14.67 billion barrels of oil equivalent, approximately three times the size of crude oil reserves of 5.46 billion barrel.
Of this, 33.5 trillion standard cubic feet (tscf) or 38% is found off the East Coast of Peninsular Malaysia, 41.8 tscf (48%) offshore Sarawak and the remaining 12.7 tscf (14%) offshore Sabah. At the current rate of production, Malaysia’s gas reserves expected to last another 36 years.
In 2007, Malaysia’s production of natural gas averaged 7.01 bscf per day. As at 31 March 2008, Malaysia had 88 producing fields of which 61 were oil fields and 27 gas fields. About 50% of these producing fields are solely operated by PETRONAS’s subsidiary, PETRONAS Carigali.

So, I repeat the question, why are we facing a gas shortage? The reason often cited is ongoing maintenance work. But that sounds vague. So what’s really going on?
A thorough independent audit is needed on all the country’s gas platforms and the delivery process to find out what is happening to our gas supply and the reason(s) for the shortage.
Meanwhile, perhaps someone from Petronas can tell us what’s happening?

Victory for a Moroccan Christian Convert

We are glad to inform you that our client, a former Muslim from Morocco, has been granted asylum in the United States. Our client, Z, whose name has been kept confidential for security reasons, is a young Christian who grew up in a wealthy and strong Muslim family in Morocco. After his conversion to Christianity, he was attacked by radical Muslims and was stabbed multiple times. After losing a lot of blood and remaining unconscious for three days, Z was miraculously saved.

Z told the ACLJ that he was brought up in a “purely traditional Islamic way and had a burning desire since adolescence to be a good Muslim in the eye of Allah and to make his family proud of him.” At a very young age Z was sent to a Moroccan mosque to study the Quran for four years. However, Z said that “the more I tried to know Allah, the more I became afraid of him.” Z’s fear came to an end when he met with a Christian schoolmate in Europe. When Z shared Islam with this schoolmate, he says, “instead of being amazed and convinced of what I had said to her, she simply told me that she already has Jesus Christ, and she is scared of nothing.” Z started a comparative study of the Quran and the Bible. While studying the Bible, Z said, “the thing that struck me the most was that no one can ever be good enough to deserve God’s favor, to win God’s heaven, because from birth we are all pre-disposed to rejecting God and living our lives our own way. That’s why it was necessary for God himself to shrink into a human body and die on the cross, dying the death we deserve.”

Z left Islam and started secretly living as a Christian. In 2010, when he was attending a secret house church in Morocco and going to an internet cafe to fulfill his need to listen to worship songs and sermons, he was approached by four men as he left his house. The men surrounded him and said they knew that he had left Islam and dishonored his family and Islam by becoming a kafir (infidel). The men stabbed Z multiple times and left him for dead. One of Z’s neighbors saw him lying on the ground, bleeding. He took Z to the hospital where he underwent two surgeries. He gained consciousness after three days and thanked God for saving his life. Z came to the United States and contacted the ACLJ. Our legal team filed for asylum and within just four months, Z was interviewed and granted asylum. Z is currently attending a Bible school where he is continuously growing in his Christian faith.

In recent years, Morocco has been very unwelcoming of Christian foreigners and has expelled many from the country. And, just last year, at least 14 Christian converts were arrested in Morocco. In 2005, a Christian convert was sentenced to 15 years in prison.

Ahmadi schoolteacher shot dead in Sheikhupura

Dilawar Hussain was shot twice at the government school where he taught. 

LAHORE: As his students watched, a recent convert to the Ahmadi faith, Dilawar Hussain, 42, was shot dead at a government primary school in a village in Sheikhupura on Saturday.

According to the FIR registered, the deceased was shot twice while he was taking a class at the primary school in Dere Golianwala.

Hussain, along with his wife, Ishrat Bibi, and four children, had recently converted to the Ahmadi faith. His family was the only one in the village belonging to the Ahmadiyya community, Sheikhupura’s Ameer Jamaat Ahmadiyya Chaudhry Abdul Hameed Bhatti told The Express Tribune.

He said the deceased’s siblings boycotted him after his conversion and other relatives went against him when local clerics declared him “liable to be killed”.

Bhatti said even his brothers, one of whom is a police officer, did not want to register an FIR and become a complainant. Instead, they made Ishrat Bibi the complainant and prepared the application themselves.

Hussain’s relatives refused to own his body. At the same time, they created obstacles for his widow to take the body away from the village to Rabwah, the headquarters of the Ahmaddiya community. However, under police security, she finally managed to take the body away.

Sheikhupura SHO Shahid Zafar Gujjar said that as the FIR was registered against two unidentified people, they had no information about the murderers.

The SHO said authorities will be able to trace out the assailants once the witness identifies them. He added that the police had completed the legal requirements by getting autopsy of the body and registering the FIR. He revealed FIR # 1146/11 under section 302 of the Pakistan Penal Code had been registered against the assailants.

Saleemuddin, a spokesperson for Jamat-e-Ahmadiyya Pakistan, condemned the murder and demanded the immediate arrest of the accused. He said fatwas declaring members of the Ahmadi sect “liable to be killed” were being issued in different parts of the country and these religious edicts were being published in vast numbers. This, according to Saleemuddin, has resulted in target killings of many Ahmadis.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 3^rd, 2011.

Pakatan MPs want 'plagiarist' judge removed

Report: Police breached SOP in Tung Shin incident

(Malaysiakini) A Health Ministry probe has confirmed that the police had breached standard operating procedures (SOP) when dispersing Bersih 2.0 rally participants at the Tung Shin Hospital.

In a statement late this evening, Home Ministry chief secretary Mahmood Adam said based on the Health Ministry report, errant police personnel would be referred to the police's disciplinary committee.

“The investigation results concluded that there were unethical actions which were beyond the SOP of the Royal Malaysian Police when enforcement was performed on rally participants who were wrongly using the hospital premises,” said Mahmood.

The Health Ministry report, released today, confirms that the police water cannon was fired at demonstrators who were converging at the hospital multi-storey carpark and main gate.

“However, this action (was taken) solely to disperse groups of protesters who were gathering at the hospital area,” said Mahmood, quoting from the Health Ministry report.

Smoke bombs

It was also confirmed that tear gas canisters were fired from the Waz Lian Enterprise Sdn Bhd building in the direction of a carpark outside the hospital compound.

“However, allegations that there was tear gas fired inside the hospital compound are not true because it happened at a public carpark outside the hospital compound,” said Mahmood.

The report also states that 'smoke bombs' were thrown by police personnel towards protesters who were converging at the Chinese Maternity Hospital (CMH) carpark.

“Referring to the smoke bomb incident, investigations found that this did not happen inside the Tung Shin Hospital compound, but at the CMH compound, which in terms of administration, is separate from Tung Shin.

“CMH had ceased operations since September 2006 because of major renovations which will take place in December 2011,” said Mahmood.

Initial denial

He stressed that the decision to refer errant police personnel for disciplinary proceedings shows that the Home Ministry was serious in ensuring that its staff follow procedures.

“(The Home Ministry) will not compromise on disciplinary action if it is found that there are (staff) who are proven to have violated operational guidelines,” he said.

Health Minister Liow Tiong Lai had initially denied claims that riot-control weapons were fired into the Tung Shin Hospital compound during the July 9 rally.

However, pictures which were widely distributed on the Internet suggested the contrary, leading Liow to announce the formation of a “high-level committee of enquiry” to probe the claims.

Pakatan’s ‘prosperity for all’ budget

The opposition unveiled its 2012 budget which emphasises on cleaning up the economy of corruption.

UPDATED

KUALA LUMPUR: Pakatan Rakyat unveiled its shadow budget for 2012 today aimed at overhauling the country’s “flawed” macro and micro economic management to cut costs while adding value.

The budget, themed “Prosperity For All”, was announced by Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim at Parliament here.

Much of the pact’s alternative fiscal management plans were similar to its past budget where the emphasis was on cleaning the economy of corruption, the “typical characteristics of the Barisan Nasional government”, which Anwar said cost the country dearly.

The underlying principles of Pakatan’s budget would be to:

• Assist the majority poor; ensuring long-term fiscal survival focusing on deficit trim;

• Adding value to government spending by combating graft so money will reach voters;

• Empowering the people’s economy through training programmes and strengthening;

• Strengthening political reformation which is essential in protecting voters from “elements that will monopolise wealth for them and their cronies.”

As much as RM220 billion would be allocated for the said purposes.

Although the amount was RM14 billion lesser than the ruling coalition’s 2011 Budget, Anwar said this would be consistent with the aim to cut deficit to 4.4% of the GDP or 1.1% less than BN’s annual target.
Trimming public debt, which stood close to 7% of the GDP in 2009 forced the government to push the panic button and compelled Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak to resort to a much needed but unpopular measure – dismantling the hefty subsidy regime amid soaring inflation.

Pakatan, however, argued that slashing subsidies on basic goods was not the only solution and said that ethical and transparent governance would help stop fiscal “leakages” and unnecessary waste of public funds.

This meant Pakatan would maintain subsidies and offsets by disciplined fiscal spending. As much as RM22 billion would be allocated for subsidies on basic goods under the pact’s budget.

Anwar, a former finance minister, said with ethical, transparent and responsible fiscal management, the lesser figures allocated for the 2012 budget could add 20% more value than what the BN government could achieve.

Slash PM’s Dept spending

Among the measures introduced to cut public fund wastage was the slashing of the RM10 billion allocation for the Prime Minister’s Department.
Currently, the PM’s office had the discretionary powers to set allocation at any amount. There had been a constant increase in allocations since 2004 despite having to cope with the rising deficit.
Other measures, Anwar said, included ending monopolies by “crony companies” in key industries like power and rice.
Najib would table his third budget as prime minister this Friday and is expected to announce measures to tackle the rising cost of living as the country copes with sluggish growth.

From 7.2% last year, growth stood only at 4.4% in the first half of this year.

The prime minister’s announcement would likely “break the bank” by including announcements such as a new civil service pay scheme that would see salary rise by as much as 40%.

Civil servants were considered an important vote bank for the ruling coalition and winning them over would be key to realising Pakatan’s Putrajaya ambition.

In an apparent bid to woo them, Anwar announced his coalition’s intention to implement a minimum wage policy of RM1,100 which would immediately benefit 300,000 civil servants earning below that base.

Other salient points of the pact’s budget were based on policies outlined in its “Orange Book” where much of the spending would be in the form of cash aides and incentives targeted at the lower income group.

Highlights of the shadow budget

• An additional RM1.2 billion of revenue will be raised by auctioning Open APs, presently issued at RM10,000 each by the BN government. An auction price of RM30,000 each will bring the additional RM1.2 billion revenue.

• 10,000 teachers will be trained and RM200 million will be allocated to address the shortage of Chinese, English, Tamil and religious teachers, as well as an additional RM200 million to be immediately disbursed to improve excisting buildings of vernacular and religious schools.

• An open tender for government procurement to reward know-how instead of know-who.

• Affirmative measures for bumiputera and other disadvantaged groups will focus on strengthening the capability of such groups to compete through education, training and financial support.

• A Unfair Public Contracts Act will be enacted to empower a review into lop-sided concessions and agreements that are deemed to be against the public interest.

• GLCs will be freed from political interference and allowed to operate based on comercial priorities. Ultimately only GLCs in strategic sectors will be retained.

• The Competition Act will be extended to all sectors of the economy, including telecommunication companies, pay-tv services and the power sector.

• Press and media cartels will be dismantled, Astro’s monopoly will be broken up and taxi licences to be given directly to individual taxi drivers.

• A senior Malaysian bonus of RM1,000 for the elderly, payment of RM1,000 for qualified homemakers and supplemanting hardcore poor households income. A childcare allowance of RM1,000 a year for children below 12-years-old from households earning less than RM1,000 a month.

• These immediate measures to help Malaysians will cost: RM1.7 billion for senior Malaysian bonus for the elderly; RM2 billion for support of homemakers; RM200 million for top-up payments for the hardcore poor.

• Will not implement Good and Services Tax until and unless Malaysia departs from the middle income trap.

• The police force will be refocussed on crime prevention and enhancing public security.

• A National Transport Policy to prioritize public transport following the principle of “moving people, not cars”.

• To reform political landscape by revoking existing emergency proclamations, to restructure Public Complaints Bureau into an Ombudsman institution, revoking media licensing requirements by repealing the Printing Presses and Publications Act, to restore academy freedom and autonomy of local universities, and to abolish the Official Secrets Act and enact a Freedom of Information Act.

• Improving the road networks in Sabah and Sarawak, strengthening the electrical grid network in Sabah and revamping the flying doctors services in Sarawak by giving an additional allocation of RM100 million.

• No increase in sin taxes on cigarettes and alcohol as it is ineffective in curbing unhealthy habits. Public awareness and education would be a better alternative.

• Pakatan will reintroduce the import tax for 200 luxury items that were exempted by Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak in the last budget.

• RM2.2 billion for teachers from special teaching allowance and minimum wage.

• RM1 billion for public housing.

Pakatan guns for 'copycat' judge

According to Karpal Singh, the Court of Appeal judge allegedly plagiarised a judgment by a Singaporean counterpart in early 2000.

FULL REPORT

KUALA LUMPUR:  Sixty Pakatan Rakyat MPs are pushing for a motion to censure a Court of Appeal judge for alleged plagiarism.

Leading the pack, Bukit Gelugor MP Karpal Singh said that justice Abdul Malik Ishak had allegedly committed the offence while serving as a High Court judge in Johor in early 2000.

The judge was accused of plagiarising a judgment by then Singapore High Court judge GP Selvam and the irony of the matter was that Malik was hearing a case regarding copyright.

Speaking at a press conference in Parliament, Karpal said: “We have filed the motion (to discuss the censuring) with the secretary of the Dewan Rakyat.”

“This motion (is in line with) Article 127 of the Federal Constitution which allows for discussion of the conduct of judges if 1/4 of parliamentarians support the motion,” he added.

The total number of MPs is 222, and with 60 backing the motion, it exceeded the required number.

Suspend the judge


Meanwhile, Karpal described the charge against the judge as serious, and did not reflect well on the judiciary.

“It is clearly misconduct of a very serious nature on the part of Malik bringing the Malaysian judiciary into disrepute,” he said, demanding that the judge be suspended and brought before a tribunal.

Karpal said that portions of Selvam’s judgment were copied without quoting and acknowledging the original source.

The DAP leader said he had written twice to Malik in August and September this year but did not receive a response from him over the matter.

Karpal added that the motion filed today was also in line with Parliamentary Standing Orders 27 and 36 (8).

Standing Order 27 states that advance notice must be sent to the Dewan Rakyat secretary before tabling a motion in parliament.

While Standing Order 36 (8) required a motion to be tabled in parliament first before there is any discussion regarding a public officer appointed under constitutional provisions.

Law graduate from Singapore

According to the judiciary website, the Johor-born Abdul Malik was appointed to the Court of Appeal on July 16, 2007.

A law graduate from the University of Singapore – graduating in 1974 , Abdul Malik was appointed as a Judicial Commissioner on Oct 1, 1992, and subsequently, as a Judge of the High Court of Malaya on Aug 17,1994.

Prior to that he had served as a magistrate, deputy public prosecutor, state legal adviser, senior Sessions Court judge and advisory board chairman at the Prime Minister’s Department.

[Judge's photo from the judiciary website]

Tun M: Pakatan's Alternative Budget is like an "Empty Pocket"

(Bernama) - "It's easy when we want to spend the money which we don't have," is what former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad said when asked to comment on the tabling of the alternative Budget by the opposition Pakatan Rakyat.

It was reported that Pakatan Rakyat would table its annual budget today, three days ahead before the federal government presents its 2012 Budget.

The opposition coalition's budget is said to be an alternative budget before the 2012 Budget is tabled by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak in Parliament on Friday. Najib is also Finance Minister.

"It's always easy to spend the money which is not under our control. We can do anything (like) promising to give 20 percent oil royalty.

"Yes, we can make the promise as we are not the government. Make promises, so long you win the elections (general election).

"It is common, even (US President Barack) Obama promised to close Guantanamo Bay in Cuba, but until now the detention center has not been closed yet. But he was elected," said Dr Mahathir to reporters after delivering a keynote address at the 8th Kuala Lumpur Islamic Finance Forum 2011 here today.

Dr Mahathir also served as finance minister when he was the prime minister for 22 years.

Noose Tightens in French Defense Scandal

Malaysia's sub, lost in the fog

Asian dimension as French state-owned arms company faces murder, bribery allegations
After years of inaction and coverup, details are emerging in France of the sale of armaments by the French state-owned defense contractor DCNS to countries across the world including Pakistan, Malaysia, Chile, India, Taiwan and Saudi Arabia, with bribes and kickbacks built into DCNS’s budget, ensnaring politicians across the globe.

Allegations involving DCNS, formerly known as DCN, range from murder to bribery and corruption and go from defense procurement officials in each of those countries to some of the top politicians in France.

Under the French legal system, prosecutors under the control of the Ministry of Justice must make a preliminary enquiry, during which no one has access to the files, so that any information the police have obtained cannot be shared. The prosecutors have been stymied for years by the ministry. However, investigators appear to be losing their awe of politicians all the way up to President Nicholas Sarkozy.

In September, for instance, Nicholas Bazire, 54, the best man at Sarkozy’s wedding to supermodel Carla Bruni, was arrested and charged with misuse of public funds in the 1995 presidential campaign of Edouard Balladur. Sarkozy was Balladur’s campaign spokesman and budget minister at the time. Another friend, Thierry Gaubert, Sarkozy’s cabinet chief when he was budget and communication minister, was arrested earlier. Sarkozy is seeking avoid the appointment of an instruction judge in an effort to keep the cases under control. But the political knives may be out for Sarkozy.

That increases the chances that investigating judges will allow prosecutors a more detailed look at DCNS’s books to probe kickbacks in Pakistan, where 11 French submarine engineers were killed in a bomb attack, and Taiwan, where a number of murders and suicides have been recorded in connection with the sale of frigates to Taiwan’s navy. The details can be found here.

William Bourdon, the leader of a three-lawyer team investigating Malaysia’s US$1 billion purchase of submarines from DCNS for the Malaysian reform organization Suaram, earlier told Asia Sentinel he hoped his team would have access to the files by October. Bourdon was summarily deported from Malaysia in July after giving a speech in Penang describing some of the details of the allegations.

Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak was defense minister at a time when Malaysia bought two Scorpene-class submarines from DCNS. Included in the transaction was a €114 million commission paid to Perimekar Sdn Bhd, a company owned by Najib’s close friend, Abdul Razak Baginda. The transaction has been mired in controversy since 2006, when Altantuya Shaariibuu, a party girl and translator ostensibly hired to help in the contract, was murdered after demanding US$500,000 from Razak Baginda, her jilted lover, for unspecified reasons. Razak Baginda was acquitted of her murder under unusual circumstances without having to provide a defense. Two of Najib’s police bodyguards were convicted and sentenced to death. They have appealed the verdict.

Joseph Breham, a lawyer with Solicitors International Human Rights Group and a member of Bourdon’s team, said in London last week that DCNS often budgeted as much as 8 to 12 percent of its total receipts as "commissions" paid to grease sales of armaments in third-world countries. Breham’s speech was reported for the Malaysia website Malaysiakini by Miriam Mokhtar.

Malaysia bought two Scorpene submarines from DCNS for about US$1 billion and leased a third from a DCNS subsidiary for training. Of that, the €114 commission was paid to Razak Baginda’s company, Perimekar Sdn Bhd.

Breham said Razak Baginda’s company Perimekar had received the commission for "supporting the contract," which he said was a euphemism for unexplained costs, and also for "housing the crew" of the submarines in France. Perimekar was wholly owned by another company, KS Ombak Laut Sdn Bhd, which in turn was also controlled by Razak Baginda. His wife Mazalinda, a lawyer and former magistrate, was the principal shareholder, according to the French lawyers.

Breham questioned why such vast sums could be paid to Razak Baginda’s company. The €114 million obtained by Ombak Laut, he said, was more than the amount paid by France to all of its primary school teachers for a year. He also revealed that DCNS’s former finance director had written memos in which he alleged that €31 million of the €114 million had been used for "commercial engineering", a term Breham said had no legal meaning.

Breham said that in France, before 2002, any money used to bribe foreign officials was tax deductible. When the former finance director of DCN made a claim for the €31million allegedly used to bribe the Malaysians for the purchase of the Scorpenes, the Minister of Budget questioned such a large bribe, although he did eventually authorize the tax break.

The French lawyer mentioned a possible third commission, which arose because of the different mechanisms that enabled the submarines to operate. The Malaysian submarines had to be modified to operate in tropical waters, he said, which required altering the technical specifications. A variation order was made which incurred a further US$2.5 million. Breham concluded that the only doubt about the €114 million payment, which is reflected in Perimekar's financial statements, was whether the payment was for valid reasons or unethical ones.

The sticking-point for DCNS is the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development Convention on Combating Bribery of Foreign Public Officials in International Business Transactions, signed by all 34 members of the OECD including France in 1997. The convention establishes legally binding standards to criminalize bribery of foreign public officials in international business transactions and provides for a host of related measures that make this effective. Thus the alleged bribery by a French company of Malaysian officials became an offense under French law.

In April 2010, the lawyers, acting for Suaram filed a 'plainte avec constitution de partie civile' complaint, which is a criminal prosecution with a concurrent independent action for civil damages. That would mean there would be two trials, one a criminal trial and the second a civil trial for compensation.

This has two great advantages, Breham said. First, an independent instruction judge is appointed for the civil case. Second, Suaram becomes a party to the case, at which point the legal team, acting for Suaram, can then have access to all the files about the case and can ask questions of the instruction judge and request that he investigates on its behalf.

There is a huge struggle in France between the prosecution and the instruction judge. Breham says that unlike a prosecutor, this independent judge has investigative powers to subpoena officials from DCN, and access documents in the DCN offices to obtain evidence of commissions. The judge can also request "mutual criminal assistance" from the Malaysian authorities for purposes of information and cooperation. So far, there is no indication that Malaysian officials intend to cooperate.

Jawapan bertulis di Dewan Rakyat hanya melepas batuk ditangga

Dia atas ini ialah jawapan bertulis Kerajaan bagi menjawab soalan mengenai
cincin RM24.45 juta yang dibangkit oleh 6 orang ahli parlimen

Kenyataan Terbuka
Solidariti Anak Muda Malaysia

4 Oktober 2011

1. che'GuBard bagi pihak Solidariti Anak Muda Malaysia (SAMM) telah mula membuat pendedahan mengenai isu kewujudan kemasukan sebentuk cincin harga RM24.45 juta yang dalam kotak penerima dalam borang kemasukan tertera nama Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor, sehubungan dengan itu SAMM tampil memohon penjelasan dari beliau.

2. Dalam persidangan Dewan rakyat kali ini SAMM difahamkan terdapat 6 ahli parlimen yang mengajukan soalan sebelum persidangan mengenai cincin ini.

3. Seperti dijangka soalan ini hanya akan mendapat jawapan bertulis bukan lisan. Di atas ialah jawapan bertulis yang dibuat oleh Menteri Di Jabatan Perdana Menteri, YB Dato Seri Mohamed Nazri Abd Aziz. jawapan tersebut hanya seperti melepaskan batuk di tangga sahaja.

4. Bermula dari 8 Julai kali pertama che'GuBard mendedahkan mengenai cincin ini, saya dihambur berbagai tuduhan antaranya ialah pendedahan saya palsu, dokumen kastam yang saya siarkan telah diedit komputer dan ada juga tuduhan tidak wujud cincin berharga semahal rm24.45 juta.

5. 13 Julai, che'GuBard tampil di SPRM Pulau Pinang untuk membuat laporan SPRM dengan menyerahkan sebahagian dari bukti yang ada. Jika minta SPRM siasat mana dapat duit beli sudah tentu SPRM tidak siasat, maka 'angle' mudah perlu difikirkan. SAMM telah membuat laporan SPRM dengan mengambil sudut cukai kocong untuk cincin bernilai RM24.45j. Laporan sengaja dibuat begitu walaupun tahu perhiasan wanita seperti cincin telah dikecualikan cukai dalam pembentangan belanjawan yang lepas.

6. Terperangkap dengan sudut laporan , maka SPRM bertindak dengan 'serbu' bahagian kargo KLIA. Menurut maklumat yang diperolehi pegawai syarikat kargo A.Krishnan ditahan dari petang hingga awal pagi dan akhirnya dibebaskan. Selepas sesi soal siasat mendapati fakta memang cincin seperti itu tidak perlu cukai. Kemenangan yang kami perolehi ialah dengan memulakan siasatan SPRM mengakui dokumen kemasukan cincin itu benar, asli dan memang wujud.

7. Selepas itu ada maklumat juga sistem komputer Kastam 'hang' hampir 3 jam. Serentak dengan itu wujud tiba - tiba di laman-laman blog pro Umno kononya borang cincin ini di bawa keluar ke Singapura dengan 'hand carry'. Di siarkan juga borang Kastam sebagai bukti cincin ini keluar menerusi KLIA

8. Cuma timbul keraguan dalam borang cincin ini keluar. Beberapa pindaan dibuat tanpa pengesahan dan nama pegawai kastam yang menandatangani cincin itu keluar menurut laman web rasmi KDRM (yang terakhir dikemaskini pada 4 Oktober 2011) menyatakan dengan jelas nama pegawai tersebut berkhidmat di Bahagian Latihan, Ibu pejabat Kastam. Adakah keluar cincin ini urusan rasmi khusus yang amat penting hingga memerlukan tandatangan pegawai yang bertugas di Ibupejabat KDRM ?

9. Menurut laman - laman blog pro Umno kononya cincin ini masuk untuk pameran yang konon diadakan untuk VVIP sahaja. Mengenali Rosmah yang sukakan publisiti adakah kemasukan belian bernilai RM 24.45 j itu disenyapkan jika ia untuk pameran ? Adakah ia untuk pameran yang sulit, di tempat yang sulit, dengan tetamu yang sulit pada masa yang sulit ? Beliau buat peragaan fesyen busana Muslim pun ada media yang mengatakan 'diminta khusus' memberikan liputan. Jika untuk pameran kenapa ada nama Rosmah adakah dia mengambil kerja sambilan sebagai penganjur pameran belian.

10. Lebih menarik apabila muncul bekas setiausaha, YB Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim (ketika menjadi TPM) yang menyatakan kononya belian itu masuk dan milik bakal besan Rosmah. Cara beliau menyatakan mungkin untuk menimbulkan persepsi bahawa keluarga bakal menantu Rosmah amat kaya dan cincin itu ialah hadiah.

11. Malah lucunya kenyataan beliau yang mencabar che'GuBard membuat laporan mengenai berlian tersebut ternyata satu propaganda lucu mengampu kerana cabaran dibuat selepas lebih dari sebulan che'GuBard membuat laporan SPRM. Propaganda murahan inilah yang mendapat liputan besar di media seperti Utusan dan TV3. Dengan kenyataan bertulis Menteri juga propaganda ini juga dinafikan.

12. Nampaknya kempen pelancongan Malaysia amat berjaya bukan sahaja pelancong tetapi cincin berlian juga datang masuk bersiar-siar dan keluar semula selepas itu dari Malaysia.

13. Ingin ditegaskan, che'GuBard tidak menuduh tetapi dengan kewujudan bukti dan pembelaan puak pengampu yang menambah kecelaruan fakta maka lebih menuntut Rosmah untuk tampail memberikan penjelasan, bukan hanya menyatakan "itu semua fitnah dan mereka dengki dengan saya"

14. Rakyat sedang bergelut dengan perbagai tekanan hidup, khususnya kelompok pekerja muda yang sedang membina kerjaya dan keluarga. Kesombongan dan imej mewah Rosmah yang cuba menyamar sebagai wanita pertama negara seperti mencurah garam ke luka rakyat.

15. Itu belum lagi mengambil kira gelang tangan bernilai RM1.65 juta yang ada gambar dipakai oleh Rosmah dari syarikat yang sama mengeluarkan cincin.

16. Kini terpulang pada rakyat. SAMM minggu hadapan akan mula mengedarkan risalah buku kecil mengenai pembaziran dan kemewahan melampau khususnya mengenai isu cincin ini.

sekian

che'GuBard

Pengerusi SAMM