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Tuesday, 3 April 2012

10803 ‘geniuses’ running around, but …

At last year’s SPM exams, 10803 pupils scored straight As, with 559 of them chalking up A+ grades in all subjects. With so many geniuses in the country, why are we in such deep … (fill in the blank)?

In the previous year (2011), 9239 pupils scored straight As of which 403 bagged A+ grades in all subjects.

A student is allowed to take up to 12 subjects.

We are told there has been an upward trend in the “National Average Grade” for SPM from 2007 to 2011. Let’s hope this is the case because the situation looked pretty bleak in the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMMS) 2007 report.

Comparing TIMMS 1999 and TIMMS 2007, we can see that the percentages of students in Malaysia meeting international benchmarks for Mathematics and Science have been dropping.

The chart below shows the Maths benchmarks for Malaysia and how the percentages meeting international benchmarks fell at all levels between 1999 and 2007. (Similar drops were seen in Science.)


This chart below provides a snapshot of Grade 8 Maths – the declining percentage of students meeting Advanced and High benchmarks. Similar falls were also seen at the Intermediate and Low benchmarks.

TIMMS 2007 results for Grade 8 Maths


You can see how far we lag behind countries such as Chinese Taipei, Singapore and Korea.

Time for a total revamp in our education system to create more thinking and analytical Malaysians, don’t you think? Don’t count on it; I don’t see any effective revamp happening under this administration, which seems to thrive on the ignorance and lack of thinking skills among Malaysians.

The term “ignocracy” has been suggested by blogger John Bald to describe “the tyrannical imposition of stupid ideas, practices and items for political purposes” – and this term has been used by Tengku Razaleigh to describe the prevailing situation.

In the UK, philosopher Professor A C Grayling has sharply criticised the exam-oriented system: “You can get students with very large numbers of A*s who are no brighter or more promising than someone with less brilliant results on paper that are interesting and with whom a lot can be done” (Daily Mail).

Monday, 2 April 2012

Suu Kyi claims victory in Myanmar elections

Opposition party led by her says it is on course to win 44 of the 45 contested seats in Sunday's parliamentary by-polls.

Myanmar democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi has been elected to the country's parliament in landmark by-elections, according to her National League for Democracy (NLD).

The country's opposition party claimed a historic victory on Sunday for Suu Kyi in her bid for a seat in parliament, with NLD announcing that the Nobel laureate had won a parliamentary seat for the first time.

If confirmed, this would mark a stunning turnaround for Suu Kyi, who was a political prisoner, jailed by the military-led government for most of the past 22 years.

Some people wept with joy at the news outside the party's headquarters in Yangon.

"We have been waiting for this day for a long time. I'm so happy," said NLD supporter Kalyar, who goes by one name.

Suu Kyi took an estimated 82 per cent of the vote in Kawhmu constituency, according to NLD senior member Tin Oo, based on the party's own unofficial tally of the by-election. Official results were expected within a week.

The AFP news agency reports that the NLD also claims it is on track to win 44 of the 45 seats available in the parliament, although official results are not expected for days.

Suu Kyi's win is "hugely symbolic," said Al Jazeera's Wayne Hay, reporting from Yangon.

"And while she will have little power, the mere fact that she is there means there will be a lot more international attention on parliament itself and the decisions that it makes."

Our correspondet said that the success of these elections might mean bigger gains for the opposition in the upcoming 2015 general elections.

"Still, there is this nagging problem that a quarter of all seats in parliament must go to the military - that is written into the constitution," said Hay, adding the Suu Kyi has been very open about wanting to change that provision.

Sunday's vote is seen as a key test of the government's commitment to recent democratic reforms.

More than six million people were eligible to vote on Sunday, with a total of 160 candidates from 17 parties, including six new to the political stage, contesting for 45 parliamentary seats.

The number of seats at stake is not enough to threaten the military-backed ruling party's overwhelming majority, secured in full elections in 2010.

Suu Kyi's apparent victory had been widely expected, despite complaints by the NLD over alleged voting irregularities and campaign intimidation.

She said she did not regret standing for parliament because the polls had boosted people's interest in politics after decades of outright military rule ended last year.

The government for the first time invited teams of foreign observers from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, European Union and the US, and journalists to witness the elections.

Political reforms

Since taking office a year ago, President Thein Sein has carried out reforms including releasing hundreds of political prisoners, easing media restrictions and welcoming the opposition back into mainstream politics.

Our correspondent, reporting earlier from Kawhmu, said: "There are international monitors on the ground, but they are not allowed inside the polling booths. They are certainly not allowed to oversee the counting when that starts later on Sunday."

"So, they are here to observe overall process, talk to voters about any irregularities that they might have seen," he said.

"What we are hearing is that some voters have complained that voting sheets have been tampered with. Some voters have complained that inside the polling stations some of the officials have been coercing voters into voting for a certain party.

"So, not the best of starts, but certainly something the National League for Democracy and Suu Kyi were expecting."

Nyan Win, a spokesman for the party, told the AFP news agency on Sunday that his party had submitted a letter of complaint to the country's election commission regarding alleged irregularities involving ballot papers that could potentially be invalidated without due cause.

The NLD won a landslide election victory in 1990 but the ruling military never allowed it to take office. The party also boycotted the 2010 polls that swept the army's political proxies to power and were marred by complaints of cheating and intimidation.

Suu Kyi described the vote as "a step towards step one in democracy", despite complaining on Friday that the polls were not "genuinely free and fair".

"What has been happening in this country is really beyond what is acceptable for a democratic election. Still, we are determined to go forward because we think that is what our people want," the Nobel peace laureate said.

Source:Al Jazeera and agencies

Murtad: Kemuka bukti, jangan tuduh sahaja

Umno veteran: Shahrizat should quit Wanita post

Wife helped husband rape their daughter for 7 long years

By Staff/AFP


Girl became pregnant with her father's child twice; Mother helped her abort foetus

EGYPT: A young Egyptian girl sought the help of police to save her from her parents.

She alleged that her father had been raping her since she was 13 years of age and that her mother forces her to please her dad.

According to 'Al Youm Al Sabea’a' newspaper, the 20-year-old girl of Kafr Sinjab village in Dakahlia Governorate of Egypt, was made pregnant twice and her mother helped her abort the foetus, she told the police officials.

The victim, Rania, said the first foetus was abnadoned near a mosque while the second time her mom took her to a clinic.

The father has been arrested and the case transferred to public prosecution.

In Friday sermon, JAWI tells Muslims Jews are No. 1 enemy

File photo of people burning an Israel flag at an anti-Israel protest in Kuala Lumpur in 2010.

KUALA LUMPUR, March 30 — The Federal Territories’ official sermon today told Muslims Jews are their main enemy as proven by their ego and murderous acts.

The Friday sermon, delivered at lunchtime in mosques across the capital city, said Muslims must “free your brethren in Palestine from the grasp of Zionist rule and economic siege by donating money, food, medicine and whatever is suitable.”

“Firstly, Muslims must understand Jews are the main enemy to Muslims as proven by their egotistical behaviour and murders performed by them,” said the sermon prepared by the Federal Territory Islamic Affairs Department (JAWI).

It called on “community leaders and NGOs to intensify activities that increase awareness and understanding to the public about the importance of al-Quds (Jerusalem),” referring to the city that is sacred to Jews, Muslims and also Christians.

“The honour of al-Quds and the al-Aqsa mosque must be defended by all Muslims as it is holy land that is blessed,” the sermon added.

Malaysia’s relations with Israel hit the headlines after Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim was quoted by the Wall Street Journal in January as saying that he supported “all efforts to protect the security of the state of Israel.”

His statement drew immediate fire from Umno and its media, forcing the opposition leader to clarify that he was referring to a “two-state solution”, and that his support was also contingent on Israel respecting the aspirations of Palestinians.

Following the report, Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad accused the PKR de facto leader of being a Jewish sympathiser and a leader who disregarded the plight of the Palestinians.

The former prime minister also alleged that the US and Israel were conspiring to cause a regime change in Malaysia through a “puppet government” to be led by his former deputy.

But Anwar shot back, saying that unlike Dr Mahathir he had never met any Israeli leaders.

Muslim-majority Malaysia is a staunch supporter of Palestine and has no diplomatic ties with Israel.

Muslim politicians have long vied for support from Malays by denouncing what they say are inhumane acts of aggression by Israel towards its neighbour.

Anwar has previously been attacked as a supporter of the Zionist movement due to his interaction with prominent Jewish figures in the West.

But the Permatang Pauh MP turned the tables on Umno and Barisan Nasional in 2010 when he claimed public relations firm APCO Worldwide, then contracted by Putrajaya, was responsible for both the 1 Malaysia and 1 Israel campaigns.

Perak to build two Hindu crematoriums

The BN-led state government has set aside RM2 million to build the two crematoriums in Buntong and Taiping.

IPOH: The lay Hindu public uproar on the Perak Barisan Nasional government to build crematoriums for the community has worked.

Two modern crematoriums are in the pipeline to be built in Buntong and Taiping Hindu cemeteries.

Menteri Besar Dr Zambry Abdul Kadir’s special advisor on Indian affairs, S Veerasingam said that the state government has set aside RM2 million to build the two crematoriums.

He said some RM1.5 million would be channelled to build a modern crematorium in Ipoh’s largest Hindu burial ground in Buntong.

The remaining RM500,000 will be used to build similar Hindu cremation structure in Taiping cemetery.

The fund has been set aside under the state Budget 2012 which was tabled and passed at the state assembly late last year.

“Early this year the state executive council has approved the project to be implemented by this year,” Veerasingam told FMT.

The Hindu Devastana Paripalana Sabha – the temple management committee of Sri Maha Mariamman Devastanam is the administrator of the 2.8ha cemetery site in Buntong, an Ipoh hamlet dominated by Tamil Hindus.

The Sabha became the caretaker of the cemetery in 1919 by virtue of a gazette issued by the then colonial government.

The graveyard caters the burial needs of some 200,000 Hindus living in the state capital.

‘Build before GE’

Previously the state government has set aside RM14.7 million to build a non-Muslim modern crematorium in Buntong graveyard, which the temple management committee initially agreed.

The state government told the temple committee then to surrender 0.2ha of the graveyard to build the crematorium.

However, due to strong objections by local Tamil community and technical discrepancies in the land title, the state government shelved the plan.

“Since the graveyard has been gazzeted as Tamil cemetery in the land title, the state government could not build a non-Muslim crematorium anyway,” explained Veerasingam.

Hindraf national secretary P Ramesh (photo) said the movement would up its pressure on Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak and Zambry to ensure that the crematoriums be constructed before the next general election.

He said the state government, Ipoh City Council and Taiping Municipal Council have respective statutory duties to “preserve, maintain and develop” Hindu cemeteries under the National Land Code and Section 94 of the Local Government Act.

“The state authorities must build the modern crematoriums in Buntong and Taiping to cater Hindus burial rights and needs,” he told FMT.

Britain planning new Internet snooping laws: report

The plans are expected to be unveiled next month.

LONDON: The British government wants to expand its powers to monitor email exchanges and website visits, The Sunday Times newspaper reported.

Internet companies would be instructed to install hardware to allow the Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ) — Britain’s electronic “listening” agency” — to go through “on demand” every text message and email sent, websites accessed and phone calls made “in real time, the broadsheet said.

The plans are expected to be unveiled next month.

The Home Office interior ministry said ministers were preparing to legislate “as soon as parliamentary time allows” but said the data to be monitored would not include content.

“It is vital that police and security services are able to obtain communications data in certain circumstances to investigate serious crime and terrorism and to protect the public,” a spokesman said.

“We need to take action to maintain the continued availability of communications data as technology changes.

“Communications data includes time, duration and dialling numbers of a phone call, or an email address.

“It does not include the content of any phone call or email and it is not the intention of government to make changes to the existing legal basis for the interception of communications.”

An attempt to bring in similar measures was abandoned by the former Labour government in 2006 amid strong opposition.

However, ministers in the current Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition government believe it is essential that the police and security services have access to such communications data in order to tackle terrorism and protect the public.

The plans would not allow GCHQ to access the content of communications without a warrant.

However, they would enable the agency to trace whom a group or individual had contacted, how often and for how long, the report said.

- AFP

Anwar: PKR perketat syarat kelayakan calon

Ketua Umum PKR berkata, antara kriteria utama calon yang dinilai adalah amanah, berintegriti, tidak rasuah, dan setia pada parti.

SUBANG JAYA: Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) kini memperketatkan syarat kelayakan calonnya bagi menghadapi Pilihan Raya Umum ke-13 (PRU13).

Ketua Umum PKR Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim berkata, antara kriteria utama calon yang dinilai adalah amanah, berintegriti, tidak rasuah, dan setia pada parti.

PKR sebelum ini menghadapi kesukaran apabila empat daripada ahli parlimennya serta beberapa Ahli Dewan Undangan Negeri (Adun) keluar PKR dan menjadi wakil bebas, lalu mengambil pendekatan menyerang Ketua Pembangkang itu dengan isu-isu peribadi.

Anwar turut menyelar budaya Umno yang mementingkan kroni dan membenarkan ramai golongan profesional berada di syarikat besar mengambil kesempatan mengaut keuntungan.

“Budaya sebegini memang sudah lama,” katanya kepada pemberita selepas Dialog Profesional Muda bersama Penasihat Ekonomi Selangor di sini hari ini.

Beliau berkata sedemikian dalam responnya terhadap kenyataan mantan Perdana Menteri Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad bahawa Umno ketandusan golongan profesional cerdik pandai untuk dijadikan ‘winnable candidate’ PRU13.

Mansuh PTPTN

Sementara itu, Anwar berkata Pakatan Rakyat akan melaksanakan proses npemansuhan Pinjaman Tabung Pendidikan Tinggi Nasional (PTPTN) secara berperingkat.

Katanya, keuntungan pendapatan Petronas melebihi RM90 bilion setahun kemungkinan boleh dijadikan salah satu penyumbang untuk menampung kos pemansuhan RM44 bilion PTPTN.

“Kakitangan PTPTN pula akan diserap masuk ke Kementerian Pengajian Tinggi (KPT),” katanya.

Anwar bersedia disapina, kata peguam

Saman mahkamah tidak boleh dikemukakan kepada mana-mana Ahli Parlimen di dalam premis Parlimen.

PETALING JAYA: Ketua Umum PKR Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim bersedia disapina berhubung kes Hong Leong vs Low Thiam Hoe.

Pengarah Biro Guamannya, Latheefa Koya berkata sapina itu untuk mengarah Anwar menjadi saksi bagi membantu mahkamah dalam kes tuntutan terhadap Hong Leong Finance Berhad, yang difailkan pada 1998.

Sekaligus beliau menafikan dakwaan peguambela D Paralingam yang menyatakan Anwar enggan menerima sapina itu yang diserahkan kepadanya (Anwar) pada 28 Mac lalu.

Latheefa menegaskan, “kami terperanjat dengan kejahilan peguam berkenaan tentang peraturan dan hak istimewa seorang ahli parlimen bahawa saman mahkamah tidak boleh dikemukakan kepada mana-mana Ahli Parlimen di dalam premis Parlimen.

“Malahan tindakan peguam itu untuk menyerahkan sapina di premis Parlimen adalah salah dan melanggar sidang Parlimen,” terang beliau.

Menurutnya, Anwar tidak mempunyai halangan untuk menerima sapina itu dan sentiasa bersedia untuk hadir di mahkamah, jika ianya relevan, perlu dan bukan dengan niat untuk menyalah guna proses mahkamah.

“Kami ingin menasihati Paralingam bahawa terdapat beberapa etika yang perlu dipatuhi sebelum sapina dikeluarkan ke atas Ahli Parlimen, apatah lagi beliau ialah seorang Ketua Pembangkang.

“Paralingam boleh menghubungi Tetuan Daim & Gamany untuk menetapkan satu temujanji bagi menyerahkan sapina itu jika beliau benar-benar berminat untuk memanggil Anwar sebagai saksi.

Please, lah, Min, get real and cut the bullshit!

PKR is not the weakest link in Pakatan Rakyat, in fact they are the strongest, said the Deputy President, Azmin Ali at a dinner, attended by over 150 PKR members in Kota Kinabalu last night…

…Sabah PKR has improved by leaps and bounds from where it was in the past few years into a formidable force and applauded the Sabah version of Buku Jingga, which lists 19 points of Sabah centric issues…

…the PKR deputy president said that seat negotiations have reached the next phase with the Pakatan leadership taking over to decide on the final list of candidates.

He also confirmed that the  battle in Sabah this time around will be  straight fights between Pakatan and Barisan Nasional candidates and not likely to see a repeat of the 3 -cornered and 4- cornered ones of the 2008 12 general election – Malaysiakini reporting yesterday.

You can read the report by clicking on the image of ‘Azmin’ with his head in the sand and his ass in the air!

-Haris Ibrahim

Ezam, Nalla dan Umi Hafilda Sedang Membesarkan Kubur Untuk Najib

Dari Shahbudin.com

Semakin hampir tiba detik pilihanraya, serangan peribadi kepada Anwar semakin memuncak. Bekas pemimpin-pemimpin PKR sperti Ezam Mohd Nor, Anuar Shaari, Nallakaruppan, Zulkifli Nordin dan lain-lain nampaknya begitu rancak menyerang peribadi Anwar berkaitan isu seks dan moral. Umi Hafilda yang merupakan adik kepada Azmin Ali turut tumpang semangkuk menghangatkan lagi suasana dengan dakwaan yang jika dihalusi lebih bersifat masalah kekeluargaan semata-mata.

Mereka berjanji untuk berkempen ke seluruh negara bersama isu seks, liwat dan biseksual yang dikaitkan dengan Anwar itu. Di dada media dan kaca tv, mereka sudah muncul hampir setiap hari dengan isu yang sama seolah-olah itulah isu pokok dalam politik negara dan penentuan rakyat terhadap parti yang ingin diberikan kuasa.

Modal mereka hanyalah isu seks dan liwat yang dikaitkan dengan Anwar dan sudah pun menjadi pengetahuan umum sebenarnya sejak Anwar dipecat pada 1998 lagi. Mereka hanya mengulang-ulang cerita lama seolah-olah mereka mengetahui segala-galanya walaupun dalam dalam kes liwat pertama, Anwar sudah dibebaskan oleh mahkamah dan dalam kes liwat kedua, juga sudah dibebaskan di peringkat Mahkamah Tinggi. Ia kini sedang menunggu proses rayuan di Mahkamah Rayuan.

Cerita seks dan liwat ini sudah diulang banyak kali walaupun hakikatnya rakyat menolak permainan menyerang peribadi secara keterlaluan itu. Lihatlah keputusan beberapa pilihanraya kecil sebelum ini dan arus sokongan rakyat di merata-rata tempat sekarang, jelas dapat dilihat bahawa isu ini tidak menjadi kudis kepada rakyat. Bahkan lagi disebut dan diulang cerita seks dan liwat itu, makin mencanak sokongan rakyat kepada Anwar.

Sesetengah rakyat tidak mempercayai isu seks dan liwat itu dan menganggapnya cubaan untuk membunuh karier politik Anwar yang direka sejak zaman Mahathir lagi. Sesetengah yang lain pula menganggapnya sebagai mainan politik longkang yang cuba dilakukan oleh BN untuk memenangi pilihanraya. BN dilihat seolah-olah sudah kering idea dan tiada modal lain untuk mendapatkan sokongan rakyat dan berhadapan dengan Anwar serta Pakatan Rakyat.

Jika diperhatikan gerak laku dan perangai bekas pemimpin PKR yang mengaitkan Anwar dengan pelbagai dakwaan berkaitan seks dan liwat itu, amat nyata bahawa bahawa mereka ingin menjadi hero dalam pilihanraya akan datang ini. Mereka ingin membunuh karektor Anwar dan mahu rakyat terus memilih BN semata-mata atas alasan Anwar seorang pemimpin yang tidak baik moralnya dan dikatakan gila seks.

Keghairahan mereka menonjolkan diri dalam media dan di sisi Najib telah menenggelamkan kewujudan pemimpin dalam UMNO sendiri. Peranan Ketua Bahagian dan Ahli Majlis Tertinggi UMNO seolah-olah tidak wujud dalam mempertahankan UMNO dan Najib. Sepanjang masa suara Najib lebih banyak disahut oleh mereka ini berbanding pemimpin dalam UMNO sendiri. Benarkan kata Tun Daim, Najib dalam persiapan menghadapi pilihanraya ini umpama jeneral tanpa askar.

Dalam masa yang sama, dengan menonjolkan isu seks dan liwat, penilaian rakyat cuba ditutup terhadap isu kenaikan harga barang, beban hidup yang meningkat, rasuah makin berleluasa, skandal lembu NFC, pelupusan hutang Tajudin Ramli sebanyak RM589 juta, hutang negara mencecah hampir 55 peratus KDNK negara, ekonomi yang tidak berkembang, urus tadbir negara yang lemah dan pelbagai isu lainnya yang menghenyak kehidupan rakyat seharian.

Apakah mungkin isu seks dan liwat itu mampu menjadikan rakyat buta hati dan melupakan isu lain seperti yang disebutkan diatas tadi?

Sudah bertahun-tahun terbukti bahawa isu seks, liwat dan biseksual yang dikaitkan dengan Anwar tidak memberi kesan apa-apa kepada kepada rakyat dan tindakan Ezam, Nalla, Umi Hafilda, Anuar Shaari serta rakan-rakan mereka yang lain terus membangkitkan isu itu tidak lain hanya umpama menambahbesarkan lagi kubur politik untuk Najib saja.

Anwar tidak akan ke mana-mana dek serangan itu tetapi sebaliknya Najib yang makin ditolak rakyat.

Najib yang kini bagaikan tercungap-cungap untuk mempertahankan kuasa, akan lebih ditolak rakyat dengan isu seks, liwat dan biseksual yang berterusan dibangkitkan ini kerana dalam masa yang sama beliau gagal menyelesaikan pelbagai isu dalam negara dan memberi jaminan tentang kehidupan yang lebih baik untuk rakyat.

Berbeza dengan Anwar dan Pakatan Rakyat, selain menjanjikan pengurusan ekonomi dan negara yang lebih baik, mereka juga menjanjikan penurunan harga minyak dalam tempoh 24 selepas menawan Putrajaya, kajian semula tarif letrik dan terbaru penghapusan hutang PTPTN pelajar serta jaminan memberi pendidikan percuma untuk rakyat.

Tawaran-tawaran itu tentunya lebih menawan hati rakyat berbanding hidangan cerita seks, liwat, biseksual dan dakwaan Umi Hafilfa terhadap Anwar dan Azmin yang lebih merupakan masalah keluarga. Masalah keluarga sepatutnya diselesaikan dengan kaedah kekeluargaan dan tindakan Umi Hafilda menyeret masalah keluarganya ke dalam UMNO dan BN hanya akan menambahkan lagi beban Najib dalam pilihanraya ini.

Jika benar bekas-bekas pemimpin PKR ini ingin membantu Najib dan mahu melihat UMNO dan BN terus berkuasa, mereka sepatutnya bukan menjaja cerita seks dan liwat terhadap Anwar yang dikitar semula tetapi mendedahkan bagaimanakah strategi dan rahsia PKR menghadapi beberapa piliharaya sebelum ini sehingga mampu memenangi beberapa kawasan pilihanraya. Mereka juga boleh menceritakan bagaimana untuk mendekati generasi muda kerana luka yang ditinggalkan Ezam kepada Pemuda UMNO khususnya ketika zaman kebangkitan reformasi masih segar dalam ingatan sebahagian besar ahli UMNO sendiri.

Atau setidak-tidaknya memberi idea bagaimana untuk melawan janji penurunan harga minyak, letrik dan penghapusan hutang PTPTN yang dibawa oleh Anwar dan Pakatan Rakyat yang dilihat begitu berjaya menawan hati rakyat.

Menjaja cerita seks dan mengulang skrip lama terhadap Anwar hanya mendedahkan tembelang ingin muncul hero di sisi Najib tetapi tiada idea segar yang boleh diterima rakyat. Di dalam UMNO sendiri kaedah yang digunakan oleh bekas pemimpin PKR ini tidak begitu disenangi kerana didapati gagal menarik sokongan rakyat. Ceramah yang mereka buat juga selama ini hanya dihadiri oleh AJK UMNO Bahagian, AJK UMNO cawangan-cawangan serta kelompok yang dekat dengan pimpinan UMNO saja. Tidak ada rakyat biasa yang mahu hadir dan mendengar ceramah Ezam dan rakan-rakannya dan ahli UMNO juga tidak bertambah hanya kerana ceramah mereka. Lebih dari itu, tidak ada ahli PKR atau Pas yang keluar parti dan menyertai UMNO disebabkan oleh Ezam, Nalla, Anuar Shaari dan Umi Hafilda.

Mereka mungkin berjaya menjadi senator dan mengaut sedikit habuan ekonomi tetapi sumbangan terbesar ialah kejayaan membesarkan lagi kubur politik untuk Najib dalam PRU 13 ini.

Support for NEP coming from ‘captive minds’, says Ku Li

By Shannon Teoh - The Malaysian Insider

KUALA LUMPUR, April 1 — Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah resumed his attack on the New Economic Policy (NEP) today, stating that “captive minds” continue to support it despite Malaysia moving further from its objective of redistributing wealth through pro-Bumiputera policies.

The Umno veteran said there has been “no intellectual inquiry” into why “despite many years of implementing the NEP, inequitable distribution of income continues to plague the people” as “we have become incapable of devising an analytical method independent of current stereotypes about Malays, Chinese, Indians and others.”

Ku Li today said, “…The NEP…has produced results that are diametrically opposed to the original intention of bridging the gap between the haves and the have-nots.” — file pic
“If the doctor keeps on prescribing the same medicine which produces opposite results, then something must be wrong with the doctor, and something more serious must be wrong with the patient who keeps on trusting the same doctor.

“Our thinking is based completely on a racial world view when it comes to matters of politics, education, economics, planning, and so forth. Needless to say, we promote a racial world view that thrives on the policy of divide and rule,” the Kelantan prince said at a book launch in Ipoh this morning.

Tengku Razaleigh, popularly known as Ku Li, had in February said “as a former finance minister, let me emphasise that it was never the intention of the NEP to create an incubated class of Malay capitalists.”

His statement further fuelled scrutiny of former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s policies after the Najib administration decided to settle out of court the RM589 million debt owed by former Malaysia Airline System Bhd (MAS) chief Tan Sri Tajudin Ramli.

The settlement sum was undisclosed, prompting intense public criticism and attacks from the opposition over the right of taxpayers to know the amount of public funds recovered.

Tajudin, 65, had served as the airline’s executive chairman from 1994 to 2001 and was a poster boy of former finance minister Tun Daim Zainuddin’s now-discredited policy of nurturing a class of Malay corporate captains on government largesse during the Mahathir administration.

Ku Li, one of the greatest critics of the NEP and Dr Mahathir’s handling of the policy, had challenged the long-serving prime minister for leadership of Umno in 1987, which he subsequently lost by a narrow margin.

He said in his speech today that the country’s education system does “not encourage the moral and intellectual reform of the mind” resulting in a lack of debate on major issues such as good governance, corruption and rule of law.

“To this very day, the electorate has not understood the implications of the NEP which has produced results that are diametrically opposed to the original intention of bridging the gap between the haves and the have-nots. The longer we try the policy, the further we are from the original goal.

“The discrepancy between vision and reality has taken an alarming turn. It has gone far beyond economics into the realm of ethics and morality. In numerous instances it has taken the form of corruption and decadence which has pushed the economy further down the drain,” he said.

He said “wanton corruption and wasteful spending” had resulted in spiralling national debt that now amounts to RM456 billion or 53 per cent of the GDP, which “if we are not careful, it won’t take us long before we become another Greece.”

Father and son on trial

The Star
By QISHIN TARIQ

KUALA LUMPUR: A father-and-son lawyer team claimed trial at a Sessions Court here to 12 charges of criminal breach of trust involving an orang asli fund amounting to about RM12mil.

S. Kanawagi, 67, is alleged to have approved the withdrawal of RM7mil from the Lingui Valley Orang Asli (Jakuns) Trust fund to buy 27 units of condominiums in Lanai Gurney, here, for his own benefit and that of Virgin Properties.

His son Dinesh Kavaji, 34, was charged with abetting his father in approving the withdrawal of RM7mil to buy properties to benefit himself and Virgin Properties, on whose board of directors he sat.

The alleged offences occurred at offices of Tetuan Khana & Co. on Jalan Abdullah, off Jalan Bangsar, between July 14, 2008 and July 13, 2009.

Kanawagi was charged with another 10 counts of CBT involving the same fund, which is alleged to have occurred at the same office between 2000 and 2009.

DPP C. Vignesh Kumar requested that no bail be offered, saying that Kanawagi had allegedly committed the crimes while on bail pending an appeal.

On May 31, 2011, Kanawagi was sentenced by a Sessions Court here to six years’ jail and fined RM80,000 for using two forged power of attorney documents and giving a false statement in court proceedings.

“He has abused the privileges given by the court by committing further offences being granted bail,” said DPP Vignesh.

Counsel Manjeet Singh Dhillon countered that the other case could not be taken into account as it was pending appeal, making his client an innocent man until proven guilty.

“It was convenient of my learned friend to have left out that my client’s perjury charge was stayed, pending appeal over his forgery charge,” said Manjeet.

Pleading for lower bail, Manjeet said his clients had complied with the authorities during the course of their previous investigation and had never attempted to flee.

The prosecution clarified that only the punishment for the forgery conviction was stayed, and the accused today still counted as guilty in the previous case.

Sessions Court Judge Mahmud Abdullah set bail at RM700,000 with two sureties for Kanawagi and RM200,000 with one surety for Dinesh and fixed May 15 for case management.

The duo were also required to surrender their passports to the court.

Najib To Lead Malaysian Delegation To 20th Asean Summit In Cambodia

KUALA LUMPUR, April 2 (Bernama) - Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak will lead the Malaysian delegation to the 20th Asean Summit in Phnom Penh, Cambodia for two days starting Tuesday.

The Foreign Affairs Ministry said in a statement today, the Prime Minister will be accompanied by his wife Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor, several Cabinet ministers and senior government officials.

The summit themed "Asean: One Community, One Goal" will be preceded by the Asean Foreign Ministers Meeting, 7th Asean Economic Community Council Meeting, Asean Socio-Cultural Community Council Meeting and Southeast Asia Nuclear Weapon Free Zone Commission Meeting.

Other meetings lined-up include the 7th Asean Political-Security Community Council Meeting, 10th Asean Coordinating Council Meeting and the Permanent Representatives Committee Meeting.

The statement said the summit will also discuss topics on the Declaration of Phnom Penh "Asean: One Community, One Goal" that include efforts to realise a Drug Free Asean 2015 and the Global Moderation Movement.

Several key documents on the declaration will also be produced.

Leaders of all 10 Asean member countries wil also hold separate meetings with Asean Inter-Parliamentary Assembly (AIPA) representatives, Civil Society Organisations (CSO) representatives and youths representatives.

No attempt at ‘Christianisation’ in SXI

Former students of St Xavier’s Institution (SXI) should be able to tell us if there has been any attempt at ‘Christianisation’ in the oldest mission school in the region, said Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng.

La Salle Brothers from the East Asian region singing Salve Regina and the De La Salle anthem

“I am confident that former students like (Minister in the Prime Minister’s Deparment) Nor Mohamed Yakcop can testify that there has been no attempt at ‘Christianisation’ in SXI over the years,” said Guan Eng, the guest of honour at the 160th anniversary celebration of the arrival of the La Salle Brothers in Penang in 1852. According to Wikipedia, Nor Mohamed was a prefect in SXI.

Among the former SXI students present at the celebration in the school hall were MP Karpal Singh and academics Dr Johan Saravanamuttu, Dr Francis Loh and Dr Cecilia Ng.

Guan Eng himself studied in the La Salle Primary English School in Petaling Jaya for three years. He recalled that he was detained under the ISA in Kamunting along with Brother Anthony Rogers during Operasi Lalang in 1987. Rogers is now the Superior of the La Salle Brothers in Malaysia.

During the dinner performances, the a band leader who was crooning Elvis’ hits surprised those present when he announced that he was expelled from school in 1972 and was now back in his school after 40 years!

A diner at a table in front hollered, “Why were you expelled?”

“I will tell you later,” replied the band leader.

Back in 1852, when the La Salle Brothers arrived in these shores, they took over the management of an existing mission school known as the St Francis Xavier’s Free School run by French Catholic priests. The school had begun operations in the Church Street/Bishop Street area in 1787, a year after Francis Light took possession of Penang Island for the East India Company.

The SXI celebrations tonight were also to mark the launch of the La Salle East Asian District (Lead), a new governance structure of the De La Salle Brothers in Hong Kong/China, Japan, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand. Representatives of the La Salle Brothers from these countries graced the dinner. Among the Brothers from Malaysia who were present included former SXI directors Bro Charles Levin and Bro Paul Ho; and from Perak, Bro Vincent Corkery, Bro John de Cruz and Bro Mathew; and Bro Augustine Julian.

It was no coincidence that Penang was chosen as the venue for the launch of Lead. SXI is the oldest school run by the La Salle Brothers in the Far East. The Brothers commenced their management of SXI 12 days before their counterparts in Singapore started St Joseph’s Institution, it was revealed.

Guan Eng left early to attend a Penang Free School anniversary celebration at the E & O Hotel nearby. Although the PFS bicentennial is only in 2016, celebrations have already begun.

Diners enjoying the occasion

The Brothers in their speeches stressed that the mission schools, far from promoting ‘Christianisation’, aimed to reach out in inclusiveness to “the least, the lost and the last” and to provide pupils with holistic education for the all-round human development of the individual. They said their schools try to inculcate values such as integrity, social justice and compassion, apart from promoting academic excellence.

Friday, 30 March 2012

Serah kembali tanah ladang kami!

Acid victim Fakhra Younus' suicide shames all Pakistan

Fakhra Younus
Before and after ... acid victim Fakhra Younus / Pic: Fakhra Younus family Source: The Daily Telegraph

FAMILY and friends of a former Pakistani dancer who committed suicide after being heavily disfigured by an acid attack in 2000 said her death brought shame on Pakistan.

Fakhra Younus, 33, leapt to her death from a sixth floor building in Rome on March 17, almost 12 years after the attack which she said left her looking "not human".

At the time of the attack, her ex-husband Bilal Khar was accused of entering her mother's house and pouring acid over her face as she slept.

The attack, in front of her then five-year-old son, left her unable to breathe and fighting for her life. She underwent 39 surgical procedures to repair her face in the past decade.

The acid almost completely corroded her nose, burned off her hair, fused her lips, blinded her in one eye, destroyed her left ear and burned her breasts.

After being rushed to hospital she said "My face is a prison to me", while her distraught son said at the time "This is not my mother".

Ms Younus moved to Italy to continue treatment in Rome. She left a suicide note complaining of legal indifference to such atrocities and insensitivity by Pakistan's rulers. Bilal Khar was arrested in 2002 and charged with attempted murder after the attack, only to be released on bail after five months.

The ex-parliamentarian and son of a wealthy Pakistani governor was eventually cleared of the attack, though many believe he could have used his family connections to escape conviction.

Since news of Ms Younus's suicide emerged, Khar has continued to deny any part in the attack. He has claimed in a television interview that a different man with the same name carried out the crime.

Khar claimed that his ex-wife killed herself because she did not have enough money, not because of her injuries.

More than 8,500 acid attacks, forced marriages and other forms of violence against women were reported in Pakistan in 2011, according to The Aurat Foundation, a women's rights organisation.

The Pakistani government introduced new laws last year criminalising acid attacks and stating that convicted attackers would serve at least 14 years in jail.

Tehmina Durrani, the ex-wife of Bilal Khar's father, had become an advocate for Younus after the attack, and said Younus had pledged to bring her attacker to justice when she had recovered.

Ms Durrani urged the Pakistani government to do much more to prevent violence against women.

"I think this whole country should be extremely embarrassed that a foreign country took responsibility for a Pakistani citizen for 13 years because we could give her nothing, not justice, not security," she said.

SPR akan dipanggil beri penjelasan

'MACC cannot be trusted to probe Copgate'

Video: HINDRAF: Racist Teacher throws Shoe at Indian boy (7)

In Parliament, MPs trade barbs over apostasy claims

Zulkifli’s apparent jibe at Siti Mariah triggered a shouting match among the MPs. — File pic

KUALA LUMPUR, March 29 — The Dewan Rakyat descended into name-calling and insults today after lawmakers began arguing during a debate on the issue of Muslim apostasy.

Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Seri Jamil Khir Baharom, when winding up debates on the royal address, had earlier told the House that the government was closely monitoring claims of apostasy in the country.

He said existing laws were sufficient to deal with the issue, saying additional enactments would be added if required.

Rising to interject, Zulkifli Noordin (IND - Kulim-Bandar Baharu) claimed of videos allegedly in the possession of former Selangor executive councillor Datuk Hasan Ali that purportedly show Christian priests converting Muslims out of Islam.

“So what is Jakim’s (Islamic Religious Department) stand on this, with this proof that Hasan has?

“Will Jakim call Hasan to present this proof and take proactive steps to prevent this from recurring?” the former PKR lawmaker asked.

This prompted Dr Siti Mariah Mahmud (PAS-Kota Raja) to say that issues of proselytisation were not new, and that these were being used by certain leaders to create friction among the different religions.

“Why do we need to frighten others about this threat by other religions? We do not have to politicise this,” she said, adding that there are sufficient laws in the country to deal with apostasy.

Zulkifli then stood to say, “The problem is, perhaps when the incident happened, Kota Raja was still wearing Pampers (diapers).”

His remark sparked anger from the floor and MPs from the opposition bench demanded the lawmaker retract his statement.

“How can you tolerate this kind of nonsense?” one lawmaker shouted to Deputy Speaker Datuk Ronald Kiandee, who was presiding at the time.

Those in support of Zulkifli began yelling in response, accusing the opposition bench of being traitors to their religion.

“You sold your God, even Allah you sold! Traitor!” some shouted.

Zuraida Kamaruddin (PKR-Ampang) then raised a point of order to demand the Deputy Speaker order Zulkifli to retract his remarks, which she labelled as “disrespectful”.

Refusing to sit despite repeated orders from Kiandee, Zulkifli also attempted to raise a point of order, accusing Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad (PAS-Kuala Selangor) of calling him a “devil” and “satan”.

“I would like to raise a point of order as well. I want Kuala Selangor to state in the open what he said... using the words devil and satan. Retract it. Not brave enough?” he charged.

Attempting to defuse the situation, Kiandee then ordered Zulkifli to retract his initial remarks and for Dzulkefly to explain his.

Zulkifli relented and Dzulkefly reasoned that he had merely asked the former not to behave like a “devil” or “satan”.

“There are no devils or satan here,” Kiandee said.

House can’t impeach Anwar, says Deputy Speaker

Wan Junaidi pours cold water on those who want to see Anwar Ibrahim removed from Parliament.

KUALA LUMPUR: Dewan Rakyat’s Deputy Speaker today dampened the hopes of those who want to see Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim go through an impeachment process.

Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar told a press conference at Parliament House that neither Parliament’s standing orders nor the Federal Constitution had any such provision.

“But if there is a motion brought in the House, it’s up to the Speaker’s discretion to allow it to be discussed or not,” he said.

Umno-owned Utusan Malaysia today quoted the ASEAN Human Rights Commissioner to Malaysia, Muhammad Shafee Abdullah, as saying that parliamentarians could introduce a motion to impeach Anwar for alleged immoral behaviour.

Wan Junaidi, however, said the Dewan Rakyat could not remove a sitting MP unless a court of law had found him guilty of a criminal offence.

“We cannot use someone’s private affairs as grounds for removing him,” he said.

PKR vice president Tian Chua, the MP for Batu, said it was “stupid” for Shafee to come up with such a statement.

“Even a prime minister cannot be impeached,” he said. “What is Shafee talking about? It’s nonsensical.”

Yusmadi Yusoff (PKR-Balik Pulau) said Shafee should understand that not everything practised in the United States was applicable in Malaysia. “He probably thought about former US president Richard Nixon being impeached over the Watergate scandal in the 1970s and wanted the same to be done here.”

He described Shafee’s statement as “weird”, saying the Umno-aligned lawyer should have known better than to bring up such a question.

“Shafee’s statement and conduct show that he is not fit to be a human rights commissioner,” he said.

Open fire on military and lose votes

The more you attack the military, the less support you're going to get from the armed forces, Mindef warns the opposition.

KUALA LUMPUR: The armed forces will not support the opposition if the latter attacks the purchase of military equipment.

Deputy Defence Minister Abdul Latiff Ahmad said that those politicising military matters risked hurting the feelings of Malaysia’s soldiers.

Though he did not specifically label the opposition, he told the Dewan Rakyat: “When it is politicised, our soldiers feel hurt. It doesn’t matter if (they’re) from the navy, ground (forces) or from the air (force).”

“Each time the government makes a decision to procure new assets, they (the military) are very happy, because they are trained to be a professional army.

“So if that party… the more they condemn these assets, the more support the Barisan Nasional federal government gets,” he said.

Abdul Latiff said this in response to a supplementary question by Sri Gading MP (Umno) Mohamed Aziz, who asked about certain parties playing up issues related to defence.

He had originally asked the deputy minister if the Ministry of Defence (Mindef) intended to “empower” the Royal Malaysian Navy’s (RMN) fleet where maritime operations were concerned.

In recent years, Pakatan Rakyat had questioned the government’s procurement of defence equipment.

These included salvos against the Scorpene submarine, RM9 billion for six Littoral Combat Ships (LCS), an estimated RM2 billion for a Mindef IT project, RM7.55 billion for armoured carriers and other matters.

Abdul Latiff also said that politicising defence matters ran the risk of revealing the country’s secrets and military readiness to “uncertain enemies”.

Criticising the government’s critics as “less intelligent”, he argued that Malaysia was a maritime country, and estimated that there was more than 600,000sq kilometres of sea area to cover (twice as much as Malaysia’s land mass).

This area, he said, was filled with gas and petroleum deposits, that Malaysia had to guard.

“When we bought the LCS, we didn’t do it for fun. We bought them because they have sonar (capabilities),” he said, adding that the price tag was more “competitive” than other countries.

In another query, Bachok MP (PAS) Nasharudin Mat Isa said that neither side of the political divide was willing to compromise on national security.

He then asked what Mindef’s procurement process was in upgrading military equipment, and pointed to Singapore’s AWACS (airborne warning and control system) upgrade.

Abdul Latiff then reassured the House that when it came to military procurement, Mindef did not operate out of the Finance Ministry’s bounds.

Double standard for medical courses overseas?

A former medical student has charged that students pursuing their medical degree in Egypt and Jordan are exempted from several conditions set by MMC.

KUALA LUMPUR: Students pursuing their medical degree in Egypt and Jordan are allowed to circumvent certain regulations set by the Malaysian Medical Council (MMC), prompting questions if double standard was practised in sending students overseas to complete their medical course.

A group of Malaysian medical students overseas are saying that this double standard practised by the MMC and the Higher Education Ministry is discriminatory against non-Malays.

A former medical student from Ukraine, who declined to be named for fear of reprisal, revealed that medical students in Egypt and Jordan were exempted from several conditions, usually imposed on students wanting to pursue their medical degree abroad.

He said the MMC, which sets regulations and guidelines for medical students wanting to study abroad, is to be blamed for the double standard.

“Why does MMC have two sets of rules for Malaysians aspiring to do medical studies abroad?” he asked.

He pointed out that while students wanting to pursue their medical degree overseas were required to undergo a foundation course, those going to Egypt and Jordan were exempted from such study.

“If a student plans to do a medical programme, then he has to score at least five Bs in SPM each in Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Mathematics or Additional Mathematics and another optional subject.”

“The student would then be required to sit either the foundation course or other pre-university examinations like STPM, Matriculation and A Levels. This requirement is set by MMC,” he added.

However, he said, MMC seems to give “special privilege” to students going to universities in Egypt and Jordan as they are not required to undergo the foundation course.

“Those going to these two countries just need their credits in SPM and they are off to do a medical degree… this contradicts MMC’s requirements,” he said.

He added that the Higher Education Ministry acts as an recruitment agent in sending students to universities in Egypt and Jordan, where seats are allocated only to Malays.

There are now more than 3,000 Malaysian medical students in Egypt and Jordan.

“This is really unfair as non-Malays have to sit a foundation programme to gain entry into a medical programme, while Malays can start the course after completing their SPM. MMC is giving a free ride for Malays to do medical programmes overseas,” he added.

MMC giving free rides

He said while he had no qualms about Malay students doing their medical degree after SPM, the MMC should be consistent with its regulations.

“We want MMC’s answer on this matter… why the double standard?” he said.

He said although students sent to Egypt and Jordan were required to undergo a six-year medical course, they do not complete their foundation course at the universities there.

“When asked, MMC told us that students going to Egypt and Jordan do their foundation course in the first year and complete their medical degree in the next five years. But this is not true. We checked with universities there and found that they are absorbed into the degree course from day one.

“Furthermore, the first year in Egypt and Jordan does not have any foundation programme subjects as required by the MMC.

“Students going to the Baltic countries, like Russia, Poland and Republic Czech are forced to spend seven years to complete their medical course, including their foundation course. But students going to Egypt and Jordan can complete their medical degree in six years minus the foundation programme,” he added.

“It is crystal-clear that MMC has applied double standard in its system based on race,” he claimed.

The source also reveals that a group of overseas medical students met MMC president Dr Hasan Abdul Rahman recently on the matter, but there was no positive outcome from the meeting.

Despite, numerous attempts, FMT could not reach Hassan for comment.

Anwar’s ‘cronies’ named in court

Businessman Low Thiam Hoe told the court that he was a ‘victim’ of a ‘larger scheme’ involving Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim and Hong Leong chairman Quek Leng Chan.

KUALA LUMPUR: Businessman Low Thiam Hoe, who is being sued by Hong Leong Finance Bhd (HLFB) in a breach of repayment suit involving RM445 million syndicated loans given in 1997, today named several individuals whom he identified as “cronies” of Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim.

Taking the stand at the Commercial High Court here today, Low said that he was “the victim” in a deal in which he was assisting Anwar as well as HLFB executive chairman Quek Leng Chan.

However, when cross-examined by the bank’s lawyer, Andrew Chiew, Low admitted that he had nothing in black and white to prove that he was simply used as a “nominee” of Anwar – the then finance minister and deputy prime minister – and Quek.

“Sometime in March 1997, two individuals by the name of Hamzah Harun and Mohd Faiz Abdullah (Anwar’s speech writer), both from a company known as Arus Murni Sdn Bhd (AMSB), told me that they were acting on behalf of Anwar and Quek,” Low said during examination-in-chief by lead counsel, D Paramalingam.

Low said that HLFB, through Quek, was then pushing to acquire Kewangan Bersatu Bhd (KBB), which was at the time acquired by Arus Murni Corporation Bhd (AMCB) from one Ishak Ismail for RM390 million.

He said he agreed to be a nominee, or “conduit”, for the syndicated loan transaction.

The other individuals and companies used as nominees were Hood Osman, Nik Hussain Nik Mohamed, AMSB and Mekuritek Sdn Bhd, whom he described as “cronies” of Anwar.

Paramalingam: How are these companies and individuals related?

Low: From what I know, they are all cronies of Anwar Ibrahim.

Low said he did not apply for the loan as “the whole thing was arranged by Hong Leong’s representative, namely Seow Lun Hoo”.

Quek’s right-hand man

He also said that he was informed that Seow, who was president and CEO of Hong Leong Credit & Leasing Bhd at the time, was “essentially Quek’s right-hand man”.

Low said the loan given to him was RM30.161 million but a credit assessment was never done on him at all.

“It was all pre-approved. I just had to turn up to sign the necessary documents, that’s all. I was unemployed at that point in time.”

Low also said that he signed the relevant loan documents at a hotel in Singapore in March 1997 as HLFB “wanted to avoid paying stamp duty”.

“Syndicated loans were also given out to the other nomiees as well to reach the plantiff’s target of RM445 million for the acquisition of AMCB. A sum of RM80.1 million was given to Hood, RM80.1 million to Nik Hussain, RM30.161 million given to Mekuritek and RM224.478 million to AMSB,” he said.

However, he said that the plan to purchase KBB did not take place by the end of 1997.

“It was only at that point in time that we discovered that Seow, on behalf of Quek, was the mastermind of the whole transaction. The plantiff through Seow deliberately sabotaged the scheme…”

Low said that the plaintiff, HLFB, had “acted in bad faith” when it breached its fiduciary duty, and he and other nominees were “clearly cheated by them”.

“We were left high and dry,” he added.

Bigger picture

During cross-examination by Chiew later, Low was aggressively grilled on his credibilty.

Chiew: The two individuals told you they were acting for Anwar and Quek. Did you take any steps to check?

Low: Yes.

Chiew: Did you talk to Anwar?

Low: No.

Chiew: Did you talk to Quek?

Low: I was in no position to contact Quek.

Chiew: If they were to hoodwink you, they could have, couldn’t they?

Low: No. I had no reason not to believe (them)… Faiz was Anwar’s speech writer…

Chiew: But what about Quek? The point is this. You were told about this deal. Any documents to work out how this deal is to be srtructured? Was it presented to you by Faiz?

Low: I had no reason to believe…

Chiew: My question is… Was there any paper in writing?

Low: No, but it was all arranged at top level

Chiew: You are a director of a public-listed company, with experience in financing. Is that your position: you believed these two persons about this deal, which seems ‘phantom in nature’ by your own answers? When you entered the deal, you knew what you were going into…

Low: I knew what I was getting into. I was just a nominee. But can I add… it was on a bigger picture. It was linked to Anwar and Quek.

Chiew also repeatedly asked why Low did not raise this “bigger picture” 14 years ago when the case was first filed.

“Fourteen years later you suddenly have an inspriration. I’m putting to you this was done in bad faith,” Chiew said, to which Low denied.

Chiew also asked Low to explain and clarify several statements he made – including allegation about Anwar’s cronies, the meetings that took place and the credit assessment done on him as well as the allegation that HLFB wanted to purchase KBB at RM350million.

Low admitted that it was Hamzah who supplied him with those information.

Chiew: This contention that you have this representation/collateral contract… it doesn’t exist. It never existed. It is really an afterthought.

Low: Of course based on all the documents here… there is nothing to support my contention.

Chiew: I am putting it to you that you are putting up this fantastic story about Anwar and Quek. Correct? You got this from strange publications found on the Internet? Hence you are stringing this defence together? There is no basis to your contention about this so-called larger scheme?

Low: No.

Full confidence

During re-examination by Devanandan S Subramaniam, Low said his reason for raising this issue 14 years later was that initially, he had full confidence that Hamzah would “take care” of the case.

On March 19, High Court judge Hadhariah Syed Ismail dismissed Low’s application to amend his defence statement to include Anwar as “the person behind the deal”.

In rejecting his application, Hadhariah said it was made at the “eleventh hour” and had come too late in the course of the trial.

However, the court had last week allowed the defence to subpoena four individuals namely Anwar, Quek, Hamzah and Faiz.

Six witnesses of the plaintiff had already taken the stand.

In 1998, Hong Leong Finance filed a suit against Low, Merkuritek and Arus Murni over non-payment of the syndicated loans amounting to RM445 million.

The loans were given to the parties in a bid to acquire financial institution AMCB which owns KBB.

Each defendant was sued for over RM28 million plus interest for the non-repayment of the loans.

In 1999, Low filed a counter-claim against HLFB, HLG Capital Markets Sdn Bhd and Hong Leong Credit Bhd’s former CEO Seow Lun Hoo asking for damages for alleged wrongful or negligent advice.

Hong Leong also filed another suit against Mekuritek and three guarantors – Hussin Abdul Karim, Agus Salim Mohd Dom and Abdullah Abd Karim Bajerai – as defendants for a similar claim of RM28 million.

Tribunal AG: Bola berada di kaki Najib

Rakyat terkejut dengan jawapan Perdana Menteri bahawa tidak ada bukti yang kukuh untuk menyiasat salah laku Gani Patail dan Musa Hassan.

Apa kata masyarakat dunia tentang undang-undang di negara ini apabila Perdana Menteri Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak enggan mengambil sebarang tindakan terhadap banyak dakwaan salah guna kuasa melibatkan tiga badan penguatkuasa?

Tiga badan yang dimaksudkan ialah Peguam Negara (AG), Tan Sri Abdul Gani Patail; bekas Ketua Polis Negara, Tan Sri Musa Hassan dan Suruhanjaya Pencegahan Rasuah Malaysia (SPRM) atau sebelum ini BPR (Badan Pencegah Rasuah).

Sejak bekas Pengarah Jabatan Siasatan Jenayah Komersial (CCID) Ramli Yusuff mendedahkan salah laku mereka dalam ucapannya ketika jamuan malam bagi meraikan ulangtahun kelahirannya pada 29 Februari lalu, tekanan semakin memuncak agar Gani dihadapkan ke tribunal penyiasatan. (Di bawah perlembaan Malaysia Peguam Negara hanya boleh dipecat melalui tribunal, sama seperti hakim).

Apabila Perdana Menteri akhirnya berdepan dengan isu tribunal bagi menyiasat Gani pada 24 Mac lalu, beliau hanya berkata “tidak” dan menambah, ini hanya merupakan satu dakwaan yang tidak berasas, satu tuduhan yang belum dapat dibuktikan. Sebuah tribunal hanya boleh dibentuk sekiranya terdapat bukti yang cukup, katanya.

Rakyat terkejut dengan jawapan Najib ini sedang banyak fakta dan bukti yang menunjukkan salah laku Gani, termasuk beliau bersubahat dengan Musa dan SPRM untuk memerangkap Ramli dan pegawai-pegawainya.

Terlibat dengan kumpulan haram

Mengenai Ramli pula, beliau terpaksa berdepan dengan tindakan undang-undang bermula sejak 2007 apabila beliau menimbulkan kemarahan Musa.

Atas arahan Timbalan Menteri Dalam Negeri Johari Baharum, Ramli ketika itu CCID dan para pegawainya sedang menyiasat kegiatan sindiket haram di Johor yang berakhir penangkapan dan pembuangan negeri ketua penjenayah Goh Cheng Poh yang juga dikenali sebagai Tengku Goh.

Penangkapan tersebut menimbulkan kemarahan Musa kerana Tengku Goh adalah kawan baiknya. Musa pernah membantu Tengku Goh membina empayar judinya ketika Musa berkhidmat di Johor sebagai ketua polis negeri, sepertimana yang terdapat dalam bukti hasil siasatan para pegawai Ramli.

Kemudian, satu operasi menyelamat dijalankan di mana Goh dikeluarkan dari tempat pembuangan, dengan Gani dan BPR memainkan peranan utama.

Gani dan Musa adalah kawan rapat, kesetiakawanan di antara mereka terjalin sejak lewat tahun 90an apabila kedua-duanya memainkan peranan penting dalam kes sodomi I Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim. Gani sebagai pendakwa utama dan Musa sebagai pegawai penyiasat.

Bukti daripada Ramli dan kenyataan bersumpah yang diakses dari portal berita Malaysiakini menunjukkan Gani dan BPR bersubahat untuk mendapatkan fail-fail rahsia hasil siasatan daripada Ramli, ekoran dari maklumat-maklumat yang diterima, hasil buruan BPR hingga membawa kepada penangkapan Tengku Goh.

Pemberi-pemberi maklumat ini kemudian diindoktrinasi oleh pegawai-pegawai BPR supaya menukar kenyataan-kenyataan mereka sebelum ini.

Kenyataan-kenyataan baru ini kemudian digunakan untuk membebaskan Tengku Goh dari kawasan pembuangan yang terhad.

Kenyataan-kenyataan ini digunakan untuk mendakwa enam pegawai Ramli di mahkamah atas dakwaan “memalsukan bukti” bagi membabitkan Tengku Goh.

(Pegawai-pegawai yang diindoktrinasi ini kemudiannya membuat kenyataan bersumpah bagi menjelaskan bagaimana mereka telah dipaksa untuk berubah fikiran oleh BPR. Dokumen-dokumen ini diperolehi Malaysiakini, yang kemudiannya menyiarkannya dalam beberapa siri laporan dalam laman webnya tiga minggu yang lalu.)

Ramli sendiri didakwa atas beberapa kesalahan oleh BPR dan Gani. Malah peguam Ramli, Rosli Dahlan juga mendapat layanan yang serupa.

Tuduhan yang direkayasa

Ternyata tuduhan terhadap Ramli adalah palsu belaka apabila mahkamah menolak kesemua bukti tanpa mahkamah perlu memanggil mana-mana pegawai yang dituduh untuk membela diri.

Ramli akhirnya dibebaskan dari segala tuduhan oleh sembilan hakim yang berlainan setelah menjalani perbicaraan di mahkamah sesyen, mahkamah tinggi dan mahkamah rayuan.

Agak signifikan dalam kes perbicaraan Ramli, Musa diisytihar oleh Hakim Mahkamah Sesyen di Sabah sebagai saksi yang tidak boleh dipercayai untuk mendengar kes dakwaan Ramli menyalah guna kuasa.

Manakala BPR juga diberi amaran oleh Mahkamah Tinggi Kuala Lumpur yang membebaskan Ramli, kerana bergantong kepada keterangan daripada salah seorang ahli kumpulan haram untuk mendakwa Ramli kerana kegagalan mengiystiharkan hartanya.

Mengenai enam pegawai Ramli yang didakwa dan kemudiannya dibebaskan, kesemua mereka diserah kembali tugas masing-masing dan dinaikkan pangkat.

Ramli secara terbuka mengucapkan terima kasih kepada Ketua Polis Negara Tan Sri Ismail Omar kerana akur bahawa mereka sebenarnya telah menjadi mangsa.

Perbicaraan atas tuduhan-tuduhan yang dangkal ini, termasuk percubaan mengaitkan bukti dengan afidavit-afidavit adalah bukti yang direkayasa.

Ini menunjukkan bahawa dakwaan Ramli terhadap Gani, Musa dan BPR ada asasnya di mana mereka bersubahat untuk membawa saksi, memalsukan bukti, menjalankan siasatan polis dan menghalang keadilan dari terlaksana.

Peristiwa “mata lebam” Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim yang berlaku pada tahun tahun 1998 merupakan satu lagi kes yang memerlukan kepada penubuhan Tribunal bagi menyiasat Gani dan Musa.

Bekas Pengarah Jabatan Siasatan Jenayah Kuala Lumpur, Mat Zain Ibrahim mendakwa kedua-dua Gani dan Musa terlibat memalsukan bahan bukti.

Beliau turut memberi amaran kepada Najib bahawa adalah menjadi satu kesalahan jenayah jika Najib tidak mengendahkan perbuatan keji pemalsuan bukti-bukti berhubung insiden “mata lebam” Anwar.

Kini bola berada di kaki Najib.

Aiyah! Why so bodoh one ah?


Let’s be clear about one thing. No politician fights for the rakyat, not when they receive big fat salaries, allowances, fees, pensions, etc. and have huge expense accounts and budgets to spend. Show me one politician who has worked free of charge the last 40, 30, 20, etc., years and I will show you a politician who fights for the rakyat. Currently, in Malaysia, there are none. There are no Malaysian Gandhis.
NO HOLDS BARRED
Raja Petra Kamarudin

‘Opposition out to smear Government’
(The Star) - The Opposition has created endless issues to confuse the people, said MCA president Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek.
Citing the Lynas rare earth processing plant as an example, he said the Opposition had succeeded in poisoning the minds of the people.
“The people should realise that the Opposition creates problems to tarnish the image of the Government.
“As such, it is our duty to solve these problems and prove that such allegations are not true,” he said after attending a gathering with state party leaders here yesterday.
Dr Chua said MCA's stand was very clear on the issue of Lynas, stressing that if the plant affected the environment and health of the Kuantan citizens, the party was against it.
He said it was the responsibility of the company to ship the waste out of the country.
“If they cannot fulfil the two stipulated conditions, MCA is against its operations here.
“We will continue to monitor the situation closely,” he said, adding that the issue had been discussed at length by professional experts.
In a separate function, Dr Chua said the Barisan Nasional election machinery had to focus on using cyberspace as a publicity tool.
He said the coalition had to accept that it could not rely solely on traditional media as the cyber arena had been dominated by the Opposition.
“We may be too late, but we can still optimise social media to increase our publicity for Barisan Nasional,” he said at the launch of the Paya Besar Barisan election machinery in Gambang here yesterday.
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Aiyah! Why is the MCA President, Chua Soi Lek, so bodoh one ah? The Opposition has created endless issues to confuse the people, said Chua Soi Lek. But of course! That is the job of the Opposition. Why would the Opposition want to raise issues in support of the government? Their job is to raise issues against the government. What a stupid statement. No wonder he got caught with his pants down, literally.
And to make him even more bodoh, he held a press conference to confess that it was he in that sex video. No one asked him whether it was or was not he. Before anyone could ask, he quickly called a press conference to confess. Bodoh or not? At least VK Lingam was cleverer. He said that the man in the video looks like him, sounds like him, but is not he. And Anwar Ibrahim replied that the man in the sex video is too fat while he is thinner so it must be a double. But Chua Soi Lek goes and confesses it is he before anyone even asks him. No wonder he is making bodoh statements like the one reported by The Star.
And the Umno leaders are saying that the Opposition is trying to grab power, the Opposition is trying to kick out Barisan Nasional, the Opposition is trying to take over Putrajaya, and whatnot. Is this not what the Opposition is supposed to do, to take over the government? Why are these Umno people so bodoh one? Why state the obvious? Of course that is what the Opposition is trying to do. That is the job of Opposition parties all over the world.
Aiyah! Why so bodoh one ah? Can we hear more intelligent statements from these Barisan Nasional people? If they want to impress us then they had better stop making stupid statements.
And the Opposition is no better. They are now saying that the next general election is going to be a class war.
Aiyah! Why so bodoh one ah? That is what I have been saying for some time. When I say that they whack me and call me all sorts of names. I already said for some time that the next battle is going to be a class war. I said it is going to be a battle between the haves and the haves-not. When I said that you say all sorts of things about me. Now the Opposition is saying the same thing.
The Opposition is saying that they are fighting for the downtrodden, the poor people, the oppressed, the masses, the rakyat, the fishermen and farmers, and whatnot. Betul ke? Is this true?
How come over the last four years since 2008 none of the Opposition wakil rakyat refused to take their salary? How come they all took their salary? Would any of the Opposition wakil rakyat, Chief Ministers/Menteris Besar, EXCO members, Council Members, Committee Members, Board Members, Chairmen, etc., be prepared to work for no salary? Would they be prepared to surrender all their future salary and hand back all the salary they have taken over the last four years since March 2008? What about those salaries, allowances, etc., that they had earned over the last 30 or 40 years since the 1960s or 1970s? Would they be prepared to hand back all those millions they have earned?
If the Opposition wakil rakyat are working for the rakyat, the downtrodden, the poor, the oppressed, the fisherman and farmers, etc., and not for the own benefit, then they should work free of charge. They should take nothing. They should pool all their salaries and allowances into a special poverty fund and distribute these millions to the needy.
Yes, no one is prepared to work for no money. Many even receive huge pensions on top of their huge salaries, allowances and expense accounts.
Let’s put it another way. How much have Nik Aziz Nik Mat, Anwar Ibrahim, Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, Lim Kit Siang, Karpal Singh, Hadi Awang, Mustapha Ali, and the hundreds of other Opposition leaders earned in total from the day they became wakil rakyat (from the 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, 1990s, etc.) until today? How many millions are we talking about here? Are all these hundreds of wakil rakyat prepared to be transparent and declare their total earnings since the day they became politicians and wakil rakyat?
Let’s be honest. Let’s be open. Let’s be transparent. Declare your total earnings since Day One. For example, Nik Aziz Nik Mat became a wakil rakyat in 1967, Lim Kit Siang in 1969, Karpal Singh in 1974, Hadi Awang in 1978, Anwar Ibrahim in 1982, and so on. Anwar was also a Minister and Deputy Prime Minister so he gets a pension for those as well. As I said, in total, all these come to millions of Ringgit for the hundreds of wakil rakyat if we include their salaries, allowances, fees, expense accounts, budgets, pensions and much more.
Anyone who claims he or she is working only for the rakyat would refuse to take the rakyat’s money. They would either forgo their salaries, allowances, fees, expense accounts, budgets, pensions, etc., or surrender all this money to a special fund set up to help the poor, downtrodden and oppressed rakyat.
Yes, no one was prepared to work for no money. No one was prepared to forgo what he or she was ‘entitled’ to receive. No one wanted to surrender what he or she had earned. No one wanted to hand back every cent he or she had earned since the day he or she became a wakil rakyat 40, 30, 20 or whatever number of years ago. And we are talking about a huge amount of money here. Hell, just to renovate their offices alone over the last couple of years since 2008 came to millions of Ringgit.
Work for the rakyat means work for the rakyat. Work for money means work for money. How can work for money translate to work for the rakyat? Aiyah! Why so bodoh one ah? At least I worked as the Director of the Free Anwar Campaign from 2000 to 2004 and was only paid RM3,000. Ask Dr Wan Azizah and Rosli Ibrahim who paid me RM1,000 and RM2,000 respectively. I did not work for money. In fact, I had to support myself by selling cookies and curry puffs, which my wife baked.
Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi can be said to have worked for the rakyat. He did not receive any salary. And when they managed to kick out the British and got independence for India, he did not fight for power. He did not demand that he be made the Prime Minister or President of India. He was not power crazy. He was not in this for power like the politicians are. Gandhi really fought for the rakyat and not for money or power like the politicians. So please don’t pretend that you are also just like Gandhi. Gandhi was the true fighter for the rakyat. He did not benefit financially for his sacrifices.
Let’s be clear about one thing. No politician fights for the rakyat, not when they receive big fat salaries, allowances, fees, pensions, etc. and have huge expense accounts and budgets to spend. Show me one politician who has worked free of charge the last 40, 30, 20, etc., years and I will show you a politician who fights for the rakyat. Currently, in Malaysia, there are none. There are no Malaysian Gandhis.
I know what most of you are now going to comment. You are going to scream ABU and are going to say but we must still vote Pakatan Rakyat because even though Pakatan Rakyat is not the best they are still better than Barisan Nasional. Barisan Nasional is worse. So we are better off with Pakatan Rakyat. Yes, that is what most of you are going to comment. You assume that when I write articles such as the above, this means I am asking you to vote for Barisan Nasional.
That is how simple-minded Malaysians normally think. And they think like this because they do not have analytical powers and the skills of reasoning. That is why they come to these kinds of conclusions.
Yes, when I say we want a better Opposition, we want a clean Opposition, we want an honest and sincere Opposition, we are not prepared to accept an Opposition that is a clone of Umno or Barisan Nasional, then that means I am asking you to vote for Umno or Barisan Nasional.
Using that same logic, if you were to say that the Chinese do not want to receive an ang pau in a white envelope for Chinese New Year, then that means you want it to be in a black envelope. I mean; you do see the world is just black and white, right? So, if not white envelopes, then you must mean black envelopes. Is this not so?
Also, going by this same logic, if you were to fight for mother-tongue education -- say Chinese or Tamil languages -- then this must mean you are anti-Malay language. That, therefore, also means you are anti-Malay, correct? And that also means you are a racist, right?
If you fight for more places in public colleges and universities for Chinese, Indians, ‘others’, etc., then this means you resent the Malays getting an education. You are trying to deny the Malays a proper education, right? You want only Chinese, Indians, ‘others’, etc., to receive an education. You want the Malays to remain backward and uneducated, correct?
DAP, MCA, Gerakan, Suqui, Dong Zong, Dong Jiao Zong, the Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall, and all those other Chinese-based groups that are fighting for the Chinese are Chinese racists, Chinese chauvinists, Chinese supremacists, anti-Malay, etc., correct? I mean; this is the logic we are applying. If you fight for one thing then you are anti-the other. If you are not happy with the state of Chinese education then you are anti-Malay just like if you are not happy with the state of the Opposition then you are anti-Pakatan Rakyat, and hence pro-Barisan Nasional.
Aiyah! Why so bodoh one ah?

“Abdul Kadir Played Money Politics Too”


(Malaysian Digest) - Blogger Raja Petra Kamarudin has accused Tan Sri Abdul Kadir Sheikh Fadzir of being a hypocrite, claiming that the former Umno leader had also “played ‘money politics’ when he was in Umno”.
“The truth is, Kadir himself is guilty of the same thing that he accuses Umno of. He too played ‘money politics’ when he was in Umno ‘Lama’,” Raja Petra said in his latest blogpost published on Malaysia Today yesterday.

“I even know who gave him (Abdul Kadir) the money. It was a Chinese business tycoon. I was there in the next room when he came to the office of that Chinese business tycoon back in the 1980s to collect the money. I even shook his hands and said hello,” said Raja Petra.

The blogger also dared Abdul Kadir to challenge him to reveal who the business tycoon who allegedly gave him (Abdul Kadir) the money.

“Does he (Abdul Kadir) want me to name the place and the Chinese business tycoon who gave him the money? I can if he wants me to. I can even name the Chinese lady who had to ‘look after him’ in his visit to the office of the Chinese business tycoon.”

Abdul Kadir resigned from Umno on March 19 after 56 years in the ruling party.

He created stir in January when he claimed that Umno had handed out RM200 to RM1,000 to voters in previous elections in exchange for votes.

The former minister had said that he has not ruled out joining Pakatan Rakyat.

It is reported that Abdul Kadir, who was Umno supreme council member, said many top leaders in PKR, PAS and the DAP, who were his “close friends”, had asked him to join the opposition pact but said he had yet to make a decision on the matter.

Raja Petra, however, said, “It is said he wanted to join the opposition, in particular PKR, but since no one invited him he had no choice but to announce that he did not want to join PKR but will continue his ‘struggle’ through an NGO.”

“Today, Kadir is telling us that Umno is corrupt. Umno is evil. Umno bribes the voters. Umno is involved in ‘money politics’. But Umno has always been doing this even when it was known as Umno ‘Lama’.

“It (Umno) also did this when it was called Umno ‘Baru’. And Kadir was a member and leader/Minister of both these Umnos. So why talk about it now? When Kadir left Semangat 46 to join (or rejoin) Unmo, he already knew very well that Umno plays ‘money politics’. He did not discover this just today,” said Raja Petra.

CURRENCY WARS

1. I have been reading a book by James Rickards entitled ”Currency Wars.

2. He writes that he participated in War Games at the Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) located near Washington, D.C.

3. Set up in 1942, after the Pearl Harbour attack, APL brought applied science to improving weaponry.

4. In 2009 the war game was about a global financial war using currencies and capital markets instead of ships and planes. This financial war games was the Pentagon’s first effort to see how an actual financial war might evolve and to see what lessons might be learnt.

5. James Rickards presented a paper on “the new science of market intelligence, which involves analysing capital markets to find actionable intelligence on the intentions of market participants”.

6. The stated purpose was “to examine the impact of global financial activities on national security issues”.

7. Rickards also gave a presentation on futures and derivatives to explain how these leveraged instruments could be used to manipulate underlying physical markets, including those in strategic commodities such as oil, uranium, copper and gold.

8. He writes, “There is a far more insidious scenario in which currencies are used as weapons, not in a metaphorical sense but in a real sense, to cause economic harm to rivals. The mere threat of harm can be enough to force concessions by rivals in the geopolitical battle space”. (Globalisation and State Capital – page 145)

9. When the Ringgit depreciated in value, the financial and economic experts including those in Malaysia, blames it on bad financial management and contagion. When I suggested that it was due to deliberate action on the part of currency traders to devalue the Ringgit to undermine the Malaysian economy, this was dismissed.

10. Had we failed to handle the crisis, had the economy collapsed, the Government would have to resign. The action taken by the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance at that time to apply the IMF solution without the IMF would have hastened the collapse. But our unorthodox solution prevented the collapse from taking place and we recovered. Otherwise there could have been a regime change.

11. Whatever, the fact is that the U.S. is aware that a currency war can achieve political objectives just as well as a military war. The idea that the attack against our Ringgit was deliberate is not too farfetched. The Western Press and Government leaders in certain countries had made it clear that they desired to bring down the Government of that time for very many reasons.

12. Towards this end they have used NGOs and funds as they are doing in Egypt now.

“Impeach” Atau Pecat? Najib Cuma Takutkan Perdebatan Rasional Dengan Anwar

Saya merujuk kepada kenyataan oleh peguam Umno Shafee Abdullah dan Senator BN S Nallakaruppan pada 28 Mac bahawa ketua pembangkang Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim perlu dicabar oleh Parlimen kerana ‘salah laku’.

Mereka bergantung dan merungut tentang tuduhan lama yang sama salah laku seksual yang direka oleh kerajaan BN terhadap Anwar Ibrahim, dengan kerjasama polis dan Peguam Negara.

Rakyat tidak pernah percaya pembohongan yang memalukan ini, dan telah memberikan sokongan, kepercayaan dan simpati mereka terhadap Anwar Ibrahim dan gabungan parti pembangkang Pakatan Rakyat yang diketuai beliau.

Kejahilan terlampau biasa bagi Umno dan BN

Kenyataan Shafee dan Nalla juga menunjukkan kejahilan terlampau mengenai prosedur pemecatan dan parlimen di Malaysia dan Komanwel. Tiada peruntukan atau pendahuluan bagi pemecatan di Dewan Rakyat.

Di England, prosedur pemecatan kali terakhir digunakan lebih 200 tahun lalu dalam kes Lord Melville

dan kini ia lapuk. Rasional penyelesaian pemecatan tersebut adalah untuk memegang Menteri dan Eksekutif yang bertanggungjawab dalam pentadbiran negara.

Untuk mencadangkan bahawa ia akan digunakan terhadap Ketua Pembangkang menunjukkan salah faham yang besar tentang proses pemecatan. Dengan evolusi usul tidak percaya, jawatankuasa pilihan dan diteliti dengan mendalam oleh parlimen dan disoal siasat,mekanisme pemecatan lama telah ketinggalan zaman.

Jatuh kembali ke dalam politik kotor

Contoh Shafee ialah pemecatan Bill Clinton yang menunjukkan dia tidak memahami mekanisme pemecatan di Amerika, di mana pemecatan digunakan sebagai satu kaedah untuk mengeluarkan ahli-ahli kerajaan Persekutuan seperti Presiden.

Ia adalah tidak munasabah dan pelik bagi Shafee dan Nalla untuk mengancam Ketua Pembangkang dengan proses pemecatan yang purba dan telah digantikan .

Sekali lagi, kita dapat melihat ketidakupayaan lengkap Perdana Menteri Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak dan BN untuk melibatkan diri dalam perbahasan dan perbincangan rasional bersama pembangkang.

Sebaliknya, Najib dan Umno terus bergantung kepada serangan peribadi yang cetek dan tidak berasas oleh orang-orang seperti Nallakaruppan dan sekutu beliau, yang jelas dilaporkan dalam media elektronik dan cetak yang dimiliki Umno.

N SURENDRAN
NAIB PRESIDEN
PARTI KEADILAN RAKYAT

1,000 human trafficking victims rescued since 2008

The Star 


PUTRAJAYA: Enforcement agencies have rescued nearly 1,000 victims of human trafficking in raids since 2008.

The Council against Human Trafficking and Smuggling of Migrants said 977 victims – 260 men, 595 women and 122 children – were granted protection and given shelter at safe houses over the period.

They were rounded up in 439 cases, of which 412 led to charges in court and 78 convictions.

Authorities also managed to rope in 655 migrants being smuggled into the country in 31 cases since Nov 15, 2010.

The council also announced its decision to place police and Immigration Department officers temporarily at the Workforce De­­partment for guidance, training and to share knowledge to push for more effective enforcement of the Anti-Human Trafficking and Anti-Smuggling of Migrants Act.

Difficult To Predict Election Results, Says Mahathir

PUTRAJAYA, March 29 (Bernama) -- Former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad said it is difficult to predict the results of the coming general election due to the rather confusing prevailing situation.

He said various assumptions had been made about support for Barisan Nasional (BN), with some people saying it was increasing and others saying otherwise.

"What is certain, it won't be easy for BN to get two-thirds majority this time. The opposition now is not like that of the past, and the current situation is rather confusing."

He said this when asked to comment on former finance minister Tun Daim Zainuddin's statement that BN would easily win in only three states - Johor, Melaka and Pahang.

31 March voter registration deadline

If the general election falls in June, you must register as a voter by 31 March to be eligible to vote. 
 
Do check your voter registration status on the Election Commission’s website.
Remember, every single vote counts.