Ipswich: Three guilty in Chevallier Street teen sex slave case

The house in Chevallier Street where the girl was held

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

their sex slave.

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

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

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

Uddin was also convicted of two counts of rape.

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

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

The men will be sentenced at a later date.

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

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

‘No political gain from Sugumar’s death’

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Second post-mortem

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

We cannot go back, says prince

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

‘Cover up’

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

‘Sulu sultanate eyeing the riches of Sabah’

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Pakatan continues to deceive Indians

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

By N Ganesan

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The working class has no business there.

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

But you stay out there.

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

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

I did not invite a mob, says Nanban boss

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Shafee told FMT Nanban had no political interest.

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

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

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

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

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

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

Pakatan won’t deliver, says Gerakan

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

‘Pakatan should not give false hopes’

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Boo Su-Lyn and Emily Ding, TMI

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

KENYATAAN MEDIA
UNTUK EDARAN SEGERA

1 MAC 2013

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

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

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

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

ANWAR IBRAHIM

Malaysia will survive GE13, says ‘Dr Doom’

By ZURAIRI AR - The Malaysian Insider

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“Hopefully that will be reversed after the election.”

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

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

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

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

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

ROS stops investigations into Suaram

The Star
By SHAILA KOSHY

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

PAS Flip-Flop Sign Of Mental Disorder - Political Analyst

By Haslinda Zainal

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Malaysia raids Sabah village to end deadlock

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Malaysian warning

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Peace negotiations

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

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

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

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

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

Source: Al Jazeera And Agencies

PI Bala: Razak regretted not paying Altantuya

Political analyst Abdul Razak Baginda apparently regretted not paying the US$500,000 in "commission" due to slain Mongolian Altantuya Shaaribuu, claimed former private investigator P Balasubramaniam.
He recounted Razak as allegedly saying this just prior to his arrest in 2006.

Balasubramaniam, employed by Razak then, was giving a blow-by-blow account of the circumstances surrounding Altantuya's death during his first public appearance last night after fleeing the country nearly five years ago.

He said he was leaving the office of a lawyer identified as Puravelan, with Razak, in a lift at that time.
Newspapers were already speculating then about Razak (left) being arrested soon, and the lawyer was busy preparing his client for such an eventuality.

Upon hearing this, the private investigator supposedly told Razak, "Boss, look here. What was my advice to you? Police report. You should have done the police report."

Went against advice

Balasubramaniam explained that Razak had engaged him to keep Altantuya at bay, but the private eye advised him to lodge a police report instead.

However, Razak purportedly declined to do so because "a VVIP was involved," who was later revealed to be then defence minister and now Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak.

Altantuya was said to be demanding US$500,000 (RM1,550,750) and three air tickets to Mongolia from Razak at the time, supposedly as "fees" for her role in mediating the Scorpene submarine deal.

Balasubramaniam said Razak did end up being arrested on Nov 7, the day the conversation took place, just 30 minutes upon reaching his office at Bangunan Getah Asli, Kuala Lumpur after the meeting.

He was eventually charged and acquitted of allegedly abetting in Altantuya's murder, while two police Special Action Unit (UTK) officers were sentenced to death for allegedly shooting Altantuya and blasting her remains with military-grade explosives.

Some 1,000 people crammed Kuala Lumpur and Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall's main hall last night to hear first-hand what Balasubramaniam had to say on the Mongolian's killing.

New revelations were few and far in between while Balasubramaniam often stumbled to find the right words and had to rely on a Powerpoint slide he had prepared since his return to recall some of the events.

Exposures entrance crowd

Nevertheless, the audience remained glued to their seats - or the floor if they couldn't find one - for nearly two hours until around 11.30pm as Balasubramaniam painstakingly went through the events.

This included what had transpired between him and Razak from their introduction until the arrest, the circumstances surrounding his first statutory declaration implicating Najib in the murder and a second statutory declaration made under duress to retract it, and further attempts to bribe him to slander opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim.

The audience appeared to be engaged by Balasubramaniam's version of the events, clapping and cheering at key points of his talk or whenever a prominent personality's name, like Najib, cropped up.
They also booed at a video of Najib denying any involvement in the incident that was screened as part of the prelude to the talk.

Other speakers included Suaram secretariat member Cynthia Gabriel and cartoonist Zulkiflee SM Anwar Ulhaque, better known as Zunar.

During the talk, Balasubramaniam mentioned that he was alone with the commissioner of oaths during the second statutory declaration.

When event moderator Badrul Hisham Shaharin asked him about a lawyer supposedly involved in preparing the document, Balasubramaniam said he only knew of this through ‘hearsay' via businessperson Deepak Jaikishan, who had persuaded him to make the declaration.
"If you ask me, I don't know. I only heard the hearsay info because Deepak had already mentioned that it was Cecil Abraham (left)," he said, drawing cheers from the crowd.

He said his lawyer Americk Sidhu and human rights activist Haris Ibrahim had pressured the Bar Council to look into the allegation and its president Lim Chee Wee had asked him to give a statement.

"If everything goes right, Cecil Abraham's cover will be blown," he said.
When approached by Malaysiakini last month, Cecil had refused to comment on the allegations. Malaysiakini is currently seeking Razak Baginda’s comments on the matter.

Uthaya: Manifesto overlooked Hindraf's 18-point demand

Hindu Rights Action Force (Hindraf) de facto leader P Uthayakumar has slammed Pakatan Rakyat's manifesto for overlooking its 18-point demand to assist the Indian community.

He said that while Pakatan supremo Anwar Ibrahim has offered to fix an omission in the manifesto by adding in Kelantan, Terengganu and Pahang's oil royalty, Hindraf's demands did not receive the same treatment.

Uthayakumar, who is also the Human Rights Party pro-tem secretary-general, questioned whether the manifesto transcends racial boundaries as Anwar had claimed on Tuesday.

"There are zero provisions in the manifesto to undo these 56 years of ongoing Umno racism-cum-injustices victimising the most vulnerable community in Malaysia, like the Indian poor.

"(Although) Pakatan shouted ubah (change), the manifesto does not include undoing these injustices," Uthayakumar said in a statement today.

To illustrate his point, Uthayakumar described the condition of a 61-year-old Indian Malaysian woman named Pushpagantha, who is suffering from several diseases and had approached Hindraf for help yesterday.

"The Tabung Ekonomi Kumpulan Usaha Niaga (Tekun Nasional) and Amanah Ikhtiar Malaysia (AIM) government loans do not reach the Indian poor like Pushpagantha.

"Neither are they in Pakatan’s manifesto," he said, adding that the woman had asked for land for agricultural purposes.

Yesterday, Hindraf chairperson P Waythamoorthy expressed "extreme disappointment" with the manifesto, saying that it has neglected the interests of the Indian Malaysian community.

He also lamented the fact that Pakatan has not endorsed Hindraf’s five-year blueprint, which he said offers a "permanent, practical and comprehensive" solution to the problem of marginalised Indians for a "mere" RM4.5 billion a year.

Islamic Violence erupted in Bangladesh. Jamaat men attacked Hindus in Noakhali. 32 killed after death sentence given to War Crime Sayedee.

 

At least 23 killed including Hindu minorities by Muslim fundamentalists in protests in Bangladesh over Islamist’s death sentence.

Jamaatis wreak havoc over Hindu minorities in Bangladesh after announcing death sentence to Delawar Hossain Sayedee.

Dhaka | BD News Agency | Feb 28 2013 :: Islamic Bangladesh is again on Jihadi fire. Bangladesh was put on the boil today as at least 32 people, including three policemen, were killed and scores injured in violence after a death sentence was handed down to a top leader of the fundamentalist Jamaat-e-Islami for “crimes against humanity” during the 1971 liberation war. Hindu Minorities were then being targeted in NoaKhali, Satkhira and almost all over Bangladesh, out of a bare outburst of Islamic communalism. The same repetition is now being observed in Noakhali and Chattagram in present situation after Sayeede’s death verdict.

After Jamaat executive council member Delwar Hossain Sayedee was awarded death sentence for 1971 war crimes, the attacks there were carried out from a Jamaat procession protesting the verdict. The violence followed the verdict of the special Bangladeshi tribunal that handed down death penalty to Delwar Hossain Sayedee, vice-president of the party, amid a nationwide shutdown called by Jamaat-e-Islami (JI).

“He (Delwar Hossain Sayedee) will be hanged by neck till he is dead,” pronounced chairman of the three-judge International Crimes Tribunal Justice ATM Fazle Kabir.

Right after the verdict, leaders and activists of Jamaat and its student affiliate Islami Chhatra Shibir took out the procession at Begumganj’s Rajganj Bazar.

Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) of Begumganj circle Mahbub Alam Khan said attacks were carried out from that procession and the Hindu temples at Rajganj Bazar, Thakur Barhi and Bainnabarhi areas were vandalised. Reports of molestation of Hindu girls are also hooked up in the widespread news.

The attackers also set the residences of Bhuiyan and Banik families on fire, leaving six people injured.

ASP Khan said additional police forces were deployed later.

Meanwhile, activists of Jamaat supporters clashed with police in Noakhali town following the verdict. Shibir activists detonated several crude bombs at that time.

Acting SP Mahbub Rashid said the Shibir men also vandalised 12 buses and torched four more at the Al-Amin Bus Depot at Dattar Haat.

He said police fired at least a hundred rounds from the shotguns to take control of the situation. – See more at:

At least 23 people were killed as the activists of Jamaat-e-Islami and its student wing Islami Chhatra Shibir went on the rampage across the country after Sayedee’s verdict,the Daily Star reported.

The victims included the cops, activists of Jamaat, Shibir, Juba League and common people.

Of the deceased, six people, including three policemen, were killed in Gaibandha, four in Thakurgaon, three in Satkhira, two each in Rangpur, Noakhali and Sirajganj while one each in Dinajpur, Natore, Cox’s Bazar and Chapainawabganj.

In Gaibandha after the verdict several thousand supporters of the Islamic party attacked a police outpost in Sundarganj upazila.

They beat three policemen to death and set fire to the outpost. In response, police opened fire, leaving three people killed.

In Thakurgaon about 1,500 Jamaat-Shibir men took out a procession after the verdict and attacked shops and houses of Awami League men and the Hindu community.

Noakhali- Begumganj

Police and Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) teams rushed there and fired blank shots and tear shells to disperse the attackers.

Encircling the police, the marauding Jamaat-Shibir men started to throw brick-bats and, at one stage, closed in to fight them. Police opened fire to escape, leaving one dead on the spot and about eight to 10 injured.

A 13-year-old Shibir supporter, was later found lying dead, bullet-hit, inside a shop. Two other persons were declared dead at the Thakurgaon Sadar Hospital, police said.

At least two people were killed and 57 others injured during clashes between the activists of JI-Shibir and the police in the northwestern district of Rangpur.

The deceased were Shibir activists.

In Noakhali after the pronouncement of the verdict, Jamaat and Shibir activists set fire to a temple and houses of Hindu community.

Two people were killed as the activists clashed with law enforcers at different points in Noakhali.

In Dinajpur, a Shibir man was killed and two sustained bullet wounds when the BGB men opened fire on activists of JI and Shibir.

Three people in Satkhira, two in Sirajganj and one each in Cox’s Bazar and Chapainawabganj, were killed in violence following the verdict.

An Awami League activist was hacked to death in Natore district.

Banshkhali- Chattagram

JI activists also attacked police camps at different places.

Authorities earlier called out paramilitary BGB along with the police and elite anti-crime Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) to maintain law and order.

The verdict came as a security blanket covered the capital Dhaka and other major cities after JI called a nationwide shutdown coinciding with the date of the judgement, while thousands of youngsters enforced a street vigil demanding the capital punishment for the war criminals.

Following the verdict, thousands of youngsters celebrated beating drums and chanting slogans in the capital and several other major cities where transport plied in large numbers and offices and businesses remained open defying the JI strike call.

“Hang the war criminals, ban Jamaat-Shibir,” they shouted parading the city streets.

No clash was reported in Dhaka though witnesses said JI activists tried to make visible their presence on the street exploding homemade bombs and staging street marches at places but fled the scenes as police chased them with rubber bullets and tear gas canisters.

Source News & Pic.s: BD News | Daily Star | Outlook | AFP | Reuters | Agencies.

Protest over 'gay hate' Islamic cleric's vist to university

Campaigners have hit out at the University of Reading for allowing a 'gay hate' Islamic preacher to address students.

Abu Usamah at-Thahabi is due to give a speech to the university's Muslim Society as part of its Discover Islam Week on Thursday night.

Anti-extremist group Student Rights has condemned the meeting and called on the university to review its decision to allow the controversial cleric on campus.

Protestors claim he has been caught making homophobic remarks including referring to gay people as "perverted, dirty, filthy dogs who should be murdered".

The Muslim cleric is also being accused of sexual harassment at the Birmingham mosque where he preaches.

According to Birmingham's Sunday Mercury, Mr At Thahabi, who is an imam at the Green Lane mosque in Sparkbrook is named in a website which claims to expose “sexual deviant preachers who prey on our Muslim sisters.”

The site alleges that it has been contacted by at least two female victims of the US-born convert.

The University of Reading has refused to give in to the demands insisting that it was committed to upholding both the right to free speech and lawful protest.

Collapsed Cyberjaya flyover was closed for repairs, say PKNS, Works Ministry

A view of the collapsed flyover in Cyberjaya. PKNS and the Works Ministry say the collapsed flyover has been closed for repairs. – Photo by Choo Choy May

CYBERJAYA, Feb 28 – The flyover near the Selangor Science Park 2 (SSP2) here that collapsed today was closed for repair works since last November, the Selangor State Development Corporation (PKNS) said today.

PKNS general manager Othman Omar said that the flyover, which was originally built by PKNS but has been handed over to highway operator PLUS Malaysia Berhad, was closed to repair a road that had begun to sink beneath it. However, PLUS has denied the flyover was handed to it, saying it is still under the purview of PKNS.

Othman said that both PKNS and PLUS began investigations last December after noticing damage to the flyover from excavation works.
“Before we could finish the investigation, the flyover has collapsed,” Othman told reporters here.

Minister of Works Datuk Seri Shaziman Abu Mansor said in a statement today that the flyover and the road below it were closed since December 7 last year, and will remain closed until December 31 this year, depending on the speed of repair works.

“On December 7, I visited the bridge after I was informed by the Malaysian Highway Authority (LLM) that there was movements on one of the pillars at the Science Park 2 tiered interchange that connects to Putrajaya and Cyberjaya,” said Shaziman.

Shaziman’s statement was confirmed by PKNS’ deputy general manager Abdul Ghani Hashim, who said that four pillars on the Cyberjaya side suffered from structural problems.

According to PKNS, the peaty land in the area caused the road underneath to sink, causing PLUS to hire a third party to run repair works.

PKNS insisted that the flyover was in perfect condition when it was handed over to PLUS, but it was not designed to withstand deep excavation underneath which has caused structural disturbance.

Othman today promised that works to rebuild the flyover will be started as soon as possible, with clean-up expected to take three weeks, and construction another eight months.

“We don’t want this to be a war of pointing fingers ... We want to take pro-active measures, we will fix this first. Hopefully along the way we will resolve this issue,” he said.

The flyover collapsed around 12.30pm today and appeared to have been broken into two pieces, in the latest incident involving public works projects in the country.

PKNS confirmed that no one was hurt in the incident.

The flyover, which was closed last November, is an exit from the Elite Highway (KM P2.4) towards SSP2. The Lingkaran Putrajaya stretch managed by PLUS towards Putrajaya runs below it.

Works on the RM7 million flyover by contractor BNI Construction started on October 2007, and it was completed on November 2009. Four developers – PKNS, Utuh Aspirasi Sdn Bhd, Taraf Unggul Sdn Bhd, and Semai Ria Sdn Bhd – shared the cost for its construction.

Surendran to make election debut

The PKR vice-president confirms that he will be contesting for the parliamentary seat of Padang Serai in Kedah.

VIDEO INSIDE

KUALA LUMPUR: He started out as a human rights activist and then made the transition to politics. Now, PKR vice-president N Surendran has his guns trained on a parliamentary seat for his election debut.

The lawyer, a familiar face at the forefront of numerous human rights abuse cases, would be contesting in the Padang Serai constituency in Kedah, now held by N Gobalakrishnan.

Gobalakrishnan, who quit PKR following differences with the leadership, is still hoping that he would be allowed to contest the seat without hindrance from Barisan Nasional.

In an exclusive interview with FMT, Surendran said: “Yes, I would be contesting the Padang Serai seat. I have worked in elections since 1999; however, this would be the first time I would be standing as a candidate.”

“It is quite a challenge and at the same time it is exciting, but the main goal is to garner enough seats in order to take control of the federal government.

“There is a need to change this country; to rule this country the way it ought to be done,” he added.

Commenting on the speculation that many PKR MPs would be replaced in the coming election, he said that seat deliberations are still ongoing.

“It is an open secret that certainly some may be dropped and there may be new candidates but most would be able to accept the central leadership’s decision.

“There are many ways for them to contribute especially after the takeover of Putrajaya, which we are reasonably confident of, because there’s a lot of work to be done,” he added.

Surendran said that there is a place for everyone in PKR, in the efforts to clean up this country. “We need to end corruption, we also need to clean up the administration,” he added.

With regard to Padang Serai, Surendran said that he had been working on the ground there for sometime.

“I was assigned to contest in Padang Serai by the party leadership which, of course, I immediately accepted.

“I started working in Padang Serai sometime back to send Pakatan’s message down to the people, to explain the changes that we wish to bring,” he added.

No separate list of Indian candidates

Surendran revealed that among the many problems in Padang Serai, it was the poverty rate that alarmed him.

“There’s a lot of problems in Padang Serai, there are many poor people and there’s definitely a lot of work to be done because the poverty rate there is quite shocking. The federal government has not done enough to tackle poverty,” he added.

Asked whether there is a separate list of PKR Indian candidates, he replied that there is none.

“There is no separate list of PKR Indian candidates in the general election. Candidates are being chosen on the basis of requirements of the constituencies, capability, capacity, track record and potential contribution to a new Pakatan government.

“The primary consideration would be the ability of the candidate to bring change to this country and to serve the people of this country,” he added.

Surendran stressed that for a clean and corrupt-free nation, candidates must have the ideas and initiatives to put Malaysia on the right path.

Last week, Gobalakrishnan told FMT said that he will defend his seat as an independent candidate with BN’s support, adding that he had urged BN not to contest against him.

“I definitely stand a better chance than an MCA (BN) candidate,” he told FMT. “Nobody has shown more interest in the wellbeing of the people there than I have.”

Gobalakrishnan quit PKR in early 2011 after receiving a show-cause letter over his attacks against the party leadership.
- See more at: http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2013/02/28/padang-serai-surendrans-election-debut/#sthash.IpL7WZK8.dpuf

PI Bala: A lot of hot air but no 'bomb'

(Yahoo News) - “Bala! Bala!” The crowd cheered as private investigator P Balasubramaniam walked with his hands raised into a packed hall at the Kuala Lumpur and Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall (KLSCAH). And thus the night began with an air of anticipation – that something "big" will be revealed.

Hundreds of people poured into the hall last night while others watched on a screen provided outside despite the rain yesterday evening.

Close to 1,000 people from all walks of life -- from a young man with skinny jeans and eyeliner to elderly grandfather wearing a kopiah -- anxiously waited for the main event.

The night began like a concert with opening acts to warm up the audience. Controversial political cartoonist Zulkiflee Anwar Ulhaque or Zunar and Suaram director Cynthia Gabriel took to the stage to fire up the crowd and set the backdrop for Bala’s "revelations".

After more than an hour, Bala finally took the stage and sat with Solidariti Anak Muda Malaysia (SAMM) chief Badrul Hisham Shaharin, who was the moderator.

Bala, who had just returned home on Sunday, Feb 24, after being in hiding since 2008, was now centre stage, looking visibly nervous. He started his two-hour-long "talk" by recounting how he met Abdul Razak Baginda to the day he issued his second statutory declaration (SD).

Bala, the key witness in the Altantuya Shaariibuu murder trial, had linked the then deputy prime minister Najib Razak to the murder in his first SD. However, he retracted the passage regarding Najib in the second SD the next day. - See more at: http://fz.com/content/pi-bala-back-arrives-klia-heros-welcome

Bala was the key witness in the Altantuya Shaariibuu murder trial, and he had linked the then deputy prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak to the murder in his first SD. However, he retracted the passage regarding Najib in a second SD the next day.

Bala stumbled on his words, constantly referring to PowerPoint slides to help remember the events, and it went on for so long that he even took a toilet break. “I am very sorry. I haven’t been in the country for so many years so I hope you will have patience with me,” he apologised to the crowd.

Although Bala repeated and revealed nothing new, the audience were at the edge of their seats, glued to his words. The crowd cheered and jeered every time Bala mentioned the names of the prime minister and his wife.

Bala also gave his version of what happened when he met businessman Deepak Jaikishan after he issued his first SD.

“We went to one Chinese shop in Rawang and he (Deepak) was asking what do you get by doing that SD one? Then suddenly I received a call from my wife that she getting harassed by two Malay men outside the house... He (Deepak) said 'don’t worry. If you can prepare this SD then everything will be solved'.

Bala also claimed that he had allegedly met Datuk Nazim Razak at The Curve and that Nazim had threatened Bala's family because of the first SD.

Badrul later promised that last night was the first of many public forums that SAMM planned to organise with Bala nationwide, promising to drop more “bombs” in Kelantan, Johor and Sabah.

Bala declined to speak to reporters.

Opposition Pact's Manifesto Is Like An Old Newspaper, Says Mohd Zin

SHAH ALAM, Feb 28 (Bernama) -- The manifestos of the opposition pact comprising PAS, Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) and DAP are like the old newspapers because they are merely repeating the pledges that have yet to be fulfilled, said Selangor Barisan Nasional (BN) coordinator Datuk Seri Mohd Zin Mohamed.

He said the pledges were promises that had never been fulfilled such as the free education although the opposition pact had been in power for almost five years in Selangor.

"Looking at the manifesto in Selangor alone, I feel they have only realised about 15 per cent of all the sweet promises made. In fact, Menteri Besar Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim had boldly said that the manifesto is not a pledge," he said at a media conference, here Thursday.

Mohd Zin said the manifesto of the oppositiion pact announced recently clearly involved high costs and it was doubtful whether they could afford to implement them.

He said that on the whole, the manifesto made by the opposition pact was merely an election pledge to fish for votes.

He said that among the pledges made by the opposition pact such as the purported intention to eliminate monopoly by creating the Anti-Monopoly Commission, actually should be implemented in Selangor first especially in the sand mining industry.

"The sand mining industry worth billions of ringgit is monopolised only by one company, namely, Kumpulan Semesta Sdn Bhd. Shouldn't the sand mining tender be opened so that that the revenue derived would be more transparent and could generate the state's economy?" he said.

Meanwhile, Mohd Zin said he was prepared to debate with anyone on the BN and Pakatan Rakyat manifestos in Selangor.

Siapa Arah Bunuh Altantuya?

Muslim Brotherhood Islamists Surround Christian Church in Attempt to Stop Construction

A group of Islamists surround the Abu Maqar Church in Shubra al-Kheima on Monday in an attempt to stop construction on the church's annex, claiming that the building is not licensed, said sources from the Qalyubiya security department.

Security forces were deployed to the area to convince the group to step down and allow work to resume, the sources claimed.

Ramsis al-Deiry, a member of the Shubra al-Kheima archbishopric's Millet Council, said group of Salafis and members affiliated with the Muslim Brotherhood surrounded the building and prevented workers from resuming construction.

Hindraf: Pakatan manifesto a big letdown

Election pledges completely ignores Indians and even Anwar’s pledge to resolve the 350,000 stateless Indians issue within 100 days is not mentioned, says Waythamoorthy

GEORGE TOWN: Pakatan Rakyat election manifesto has sidelined, isolated and marginalised the already much maligned ethnic Indian community, charged Hindraf Makkal Sakti today.

Its supremo, P Waythamoorthy, accused Pakatan of completely ignoring the needs and interests of the Indian community in its election pledges.

He summed up Pakatan’s so-called people’s manifesto as one that has disappointed Indian Malaysians and does not value the community’s support or needs.

“In one stroke, the manifesto has said so many things that disappointed us. It is deeply distressing, not so much by what it says, but by what it does not say.

“It failed to even acknowledge, let alone recognise, the community’s longstanding woes,” the Hindraf chairman said in a statement.

In recent talks with Pakatan leaders, especially PKR, he said they failed to take note that Hindraf had been diligently working with them to bring solutions for these serious problems.

When questioned on this, PKR de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim said that Pakatan’s manifesto transcends racial groups as well as subgroups including the Indian community.

“If this was the case, how does Anwar justify specific pledges to the Malays, Chinese, Orang Asals, Sabah and Sarawakians, the ex-armed forces and Felda settlers in the manifesto?

“The provisions there do not seem to transcend racial groups and subgroups,” said Waythamoorthy.

“Enough has been said of Pakatan moving away from racial politics but that is more a statement of its intent than the frame for its policies.

“Pakatan has been using this once too often as a cover to ignore the problems of the Indian poor and marginalised.

“That should leave anyone with a strong liberal and democratic conscience, disturbed,” added Waythamoorthy.

He said that it was time to address the Indian problem permanently, to eliminate its root cause – the institutional discrimination – and bring back the almost 1.3 million poor and working class Indians into the mainstream of economic development.

He cited an independent study from the Centre for Policy Studies concluded in 2000 that 600,000 estate workers have been forcibly displaced in the country.

Pakatan taking the same path

He added that Hindraf estimated the figure had reached at 800,000 now.

“This massive forced displacement is a direct result of state development programmes operating in the milieu of institutional racism,” said Waythamoorthy.

By ignoring the problem with the “transcends race argument” and the acceptance of serious violation of human rights, he accused Pakatan of taking the same Umno-led BN path.

He pinpointed that Anwar’s pledge to resolve the 350,000 stateless Malaysian Indians issue within 100 days “found no mention in the manifesto”.

In its various meetings and communications, he said Hindraf had stressed to Anwar and Pakatan allies the need for a targeted and pointed programme to address this serious accumulated problem arising from all the human rights violations of the past 56 years.

He said Hindraf’s proposals were stipulated in its five-year blueprint for the Indian community submitted to all Pakatan parties – PKR, DAP and PAS.

He said the blueprint sought to address issues of institutional discrimination and equal rights of land procurement for economic purposes, equal business opportunities which included business loans, permits and educational opportunities.

He said the annual budget required to fully implement the blueprint was a mere RM4.5 billion or 1.8% of the 2013 annual national budget.

This sum, he insisted, was a reinvestment on human capital to stimulate progress and development in lives of marginalised people.

“Our proposed solutions are permanent, practical and comprehensive. Pakatan confirmed verbally that it was in principle agreeable with the blueprint,” said Waythamoorthy.

He noted that Pakatan not only failed to give a single pledge in its manifesto to address any of the Indian problems, but it also did not formally endorse the blueprint.

Even though Hindraf recognised that it was Pakatan’s prerogative, he said the movement was more concerned with “loss of a historic opportunity to get the process of change rolling”.

Kingmakers sidelined

Meanwhile, Malaysian Indian Progressive Association (Mipas) secretary-general S Bharatidasan asked why Indians were left out in Pakatan’s latest manifesto.

“Remember that we are kingmakers in several seats and a majority of us supported Pakatan in the 2008 general election,” he said.

Bharatidasan demanded the opposition pact prepare specific allocations and programmes for Indians, as the community is still lagging in many fields.

“We also demand Indians be given seven ministers and eight deputy ministers’ posts should Pakatan form the next federal government,” said Bharatidasan.
- See more at: http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2013/02/27/hindraf-pakatan-manifesto-a-big-letdown/#sthash.NFQctR41.dpuf

Go to the moon, Vell Paari tells Perkasa

Responding to Perkasa's stinging criticism, the MIC leader says that it is them and not him who is the real liability to BN.

KUALA LUMPUR: Malay extremist group Perkasa has launched a scathing attack against MIC leader S Vell Paari and defended academic Ridhuan Tee Abdullah over his controversial article.

In an online news report, the movement’s secretary-general Syed Hassan Syed Ali described the MIC strategy director as a publicity hound attempting to reverse his sinking political fortunes.

Calling Vell Paari a liability to Barisan Nasional, he said Indian community leaders close to Perkasa had advised the MIC leadership to ignore Vell Paari because his voice was no longer important.

Responding to the criticism, the MIC leader said that he was willing to sponsor mirrors for the members of Perkasa.

“It is obvious that they have not looked at themselves in a mirror. These imbeciles label me a burden to BN when Perkasa was responsible for alienating non-Malay votes with their racism.

“So I hope with these mirrors, they could take a good look at themselves before pointing their stained fingers at others.

“It also seems that my voice was important enough to draw a reaction from Perkasa,” he told FMT.

Furthermore, Vell Paari said unlike Perkasa president Ibrahim Ali, who hopped from BN to the opposition, and then back again, he continued to remain with the ruling coalition.

“Their leader is a frog, who would never turn into a handsome prince no matter how many times you kiss him and these people have the audacity to talk about me. I find that amusing,” he added.

Barking for the right reasons

As for him being a publicity hound, Vell Paari quipped that he was glad to be compared to an animal that was considered grateful.

The MIC leader added that at least he was in the news for barking in defence of preserving this nation’s multiracialism unlike Perkasa which was in the news for being rabid, and therefore should be put to sleep.

“Once again, with the mirrors I am willing to present Perkasa, they could at least stand before them and ask, ‘mirror, mirror on the wall, who is the biggest threat to BN of them all’,” he added.

Commenting on Syed Hassan’s remark that Indian leaders close to Perkasa had advised MIC’s top brass to ignore him, Vell Paari said he was shocked that the movement’s leaders had Indian friends.

“And if there are Indian community leaders willing to be close to such bigots, it is their voices which must be ignored, not mine.

“I love my country more than I love the party that I belong to. So I would not stop criticising those who threaten my nation with their venom,” he stressed.

Does Perkasa represent the Malays?

Vell Paari also took Syed Hassan to task for claiming that the former’s views did not represent the sentiments of the Indian community.

“This is the problem with those who only read certain newspapers and live in a cocoon.

“It is Perkasa’s views that do not represent the feelings of the ‘true’ Malays as illustrated by the handful of supporters who turned up for their so-called counter protest against Bersih.

“We could even ask the Malays in PAS and PKR if Perkasa represented their voice,” he added.

Quizzed on Perkasa’s defence of Ridhuan’s article, saying that there were some elements of truth in it, Vell Paari said that statement alone proved the mindset of the movement’s leaders.

“These people are criticising me for criticising a racist. Perkasa and people like Ridhuan belong on the moon and not in a multi-racial nation like Malaysia,” he said.

On Syed Hasan’s warning that Vell Paari and opposition Indian leaders should refrain from making threats and hurtful remarks, the MIC leader said the Perkasa secretary-general should advise his president first.

“Ibrahim Ali called for the burning of Bibles. I am asking for action to be taken against a racist. So in what warped logic, am I the greater threat?” he asked.

“Ridhuan stands accused of plagiarising and being a fraud. Is this the type of people Perkasa wishes to defend? That speaks volumes about Perkasa, doesn’t it?” he added.

The MIC leader also clarified that he was not demanding an apology from Ridhuan but rather wanted him sacked for his insensitive remarks.
- See more at: http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2013/02/27/go-to-the-moon-vell-paari-tells-perkasa/#sthash.Qy0h2I8d.dpuf

Kayveas: Is Palani powerless or just ignorant?

The PPP chief, while telling MIC to stay out of their spat with Nanban, questions the party chief's credibility in standing up for the Indian community.

PETALING JAYA: People’s Progressive Party (PPP) president, M Kayveas, condemned MIC’s support of Malaysia Nanban over its humiliating statements against the Indian community.

The Tamil daily, in an article on Feb 20, opined that the Indian community could be won over with “free food and tasty mutton”, and that PPP was prone to doing that to rake in votes.

The article questioned if such a move by PPP, which is a Barisan Nasional component party, would favour the ruling coalition in attracting the Indian community’s votes.

Angered by the article, party members and Kayveas were reported to have ambushed the daily’s headquarters in Jalan Ipoh, seeking clarification.

Kayveas, in denying the news reports, said: “First of all, we didn’t ‘ambush’ the daily. We were in fact invited to the Nanban office by the director Ahmad Mydin Sikandar Batcha.

“He wanted to show us proof that what was written was indeed true. They promised a public apology the next day but instead now claim that we had ambushed them.”

‘Why should I apologise?’

Kayveas also said that a number of MIC men were present, claiming to be “security” personnel when he and other PPP members visited the Nanban office.

“Why does MIC need to send ‘security’ [personnel] for Nanban? They have nothing to do with this. Police officers were already deployed and they helped settle the issue before we left,” he said.

Kayveas also said that MIC Youth chief T Mohan and strategy director S Vell Paari have told him to apologise to Nanban for his actions.

“Why should I apologise to them? What did we do to harm them? Why are they not standing up for the Indian community? What is their motive really?” he asked.

When asked if he had contacted the MIC president G Palanivel with regard to this issue, he said: “I only received a reply from Palanivel saying ‘you are free to do your part’.”

“This clearly means that he isn’t going to do anything about this. Is he powerless or is he just being plain ignorant?” he said.

Kayveas assured that PPP will continue to fight for Indians and suggested that it was best for MIC to stay out of this matter as “I know how to handle this issue amicably”.
- See more at: http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2013/02/27/kayveas-is-palani-powerless-or-just-ignorant/#sthash.5A42um12.dpuf

Ramasamy: BN behind rallies backing me

The idea is to cause a split in DAP, says the Penang deputy chief minister.

PETALING JAYA: Penang deputy chief minister P Ramasamy today accused Barisan Nasional of masterminding protests that ostensibly championed him as a victim of alleged manipulation of DAP election results.

Commenting on a report appearing in FMT yesterday, he said it was wrong to call them “pro-Ramasamy rallies” because they were held not out of concern for his political career but to cause a split in DAP.

The participants were not even DAP members, he added.

“There was one protest held in Perai by members of the Indian Progressive Front (IPF) and another by anti-Pakatan people in Georgetown,” he said. “They definitely have no love for me.”

He said he was certain that the protests were organised by elements in BN.

Yesterday, a group of DAP grassroots members called on the party to investigate demonstrations that depicted Ramasamy’s defeat in last December’s central executive committee (CEC) election as a defeat to the Indian community.

The group, who included Penang DAP Indian Bureau secretary S Sukumar and Bagan Luar branch chairman G Asoghan, asked the party to identify the mastermind of the protests and remove them from DAP.

Speaking on the behalf of the group, Asoghan said many grassroots leaders and members were astonished by the protests and the press statements issued about them.

The polls were marred by a glitch that was attributed to miscalculations on Microsoft Excel spreadsheets. Ramasamy was subsequently co-opted into the CEC.

Ramasamy told FMT he had never complained about the results. “I was the first to accept the CEC election results,” he said.
- See more at: http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2013/02/27/ramasamy-bn-behind-rallies-backing-me/#sthash.JnvYSBCY.dpuf