Panel siasat dakwaan penyelewengan kontrak AIMST

Sebuah panel tiga anggota telah ditubuhkan untuk menyiasat dakwaan penyelewengan pemberian kontrak oleh sayap pendidikan MIC, Institut Pembangunan Pendidikan Maju (MIED) bagi Institut Perubatan, Sains dan Teknologi Asia (AIMST) milik parti itu, demikian menurut sumber-sumber.

Mereka menyatakan Lembaga Pengarah MIED, yang bermesyuarat pada hari Jumaat, melantik bekas bendahari agung MIC Tan Sri K.S. Nijhar, untuk mengetuai panel penyiasatan itu, lapor Bernama.

Difahamkan dua lagi anggota panel ialah Timbalan Presiden MIC, Datuk G. Palanivel dan Pengerusi Jawatankuasa Disiplin MIC Tan Sri G. Vadiveloo.

Sumber parti mendedahkan panel itu diwujudkan atas arahan Presiden MIC, Datuk Seri S. Samy Velu semasa mesyuarat itu.

Ketika dihubungi Bernama, Nijhar mengesahkan pembentukan panel berkenaan dan siasatan rasmi masih belum bermula.

"Saya baru melihat kesemua dokumen berkenaan dan belum lagi meneliti butiran kontrak. Panel ini akan mengadakan pertemuan sebaik sahaja saya mengkelaskan dokumen. Panel ini dibentuk bukan untuk mengenakan sesiapa tetapi untuk memastikan semua perkara dalam keadaan teratur," katanya.

Difahamkan panel itu telah memperoleh kesemua fail berhubung dakwaan penyelewengan itu daripada pejabat MIED.

Dua minggu lalu, Samy Velu memecat Setiausaha Agung MIC, Tan Sri M Mahalingam, 73, dengan menyatakan parti itu memerlukan tokoh muda bagi memegang jawatan itu sebagai satu daripada usaha penjenamaan semula MIC.

Timbalan Menteri di Jabatan Perdana Menteri Datuk S.K. Devamany, 51, dilantik menggantikan Mahalingam.

Sumber mendedahkan presiden parti berasa bimbang dengan pemberian kontrak yang didakwa ditawarkan pada nilai yang begitu besar.

Mereka berkata panel itu akan turut menyiasat dua kontrak kepada syarikat yang mempunyai kaitan dengan pemimpin kanan MIC.

Kos pembinaan AIMST, yang mula beroperasi setahun lepas, melonjak daripada anggaran asal RM230 juta kepada RM500 juta dalam tempoh 12 bulan, kata sumber.

Sementara itu, Mahalingam ketika dihubungi berkata beliau bersedia untuk disoalsiasat oleh panel berkenaan.

"Bagi saya, tiada apa yang hendak disembunyikan. Saya melakukan seperti apa yang diarahkan Presiden (MIC). Tiada penyelewengan dana atau kontrak pada pihak MIED," katanya.-Malaysiakini

Does MCA support Hudud?

You MCA Chinese are the worst kind. At least PAS and DAP are honest about what their stands are. You just throw the cat amongst the pigeons and stir racial and religious issues to divide Malaysians and to make them hate each other. You are dangerous Chinese.

NO HOLDS BARRED

Raja Petra Kamarudin

I am going to suggest that Malaysians boycott the mainstream media for the next two weeks beginning from Monday, 5 January 2009. This is to teach them a lesson that they can’t keep spinning and lying to us and continue to get away with it.

Look at how they are spinning the Indian issue to give an impression that the Indians have abandoned the opposition. Are they trying to suggest that all the Indian Wakil Rakyat in Pakatan Rakyat are that stupid to not realise that they came into office not on Indian votes alone?

There is not a single seat in any of the Parliament and State constituencies where there are more than 30% Indian voters in the constituency. Maybe ten seats or so will have roughly 20% Indian voters. But that is about it. This means there is not a single seat in the whole of Malaysia where the Indians form a majority.

You could probably find a few seats where the Chinese form a majority. But it is only a handful of seats and not enough to form even a state government. For Malay-majority seats, however, there are many. Some seats are 97% or 98% Malay. But most hover around 70% to 90%. Putrajaya is 98% Malay, Kuala Terengganu is 89%, Permatang Pauh is 79%; just to name a few.

So, as Ali Rustam said in 2007 during the PPP convention in Melaka, Umno can form the government just on Malay votes alone. This is, of course, on condition that the Malays are solidly behind Umno and are not split -- like they are now and like they have always been since Merdeka.

So there are two things to note here, which the mainstream media is hiding from us.

Firstly, no Indian Wakil Rakyat can make it just on Indian support -- even if he or she gets 100% of the Indian votes. And they can never get 100% Indian support. So they need the Malay and Chinese votes as well. Therefore, how can the Indian Members of Parliament and State Assemblymen/women harp on ‘Indian issues’? Even Samy Velu admitted, more than once, that he needs Malay votes to win the election. And this is in a “Chinese Communist” constituency like Sungai Siput mind you.

Next, the Malays have always been, and always will be, split almost 50:50. That is because we have PAS around. If the Chinese ‘kill’ PAS, then the Malays will only have Umno to vote for. An Umno with 100% Malay support would mean that Umno no longer needs the Chinese and Indians, or those from Sabah and Sarawak -- as Ali Rustam said in 2007, may I add.

Do the Chinese really want to put PAS out of business? If PAS ‘dies’ then Umno, and not DAP, will get the Malay votes. And this will make Umno very powerful -- powerful enough to not need Chinese and Indian support. Are the Chinese that stupid? Do the Chinese not understand the game of divide and rule? Would it not be better that the Malays are split 50:50 between Umno and PAS? Or is it better that PAS dies and 100% of the Malays unite under Umno?

Come on! Use your brains lah! Don’t fall for the mainstream media spin. The Star is MCA owned. The New Straits TimesBodoh lah!

Today, The Star said: MCA dares DAP on hudud. Okay, MCA has challenged DAP to state its stand on Hudud. Did DAP not say so many, many, many times that it DOES NOT support Hudud? Did DAP not leave the opposition coalition, Barisan Alternatif, soon after PAS proposed Hudud in Terengganu in 2002? What more do you want DAP to say?

Hey, read my lips, MCA. DAP does not, I repeat, DOES NOT support Hudud. And they have very honestly said so many, many, many times. What we DO want to know is: what is MCA’s stand on Hudud? MCA has not made its stand clear. Can MCA, once and for all, state its stand on Hudud?

MCA, do you or don’t you support Hudud? Speak up now or forever hold your tongue. Are you pro-Islam or anti-Islam? Please tell us now and make it very clear. Tomorrow we are going to Terengganu to campaign for PAS and we want to know what to tell the Kuala Terengganu voters. And it will either be “MCA is anti-Islam” or “MCA is pro-Hudud”. And you can bet your sweet ninny I am going to milk this cow till the tits become sore.

And while we are at it, MCA, please also give us your comments on the news items below. We want to know your stand -- and make it very clear because we are going to talk to the Kuala Terengganu voters about these matters as well.

Over to you, MCA!

You MCA Chinese are the worst kind. At least PAS and DAP are honest about what their stands are. You just throw the cat amongst the pigeons and stir racial and religious issues to divide Malaysians and to make them hate each other. You are dangerous Chinese. It is Chinese like you who trigger race and religious conflicts. Are you trying to turn Malaysia into another Beirut or what? You are the cause of tragedies like ‘May 13’. The Chinese should skin you alive and leave your carcass out in the sun to rot.

Puaka punya Cina MCA! is owned by Umno. You still believe what they say?

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Portuguese Settlement to get own church – finally after 80 years

Christmas Day may be over but Santa is just about to arrive at the Portuguese Settlement in Ujong Pasir.

A RM10mil church project is being proposed for settlement — and it comes as welcome news for the community.

State MCA English Speaking Bureau chairman Chock Choon Sin said that the application for the 6,000-strong Catholic community in the area to have their own church had been submitted to the state recently.

“As a traditional Portuguese village set up some 80 years ago, many residents feel that it is time they had their own church.

“Besides easing the burden for senior citizens having to travel into the city to attend services, a nearby church will help the community preserve its centuries-old religious traditions,” he said during a visit to the settlement here recently.

The proposed project will involve the construction of a 600-seat church on a 3ha piece of reclaimed seafront land next to the village, which will also be earmarked as a recreational and green lung area.

The request for a church has been brought up on numerous occasions, including at a forum with former Kota Melaka MP Wong Nai Chee last year.

Village Regedor (headman) Peter Thomas Gomes welcomed the proposal. “Many residents feel that a church should be built here to serve the needs of the community.” - The Star

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Catholic paper may take govt to court on permit condition

Kuala Lumpur: A Catholic newspaper Friday threatened legal action against the Government after being told to stop publishing its Malay language edition in a row over its use of the word "Allah."

The Herald, circulated among the country's 850,000 Catholics, nearly lost its publishing licence last year for using the word "Allah" as a translation for "God," with authorities saying "Allah" should be used only by Muslims.

Now the newspaper has been told it must stop publishing its Malay edition while the issue is resolved in the courts, as part of conditions for it to be allowed to continue printing its editions in English, Chinese and Tamil.

Murphy Pakiam, the Archbishop of Kuala Lumpur and publisher of the weekly newspaper, said in a letter to the Home Ministry that it had seven days to revoke its decision or face legal action.

He said he was "totally perplexed" over the suspension which "reeks of ill will and bad faith" and was effectively a punishment for the legal battle that is due to be settled next month.

"We are therefore advised and verily believe that this condition constitutes a serious violation of our constitutional freedom of expression and speech," he said in the letter, a copy of which has been obtained by AFP.

Religion and language are sensitive issues in multiracial Malaysia, which experienced race riots in 1969. About 60 per cent of the nation's 27 million people are ethnic Malay Muslims, who dominate the government.

The rest of the population includes indigenous tribes as well as ethnic Chinese and Indians - practising Buddhism, Christianity and Hinduism, among others.

The Herald's editor, Father Lawrence Andrew, has said that more than half Malaysia's Catholics are from indigenous groups, most of whom live on the Borneo island states and who mainly speak Malay. – AFP

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Malaysia Bans Catholic Paper for Use of 'Allah'

The Malaysian government has put a stop to a Catholic newspaper over the use of the word “Allah” in its Malay-language edition, the paper’s editor reported Thursday.

The Malaysian government has put a stop to a Catholic newspaper over the use of the word “Allah” in its Malay-language edition, the paper’s editor reported Thursday.

Father Lawrence Andrew, editor of The Herald weekly newspaper, said the government ordered the Malay edition to stop running until courts resolve a ban on the paper’s use of “Allah” to refer to God, according to the news site Malaysiakini.com.

Malaysia’s Home Ministry reportedly sent a letter saying the newspaper is only allowed to operate its English, Mandarin and Tamil editions. The Herald usually has four editions, including Malay.

“The prohibition amounts to persecution,” Andrew told The Associated Press. “It curtails our freedom of expression and diminishes our rights as citizens…. We are perplexed and we do not think that the prohibition is on solid legal ground.”

Andrew believes the ban is part of a larger government effort to restrict the newspaper, which is the main Roman Catholic weekly in Muslim-majority Malaysia. The newspaper had just renewed its license on Tuesday.

Last year, the newspaper had nearly lost its publishing license for using the word “Allah” as the translation for “God.” Authorities had contended the word “Allah” should only be used by Muslims.

“The constitution says Malay is the national language so why can’t we use the national language in Malaysia,” the paper’s editor told Agence France-Presse.

He noted that many Catholics in Malaysia are “bumiputera” or “son of the soil,” which refers to ethnic Muslim Malays and the indigenous inhabitants in peninsular Malaysia and on Borneo Island who are mostly Christians.

To ban the use of the Malay word for “God” does not make sense because a large portion of Catholics in the country are bumiputera who mainly speak Malay, Andrew argued.

“More than 50 percent of our congregation are bumiputera and two of our bishops are bumiputera,” the editor said.

Andrew said the newspaper sent a letter to the ministry on Friday to appeal the order. If there is no response within seven days or the decision is not retracted, the newspaper will consider taking the Malaysian government to court for violation of the rights of religious minorities.

The court decision on the “Allah” ban, meanwhile, will be decided in the courts next month, according to AP.

Malaysia, which is over 60 percent Muslim, has a long history of religious freedom problems. Several Christian converts from Islam have been denied the right to change their religion on their government identity card.

The government also restricted the Christian blockbuster hit “The Passion of Christ” to only Christian audiences, and Muslims in Malaysia had called for a ban on “Evan Almighty.”

In general, Islam enjoys special privileges in Malaysia as the dominant religion.

Do your job, Guan Eng tells HR minister

DAP boycott Kuala Terengganu by-election over hudud?

Most intriguing.

MCA has not given up.

The stance of the MCA President Datuk Seri Ong Tee Keat is being echoed by his underlings with the MCA leadership continuing to plug the line that the DAP should boycott the Kuala Terengganu by-election over PAS agenda on hudud.

Of course, no indication that MCA would boycott the by-election although there is no renunciation by the UMNO leadership of a series of hegemonistic agendas, whether the “929 Declaration” that Malaysia is an Islamic state or “ketuanan Melayu”.

Forty hours to nomination in Kuala Terengganu by-election on Tuesday morning.

Meanwhile, let the blogosphere respond to the MCA stance - for or against, the pros and cons, merits and demerits as to whether DAP should boycott Kuala Terengganu by-election over PAS agenda on hudud..

Murder victim’s body found in Semenyih dam

KAJANG, Jan 4 – The body of a man believed to have been murdered was found floating in the Semenyih dam about 3pm today.

Kajang district police chief ACP Shakaruddin Che Mood said the body of the unidentified man, clad only in a pair of jeans, was found by members of the public.

He said there were three stab wounds on the man’s forehead and another on his right shoulder, and his hands and legs were tied with a piece of cloth.

“Our initial investigation shows that the man could have been killed a few days ago at another location, based on the condition of the body, and then thrown into the dam,” he added.

The body was sent to Serdang Hospital and no arrest has been made so far in connection with the case.

Shakaruddin said anyone with a missing relative should contact the nearest police station to enquire. – Bernama

Umno wary of the enemy within

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 4 – The biggest obstacle to Umno retaining the Kuala Terengganu parliamentary constituency seat is not Abdul Wahid Endut, the charismatic candidate of Parti Islam SeMalaysia (Pas).

Not even the fickleness of the Chinese voters, who make up 10.94 per cent of the 80,325-strong electorate, presents a real challenge.

It is the collection of individuals – Umno members – who are contesting for positions in the party elections in March, and their agents and runners. If these men and women keep their eyes as focused on the party polls as they did during the Permatang Pauh by-election, then Umno’s Datuk Wan Ahmad Farid Wan Salleh will come out second best on Jan 17.

During the Permatang Pauh campaign in August, the who’s who of the party led the charge but anecdotal evidence suggests that they were more interested in obtaining nominations and support for party elections.

Some of these bigwigs were content to sit in their hotel rooms and meet a steady stream of party members who had descended on the constituency from all over Malaysia.

At that point, party elections were scheduled for December. Since then, Umno has delayed the polls till late March in line with the transition of power plan which will see Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi step down in favour of Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak.

Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim of PKR won the Permatang Pauh by-election by a yawning margin.

Following the sound defeat, Umno conducted a series of post-mortems. In every study, it was noted that while Umno heavyweights and members flooded Permatang Pauh, many of them were more interested in campaigning for party positions.

Others preferred to stay in cliques with party members from their own states, and were ineffective in making any inroads with the local population.

Najib, who will lead the party machinery in the Kuala Terengganu by-election, knows the pitfalls. In an interview with Mingguan Malaysia, he noted that clear directives had been given to candidates against using the by-election to fish for votes for the party elections.

Those contesting party positions have been given specific areas to look after. This move is intended to prevent them from going around the whole constituency canvassing for support from Umno members.

“Their main focus has to be the voters in Kuala Terengganu,” he said.

Najib also said that, unlike Permatang Pauh, the local party machinery will have to be the prime movers, with outside help only providing back-up services.

Traditionally, every state Umno will rent a house in the constituency and send a strong delegation. But this approach has been counter-productive.

Instead of moving about and meeting voters, the party members tend to hang around their own houses and spend most of the campaign period in the company of their comrades from the same state.

In Kuala Terengganu, Najib said, there would be a change to this “rumah negeri’’ approach.

During the interview, he was confident that Barisan Nasional would retain the constituency, which fell vacant with the death of BN’s Datuk Razali Ismail.

This confidence is anchored in the belief that Umno is regaining its poise after months of uncertainty.

In contrast, not a day seems to pass without a minor flare up in the nascent Pakatan Rakyat coalition.

Pas insiders concede the party’s preparation for the by-election has been less than perfect, with the choice of candidate being made 10 days after BN unveiled Wan Ahmad Farid as its candidate, a delay caused by internal strife.

Still, Pas officials expect everyone to close ranks and fight to wrest control of the constituency from Umno.

Their most potent weapon: Umno members campaigning for party positions.

“We expect Umno members to be more interested in campaigning for the party

elections,” said a party insider, who acknowledged that the stakes were also high for Pas and Pakatan Rakyat.

“If we lose, Pakatan Rakyat will lose a lot of momentum,” he said.

Karpal against PKR seizing power though MP crossovers

By Teh Eng Hock, The Star

Pakatan Rakyat should only embark on capturing the Federal and state governments during the next general election, and not seize power via the crossovers of Barisan Nasional MPs.

DAP chairman Karpal Singh said the people’s choice during the election should be honoured, and the people would feel cheated if MPs or assemblymen hop over to another party.

“I must make it very clear that I have not at any one time been in support of Anwar’s (Opposition Leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim) stand on crossovers.

“In fact, as far back as March 23, 2008, I had gone to the extent of saying DAP would support the Barisan-led Federal Government to amend the Constitution to make party-hopping illegal by providing more than the eight MPs required by the Barisan to make up for the two-thirds majority needed to amend the Constitution,” he said in a statement.

Karpal Singh said he had also castigated Kapar MP S. Manikavasagam for wanting to leave PKR, saying that the latter was not elected in his personal capacity and had no right to join another party or remain as independent.

“He should resign so that his constituents can decide whom they wish to have as their representative in Parliament.

“DAP is against elected representatives betraying the sacred trust of their constituents through party-hopping,” he said.

Karpal Singh was responding to a letter written by a reader of The Star, who questioned his principles for supporting Anwar.

He said the reader had labeled him as an unprincipled politician, and should check his facts before criticising.

Karpal Singh said the reader owed him an apology as any criticism must be based on truth.

BARISAN NASIONAL WILL LOSE KUALA TERENGGANU PARLIAMENTARY BY-ELECTIONS IF IT DOES NOT MAKE AN ANNOUNCEMENT THAT IJN WILL REMAIN A GOVERNMENT ENTITY

With the Kuala Terengganu parliamentary by-election just around the corner, there is intense heat that the National Heart Institute (IJN) take-over bid that has been postponed last month would be sold to Sime Darby after the election results while depriving the poor and needy Malaysians and government servants their rights to free or affordable heart health care treatment which the BN government had always claimed to have offered.

Articles of interest are posted in blogsites, http://anotherbrickinwall.blogspot.com/2009/01/ijn-probe-part-1.html and http://anotherbrickinwall.blogspot.com/2009/01/ijn-probe-part-2.html which gives an insight account of the manoeuvres this 'uncaring, ineffective, inefficient and corrupted' BN government is undertaking just for its UMNOputra benefits and interest while neglecting Malaysians on the whole.

The BN candidate will LOSE if the BN government does not assure the rakyat that IJN will continue to be government-owned and the plans to sell to Sime Darby or any other party/parties has been officially scrapped.

Will BN be prepared to face another disastrous defeat?

news courtesy of Another Brick in the Wall

Kapar MP Manikavasagam's PA ushered out of PKR Indians show of support

Kapar MP says he will ‘live or die’ with PKR

By Neville Spykerman

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 3 — Kapar MP S. Manikavasagam has snubbed the invitation by two Umno leaders for him to join Barisan Nasional.

Manikavasagam told The Malaysian Insider he would “live or die” with PKR despite his differences with Selangor's Pakatan Rakyat leadership and he had no intention of jumping ship.

"No thanks," was his response to the invitation from Selangor Umno liaison committee chairman Tan Sri Muhammad Muhammad Taib and state opposition leader Datuk Seri Dr Mond Khir Toyo.

Manikavasagam said crossing over would betray the Hindraf 5, who have been detained under the Internal Security Act, and voters in Kapar who voted overwhelmingly for PKR on March 8.

The embattled first-term MP, who has come under fire from within his own party for his persistent criticisms against the state PR leadership, admitted problems existed.

Burdened with an overwhelming obligation to the people who voted for change, especially the Indian community, Manikavasagam said he is frustrated this change has been slow in coming.

"I have been vilified in the press, by my own party members, for trying to be a hero to the Indians but are they (critics) going to help the community if I shut up."

Manikavasagam, who has been at the forefront in handling social issues affecting the Indian community for over almost a decade, said he has no intention of changing his confrontational style just because he is now a PKR MP.

In September, he took to task the Selangor Menteri Besar for not going to the ground to visit victims of a freak storm in Klang and more recently he was embroiled in a public argument with Selangor Speaker Teng Chang Khim over the relocation of the bus terminal in Klang.

However, Manikavasagam is aware the open battles in the press are only benefiting BN and is adopting a unilateral ceasefire — for now.

Amid fissures, a small band of Indians back PKR

Supporters came as far as from Kedah and Johor. — Pics by Choo Choy May

By Debra Chong(Themalaysianinsider)

PETALING JAYA, Jan 3 — Despite the rain, close to 100 members of the Indian community from around Malaysia turned up today in front of the PKR central headquarters in Merchant Square here to reinforce their support towards the party leadership.

The gathering was organised in an attempt to show PKR maintained the support of the Indians.

Holding up photos of Opposition Leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and huddling together behind banners proclaiming “Don’t twist our words”, “Our Leader: Anwar Ibrahim” and “Long live Pakatan Rakyat”, they sent out a strong message that the Indian community as a whole remained committed to the opposition front’s cause.

The supporters, young and old, men and women, were not only members of PKR but included those from the DAP, its sister party in the Pakatan Rakyat (PR) alliance as well as the Makkal Sakti movement, an offshoot of the now banned Hindu Rights Action Force (Hindraf).

They came from as far away as Johor and Kedah in answer to mobile text messages sent out by several PKR members asking them to gather in a show of solidarity.

For nearly two hours, they stood in the open-air parking lot rallying around several grassroot leaders who told them not to believe rumours of a widening split in PKR.

The opposition party’s shine had taken a bruising after an internal spat between its popular first-time MP for Kapar, S. Manikavasagam and the PKR-led Selangor government’s leaders had gone public and sown confusion and fear among the grassroots Indian community.

Manikavasagam has accused the PKR leadership of sidelining the Indian community, which had helped it win big in the 12th General Elections last year.

The gathering had also attracted the attention of a few non-Indians.

A Chinese software developer told The Malaysian Insider she was there because she supported PKR’s philosophy to protect the rights of all races.

The petite 25-year-old from Taiping disagreed with Manikavasagam’s view championing only the rights of the Indian minority.

Wishing to be known only as “EC”, she hoped Manikavasangam would be more patient and give the PKR state government time to help the marginalised communities.