180213 Information Dept says hackers behind "Najib resigns" post

Relook Bumi quota, low-cost housing policies, Putrajaya told

Cho likened the blanket discount to the poor subsidising the rich. — File pic

PETALING JAYA, Feb 18 ― Housing developers want the government to review housing quotas and discounts allocated to Bumiputeras and the poor, after complaining today of their abuse.

This follows the build-up of unreleased Bumiputera units, which they said was as high as 56 per cent of unsold homes costing above RM500,000 in prime areas of Selangor, Kuala Lumpur, Johor and Penang.

“Our request to the administration is for an auto-release mechanism,” said Datuk Seri Micheal KC Yam, president of the Real Estate and Housing Developers’ Association (REHDA) here.

“The policy needs a review ... It doesn’t really matter which government wins (the general election).”

The association further suggested that lots reserved for Bumiputeras be made available to the general public if there is no demand after a period of time.

His view was echoed by REHDA deputy secretary-general Datuk Anthony Adam Cho, who said the Bumiputera discount favoured those buying more expensive properties, rather than those who are less affluent.

“The more expensive the unit, the more discount is given ... Why are the poor subsidising the rich?” Cho asked reporters.

Following the implementation of the New Economic Policy (NEP), Bumiputeras are automatically entitled to a seven per cent discount on houses or property, regardless of their financial standing.

Cho, who is a developer in Malacca, complained of the glut of low-cost housing in the state due to the quota imposed by authorities, which he said caused developers to move away to other profitable areas.

“We’re having a dialogue with the government; why don’t you convert the low-cost requirement to low-medium cost requirement?’ Cho suggested.

The developers also complained of the utility connection costs, saying they had to bear the cost of having their property supplied with water, electricity and telephone lines.

“Why are we still paying contributions to Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB) who is making much more profit than our public-listed companies?” asked Cho.

The Malaysian Insider understands that on top of that, developers are also now required to incur between RM4,000 and 6,000 per unit to install high speed broadband infrastructure in their projects, or risk their development application being rejected by the Malaysia Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC).

In the Property Industry Survey ran by REHDA for the second half of 2012, 47 per cent of respondents claimed that they have unreleased Bumiputera units, an increase from 39 per cent in the first half of 2012.

Thirty-two per cent of those have unreleased units with a market price between RM500,000 and RM1 million, while 24 per cent have units above RM1 million.

Another 87 per cent of those surveyed reported that their unsold units had some impact on their cash flow.

The real enemies of the state

By deporting Senator Nick Xenophon, the Malaysian authorities have given the impression that there is something to hide.
COMMENT

By S Vell Paari

When I arrived in Kuala Lumpur from Perth two days ago, the first SMS that I received upon switching on my mobile phone was that Australian senator Nick Xenophon had been detained at the Low Cost Carrier Terminal (LCCT) and was awaiting deportation for allegedly being an “enemy of the state”.

The enemy of the state claim, to me, was bewildering.

Setting aside his scheduled meetings with Anwar Ibrahim and certain NGOs, wasn’t he and the delegation representing all the political parties in Australia scheduled to meet with the Election Commission and Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Nazri Abdul Aziz as well?

When a senior federal minister of Malaysia and the Election Commission could see fit to schedule a meeting with Senator Xenophon, where is this security treat?

Let’s be frank, Senator Xenophon is not an independent observer, he is aligned to Anwar and Pakatan Rakyat but have not our leaders like Xenophon been critical of foreign countries and their policies. Were this leaders considered a security threat and deported when they arrived in those countries?

Dr Mahathir Mohamad during his tenure as prime minister made various threats against the US and Australia, was he ever deported during any of his visits there? Even recently he made statements against the US and Hilary Clinton but when he went there to receive an award, he was not deported for being an enemy of the state.

It took three Bersih rallies before we realised that it is best to give an approval in the case of the Himpunan Rakyat, where everything proceeded peacefully and with praise for the police.

Similarly, we should have just allowed Senator Xenophon together with the delegation to carry out their visit, hold their meetings, state their views and return back to Australia, without drama.

By choosing to deport him, we have turned him into a hero. By deporting him, we have given the world an impression that we have something to hide.

Just two weeks ago we had a similar group from Europe who came to look into the government’s control over the mainstream media and their statement was not favorable to the government, which was aired by certain mainstream TV channels and online media.

The real security threat

What about George Soros? He visited Malaysia to launch his book. This man was accused of attempting to destroy the Malaysian economy and to bring Malaysia to its knees to beg IMF’s help. But was he deported as an enemy of state?

It is these sort of double standard approaches that brew disaster for Barisan Nasional.

For example, recently about a 100 rebel fighters from the Philippines landed in Sabah fully armed. And the Home Ministry is still figuring out how to deal with them. Is this not a major security treat? Were they deported?

I think it must have been Xenophon’s V-neck T Shirt which is the cause for the security threat.

The greatest security threat to Malaysia is Ibrahim Ali. All his racial rants are targeted to stir racial tension and violence. But no action has been taken.

Ibrahim fits the tag of being an “enemy of the state.”

We are dealing with a new generation of Malaysians who are well aware of their democratic and constitutional rights and are exercising it. So either we learn to engage Malaysians or be prepared to be disengaged by Malaysians from Putrajaya.

While we preach to the rest of the world about sensitivity, tolerance, freedom and democratic maturity, we must first learn to heed our own advice and show to the world and especially to the true citizen of Malaysia that our country does not only possess first world infrastructure but also first world mentality.

Let us not become our own enemies of the state.

S Vell Paari is MIC’s strategy director.

NGO wants Vell Paari for Teluk Kemang

The NGO believes that Vell Paari is the right man for the job as opposed to S Murugesan or S Sothinathan.

PETALING JAYA: A local Indian-based NGO wants Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak to pick S Vell Paari, MIC’s strategy director and son of former president S Samy Vellu, as the Barisan Nasional candidate for the Teluk Kemang parliamentary seat.

Persatuan Belia Pemangkin Bangsa dan Negara Port Dickson chairman K Ravindran said instead of choosing between MIC secretary-general S Murugesan and former vice-president S Sothinathan, Teluk Kemang voters “would prefer” Vell Paari.

“Vell Paari is more vibrant and outspoken. He also has strong influence in getting things done. It is better for him to contest in Teluk Kemang instead of the other two,” he told FMT today.

Sothinathan became the Teluk Kemang MP following a by-election in 2000. He retained the seat in the 2004 general election but lost the constituency in the 2008 polls.

Murugesan on the other hand contested the Subang parliamentary constituency in 2008 and lost.

Ravindran said Vell Paari had a better chance of winning back the seat especially since PKR would contest the seat on the opposition front.

Incumbent PKR man Kamarul Baharin Abbas is expected to contest the seat for the second term at the forthcoming general election.

Sothinathan has been keeping a low profile since his defeat. Sources said he has been quietly serving the constituency.

“Since he lost in the general election he has been missing. But now out of nowhere he appears just before the election. We do not want these kind of people who have lost their respective seats, and also credibility,” he added.

On Murugesan, Ravindran said voters were not keen in having the MIC secretary-general as the Teluk Kemang member of parliament.

“Murugesan and his team, should concentrate in Subang which his original constituency instead of jumping to a safe seat,” he added.

Meanwhile, Vell Paari declined to contest the seat.

“First and foremost I thank those who want me to stand but I have made it clear in early 2011 that I have turned down the offer to run as a MP, for I believe being independent of this position will give me the freedom to voice and effect changes within MIC and BN.

“And to those who keep advising that I should join Pakatan Rakyat, I must say I am a BN member and will always remain as one.

“If there are issues within my house, it’s my duty to fix it and not burn my house down. I believe dissent is not disloyalty,” he said.

Pakatan 'still discussing' Hindraf blueprint

Pakatan Rakyat leaders are still working to translate Hindraf’s blueprint into “implementable policies and amendments to the law”.

PKR vice-president Tian Chua (left) said the coalition has not rejected the document, which it supports “in principle”.

“Whatever is in the blueprint will have to be consistent with our manifesto. Otherwise people will pick it out (the inconsistencies). How do we then show ourselves to be a credible alternative to the government?” Tian Chua said when contacted.

“So it takes time for us to make sure everything is consistent and proper. There is nothing sinister about the discussions taking longer than what Hindraf expects.”
Hindraf yesterday urged the opposition coalition to endorse its blueprint and form an electoral pact with it.

Otherwise, the movement warned, 25 of the coalition’s parliamentary seats would be in jeopardy as a result of Malaysian Indian support withdrawn.
Hindraf's claim not an issue
Asked whether this claim was credible, Tian Chua, who is the MP for Batu, dismissed it as secondary.

He said Pakatan was working with Hindraf not because it could deliver votes, but because Pakatan supported the issues raised in the Hindraf blueprint, such as the issues of stateless Malaysian Indians and the welfare of displaced plantation workers.

“Many other groups would also lay claim that ‘they can deliver this, they can deliver that’. We must first look at whether it is consistent with our principles.

“Some other groups may not contribute at all to any substantial seats, but we will still be working with them because we agree with them in principle.

“That why we have to first understand where Pakatan Rakyat stands in the issues of principles and election strategy. Otherwise, we will end up to be just a populist coalition that goes along with whoever tells us that they have seats to deliver to us," Tian Chua added.
Meanwhile, Hindraf’s national adviser N Ganesan (left) in a statement today called on Pakatan to convene a meeting by Friday to make a final decision on cooperation between the two groups.

“The discussions that Hindraf has been having with Pakatan over the last several months, which have been bogged down by inordinate delays and a lack of understanding, now need a fresh look.

“If Pakatan truly, and not just as a  matter of rhetoric, cares for the Malaysian Indian electorate, it should stop playing around with the issues embodied in the blueprint and start serious contemplation on whether it can support the demands in the document.

“To come clean is what I am saying – stop the manoeuvring,” Ganesan added.

PKR decries Ridhuan Tee's 'racist' article

PKR has lambasted an article by Universiti Pertahanan Nasional lecturer Ridhuan Tee Abdullah, which was published in a local daily today, labeling it as “racist” for questioning the Thaipusam festival.

The party’s human rights and legal bureau deputy chief S Jayathas (right) said Ridhuan’s criticism of the festival contravened Article 11 of the federal constitution ensuring religious freedom of all Malaysians.

“The statement portrays a deep racist connotation and can create unrest as well as chaos among followers of the peaceful religion,” Jayathas said in a statement.

“We never question when there is traffic (jam) during Friday (Muslim) prayers, because we respect the rights of religion.”

In the column, Kesabaran umat Islam ada had (There is limit to Muslim patience), which appeared in Sinar Harian, Ridhuan commented on congestion in the areas surrounding Batu Caves before and during the Hindu festival.

“Have we ever complained during Thaipusam celebration? A week before the festival, the entire area surrounding Batu Caves is congested. Vehicles have been parked wherever the owners please.

“A sea of people of a single colour gathers, as though there are no other colours in this country,” the controversial columnist wrote.

‘Islam agenda sacrificed for votes’

Ridhuan (left) also claimed that due to federal and state allocations received after the 2008 general election, “temples and idols” that were once grim-looking are now bigger, taller and more colourful.

“From what I see, we (Malay Muslims) have given up everything to garner sympathy and votes. This country has no identity anymore.

“The Islam and Malay agenda have since gone. I am confident that even if BN were to win in the 13th general election, the present situation will not change.
"We will continue to take care of others rather than ourselves.”

The author said all this when condemning BN component party MIC’s defence of the international Tamil film Vishwapooram, said to contain several elements deemed offensive to Muslims but which have since been edited out.

He went on to claim that Muslims in the country were being taken advantage of, whereas action are always taken against those who insulted the sensitivities of other religions in the country, citing the prosecution of those involved in the cow-head and church-burning incidents as examples of this.

As for the coming election, he further suggested that if an Indian candidate is needed to contest in a Malay-majority seat, then an Indian Muslim candidate should be fielded there.