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Wednesday, 4 September 2013

Father: Sanjeevan recovering from amnesia

MyWatch chairperson R Sri Sanjeevan is showing signs of recovering from his memory loss as he has started to recognise his parents, said his father today.

NONEP Ramakrishnan (left) told Malaysiakini that over the past few days, Sanjeevan was able to recognise his family members, though he was still unable to recall his past activities, and also the attempt on his life on July 27.

"He can recognise us (family) now. But he appears to be very afraid nowadays," he said.

He said that doctors have assured that Sanjeevan's memory will fully recover, though how long it would take for the anti-crime activist to be back to normal remains unclear.

Ramakrishnan also said that the family have not received any updates from the police regarding their investigations into Sanjeevan's shooting.

"I also have not seen any police around (the hospital) recently," he said.

Sanjeevan is currently warded at the Serdang Hospital, and has undergone a surgery to remove a bullet lodged in his ribcage.

The bullet was removed 18 days after he was shot by two men on a motorbike in Jempol, Negri Sembilan on July 27.

Sanjeevan reportedly was about to expose the underworld links of some Negri Sembilan police officers before he was shot.

His father had said that he has reason to believe that the Negri Sembilan police were involved in the attempt on Sanjeevan's life.

The Bukit Aman police are now handling this case upon Ramakrishnan's request.

Let MCA handle Seri Pristana row, 'gutless' MIC told

An Indian-based NGO has urged MCA to take the lead in solving the controversy surrounding the shower-room canteen in SK Seri Pristana.

NONEMalaysian Tamilan Today secretary K Gunasekaran (left) said it was pointless to depend on MIC to champion the issue as its leaders "lacked courage."

"Even Deputy Education Minister (and MIC leader) P Kamalanathan said he has no power in this matter.

“This means his ministry’s officers don't listen to him, he is just a puppet," he added.

On the other hand, Gunasekaran said he respected MCA Youth chief Wee Ka Siong and Wanita vice-chairperson Heng Seai Kie for being outspoken on this issue.

"MCA has been championing this issue for us all the while," he added.
Gunasekaran said he was upset when Kamalanathan claimed that this was a “small problem”.

“Just because you (Kamalanathan) can’t handle (this case), you say (it is a ) small issue. If you think you are not capable, you should step down,” he lamented.

He said this during a press conference before meeting Selangor Education Department director Mahmud Karim in Shah Alam today.

After a 40-minute-long closed-door meeting, Gunasekaran said the meeting was fiery in the beginning as Mahmud was at first being defensive by saying that he only wanted to meet the parents, not an NGO.

“Mahmud advised the parents not to transfer their children before the Education Department solves the problem,” he said, adding that Mahmud would meet the parents, teachers and the headmaster Mohd Nasir Mohd Noor.

Gunasekaran had also questioned why Mahmud only took an effort to handle this issue at this moment.

Meanwhile, Mahmud refused to talk to the press when met at the state Education Department building.

MIC blames Tengku Adnan for 'spreading lies' over temple

MIC Youth has blamed Federal Territories Minister Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor for allegedly spreading lies that Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) had knocked down a shop and not part of the 101-year old Muneswarar temple.

NONEThe wing’s secretary C Sivarraajh told reporters that as a Malaysian, he was ashamed of the Sunday fracas at the Golden Triangle Hindu temple, where 10 people were arrested when they tried to stop DBKL officers from dismantling deities in a bid to seize back state land.

“Even a small boy can know whether this is a place of worship or an eating shop,” Sivarraajh told reporters at the temple site along Jalan P Ramlee. “The statements issued by DBKL, Tengku Adnan and (the ministry’s special officer) R Ramanan are totally unacceptable and I challenge them to come and see for themselves.”

NONESivarraajh (left) also blamed Ramanan, who, as an Indian, he said, should have advised Tengku Adnan on proper Hindu customs.

Sivarraajh said even MIC president G Palanivel was misled by Tengku Adnan’s SMS. Speaking to reporters on Sunday, Palanivel had said that only shops and not the temple was being demolished. This was because Palanivel did not know the real situation then, Sivarraajh said.

While it was true that the temple had operated a drink and snack stall for a while, it was only as a means to defray the temple’s operation costs, Bukit Bintang MIC division secretary VM Gunasekaran, who was also at the press conference, told reporters.

Gunasekaran said that MIC had aided the temple since 2010 to register as a place of worship and to ask for the state land on which it was squatting. Initially started as a shrine in 1911, a proper temple was only built at the current site in 1970s.

Gunasekaran estimated that the piece of land which DBKL had seized in an ambush operation on Sunday was worth RM5 million. The temple has since formed a joint action committee - comprising NGOs, and PKR and MIC officials - which would offer to meet Tengku Adnan to work out an amicable solution.

'DBKL has no SOP on action at places of worship'

There are no special provisions governing the conduct of Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) personnel who carry out enforcement at places of worship, according to the Federal Territories Ministry.

NONEDeputy Minister Dr Loga Bala Mohan (left) said any provisions or standard operating procedure (SOP) will only be formulated in discussion with DBKL.

"Their SOP is general, there's no special provision for temples. There have been complaints about DBKL (personnel) wearing shoes (into places of worship), we admit that," he told a press conference at the ministry today.

Referring to the action taken at the Sri Muneswarar Kalyamman temple in Jalan P Ramlee on Sunday, he claimed that the part of the premises that was barricaded by the officers was “originally a canteen”.

"It's an annexure that had (statues of) deities placed there after last November. It's not a shrine per se," he said.
“After we started engaging with them (about relocation), they had started placing deities at what used to be the canteen. But this is not part of the temple shrine. This was more like a hall,” he said, referring to the annexure.

NONELoga Bala also said that DBKL officers did not demolish any deity but merely removed it and placed them elsewhere.

He said that the court order issued on July last year had not expired as claimed by certain quarters but was still in effect.

“A court order doesn’t expire,” he said.

He however gave an assurance that the remaining portions of the temple will be “beautified” and “gazetted” as temple land.

“I assure that we will not demolish any temples in Kuala Lumpur. This was in the BN manifesto and we will follow to that. The prime minister has told us to gazette the land as temple land,” he said.

He said that the ministry and DBKL would engage with the temple committee in order to gazette the temple, but said that the next move has to be initiated by the temple committee.

NONE“After this, we wait for them to come and talk to us. We have already said that we are ready to beautify the temple,” he said.

He explained that the 8-feet annexure of the temple was needed in order to build proper drainage in view of the neighbouring development there.

“We decided that this was the best way to build the drainage,” he said.

“While with the hoarding now, it might look messy, but we will beautify it in the future. Even the developer, Hup Seng Consolidated Bhd, had agreed to bear the costs,” he said.

The temple, according to the committee, is 101 years old.

The authorities have offered to move the temple to Setapak since 2010 when Hup Seng was given a development order at its private land next to the temple, an idea rejected by the temple committee.

Subsequently, DBKL and the ministry had offered to only claim the 8-feet annexure of the temple.

Loga Bala said that DBKL and the ministry had conducted 43 engagements with the temple committee since 2010 before a cabinet decision was made on Aug 28 this year to claim the annexure.

Hindraf wants moratorium on actions against Indians

The Persatuan Hindraf Malaysia is calling on Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak to announce a moratorium on evictions, demolitions and police actions concerning the Indian community until terms agreed upon in the agreement with Hindraf are implemented.

jalan p ramlee temple demolition 010913Referring to Sunday’s incident in which Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) staff allegedly smoked, wore shoes, damaged and removed deities from the 101-year-old Golden Triangle Muneswarar temple at Jalan P Ramlee in Kuala Lumpur, Hindraf adviser N Ganesan said this was “analogous” with the recent shooting of five suspected Indian gang members in Penang.

“These are exactly the kind of violations that we seek to avoid with Waythamoorthy’s participation in government and with new solutions to the underlying problems promised in the agreement,” he said in a statement today.

Calling on the PM to “move forward positively” he said Najib must “announce unambiguously a formal moratorium on the various evictions, demolitions and police actions on the one hand and provide the needed support to get the implementation of the agreement moving forward on the other”.

NONEIn April, both Najib and Hindraf, led by P Waythamoorthy (left) inked an agreement, a five-year blueprint to "uplift the Indian Malaysian community".

Following this, Waythamoorthy was handpicked by Najib as a senator following the 13 general election to become deputy minister in the Prime Minister’s Department.

However, many fellow cabinet ministers had called for Waythamoorthy’s resignation and even Najib himself advised him to “toe the government line” after he questioned the shooting.

Citing inadequate numbers of Indian admission into matriculation, eviction notices served to temples and former estate workers while “police want a freehand to do what they think is right”, Ganesan said all these fell within the targets for correction in the BN-Hindraf agreement, promised “so loudly” by the BN before the general election.

“The Indian public see that now Waythamoorthy is not allowed to take public positions on the issues he is in government for on the one hand, and the government implementation of the agreement seems to be getting nowhere on the other hand.

“So, they are all asking ‘has Prime Minister Najib cheated us all?’...Hindraf would also like an answer to the question,” he said.

PKR claims DBKL desecrated temple, accusing Ku Nan of lying


Calcutta High Court rejected honorarium to Imam and Muezzin and the concept of minority appeasement.

Mamata’s allowance to Imams and Muezzins unconstitutional: Calcutta High Court. A hard slap on Mamata for her minority appeasement policy.

HC Slaps Mamata on Imam and Muezzin HonorariumUpananda Brahmachari | Calcutta High Court | 02 Sept 2013:: In a very stringent manner Hon’ble Calcutta High Court today rejected all orders and provisions for all unlawful matters in connection with Imam and Muezzin honorarium, issued by West Bengal Govt, only for appeasement policy of Smt. Mamata Banerjee (Islamically known as Mamtaz Banu Arjee), the one eyed Chief Minister, hungry after Muslim Vote Bank.

A division bench of Justice Pranab Kumar Chattopadhyay and Juartisce Murari Prasad Shrivastava gave the ruling while hearing a petition filed by Acharya Yogesh Shastri on behalf of Arya Samaj of Bengal unit [WP No. 9163 (w) of 2012] and other petitions including a public interest litigation (PIL) filed by the state unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

The Calcutta High Court Monday declared the monthly allowances given to Imams at the rate of Rs 2500/- and muezzins at the rate of Rs 1000/- each by the West Bengal government as unconstitutional.

Actually, the erratic Govt of West Bengal was in mood to spend Rupees Eighty Four Crores every year for such appeasement policy for Muslim clerics ignoring a severe fiscal crisis in state economy.
A division bench of Justice Pranab Kumar Chattopadhyay and Juartisce Murari Prasad Shrivastava gave the ruling while hearing the petitions filed by different ends to oppose discriminatory Imam and Muezzin Bhatta (honorarium) given by West Bengal Govt. coming under a circumstances to appease the Muslim vote bank politics.

“The court declared the allowance as unconstitutional as it is violative of right to equality under Article 14 (of the constitution) and right against discrimination on grounds of religion, under Article 15,” the petitioners’ counsel said.

“The court said the allowance was violative of Article 282, as payments to the Imams and muezzins do not constitute a public purpose as envisaged by the article,” added counsel.
The court, however, has not ordered recovery of the allowances already paid. But, the designated bench ordered earlier to recover the honorarium already paid to the Muslim clerics subject the final decision of the court.

The Mamata Banerjee government April 2012 announced a monthly payment of Rs.2,500 to Imams or the clergy, and followed it up by fixing Rs.1,500 monthly for the muezzins, those who give the call for prayers at the mosques.

Discontent over the government announcement, Arya Samaj and others challenged its legality in Calcutta High Court.

Both the Communist Party of India-Marxist and the Congress welcomed the court’s verdict, saying it has foiled the “state government’s move to discriminate between people on the basis of religion”.
However, a very communal Imam of city’s Tipu Sultan Mosque Maulana Syed Noor Ur Rehman Barkati termed the court’s verdict as “unfortunate”.

“It is an unfortunate verdict. Most of the Imams and muezzins in the state are poor, does the court want them to die of hunger? I believe along with Imams and muezzins, Hindu priests should also be paid the allowances. Their condition too is pitiable,” Barkati told the press.

In retaliation to the statement of Barkati, Acharya Yogesh Shastri, the spokesperson of Bangiya Arya Pratinidhi Sabha and one of the petitioners against Govt. to stop such discriminatory and unlawful honorarium to Muslim, told Hindu Existence that Imam Barkati is a very communal person and he has nothing to say anything about Hindu or Arya priests, whatsoever. He has no regards to Indian constitution or upon the verdict of  Hon’ble Calcutta High Court in various matters including banning cow slaughters in West Bengal. Such persons are putting communal pressures on Mamata Banerjee to extracting undue reservation and facilities for Muslim people and making the environment so communal. Shastri opines that if Barkati wants to register him as an impartial and secular one, he must raise his voice for common civil code and denounce shariah law.

French Muslim Attacked for Interfaith Ties to Jews

Hassen Chalgoumi meets with French Jewish leader Richard Prasquier.A French imam known for promoting Jewish-Muslim relations said he was physically assaulted in Tunisia by a man who called him a “Zionist.”

Hassen Chalgoumi meets with French Jewish leader Richard Prasquier.

The attacker of Hassen Chalghoumi, the imam of Drancy near Paris, punched him in the chest and shoved him to the ground on Sunday near Hotel Gammarth near Tunis, the capital of Tunisia.

“He insulted me, called me a ‘Zionist and collaborator’ and then he hit me,” Chalghoumi was quoted Monday as telling Le Parisien daily. Chalghoumi was assaulted in front of his wife and children, who also were hit by the unnamed attacker, the report said.

According to the report, the man, who addressed Chalghoumi in French, was detained by hotel staffers and arrested by police. Chalghoumi was taken to hospital after the incident, according to the French news agency AFP. Neither he nor his family members sustained serious injuries.

Chalghoumi, who is well-known in France for his involvement in interfaith forums and initiatives, has received many death threats in France for his friendly ties with CRIF, the umbrella group representing French Jewish communities, and for visiting Israel several times.

What's Undi Msia!?


Officers at temple fracas over-zealous, says MIC

MIC deputy president Dr S Subramaniam said that the manner in which work was carried out by enforcement officers at the Golden Triangle Muneswarar temple at Jalan P Ramlee was "over-zealous".

NONEWhen asked today about the allegations of police misconduct at the temple on Sunday in which 10 people were arrested, Subramaniam (right) suggested that enforcement officers should receive extra training.

"I think sometimes enforcement officers become over-zealous. Like this conference that we are having for patient safety and healthcare, perhaps a conference for enforcement officers can be done so they can have better communication, and do their jobs in a manner which is acceptable."

He added this was not the first time this kind of incident had taken place, where unpleasant feelings were created in enforcing policy.

Subramaniam was speaking at the Malaysian Society for Quality in Health conference at Putrajaya today.
DBKL personnel wore shoes and smoked cigarettes in the temple while removing the statues of deities before proper rituals could be conducted.

The temple committee also claimed that DBKL started work on the temple without prior notice.
Subramaniam also expressed disapproval with how the authorities handled protesters that day.

"I think there are issues in the way they handled the people at the protest, even my own youth chief (T Mohan) was arrested, he was put in the Dang Wagi police station and I had to go rescue him,

"I never like stepping into a police station and unfortunately I had to that day, I had to go in and take him out,” he said, 
Gov't still provides hefty fuel subsidies
Meanwhile, Subramanian defended the government decision to raise petrol and diesel prices by 20 sen because the amount saved in subsidies can be used to fund other things such as hospitals.

He said that the public must appreciate the fact that the fuel is still being heavily subsidised by the government.

“The Prime Minister (Najib Abdul Razak) also announced ... that despite the (price increase) the government is still subsidising every litre (by) about 60 to 70 sen, so I think we have to appreciate that.

"We are one of the few countries to continuously subsidise petrol and diesel at such a high rate," he said.

Asked about inflationary fears, Subramaniam said that it will happen to a certain degree, but "to the greater extent, I think it's not going to be a problem".

Of police statistics on gangsters, land injections

KINIBIZ Don’t know about you, but Tiger had a great weekend. Every year on Aug 31, Tiger makes a trip out of the (corporate) jungle and watches the march-past, mingles with the people, has some refreshments… you know… sembang with the people, fellow-Malaysians, be it the over-zealous mat rempit or the pakcik and makcik who really fought for Independence.

azlanNow we are 56 years old … if Malaysia were a journalist she would be a pensioner, probably sitting around using up EPF money, while talking about how good things were back in the day… back when there was no Astro (to show us lousy, third-rate movies), or the Internet which enables Tiger and his male friends to erm … surf for the latest in baking technology.

On the issue of EPF money lasting for only a short few years, Tiger will share his views another day.

Anyway Tiger gets a kick seeing our soldiers with paint on their faces - camouflage they call it -  our tanks on which we probably overspent, and a whole host of other stuff, all green and olive coloured.

Tiger will endure all this, for Tiger loves his country.

NONEWhat? How many people were watching? And how many were involved in the march-past and all? How many people watched from their home? (Never mind how much was spent, that could be sensitive, and Tiger would be called unpatriotic and all), but how to know all this?

Tiger has to say ngo em chee (for those less multi-lingual than Tiger, that’s Cantonese for ‘I don’t know’)…

But actually judging by the recent turn of events, you just have to ask the police. And you will get precise numbers. Actually the police seem to have a knack for exact numbers. But Tiger would like to point out that there is a difference between precision and accuracy.

Go to KiniBiz for more.
This article was written by Jose Barrock.

Mywatch Adviser: 'Bring back Param'

Subra: I didn't know the event organisers

MIC deputy president Dr S Subramaniam was unaware of the people behind an event he attended in December 2011 that is now the subject of police investigations.

However, Subramaniam said he was sure that the NGO which invited him to the event was a registered group.

NONEHe was referring to a police report by Tamilar Action Force (TAF) yesterday, which claimed that Subramaniam (right) and two other top BN leaders were spotted at an event organised by 'Geng 36' at The Mines, Seri Kembangan on Dec 3, 2011.

"Yes, we were invited by an NGO to attend a function. They were giving laptops for school children and giving money for poor people. So in all fairness and sincerity we attended the function.

"We didn’t know about this strange mix up which has been reported. It was an event organised by a registered NGO. As leaders, we very often agree to these kind of things.

"But who organised it? Who is the person? This is not information we are privy to,” he told reporters in Putrajaya today.
Linked to MIC polls?

The police report by TAF member S Murali was to demand a probe on an anonymous letter addressed to Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak which detailed alleged political links with the underworld.

According to the police, "Geng 36" is a notorious organised crime group.

MIC Youth coordinator T Mohan 01052009Subramaniam and MIC Youth chief T Mohan (left) were among those named in the polic report while the third BN top gun is from Umno Youth.
Malaysiakini is withholding the name of the Umno leader until the person responds for comments.

Yesterday, Mohan told Malaysiakini that he was unaware if the organisers of the event had underworld links and suggested that the person behind the allegation might be trying to influence the upcoming MIC central working committee elections.

Malaysiakini also understands that at least two other top BN leaders were at the event.

Samad Said detained for questioning



National laureate A Samad Said has been detained and taken to the Dang Wangi district police headquarters.

Samad told Malaysiakini that the police wanted to record his statement.

"I was just arrested and am on my way to the Dang Wangi police station," he had said when contacted late last night.

The national laureate was sought by the police in connection with the flying of the "Sang Saka Malaya" flag at a Merdeka event last week.

Prior to this, the police had arrested activists Hishammuddin Rais and Adam Adli under the Sedition Act in connection with the same incident.

The duo were released yesterday morning.

MIJP, a new kid on the block

Analysts do not see the need for another Indian political party as it brings no added value to the community

PETALING JAYA: Political analysts questioned the rational for the formation of another new Indian political party in the nation. The Registrar of Societies approved the registration of Malaysian Indian Justice Party (MIJP) yesterday.

Universiti Sains Malaysia’s political scientist P Sivamurugan said that there was no need for new Indian based political parties to be registered.

“There is no necessity for more small Indian parties to represent the Indian community as it only divides them further,” said Sivamurugan, who is also the deputy dean in USM’s school of social sciences.

He also voiced doubts over this new party since there was little information on its aspirations.

“I don’t know where the new party is heading. Can it work in the interest of the Indian community?

Where will they be positioned in the event that we have a two party system? Are they a third force?” said Sivamurugan.

On Monday the Registrar of Societies approved the registration of 20 new parties.

Of the 20, four are based in Peninsula Malaysia; five in Sarawak and the balance are in Sabah.

The MIJP joins a list of six other registered parties claiming to represent the interest of the Malaysian Indian community.

Currently the 1.8 million Indians are represented by the Malaysian Indian Congress (MIC), Indian Progressive Front (IPF), Malaysian Indian Muslim Congress (KIMMA), Malaysian Makkal Sakthi Party (MMSP), Malaysian United Indian Party (MUIP), and Indian majority People’s Progressive Party (PPP).

Above that PKR and DAP also have a significant of Indian members.

Universiti Utara Malaysia’s Dr Fuad Othman echoed the similar sentiments of Sivamurugan, that there is no need for a new party to represent the interest of the Indian community.

“It is unnecessary because there are too many parties representing the Indian community,” said Fuad who is a senior lecturer at the university’s department of international relations.

He however dismissed suggestions that BN orchestrated the registration of this new party to divide the Indians.

“The Indian community has to decide on their priorities. For example do they need more education opportunities or do they need to practice more democratic values,” said Fuad.

“Indians are in the lower economic strata so it is time they get their priorities right,” he said.

Political analyst Khoo Kay Peng doesn’t see an issue with the additional new party but believes that a small party like MIJP would not survive in the context of a two party system.

“In a democratic system, it is their freedom of association to form a new political party but the question is whether they would survive or not.

“The current first past the post electoral system and growing two party system will force them to consolidate with other parties. Otherwise there is no chance to gain political power,” said Khoo.

As for the Indian community, the independent analyst feels that they should support the regime that provides the best policies suited for them.

“The policies should allow social mobility because despite being only 7% of Malaysian population, Indians make up 15% of the professionals,” he said.

Butt out of police business, NGOs told

They should not get involved in the tussle between police and gangsters, says ex-government prosecutor Shamsul Sulaiman

PETALING JAYA: A former deputy public prosecutor has urged all NGOs to “stay out of the way” of the police and Home Ministry’s efforts in combating crime.

Shamsul Sulaiman said this in response to Malaysian Community Crime Care Association (MCCCA) pro-term committee member, V Ravindran, who wanted the police to make public the names of the most wanted gang leaders as a commitment towards fighting crime.

“It’s a personal concern of mine that a lot of these NGOs are politically motivated. When the (Home) Minister does something, they push him to do some more. When he does something good, they say it’s too late. That’s the part which is not nice about the whole thing,” he told FMT.

“They should just let the Minister to do what he wants to do and stay out of the way,” he added.

Shamsul lauded the Ministry’s move to release the names of gangs and their symbols as a way to prevent the public from becoming “potential victims” of gang violence.

“As long as they (the gangs) remain secret, they can put their symbols around areas which say ‘don’t come into my turf’,” he said.

“Members of the public who are oblivious would carry on with their lives and may be potential victims (when they walk into a gang’s turf),” he added.

Shamsul believed that the release of gang symbols would help suppress gang activities as the public would easily recognise them and make a report for the police to take action.

He said there was no necessity as yet to release the names of gang leaders as “you don’t want the police to be flooded with calls just because you a gang leader walking home and is not doing anything particular”.

Naming gang leaders defamatory

Meanwhile, PKR lawyer Latheefa Koya said that releasing the names of gang leaders could be construed as defamation in law.

“Being a member of a gang itself if not an offense but to say that this person is a gang member is wrong,” she said.

“I think it is not proper to release those names unless they have been charged properly by the police,” she added.

Latheefa said that mere detention does not imply the detainee is in the wrong.

“Just because they’ve been detained and then saying they are wanted people in criminal activities is wrong. But saying this person is detained for the purpose of charging is different.”

Three NGOs listed as secret societies

Lawyer Rosli Dahlan, however, disagreed with Latheefa and said it was not lawfully wrong for the police and Home Ministry to release the list of names.

“Certainly if the basis of the list is untrue then it would give rise to the claim of defamation, but I assume the Minister would have checked and verified (the list) himself,” he said.

He added the issue at hand was the three registered NGOs which were recently declared unlawful by the Home Minister recently.

“They’re registered societies with the Registrar of Societies (ROS) but their names are listed as a secret society,” said an amused Rosli.

In a The Star report today, three organisations were wrongfully declared as unlawful when the Home Ministry released its list of 49 secret societies.

This had been confirmed by ROS director-general Abdul Rahman Othman, who had forwarded the matter to the police and is awaiting a reply.

Fuel hike is justified

The increase is a proactive step for fiscal consolidation and economic survival.

GEORGE TOWN: A NGO has argued that the fuel price hike of RM 0.20 for RON95 petrol and diesel was to save the country’s economy.

Sensible and Ethical Malaysians United Team (Semut) president Huan Cheng Guan attributed the fuel price hike partly on the current Syrian conflict, stressing that global oil price can reach US$150 per barrel now.

He also pointed out that Malaysia was officially not an oil exporting country as 90% of its production was for domestic use.

He argued that the fuel price hike was the government’s proactive step for fiscal consolidation to increase market confidence, once fiscal deficit had been reduced.

“It’s not political issue but about Malaysia’s economic status and survival,” said Huan in a statement here today.

He claimed that the Putrajaya administration had to cut subsidies and increase fuel price to avoid the country from being punished by international rating agencies and foreign investors for failing to tackle structural problems, such as high rate of subsidies.

The federal government has allocated RM24.8 billion this year on fuel subsidies and the Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak has announced that the country would save RM1.1 billion until end of the year with the recent hike

The government would save up to RM3.3 billion per annum while it still subsidises 63 sen per liter for RON95 petrol and 80 sen per liter for diesel.

The government’s target is to reduce Malaysian’s fiscal deficit to 3% by 2015.

Huan pointed out that the petrol subsidies were meant for the poor and low-income group, citing the government’s plan to increase its BR1M budget next year. This year’s budget was RM2.9 billion.

He said government had subsidised between RM25 billion and RM30 billion to allow Malaysians and foreigners to enjoy cheaper fuel, gas, and water.

But, he said such subsidies to lower prices of goods and services were also enjoyed by undeserving rich Malaysians and foreigners.

He also claimed that the main beneficiaries of subsidised diesel were owners of Vietnamese and Thai fishing vessels, and the Malaysian fishermen who sell their subsidised allocation to them.

He said the subsidy reduction was also to discourage smugglers from Thailand and Indonesia.

“Hence reducing subsidy is a vital move in the right direction to arrest the leakages from country’s income.

“If the government did not take this move, the other alternative would be to increase taxes,” said Huan.

Global fuel prices a factor

While people grumbled about the 20 sen fuel price hike, he said many have forgotten that the pump price has doubled in 15 years while world oil prices have gone up 10 times in the same period.

He noted that Petronas’ profits were also down and the national oil company had warned Putrajaya that it cannot continue subsidising gas for industrial use.

“The move for the reduction in subsidies shows Prime Minister Najib is a realist and ready to forego populist moves for the well-being of the nation,” said Huan.

He however, admitted the fuel increase had infuriated many citizens, especially those living in poverty and squeezed by ever growing cost of living.

But he urged the people to verify the facts and dispel myths spun by Pakatan Rakyat leaders and their cyber mongers whose sole purpose is to stir hatred against Barisan Nasional.

He said that among the myths prevalent among people were that the price increase was due to corruption and payback for voting BN to power; and price increase would cause inflation.

He further said that inflation rate was under control and there were fiscal and monetary policies in place to control inflation and its impact on the economy.

“It is all up to us to adopt the correct perspective of the situation with the right facts and not fall prey to senseless propaganda.

“As it stands, the Prime Minister and his team are on the right track,” said Huan.

Govt blamed for illegal temples

Hindu leader says Putrajaya's failure to allocate land for places of worship is the reason temples are built on private land.

PETALING JAYA: The government’s failure to allocate land for places of worship has resulted in most Hindu temples and shrines being built illegally on private land, Malaysian Hindu Sangam president S Mogan said today.

“This is because the government didn’t give us proper land. There is no proper land allocated for the temples,” he said when asked to comment on the attempted demolition of the Sri Muneswarar Kaliyaman Hindu temple at Jalan P. Ramlee on Sunday.

“The population of Indians have increased but there is no land allocated for temples. So the people have to build (temples) on government land and when it comes to development, there will be lots of problems,” he added.

Mogan disclosed that there are a total of 2,358 temples and shrines across the country, and that “most of them” were built illegally on government land.

He added that relocation of places of worship is possible but stressed that the “government and developer must relocate us to proper areas”.

“I don’t think anyone wants a temple to be built near a sewerage or anywhere that is not proper. They must relocate us to a better place,” he said.

“Of course, we would consider relocation and are ready to move. We are not so stubborn as to stay in the same place forever,” he added.

Mogan also said financial assistance from the government and developers was necessary following relocation of a temple.

“Building a temple is expensive. If you give us land but no money, it would take us years to build the temple,” he said, adding that his group was fully dedicated to working diligently to ensure the smooth communication and transaction between the government, developers and temple committees.

“We are working together with the temple management to see if we can hold a dialogue with the government and developers, and reach a fair deal with them,” he said.

“We are meeting to discuss on how to resolve the problems and to come to a better understanding of the issues including the proper way to relocate a temple,” he added.

Asked if he believed the Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) was right to demolish part of the Sri Muneswarar Kaliamman Hindu temple, Mogan said the authorities should have discussed the matter with the temple
committee before doing so.

“What they’ve done is not right because they simply came in and removed the statues,” he said.

“When it comes to statues, there are a lot of religious rites to conform to before you remove something,” he said, adding that “non-Hindus came and removed the statues.”

“It is not right according to our belief. So, what they did was wrong. There are better ways to resolve the problem.The matter should have been discussed and a better understanding should have been reached.”

In June, it was reported that a planned demolition of the temple by DBKL was halted after it was discovered that a developer was comtemplating suing the federal government for the same land.

In July last year, the developer Hap Seng which premises is located next to the temple filed a suit against DBKL in a bid to obtain the land for a development project. The temple currently sits on a DBKL reserve land.

Ops Cantas: Anggota kongsi gelap berselindung di negara jiran- KPN

Operasi memburu kumpulan kongsi gelap kini tertumpu di kawasan sempadan negara termasuk di pintu-pintu masuk.

KUALA LUMPUR: Ops Cantas Khas yang dilaksanakan Polis Diraja Malaysia (PDRM) sejak lebih dua minggu lepas, dilihat telah memberi
tekanan kepada anggota kongsi gelap apabila mereka cuba mencari perlindungan di negara jiran.

Berikutan itu, Ketua Polis Negara Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar berkata operasi memburu kumpulan kongsi gelap kini tertumpu di kawasan sempadan negara termasuk di pintu-pintu masuk.

Untuk operasi dalam negeri, katanya PDRM menjalinkan kerjasama dengan agensi-agensi lain termasuk Jabatan Imigresen dan Angkatan Tentera Malaysia (ATM).

“Kita akan pantau semua pintu masuk sempadan supaya mereka tidak dapat keluar,” katanya kepada pemberita selepas majlis Perbarisan Tamat Latihan dan Pertauliahan Kor Sukses Institut Pengajian Tinggi Awam (IPTA) di Universiti Islam Antarabangsa Malaysia (UIAM) di sini, hari ini.

Khalid berkata anggota kongsi gelap melarikan diri ke luar negara berikutan penahanan ketua-ketua kongsi gelap serta kesukaran menjalankan aktiviti jenayah disebabkan operasi pihak berkuasa, selain mahu menghapuskan tatu kumpulan pada anggota badan supaya sukar dikesan polis.

Beliau berkata PDRM mungkin bekerjasama dengan pihak berkuasa negara-negara jiran bagi menahan mereka yang diburu.

Dalam Ops Cantas Khas yang bermula 17 Ogos lepas, di seluruh negara PDRM menangkap 4,777 orang dan merampas 136 kenderaan curi, lapan senjata api, sebuah bom tangan, 54 peluru dan 133 senjata berbahaya.

Kementerian Dalam Negeri turut mengumumkan senarai 49 kumpulan kongsi gelap di seluruh negara.

Dalam pada itu, Khalid berkata polis juga akan menyiasat warga asing yang terlibat dalam kegiatan kongsi gelap setelah laporan Ops 6P Jabatan Imigresen Pulau Pinang semalam mendapati adanya pintu bilik penginapan atau rumah kongsi warga asing di Bayan Lepas, mempunyai lambang kongsi gelap.

“Jika benar ini berlaku kita akan ambil-alih kes supaya siasatan senang dilakukan dan semasa disiasat semua elemen-elemen penting juga akan dilihat,” katanya.

Sementara itu, Ketua Penolong Pengarah Bahagian Kongsi Gelap, Maksiat dan Perjudian (D7) Bukit Aman Datuk Abdul Jalil Hassan berkata pihaknya sedang menyiasat kes itu.

“Polis setakat ini tidak mengesan pembabitan warga asing dalam kumpulan kongsi gelap tetapi sedia siasat,” katanya ketika dihubungi Bernama.

– BERNAMA

Do Christians, Muslims and Jews worship the same God?


http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/dam/assets/130830155448-one-god-story-top.jpg

"To ask: ‘Do we have a common God?’ is, among other things, to worry: ‘Can we live together?’ That’s why whether or not a given community worships the same god as does another community has always been a crucial cultural and political question and not just a theological one."

Opinion by Jeffrey Weiss, Special to CNN
Sunni and Shia Muslims are killing each other in several nations, most notably in Syria's escalating civil war.

Coptic Christians churches are being torched in Egypt.

In Israel, what passes for peace talks has restarted after years of murder and brutality.

Religion is a common thread in each conflict. But why? Don’t these folks worship the same deity?

After all, Jews, Christians and Muslims all trace their faiths back to a fellow named Abraham, whom they all claim was chosen for special treatment by the Almighty. Why can’t they all get along?

Not academic

The “same God” question is one theologians have hammered at for as long as there have been enough religions for the query to make sense.

The question is hardly academic, though. In fact, a number of politicians, religious leaders and scholars have expressed hope in recent years that a convincing answer on the God question might dampen the violence committed in His name.

Last year, for example, Yale Divinity School theologian Miroslav Volf edited a book titled “Do We Worship the Same God? Jews, Christians, and Muslims in Dialogue.”

In the introduction, Volf explained why the title question matters:

    "To ask: ‘Do we have a common God?’ is, among other things, to worry: ‘Can we live together?’ That’s why whether or not a given community worships the same god as does another community has always been a crucial cultural and political question and not just a theological one."

On the other hand, there’s CNN Belief Blog contributor and Boston University religion professor Stephen Prothero. His book on this subject is titled “God Is Not One: The Eight Rival Religions That Run The World.”

Prothero writes:

    “For more than a generation we have followed scholars and sages down the rabbit hole into a fantasy world where all gods are one … In fact this naive theological groupthink – call it Godthink – has made the world more dangerous by blinding us to the clash of religions that threaten us worldwide.”

In the world of politics, President George W. Bush asserted the unity side of the argument more than once in the years after the 9/11 attacks - often as a way to deflect accusations that America was at war with Islam.

Bush told Al Arabiya television, “I believe there is a universal God. I believe the God that the Muslim prays to is the same God that I pray to. After all, we all came from Abraham. I believe in that universality.”

Pope John Paul II drew from the same rhetorical well several times.

“We believe in the same God, the one God, the living God, the God who created the world and brings his creatures to their perfection,” he first said in a speech to Muslims in Morocco in 1985.

Looking for a more recent example? Consider the plight earlier this year of the new Vatican envoy to Malaysia.

Shortly after he arrived there, Archbishop Joseph Marino said that is was fine by him that Christian translations of the Bible into Malay use the word “Allah” for “God.”

“Allah” is, of course, the Arabic word for God and is found in the Quran. The Christian translators explained that since most Malaysians are Muslim, it’s the word they’re most comfortable with and therefore the best choice for the translation.

But many Muslim authorities in Malaysia are furious. They say Christians are slipping in the familiar word as a way to convert Muslims. And conversion of Muslims is all but illegal in Malaysia.

There’s a lawsuit ongoing about the translations. Marino had to apologize for pushing into Malaysian politics.
READ MORE HERE

First They Came for the Islamists

Egypt Tunisia Ben Ali Muslim Brotherhood Islamists Military
Former Tunisian President Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali in Argentina, 1997 (Courtesy Reuters)


An Islamist political party does well at the polls, and an authoritarian regime goes after it with a vengeance, killing its activists and arresting its leaders. The party is driven underground while secularists and other political groups applaud the government’s harsh measures, all taken in the name of eliminating a terrorist threat. Meanwhile, the regime and the non-Islamist parties assure the world that once the Islamists have been dealt with, the regular political process will resume again.

So it has happened in Egypt, but it is also the story of Tunisia in the late 1980s and early 1990s, when hopes for a democratic transition were smashed after a campaign of repression that first targeted Islamists but eventually grew into a much wider effort to eliminate all political opposition. Tunisia’s experience offers a glimpse of what may be yet to come in Egypt -- and suggests that Egyptian secularists should think twice before supporting the army’s efforts to eradicate the Muslim Brotherhood.

After replacing President Habib Bourguiba in a bloodless coup in November 1987, Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali, a military officer, embarked on a program of liberalization and democratization that was at that point unprecedented in the region. His government released all political prisoners and gave them amnesty, revised the laws governing the press and political parties, and got every political bloc -- including the Islamist Ennahda Party -- to sign a national pact guaranteeing civil liberties and free elections.

Those elections were held on April 2, 1989, and were at the time the most competitive in the country’s history, if not in the entire Arab world. Although the winner-take-all system guaranteed that Ben Ali’s party would carry the day, given its organizational advantages developed over decades of unopposed rule, the president and most observers assumed that the secular opposition parties would emerge as the dominant opposition. Instead, the Islamists received the highest share of the opposition vote, 14.5 percent, a figure that was likely deflated due to fraud.

Once Ben Ali finished with the Islamists, he trained his sights on the rest of the opposition.

Just after the election, The New York Times declared, “Tunisia is undergoing a transition from a one-man dictatorship to a much more open society with a sleight of hand that could furnish lessons for Mikhail S. Gorbachev, the Soviet leader.” The article went on to quote the head of the Tunisian League for the Defense of Human Rights saying, “I am absolutely certain of Ben Ali’s good will.”

As it turned out, though, the prospect of a strong Islamist opposition, and especially of an Islamist government at some point down the road, was too much for Ben Ali and the Tunisian state to bear. The government launched a brutal crackdown, killing 1,000 Islamists, jailing another 30,000, and forcing into exile the leader of Ennahda, Rachid al-Ghannouchi. The regime justified its actions by claiming that the Islamists were terrorists out to sow discord and tear Tunisia apart. Only because of the national security threat that they presented, Ben Ali argued, were the Islamists being targeted.

Even as the government’s campaign against Islamists turned violent and repressive, Tunisia’s secular opposition parties cheered it on. Fearful of the possibility of Tunisia’s Islamists emulating the Algerian intifada taking place next door, the secularists had no problem with the state neutralizing the threat of political Islam. Furthermore, given the country’s history of secularism, most Tunisians did not want to see Islamists of any stripe coming to power, and so they watched quietly as Ennahda was driven underground.

The twist is that once Ben Ali finished with the Islamists, he trained his sights on the rest of the opposition as well. Even if his crackdown initially stemmed from a legitimate ideological fear of Islamism, once he started down the authoritarian path, it was only a short skip and a jump to viewing all political opponents as enemies. In early 1992, the government shut down secular newspapers and magazines, imprisoned liberal journalists, and passed a new law of associations that curtailed the actions of human rights groups. A whole generation of secular opposition leaders, including Tunisia’s current president, Moncef Marzouki, found themselves in jail. In the 1994 sham presidential election, Ben Ali ran unopposed after disallowing all other candidates from running, and in 1999, he was “reelected” with 99 percent of the vote.

Egypt is now in the throes of a similar campaign to rid the country of its Islamists. The military rulers have charged Muslim Brotherhood members with terrorism and murder, and they are considering formally labeling the Brotherhood as a terrorist organization and banning it entirely. Although Hosni Mubarak, Egypt’s erstwhile strongman, did not allow the Muslim Brotherhood to participate in politics formally, even he did not go so far as to ban the group, and the contemplation of such a move in conjunction with the unprecedented arrest of the Brotherhood’s supreme guide demonstrates just how far the military is willing to go. To be sure, the Brotherhood-led government under former President Mohamed Morsi was hardly a paragon of democracy, and Brotherhood members have indeed resorted to violence since his ouster. But the terrorism charges represent a major escalation in anti-Islamist rhetoric since the military coup, and they allow the army to justify all its actions in the name of security.

In addition, the Muslim Brotherhood’s secular opponents, many of whom opposed the military when it last ruled the state following the toppling of Mubarak, are not only staying out of the streets but also actively supporting the anti-Brotherhood campaign. Much like their Tunisian counterparts two decades ago, Egyptian secularists have convinced themselves that the government is out to eradicate only the Islamists, rather than all political opposition. The enemy of their enemy, many of them figure, is their friend. This frame of mind is spreading among less stridently secular Egyptians as well, with former Morsi voters and Egyptians who were previously sympathetic to the Brotherhood lauding the military’s moves.

For the military, the support from secular parties and ordinary Egyptians is crucial. The army’s removal of Morsi was made possible only by the presence of millions of protesters in the streets. Similarly, the widening crackdown against the Muslim Brotherhood has been a much easier task, given the political and rhetorical support the army has received from Egyptian liberals. Were prominent liberal and secular voices to denounce the army’s moves, it would not bring an end to the Muslim Brotherhood’s troubles altogether, but it might constrain the military’s range of actions, just as public outrage against the last military government led to an expedited election and transition process. Yet for now, Egypt’s secularists seem to be backing the military to the hilt.

This view is shortsighted. Looking at the bigger picture, Egypt’s secular parties should realize that the authoritarian genie is extremely difficult to put back in the bottle once it has been released in the name of national security. Although the army is likely to return to the barracks at some point and resume ruling from behind the scenes -- it has promised to hold elections by 2014 -- it will not allow secular parties to construct a democratic system, let alone a liberal one. Egyptians are in for a rude awakening if they believe that just because the military has not yet put measures in place to repress all political opposition or begun to arrest secular figures, that it will not eventually do so. As Egyptians remember all too well, the allegedly temporary state of emergency put in place following President Anwar Sadat’s assassination in 1981 lasted 31 years. Today, there is little reason to think that the current monthlong state of emergency will expire along with the Muslim Brotherhood’s political fortunes.

If history is any guide, authoritarian governments do not confine their repression to only one category of opponents, and coercive measures taken in the name of security always morph into something larger. The secularists should think twice before cheering on the regime’s campaign against the Muslim Brotherhood and other Islamists, no matter what type of language the government is using to couch its antidemocratic actions. The lesson of Tunisia is that once the Islamists are gone, the secularist opposition is going to be next.

Lawyer lodges report against client over shooting threat

The Star 
by WANI MUTHIAH

PETALING JAYA: A lawyer has lodged a police report against one of her clients whom she claimed had threatened to shoot her for refusing to run an errand for him.

“He said he would find me and shoot me during a telephone conversation,” said N. Lalitha who had acted for the man in the purchase of a bungalow in Kuala Lumpur.

According to Lalitha, the man had entered a sale and purchase (S&P) agreement to acquire the bungalow for RM11.5mil and had agreed to pay a deposit of RM230,000.

“But the sale did not go through because the man was unable to make the deposit,” she added.

Lalitha said the houseowner then terminated the S&P agreement and the man sued the vendor for failing to honour the S&P agreement.

The court then ordered the man to make a RM20,000 payment as cost security pending his suit against the property owner by 4pm on Aug 23.

“He called me at about 2.30pm in my office in Rawang and asked me to collect the bank draft from him in Kuala Lumpur and then rush it to the house owner’s solicitor in Jalan Ipoh,” she said.

Lalitha said she had refused to do the man’s bidding and also reminded him that he still owed her legal fees for earlier transactions.

The man then lost his temper and threatened to shoot her.

“His brother also sent me an SMS asking for the return of the files and said that he was giving me a final warning,” said Lalitha who lodged a report at the Gombak police station on Wednesday.

Lalitha said she decided to lodge a police report because she was worried for her safety given the recent spate of shootings.

The man and his brother had faced multiple charges for cheating in 2010 and had been detained under the then Restricted Residence Act while awaiting the cases against them to be heard.

Meanwhile, a source from the Gombak district police headquarters confirmed Lalitha’s report.

Registrar of Societies should stop acting on the script of the Umno/BN “DDD” (Demolish/Destroy DAP) campaign but demonstrate that he is independent, impartial and professional including giving reasons why he wants DAP CEC re-elections

Yesterday, the Registrar of Societies (RoS) Director-General Datuk Abdul Rahman Othman asked the DAP to stop its “battle” with the RoS in the media and to comply with procedures.

It is the RoS which is guilty of being part of a “media war” against the DAP in the past eight months, and I would call on Abdul Rahman to stop acting on the script of the Umno/BN “DDD” (Demolish/Destroy DAP) campaign and to demonstrate that he is independent, impartial and professional in carrying out his duties, including giving reasons why he wants DAP Central Executive Committee (CEC) re-elections when the DAP CEC elections last December were proper, valid and conducted fully in accordance with the party Constitution.

In the Umno/BN DDD campaign in the first seven months of the year, three reasons had been floated to question the validity of the DAP CEC re-elections at the DAP Congress in Penang last December:

  • Firstly, allegations of electoral fraud and irregularities arising from a computer glitch resulting in an error in the announcement of the CEC results, which had nothing to do with any error in vote counting or tabulation but a mistake in the computer posting of the results for purposes of announcement.
  • Secondly, allegation that 753 delegates “mostly Indians” were not notified of the DAP Congress in Penang last December, resulting in their being unable to attend and therefore deprived of the right to vote in the CEC election.
  • Thirdly, allegation that 547 “phantom delegates, mostly from Penang” were allowed to vote in the DAP CEC elections in Penang, resulting in fraudulent election results.


All these three reasons have been proven to be baseless. In fact, after the first two months, the first allegation about electoral fraud and irregularities arising from the “computer glitch” was virtually dropped, with the attacks on the DAP elections focussed on the second and third allegations about the “753 delegates” not notified about the Congress and the 547 “phantom delegates”.

In July, a mysterious booklet “The Equity Report (CEC Election Fraud)” in four languages, Bahasa Malaysia, English, Chinese and Tamil, appeared with great fanfare being quoted liberally in the Umno/BN controlled media, as well as distributed nationally throughout the country including Sarawak, although it was written by an entirely fictitious character, a phantom “Father Augustus Chen” and was an illegal publication, as it neither carried the name of the printer or publisher as required by Malaysian law.

I had challenged this “Father Augustus Chen” to surface publicly but of course he did not appear, as he is a pure phantom who had packed some 100 lies and falsehoods against the DAP in its 12-page booklet.
Never before in the nation’s history has a fictitious and unlawful publication been given such “royal treatment”, quoted in the official and Umno/BN media whether print, radio or television as if it is equivalent to official pronoucements emanating from the Prime Minister’s Department or Cabinet sources.

What is noteworthy is that this scurrillous and defamatory booklet by the phantom “Father Augustus Chen” was the final chapter of the Umno/BN “DDD” campaign to justify the UMNO/BN government (as publicly stated by Cabinet Ministers, including the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak) and RoS to demand DAP CEC re-elections, particularly over the baseless allegations about “753 delegates mostly Indians” not being notified of the Party Congress and the “547 phantom delegates, mostly from Penang” participating in the DAP CEC elections.

In the early phase of the UMNO/BN “Demolish/Destroy DAP” campaign, the RoS Director-General was fairly independent, impartial and professional, as evidenced from Abdul Rahman’s statement in January that DAP CEC re-elections “would only occur if there was concrete evidence there were discrepancies in the CEC election process”.

It is obvious that right from the beginning of the DDD campaign, there were intense pressures on the RoS to compromise its independence, impartiality and professionalism and to comply with the script of the DDD campaign to use the DAP CEC elections last December to undermine, destabilise and destroy the DAP as well as Pakatan Rakyat.

This was why the then Home Minister, Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein could announce on February 16, 2013 that an official probe would be launched by the RoS on the CEC elections held in Penang last December as the party had failed to submit its report within the stipulated 60 days, when in fact, DAP submitted its election reports on February 8.

But in the ensuing months, it was clear that the RoS had to act according to the script of the Umno/BN Demolish/Destroy DAP campaign, culminating in the RoS directive on DAP CEC re-elections, although the RoS Director-General was unable to comply with his own standards publicly stated in January that there must be “concrete evidence” about discrepancies in the CEC election process before there could be directive for CEC re-elections.

The Umno/BN Demolish/Destroy DAP campaign has a new agenda after the disastrous BN performance in the 13th General Elections, which is to eliminate the DAP from the political arena by all means, whether fair or foul, and by extension the Pakatan Rakyat.

Nobody is surprised by this Umno/BN agenda, but the RoS should not get involved in this nefarious Umno/BN agenda but must act as an independent, impartial and professional agency overseeing registered societies and political parties.

It is not too late for the RoS Director-General to discharge his duties lawfully and professionally, and the first step he should do is to give the reasons why he is not satisfied with the DAP CEC elections last December and wants DAP CEC re-elections.

I am also prepared to meet with Datuk Abdul Rahman to substantiate my allegation that the RoS had been acting on the script on the Umno/BN DDD campaign after the initial manifestation of independence, impartiality and professionalism of the RoS in the first weeks of the year.

Fuel Subsidy Cut On Track To Improve Fiscal Position, Says Nazir Razak

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 3 (Bernama) -- The government's move in reducing the RON95 petrol and diesel subsidy is on the right track in improving its fiscal position, said CIMB Group Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer Datuk Seri Nazir Razak.

"I think it is right, we need to reduce subsidies and widen our tax base, but we must do it in a way that does not affect the general public.

"In the context of what is happening globally, this is something very important that we need to do," he told reporters at the Khazanah Nasional open house here Tuesday.

He said following the negative outlook on the country by Fitch Ratings recently, there was a very real outflow of money from the region, and to mitigate this pressure, it was imperative to take control of both government fiscal deficit and a potential trade deficit.

Nazir said when there is an outflow of money, investors would evaluate and compare different countries, and their decision would be based on the fundamentals of each country.

"This is why it is important for the government to send out the right messages in terms of the country's fundamentals," he said.

He said across the region, every country is having to take measures to protect itself in the face of this new pressure.

"There is a lot of cheap money out there, and investors are constantly looking for an opportunity, so it is okay to be a little bit aggressive," he said.

Asked on the impact of the subsidy reduction on the general public, Nazir said the government has stated that the subsidy withdrawal would be used for specific programmes to cushion the impact on the lower- to middle-income groups.

"We look forward to these measures that the Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak is going to announce in the tabling of the Budget 2014 on Oct 25," he added.

Meanwhile, the government's move to reduce fuel subsidies has received positive reviews from foreign investors as the ringgit hit a three-week high today.

The ringgit advanced 0.29 per cent to 3.2645 against the US dollar, after hitting 3.2590, its strongest since Aug 13.

-- BERNAMA

Photo of the day: Bridge-builders at work

While recent divisive controversies like the Tanda Putera movie grabbed the attention of Malaysians over the Merdeka weekend, other Malaysians were quietly building bridges behind the scenes.
planning for Muslim Christian dialogue 1 September 2013
The photo above shows Tasik Gelugor Pas information chief Abdul Rahman Kasim (left) poring over a calendar with Rev John Kennedy, the pastor of the St Mark’s (Anglican) Church in Butterworth, to agree on a date for a Muslim-Christian dialogue. Looking on is Parit Buntar MP Mujahid Yusof Rawa (right).

The date finally agreed upon is 16 September, which happens to be Malaysia Day.