His jailed brother, Uthaya Kumar, is allowed to attend the funeral.
PETALING JAYA: Hindraf leader P Waytha Moorthy’s mother, G Kalaivani, died at Seremban General Hospital today.She was 69…
Saturday, 21 December 2013
Cena, 'you are not welcome in Saudi'
Saudi columnist slams plan to stage wrestling in Kingdom
A well-known Saudi newspaper columnist on Thursday attacked plans to stage wrestling in the conservative Gulf Kingdom and singled out John…
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A well-known Saudi newspaper columnist on Thursday attacked plans to stage wrestling in the conservative Gulf Kingdom and singled out John…
Saudi columnist slams plan to stage wrestling in Kingdom
A well-known Saudi newspaper columnist on Thursday attacked plans to stage wrestling in the conservative Gulf Kingdom and singled out John Cena in his tirade, saying the famous world wrestler is not welcome in Saudi Arabia.
Khaled Al Suleiman, who writes in the mass circulation Arabic language daily Okaz and other Saudi newspapers, was reacting to an announcement by the World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) that it has agreed that some of its wrestling superstars travel to Saudi Arabia in February to stage tournaments.
Besides Cena, key wrestlers who will come to the Kingdom include WWE Champion Randy Orton, Daniel Bryan, Mark Henry, Ryback and Kofi Kingston.
“John Cena…you are not welcome here…a few years ago I could have said you are welcome but my bitter experience with my children and their obsession with John Cena have made me loathsome to the idea of his coming…to stop him from coming, I am even ready to face him in the ring although such an idea is suicidal,” he said.
“Over the past years, my home has been turned into a wrestling ring where human bodies fly around and pillows are thrown all over as screams do not stop as if my home became Madison Square in New York…during those years, the shelves, walls and drawers in my home have been filled with pictures of wrestlers and their frightening bodies…now they are coming to control our minds at our home…you are not welcome…what we, adults and children, need is not a wrestling ring to engage in savage and horrifying fights, but a stage where all the talented compete to demonstrate their human skills and nature not savagery.”
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A well-known Saudi newspaper columnist on Thursday attacked plans to stage wrestling in the conservative Gulf Kingdom and singled out John Cena in his tirade, saying the famous world wrestler is not welcome in Saudi Arabia.Khaled Al Suleiman, who writes in the mass circulation Arabic language daily Okaz and other Saudi newspapers, was reacting to an announcement by the World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) that it has agreed that some of its wrestling superstars travel to Saudi Arabia in February to stage tournaments.
Besides Cena, key wrestlers who will come to the Kingdom include WWE Champion Randy Orton, Daniel Bryan, Mark Henry, Ryback and Kofi Kingston.
“John Cena…you are not welcome here…a few years ago I could have said you are welcome but my bitter experience with my children and their obsession with John Cena have made me loathsome to the idea of his coming…to stop him from coming, I am even ready to face him in the ring although such an idea is suicidal,” he said.
“Over the past years, my home has been turned into a wrestling ring where human bodies fly around and pillows are thrown all over as screams do not stop as if my home became Madison Square in New York…during those years, the shelves, walls and drawers in my home have been filled with pictures of wrestlers and their frightening bodies…now they are coming to control our minds at our home…you are not welcome…what we, adults and children, need is not a wrestling ring to engage in savage and horrifying fights, but a stage where all the talented compete to demonstrate their human skills and nature not savagery.”
Labels:
Islam Discrimination
Bareilly cleric issues fatwa against homosexuality, live-in relationships
LUCKNOW: A Bareilly-based cleric has issued a fatwa against homosexuality and live-in relationships calling them anti-Islam and said Shariyat has provisions to punish those indulging in such acts.The fatwa…
LUCKNOW: A Bareilly-based cleric has issued a fatwa against homosexuality and live-in relationships calling them anti-Islam and said Shariyat has provisions to punish those indulging in such acts.The fatwa was issued by Mohammad Afzaal Rizwi, the mufti of Darululoom Ifta at Dargah Aala Hazrat, Bareilly in response to a query by Akhlaq Ahmed Siddiqui Noori on the issue.
The mufti has cited two hadis (teachings of the Prophet Mohammed) from the Quran as a premise for his fatwa. As per Hadis Dur-re-mukhtar, such acts could attract severe punishment, he said. "A person may be burnt alive, pushed from a high wall or be beaten publically with stones if he indulges into either of the two behaviours," the fatwa states.
The other hadis is a story that explains why Islam is against homosexuality. The story relates to a tribe, kaum-e-looth, which existed in the pre-Islamic era. The tribe is said to have perished because it indulged in homosexuality.
Regarding live-in relationships, the fatwa says a couple staying together or having sexual relationship without solemnising marriage is banned under Islam. The woman in a live-in relationship cannot ask for the rights of a wife.
Many clerics have backed the fatwa. Maulana Tasleem Raza Khan of Ahle Sunnat Movement said the two relationships do not have legal validity under Islam. He said no religion would allow this and advised Muslims to boycott the law that promotes such behaviour.
Shia cleric Maulana Yadoob Abbas said both live-in relationships and homosexuality are against nature. "Going against nature would spell doom," he said. Maulana Khalid Rasheed Firangi Mahli of Eidgah Lucknow termed it "against Indian tradition".
Labels:
Homosexual,
Islam Discrimination
World Bank report shows Putrajaya may have sold off country’s assets, says Rafizi
Putrajaya may have "sold off" or "pawned" the country's assets in a last ditch effort to meet its budgetdeficit target, said PKR.
Party strategic director Rafizi Ramli (pic) cited…
Putrajaya may have "sold off" or "pawned" the country's assets in a last ditch effort to meet its budgetdeficit target, said PKR.
Party strategic director Rafizi Ramli (pic) cited the latest World Bank report on Malaysia to back his claim, noting that it had said that Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak's administration will achieve the target to reduce its deficit to 4% through non-tax resources that included RM1.4 billion gained from “asset sales” and RM4.2 billion from “securitisation of government mortgages”.
Rafizi cited Page 10 of the report that details how Putrajaya planned to achieve its deficit target of 4% of the gross domestic product (GDP) this year from 4.5% last year.
The Pandan MP said the revelation in the World Bank report was shocking as it appeared that the Najib administration has reached the point where it is selling the nation's assets and pledging the country's land (through securitisation of government mortgages) to prop up the government's extravagance and wastage.
"I suspect the plan to sell off national assets has already taken place, because the aim of achieving the target deficit rate of 4% has in fact already failed.
"This means our national assets have already been sold off or pawned so that the proceeds for 2013 can be used to close up the chasm between national revenue and expenditure," he said. – December 20, 2013.
Labels:
PKR,
World Bank
Explain action against Tamil NGO, police told
Penang Deputy Chief Minister II P Ramasamy went on to condemn Inspector-General of Police Khalid Abu Bakar for accusing those who took part in the event in Paya Besar as "inviting people to glorify terrorism".
A Dec 18 Bernama report
quoted Khalid as saying that police saw the event as "an act or attempt
to influence or incite people to believe in terrorism"."Does he know what he is doing? He seems to have over reacted in this matter. I call on him to stop his force from harassing the Indian community," Ramasamy told Malaysiakini.
On Monday, a participant in the birthday event, said to be a member of a local NGO called Tamil Progressive Team, was arrested under the Sedition Act.
He is being investigated under Section 4 (1)(a) of the 1948 Act for inviting members of the public to attend the ceremony to pay tribute to the late Prabhakaran.
Another six who also took part in the gathering have been told to surrender themselves to the police.
Ramasamy said such events are common in Malaysia and have been celebrated annually, without any fuss.
The Perai assemblyperson added that it was a harmless function as Prabakharan is dead and the LTTE no longer exists.
"The group that took part in the event poses no threat to the country," added Ramasamy, who is Penang Hindu Endowment Board chairperson.
Sri Lankan authorities behind this?
"As far as we know, there is no ban on LTTE in Malaysia and the event was just a memorial," he added.
"I have also taken part in such events. It is to pay homage to Indian heroes. The group came to see me and invited me to join but I could not go as I had a prior engagement."
Sri Lanka crushed the LTTE, killing Prabhakaran in 2009, ending a three-decade struggle for an independent homeland for minority Tamils.
"Perhaps the Sri Lankan authorities are behind this?" asked Ramasamy.
He recalled that this may be similar to the case where Pusat Komas programme coordinator Lena Hendry was charged under the Film Censorship Act 2002 for the screening of the documentary 'No Fire Zone: In the Killing Fields on Sri Lanka" in Kuala Lumpur on July 3.
The investigative documentary exposes the massacre of Tamils by the Sri Lankan Army during the final weeks of the bloody and lengthy civil war.
Is Kuching becoming a sex city?
Sarawak
DAP is extremely worried that Kuching is fast becoming a 'sex city'
with the mushrooming of reflexology centres that have been blamed for a
more than 300 percent increase…
Sarawak
DAP is extremely worried that Kuching is fast becoming a 'sex city'
with the mushrooming of reflexology centres that have been blamed for a
more than 300 percent increase in sexual diseases, especially AIDS, its
Stampin MP JulianTan said today.
Tan's concern comes in the wake of advertisements in the Chinese press, seeking "several hundreds of women from China" for employment in these centres.
"In
the past few weeks, several advertisements have appeared in the Chinese
newspapers, seeking young girls to work in these centres.
"Each time an advertisement is made, the owners of these centres are looking for at least 500 young girls and most of these advertisements are targeting Chinese nationals," Tan (above) told a media conference.
There are more than 300 reflexology centres in Kuching alone.
"More are expected to open following the advertisements as this business in Kuching is very lucrative," he said.
Tan said several millions of ringgit are sent back to China every year and this could also be contributing to the illicit outflow of money from Sarawak.
Sex services offered as well
He said that these reflexology centres were also offering "sex services" as well, and that this was the result of the increase in AIDS in the state, which has also contributed to broken families.
The number of AIDS cases in Sarawak has risen in the past 10 years, from 75 in 2003 to 181 in 2013.
Tan said he had received several complaints from women that their husbands were frequenting these reflexology centres and were worried that they could become "a source of AIDS" to their families.
"So if something is not done immediately, our society will be producing an unhealthy generation that could affect the development and progress of our country, he said, adding that he has raised this issue in Parliament, but there was no response from the minister concerned.
Tan's concern comes in the wake of advertisements in the Chinese press, seeking "several hundreds of women from China" for employment in these centres.
"In
the past few weeks, several advertisements have appeared in the Chinese
newspapers, seeking young girls to work in these centres."Each time an advertisement is made, the owners of these centres are looking for at least 500 young girls and most of these advertisements are targeting Chinese nationals," Tan (above) told a media conference.
There are more than 300 reflexology centres in Kuching alone.
"More are expected to open following the advertisements as this business in Kuching is very lucrative," he said.
Tan said several millions of ringgit are sent back to China every year and this could also be contributing to the illicit outflow of money from Sarawak.
Sex services offered as well
He said that these reflexology centres were also offering "sex services" as well, and that this was the result of the increase in AIDS in the state, which has also contributed to broken families.
The number of AIDS cases in Sarawak has risen in the past 10 years, from 75 in 2003 to 181 in 2013.
Tan said he had received several complaints from women that their husbands were frequenting these reflexology centres and were worried that they could become "a source of AIDS" to their families.
"So if something is not done immediately, our society will be producing an unhealthy generation that could affect the development and progress of our country, he said, adding that he has raised this issue in Parliament, but there was no response from the minister concerned.
Labels:
Sabah and Sarawak
Zaid: Give Malays gaming licences
The government is depriving Malay businessmen by not giving them gaming and entertainment licences, said Zaid Ibrahim.
PETALING JAYA: Former Law Minister Zaid Ibrahim said the government should not insist…
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PETALING JAYA: Former Law Minister Zaid Ibrahim said the government should not insist…
The government is depriving Malay businessmen by not giving them gaming and entertainment licences, said Zaid Ibrahim.
PETALING JAYA: Former Law Minister Zaid Ibrahim said the government should not insist that Malay businessmen only participate in halal ventures, thus depriving them of gaming and entertainment licences.
“Why are Malay businessmen being discriminated by their own leaders, who take such lucrative business opportunities away from them?” asked Zaid.
“Gaming and entertainment licences are given out to friendly parties or cronies, who in turn use the huge profits derived from these activities to buy properties to build resorts here, Singapore and elsewhere.
“The Malays are not given a chance to make money and ultimately find themselves unable to afford homes in the city, never realising the connection between gaming money and skyrocketing property prices.
“The PM talks of economic liberalisation but we cannot just look at the ways we can open up the country to foreigners. Liberalisation should not just benefit them.
“Why are they being discriminated by their own leaders, who take such lucrative business opportunities away from them?” he asked.
Zaid said the Government was making things difficult for Malay businessmen by insisting that they only participate in halal ventures.
“It does not mean that all halal business is sanctioned by God ,” he said in his blog today.
“If I were a Jakim chief and ruled that all imported turkeys must be certified halal, only to make sure my company would be the sole bearer of this certificate, do you think this business would be sanctioned by Allah?” he asked.
“We must be concerned with having halal values, not with halal business label.
“Heaven is only for those who live by halal conduct, not for those who have halal labels on their business premises.,”said the former Umno man.
He urged the government to give fair opportunity for Malay businessmen.
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PETALING JAYA: Former Law Minister Zaid Ibrahim said the government should not insist that Malay businessmen only participate in halal ventures, thus depriving them of gaming and entertainment licences.“Why are Malay businessmen being discriminated by their own leaders, who take such lucrative business opportunities away from them?” asked Zaid.
“Gaming and entertainment licences are given out to friendly parties or cronies, who in turn use the huge profits derived from these activities to buy properties to build resorts here, Singapore and elsewhere.
“The Malays are not given a chance to make money and ultimately find themselves unable to afford homes in the city, never realising the connection between gaming money and skyrocketing property prices.
“The PM talks of economic liberalisation but we cannot just look at the ways we can open up the country to foreigners. Liberalisation should not just benefit them.
“Why are they being discriminated by their own leaders, who take such lucrative business opportunities away from them?” he asked.
Zaid said the Government was making things difficult for Malay businessmen by insisting that they only participate in halal ventures.
“It does not mean that all halal business is sanctioned by God ,” he said in his blog today.
“If I were a Jakim chief and ruled that all imported turkeys must be certified halal, only to make sure my company would be the sole bearer of this certificate, do you think this business would be sanctioned by Allah?” he asked.
“We must be concerned with having halal values, not with halal business label.
“Heaven is only for those who live by halal conduct, not for those who have halal labels on their business premises.,”said the former Umno man.
He urged the government to give fair opportunity for Malay businessmen.
Labels:
Zaid Ibrahim
Waytha Moorthy’s mother dies at 69
PETALING JAYA: Hindraf leader P Waytha Moorthy’s mother, G Kalaivani, died at Seremban General Hospital today.She was 69…
His jailed brother, Uthaya Kumar, is allowed to attend the funeral.
PETALING JAYA: Hindraf leader P Waytha Moorthy’s mother, G Kalaivani, died at Seremban General Hospital today.She was 69 and had been warded for a lung infection.
Waytha Moorthy is a deputy minister in the Prime Minister’s Department. His brother P Uthaya Kumar, also a Hindraf leader, is serving a jail sentence in Kajang for sedition.
Uthaya Kumar’s wife, S Indra Devi, told FMT that Kajang Prison officers will accompany her husband to the funeral tomorrow morning.
Kalaivani was admitted to the hospital last month.
Labels:
Hindraf
Meditation centre to sue Tamil daily
In response, Tamil Malar managing director SM Periasamy says that he is prepared for the matter, adding he has all the evidence against Rajayoga Power Transcendental Meditation Centre.
PETALING JAYA:…
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In response, Tamil Malar managing director SM Periasamy says that he is prepared for the matter, adding he has all the evidence against Rajayoga Power Transcendental Meditation Centre.
PETALING JAYA: Following an accusation by a Tamil daily yesterday, a well known meditation group said that it will take legal action against the newspaper for allegedly criticising its founder.
Rajayoga Power Transcendental Meditation Centre’s (RPT) managing director, known as Dr Komala was reported by Malaysian Nanban saying that she will file the suit against those who disparage the group’s founder V Balakrishnan, with ‘conjectures and unverified facts’.
When FMT checked on the matter, a source close to RPT confirmed that the meditation centre will take legal action against Tamil Malar.
“We are really disappointed with the daily for carrying a false report which has tarnished RPT’s image among the public,” said the source, who declined to named.
Yesterday, Tamil Malar managing director SM Periasamy lodged a police report against RPT after several people, claiming to be Balakrishnan’s followers, created a ruckus at the newspaper’s office in Jalan Ipoh.
It came about following Tamil Malar’s report against Balakrishnan the day before. The RPT founder subsequently came under heavy fire from social media users.
Balakrishnan, who is also known as ‘Datuk Seri Guruji’, conducts Yoga programmes on how to harness spiritual energy(Yoga Shakti) for material and spiritual benefits.
Contacted later, Periasamy said that his editorial team is ready to face RPT in court.
“We have all the evidence needed to defend our news report. I’m ready for this” said the veteran newsman.
A check by FMT found that RPT charges between RM700 and RM750 for a person to attend its programmes.
RPT was initially registered as an enterprise with the Registrar of Company(ROC) in 2004.
However, it was converted into a private limited company(Sdn Bhd) the following year, being fully owned by Balakrishnan and his wife K Sundari.
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PETALING JAYA: Following an accusation by a Tamil daily yesterday, a well known meditation group said that it will take legal action against the newspaper for allegedly criticising its founder.Rajayoga Power Transcendental Meditation Centre’s (RPT) managing director, known as Dr Komala was reported by Malaysian Nanban saying that she will file the suit against those who disparage the group’s founder V Balakrishnan, with ‘conjectures and unverified facts’.
When FMT checked on the matter, a source close to RPT confirmed that the meditation centre will take legal action against Tamil Malar.
“We are really disappointed with the daily for carrying a false report which has tarnished RPT’s image among the public,” said the source, who declined to named.
Yesterday, Tamil Malar managing director SM Periasamy lodged a police report against RPT after several people, claiming to be Balakrishnan’s followers, created a ruckus at the newspaper’s office in Jalan Ipoh.
It came about following Tamil Malar’s report against Balakrishnan the day before. The RPT founder subsequently came under heavy fire from social media users.
Balakrishnan, who is also known as ‘Datuk Seri Guruji’, conducts Yoga programmes on how to harness spiritual energy(Yoga Shakti) for material and spiritual benefits.
Contacted later, Periasamy said that his editorial team is ready to face RPT in court.
“We have all the evidence needed to defend our news report. I’m ready for this” said the veteran newsman.
A check by FMT found that RPT charges between RM700 and RM750 for a person to attend its programmes.
RPT was initially registered as an enterprise with the Registrar of Company(ROC) in 2004.
However, it was converted into a private limited company(Sdn Bhd) the following year, being fully owned by Balakrishnan and his wife K Sundari.
Labels:
Hindu,
Malaysian Indians
IGP: We’ll act against LTTE supporters
The IGP said the police will act against LTTE supporters who tried to glorify Tamil Tigers leader V Prabakaran.
PETALING JAYS: The Liberation of Tamil Tigers Eelam (LTTE) is banned…
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PETALING JAYS: The Liberation of Tamil Tigers Eelam (LTTE) is banned…
The IGP said the police will act against LTTE supporters who tried to glorify Tamil Tigers leader V Prabakaran.
PETALING JAYS: The Liberation of Tamil Tigers Eelam (LTTE) is banned in Malaysia and the police will act against its supporters who carried out activities in support of the movement, Inspector-General of Police Khalid Abu Bakar said today.
Khalid said Malaysia was part of the United Nations and had to comply with the resolutions made by the world body.
“We will also take action against supporters who try to glorify LTTE leader V Prabakharan,” he said after launching a new integrated reporting system i-SPAA (Sistem Pemantaun Aduan Awam).
Khalid said he was also aware that some LTTE supporters had large photos of Prabakaran in their homes.
He said so far police had detained a man and were looking for six others involved in the gathering in Kulim last Saturday to mark the LTTE leader’s birthday.
Yesterday, Ipoh Barat MP M Kulasegaran urged the IGP to state publicly whether LTTE was a banned movement in Malaysia.
Kulasegaran had said he was puzzled because the IGP might have been wrongly advised and did not comprehend the meaning of freedom fighters.
The DAP vice-chairman also added that about 80,000 innocent Tamils had been killed in the civil war.
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PETALING JAYS: The Liberation of Tamil Tigers Eelam (LTTE) is banned in Malaysia and the police will act against its supporters who carried out activities in support of the movement, Inspector-General of Police Khalid Abu Bakar said today.Khalid said Malaysia was part of the United Nations and had to comply with the resolutions made by the world body.
“We will also take action against supporters who try to glorify LTTE leader V Prabakharan,” he said after launching a new integrated reporting system i-SPAA (Sistem Pemantaun Aduan Awam).
Khalid said he was also aware that some LTTE supporters had large photos of Prabakaran in their homes.
He said so far police had detained a man and were looking for six others involved in the gathering in Kulim last Saturday to mark the LTTE leader’s birthday.
Yesterday, Ipoh Barat MP M Kulasegaran urged the IGP to state publicly whether LTTE was a banned movement in Malaysia.
Kulasegaran had said he was puzzled because the IGP might have been wrongly advised and did not comprehend the meaning of freedom fighters.
The DAP vice-chairman also added that about 80,000 innocent Tamils had been killed in the civil war.
Labels:
IGP,
Malaysian Indians,
Sri Lanka
UN impressed with M’sia’s poverty reduction record
The United Nations had praised Malaysia for its impressive poverty reduction record.
KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia received thumbs up from the United Nations (UN) for having made impressive strides in reducing…
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KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia received thumbs up from the United Nations (UN) for having made impressive strides in reducing…
The United Nations had praised Malaysia for its impressive poverty reduction record.
KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia received thumbs up from the United Nations (UN) for having made impressive strides in reducing poverty since achieving independence in 1957.
Today Malaysia is considered as a upper middle income country with high human development index.
United Nations (UN) Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food Olivier De Schutter said between 1995 and 2012, the incidence of aggregate Malaysian poverty was reduced from 8.9 to 1.7 percent and urban poverty reduced from 3.7 percent to 1.0 percent.
The rural poverty, a major cause of concern at one time, was reduced from 15.3 percent to 3.4 percent.
“Disparities in income levels amongst Malaysia’s 13 states and three Federal Territories have also been narrowing. The poorest state, Sabah has experienced the highest reduction in poverty, from 19.7 percent in 2009 to 6.1 percent in 2012.
“The number of people living in hardcore poverty, unable to meet their basic food needs, has decreased from 0.7 percent in 2009 to 0.2 percent in 2012,” he told a press conference at the end of his first official visit to the country, here recently.
During his nine-day visit to assess the realisation of the right to food in Malaysia, De Schutter held consultations with a number of ministries and consulted broadly across the civil society.
De Schutter’s report would be presented on March 10, 2014 in Geneva, Switzerland to the 47-member Human Rights Council.
He said since 1970 the economy has gradually transformed from being based on primary production (agrarian) to a diversified one with secondary (manufacturing and production of processed goods) and tertiary (services) sectors being the dominant ones.
“Agriculture, which accounted for more than 20 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) in 1985, dropped to 7.3 per cent in 2012, surpassed by other sectors of the economy including services (56.4 percent), manufacturing (24.9 percent) and mining and quarrying (8.4 percent) of GDP.
“By moving away from agriculture Malaysia has seen a rapid growth in urbanisation, between 1970 and 2010 the proportion of the population living in urban areas increased from 27 percent to 71 percent,” he said.
- Bernama
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KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia received thumbs up from the United Nations (UN) for having made impressive strides in reducing poverty since achieving independence in 1957.Today Malaysia is considered as a upper middle income country with high human development index.
United Nations (UN) Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food Olivier De Schutter said between 1995 and 2012, the incidence of aggregate Malaysian poverty was reduced from 8.9 to 1.7 percent and urban poverty reduced from 3.7 percent to 1.0 percent.
The rural poverty, a major cause of concern at one time, was reduced from 15.3 percent to 3.4 percent.
“Disparities in income levels amongst Malaysia’s 13 states and three Federal Territories have also been narrowing. The poorest state, Sabah has experienced the highest reduction in poverty, from 19.7 percent in 2009 to 6.1 percent in 2012.
“The number of people living in hardcore poverty, unable to meet their basic food needs, has decreased from 0.7 percent in 2009 to 0.2 percent in 2012,” he told a press conference at the end of his first official visit to the country, here recently.
During his nine-day visit to assess the realisation of the right to food in Malaysia, De Schutter held consultations with a number of ministries and consulted broadly across the civil society.
De Schutter’s report would be presented on March 10, 2014 in Geneva, Switzerland to the 47-member Human Rights Council.
He said since 1970 the economy has gradually transformed from being based on primary production (agrarian) to a diversified one with secondary (manufacturing and production of processed goods) and tertiary (services) sectors being the dominant ones.
“Agriculture, which accounted for more than 20 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) in 1985, dropped to 7.3 per cent in 2012, surpassed by other sectors of the economy including services (56.4 percent), manufacturing (24.9 percent) and mining and quarrying (8.4 percent) of GDP.
“By moving away from agriculture Malaysia has seen a rapid growth in urbanisation, between 1970 and 2010 the proportion of the population living in urban areas increased from 27 percent to 71 percent,” he said.
- Bernama
Labels:
UNHRC
In lawsuit against AG, lawyer seeks to fix the system
Where does one find the courage to sue the Attorney-General, the top government lawyer in the country, for alleged malicious prosecution, prosecutorial misconduct and abuse…
Where does one find the courage to sue the Attorney-General, the top government lawyer in the country, for alleged malicious prosecution, prosecutorial misconduct and abuse of power?
“It has to be done. Someone has to do it, to try to put the system right. Even if we fail, at least we have tried,” Rosli told The Malay Mail Onlinerecently, while admitting to being an idealist who passionately believes in justice, truth and the rule of law.
Rosli traces his suit against Attorney-General Tan Sri Abdul Gani Patail and 10 others to where it all started in 2007, where he had the most “frightening” and “humiliating” experience of his life at the hands of the government’s anti-graft body then known as the Anti-Corruption Agency (ACA).
On Oct 11, 2007, two days before Hari Raya Aidilfitri, ACA officers came to Rosli’s office, asking him to go with them to their headquarters but left after he said he would meet them after the holiday ended.
The officers returned later at 2pm, shouting and arresting him in front of his staff, even handcuffing him.
“But they didn’t take my statement until it was 8 o’clock at night, six hours later… by then my hands were all bruised and bloodied,” he said, also adding that the ACA did not interview him as a witness before his arrest, despite his attempts to co-operate with them.
After his statement was recorded, he was put in a cell until the next day, and was denied the right to see his lawyers and even his wife and children. Rosli said that his watch and mobile phone were also taken away from him.
“Immediately at that point I imagined what could happen to someone who’s a civilian? What could happen to Teoh Beng Hock? What could have happened? It would have been frightening, because here I am a lawyer, it’s still frightening to me, what would it be to you?” he asked, referring to the July 2009 death of the DAP political aide after being questioned as a witness in a graft probe.
That night, Rosli felt as if he had sunk to the lowest point in his life, feeling as if God had “forsaken” him, even as he felt humiliated by the treatment he received.
Later he found out that his wife and young children had waited until past midnight at the ACA headquarters to see him, with his wife crying herself to sleep after hearing that he would be charged in court the next day. At this point of the story, Rosli said his wife’s account made him “very sad” and “angry.”
The next morning, Rosli was charged for allegedly failing to comply with ACA notices to declare his assets, and he related his wife’s narration of how sad she felt seeing him paraded in court like a “common criminal” in the presence of the media, in what she felt was an attempt to shame and embarrass him.
Six years on, Rosli still remembers every scene in this nightmare vividly, and the constant tone was one of disbelief.
“Not once in my life as a lawyer having practised for 25 years then could I imagine then that could have happened to me… in fact I was wondering what had I done wrong actually. I couldn’t understand,” the 52-year-old senior partner of one of Malaysia’s most established law firms said.
Rosli’s case was tied to his client, the former Commercial Crimes Investigation Department (CCID) director Datuk Ramli Yusuff, with the lawyer then implicated of allegedly holding RM27 million worth of assets for his client.
But Rosli points out that Ramli himself was then not even identified or charged, while he was “arrested, brutalised and charged” while acting as the lawyer for the senior policeman.
And by March 2010, the main suspect Ramli was already acquitted, Rosli points out, with his own attempts to get the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (the new name for ACA) to withdraw the 2007 charge against him proving unsuccessful.
“If I was a witness to someone’s wrongdoing and if that person is already not guilty, acquitted, should I also not be not guilty? And that is what I couldn’t understand,” he said, while also maintaining his stand in his September 20, 2007 statutory declaration that he does not hold any assets for Ramli.
Even after Rosli himself was acquitted in December 20, 2010, the “mocking” about his assets lingered on until today, and he also spoke sadly of acquaintances and friends testifying in court of their doubts over his honesty after reading news reports hinting that he had allegedly hidden RM27 million for Ramli.
Saying that his family was now “slowly recovering”, he hinted that the episode was so “hurtful” that they did not discuss it, adding that his wife’s recent witness statement caused him to realise that the “impact was very deep.”
“Of course when you win, things change, but just imagine those five years, having the AG appealing, there was fear, the children had fears, would something happen to their father?” he said, referring to the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC)’s appeal against his acquittal, which it subsequently dropped in August 2, 2012 after Rosli filed two affidavits to disclose what he alleged were blackmail attempts by the MACC.
Rosli said the ordeal took its toll on his confidence, explaining that this was due to his arrest for what he called a “non-offence” despite his efforts to co-operate with the ACA and comply with the law.
“That eroded a large part of my confidence for the past five years. That’s why I couldn’t function well, I couldn’t advise people properly, I took less cases because I was worried I was advising wrongly,” he said, although he has since successfully won a high-profile judicial review suit filed by Berjaya Books and two employees of Borders Bookstore.
But is Rosli suing the AG out of anger and revenge?
He admits to being an angry and sad man then, but now all he wants to do is seek closure and move on.
Tired of the years of court cases—including three defamation suits against newspapers which he won—that has also cost him hundreds of thousands of ringgit, Rosli said his offer to settle the matter with the MACC was turned down.
“I was waiting in some way they will come around and say ‘yes we have done you some wrong, let’s put this matter to an end, let’s settle the matter’ but they didn’t want to settle,” he said when explaining why he had waited until last month to file his suit.
Claiming that there was “no independence” between the different government bodies, Rosli cited former MACC panel member Tan Sri Robert Phang’s sworn statement last year, where the latter said the MACC was prevented by the AG from discontinuing the 2007 case despite being aware that it would result in an acquittal.
“It is no longer out of anger but to achieve closure to something that started six years ago because clearly what happened indicated that between the MACC, police, AG Chambers unfortunately there’s no check and balance,” Rosli said.
He said he is now seeking justice not just for himself, but also wants to prevent those in power from causing others to suffer the same fate as him.
“The recent suit is about putting checks and balances against abuses by those whom I considered to have failed and breached the trust that is reposed in them.
“And if I don’t file such a suit, they will think there’s no consequences to what they do and that is why I sued them personally as well. When you hold office, you can’t hide behind the powers of your office,” he said, stressing that public powers must be used in good faith and that those in power should not abuse the system.
Rosli’s suit was filed on November 22 against 11 respondents including the AG Tan Sri Abdul Gani Patail, former Inspector-General of Police (IGP) Tan Sri Musa Hassan, current Malaysia Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) chief Tan Sri Abu Kassim Mohamed, former ACA head of prosecutions Datuk Nordin Hassan, MACC director of prosecutions Datuk Abdul Razak Musa.
Three MACC officers—Kevin Anthony Morais, Chew Kam Soon, Saiful Ezral Ariffin—and the police force, the MACC and the government were also sued in the same suit, where Rosli is seeking damages totalling RM47 million or other amount to be fixed by the court, as well as special damages of RM750,000.
The MACC replaced ACA as the country’s anti-graft body in 2009.
Labels:
AG chamber,
Judiciary
Mandela’s Dilemma: Western Politics, Native’s Ethics
By : Mbaye LoThere appear to be two competing narratives concerning Mandela’s legacy. There are those who cast him as the father of the South African liberation movement, a…
By : Mbaye LoThere appear to be two competing narratives concerning Mandela’s legacy. There are those who cast him as the father of the South African liberation movement, a radical leader, with an unwavering dedication to the revolutionary struggle. This is mostly a political assessment. There are also those who, like President Obama, admire Mandela’s ability to forgive, his dedication to peace and moral leadership as a freedom fighter who came to reject violence. This is an ethical assessment.
So why are these two divergent, competing narratives of Mandela’s legacy? Because there is a political aspect of Mandela’s career, in which many of his promises went largely unfilled; and there is an ethical aspect of his career, in which his efforts were largely successful. In Western liberal practice, the West reserves political judgment for itself and its agents.
All assessments of the efficacy of “native” (non-Western) leaders are confined to the area of ethics. Native heroes are acknowledged and judged based on their ethical behavior. Thus, leaders like Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King are universally celebrated. Mandela can only be universally celebrated if he fits into this category of ‘saints.’
In the Western liberal tradition, politics encompasses the spheres of economic justice, reason, law, rights and duties of citizenship. It is valid to use violence to maintain this political order. The violence of colonialism, genocide, imperialism and neo-colonialism is legitimized by this logic of politics. This trend had prompted Emmanuel Levinas to warn us that, “politics left to itself bear a tyranny within itself.”
Hence, the heroes in the liberal tradition are generally conquerors, empire builders, loyal “explorers” for the imperial order, and janissaries of neo-colonialism.
The native hero cannot be universally celebrated unless he contributes to the maintenance of the imperial order. He has to forgive the imperial violence, and forgo responding in kind on behalf of the aggrieved natives, accept its economic exploitation and commit to reconcile native needs with imperial demand. More often than not, a universally celebrated native hero is often an ethical hero, not a political one; a moral leader, not a reformer; a conciliator and not a liberator. In the rhetoric of the former Senegalese president-poet Léopold Sédar Senghor, the imperial order requires an evolutionary leader, not a revolutionary one.
Under this pendulum of binary orders, it is no surprise that reformist heroes are often not universally celebrated. Non-universal native heroes are habitually described as radical, terrorists, dictators, and socialists. Whenever liberation or liberty from imperial dominance came through revolt or revolution, the native hero is rejected and demonized. Wherever independence or freedom emerged from embracing the imperial dominance the native hero is recognized and universalized.
One must question the rationale according to which Mandela has become a universal icon.
Did Mandela deliver politically? I would love to say yes, but evidence and experience have shown otherwise. The objective reality of South Africa is generally used to camouflage Mandela’s failure to reform the post-apartheid era. It is true that his mere ascendance to lead South Africa as a country is in and of itself provides an inspirational message; unfortunately, he ended his political career with unfulfilled promises of economic reforms.
The latest census data in South Africa shows widening income inequality and an economically disenfranchised people. Widespread urban poverty has made South Africa one of the most crime-ridden places in the world.
Charryl Walker et al.’s momentous work Land, Memory, Reconstruction, and Justice has documented beyond a doubt the failure of land restitution in post-apartheid South Africa.
If one was to wander the streets of Johannesburg during the last three weeks, or to visit the ghettos of Soweto or the townships of Guguletu in the last three years, as I did, one would experience the frightening human suffering and the normalization of black poverty. The majority of South African blacks did not benefit from the end of apartheid.
It is often remarked that the Soweto that Mandela described in his autobiography Long Walk Toward Freedom is no different in standard of living from the Soweto that wept for his death on December 5th. There was no emancipatory politics after apartheid, only forgiveness and reconciliation, and a systematic move to normalize inequality.
In constructing Mandela’s greatness, values of inclusion, forgiveness and reconciliation are selectively highlighted. But where is justice—the foundation of political rationality and stability? If the first question in inter-human politics is the question of justice and the weight of equality and equity, then Mandela failed to deliver an answer to the first question. Forgiveness and reconciliation without justice do not ensure true peace, but justice does.
There is a striking problem in this construction. The ability of victims of oppressive regimes like apartheid to move on with equality and equity is only guaranteed by the orderly administration of justice, and certainly not by institutionalized forgiveness. We should have learned from the American and Brazilian models of recovery from socio-historical trauma. Both are not ideal, they are problematic.
In order for the native to move on, unshackled by the weight of historical and circumstantial disadvantages of the past, both equity and equality has to be ensured. This is the only path to full social and economic equality that guarantees a durable peaceful co-existence. Otherwise, social anguish, restlessness and the endurance of violence will continue to persist.
Although highly regarded, reconciliation and forgiveness unequivocally benefit the oppressor rather than more the victim. This is evident in the South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s systematic leniency on unpunished crimes and total immunity for gross human right abuses of the old regime.
If one holds this arrangement as morally valuable, one must also admit that it is politically unwise and unfair. The substance of forgiveness is justice, and not the reverse. Forgiveness does not level the ground in which economic disparities and inequalities were germinated. Rather, it allows a safe path of escape to the agents of apartheid and its benefactors.
It disregards crimes of torture, murder and the destruction of generations. The poor and marginalized communities were damned in the Truth and Reconciliation processes. The old economic order was allowed a free path that was amended with a few faces of the black elite. Thus, it is true to say that Mandela’s ethic of forgiveness overrode a just political, and ensured the normalization of suffering for the South African masses.
Nazism and fascism’s agents and jailors were prosecuted and held responsible for their crimes at the Nuremberg trails and in other courts of justice. Apartheid agents and jailers were forgiven and asked to reconcile with their victims at the Truth and Reconciliation Commission Sessions.
Until recently, Wouter Basson, popularly known as Dr. Death, who is responsible for the systematic elimination of political opponents of Apartheid through lethal biological warfare, enjoys a life of freedom in North America with absolute immunity. His victims have either been forgotten or forced to reconcile. Jean Améry, a philosopher and an Auschwitz survivor who went on to commit suicide, warned us that, “anyone who has been tortured remains tortured.”
Obama is correct when he says that Mandela was “the last great liberator of the 20th century.” He was of a high caliber ethically and showed great political acumen in rejecting a second mandate to lead his country. But he missed a much-needed, timely opportunity to reform South Africa politically and economically. Mandela never made it to the next step of economic reform that ensures justice.
Did Mandela deliver ethically? Yes, by all measures. There is his long-standing sacrifice for the people, years of leading the ANC in the struggle against Apartheid; which resulted in his spending 27 years behind bars in Robben Island.
It might also be true that the Mandela who went to jail was different from the Mandela who came out 27 years later. The ethical Mandela survived, but the political reformer did not. As Yuliya Tymoshenko, the Ukrainian political prisoner, so eloquently put it, “it is not Mandela the statesman who touches my soul and fires my imagination. ‘My’ Mandela is the prisoner, the Mandela of Robben Island, who endured 27 years behind bars.” Former Vice President Dick Cheney was more eloquent than Obama in framing the ‘terrorist’ Mandela as a "great man" who had "mellowed" in after his release from prison.
It appears that the many of the world leaders observe Mandela’s passing according to their own politics: many want to celebrate his ethics, with little concern with his politics, and others cheerfully celebrate his politics in order to commemorate his ethics. The Prime Minister of Britain David Cameron captured this binary legacy at Mandela’s funeral, “It was more a celebration than a commemoration.”
Our love of Mandela and sympathy for his sacrifices must not lure us to lower the bar of expectations and reforms for future leaders. Greatness in leadership should largely be measured through the extent to which the lives of ordinary people are improved…
Labels:
Historian
Which assessments are Malaysians to believe – PMR or PISA/TIMSS?
By Lim Kit Siang,
I join the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak and the Deputy Prime Minister, Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin in congratulating the top scorers in this year’s…
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I join the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak and the Deputy Prime Minister, Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin in congratulating the top scorers in this year’s…
By Lim Kit Siang,
I join the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak and the Deputy Prime Minister, Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin in congratulating the top scorers in this year’s Penilaian Menengah Rendah (PMR) examination, in particular the 30,988 or 7.33 per cent of the over 462,940 PMR candidates nationwide who scored Grade A in all subjects – an increase of 0.41 per cent or 514 candidates over last year’s 30,474 Grade A straight scorers.
However, both the Prime Minister and the Deputy Prime Minister have been singularly silent over the 2011 TIMSS and 2012 PISA results which show Malaysian students very low down in international educational standards, and they should explain the reason for the vast discrepancy in the local PMR examination results with international educational assessment results like 2011 TIMSS and 2012 PISA.
With 7.33 per cent of students scoring straight As in all the PMR subjects, this should mean that the Malaysian national education system has produced over seven per cent of our students who are world-class “top scorers” comparable with their peers in the rest of the world.
However, this is not reflected whether in the 2011 TIMSS or 2012 PISA results.
The 2011 TIMSS showed that only two per cent of the Malaysian students who participated reached the topmost performing grade of “Advanced International Benchmark” for maths as compared to 49 per cent for Taiwan, 48 per cent for Singapore, 47 per cent for South Korea, 34 per cent for Hong Kong, 27 per cent for Japan and 14 per cent for Russian Federation.
What is even more disconcerting is the international assessment results reflect a relentless deterioration of educational standards of Malaysian students especially in the past one-and-a-half decades as the percentage of Malaysian students reaching the TIMSS “Advanced International Benchmark” for maths had fallen drastically from 10% in 1999 to 2% in 2011, while the top-performing countries have improved in the percentage of students in this top scorer category, e.g. from 1999 to 2011, Taiwan improving from 37% to 49%; Singapore from 42% to 48%; South Korea from 32% to 47% and Hong Kong from 28% to 34%.
Why is Malaysia regressing while the best and most competitive of the national educational systems in the world are making phenomenal progress in the past decade-and-half?
In the 2012 PISA, only 1.3 per cent of students in Malaysia made it to the “top performers” bracket in maths, i.e. (reaching Level 5 or 6) as compared to Shanghai-China (55.4%), Singapore (40%), Taiwan (37.2%), Hong Kong (33.7%), South Korea (30.9). Between 15% and 25% of students in Belgium, Canada, Finland, Germany, Japan, Liechtenstein, Macao, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Poland and Switzerland are top performers in mathematics.
Even the top 5 per cent of Malaysian students perform only in line with the average Korean or Japanese pupil.
Most worrying, more than half of Malaysian students (51.8%) do not reach basic proficiency levels in Mathematics (i.e. Below Level 2).
Can Najib or Muhyiddin explain such a vast discrepancy in the results of local examinations and prestigious international educational assessment tests?
Which examinations or assessments should Malaysians believe – PMR or PISA/TIMSS, local ones or international educational benchmarks?
▲
I join the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak and the Deputy Prime Minister, Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin in congratulating the top scorers in this year’s Penilaian Menengah Rendah (PMR) examination, in particular the 30,988 or 7.33 per cent of the over 462,940 PMR candidates nationwide who scored Grade A in all subjects – an increase of 0.41 per cent or 514 candidates over last year’s 30,474 Grade A straight scorers.
However, both the Prime Minister and the Deputy Prime Minister have been singularly silent over the 2011 TIMSS and 2012 PISA results which show Malaysian students very low down in international educational standards, and they should explain the reason for the vast discrepancy in the local PMR examination results with international educational assessment results like 2011 TIMSS and 2012 PISA.
With 7.33 per cent of students scoring straight As in all the PMR subjects, this should mean that the Malaysian national education system has produced over seven per cent of our students who are world-class “top scorers” comparable with their peers in the rest of the world.
However, this is not reflected whether in the 2011 TIMSS or 2012 PISA results.
The 2011 TIMSS showed that only two per cent of the Malaysian students who participated reached the topmost performing grade of “Advanced International Benchmark” for maths as compared to 49 per cent for Taiwan, 48 per cent for Singapore, 47 per cent for South Korea, 34 per cent for Hong Kong, 27 per cent for Japan and 14 per cent for Russian Federation.
What is even more disconcerting is the international assessment results reflect a relentless deterioration of educational standards of Malaysian students especially in the past one-and-a-half decades as the percentage of Malaysian students reaching the TIMSS “Advanced International Benchmark” for maths had fallen drastically from 10% in 1999 to 2% in 2011, while the top-performing countries have improved in the percentage of students in this top scorer category, e.g. from 1999 to 2011, Taiwan improving from 37% to 49%; Singapore from 42% to 48%; South Korea from 32% to 47% and Hong Kong from 28% to 34%.
Why is Malaysia regressing while the best and most competitive of the national educational systems in the world are making phenomenal progress in the past decade-and-half?
In the 2012 PISA, only 1.3 per cent of students in Malaysia made it to the “top performers” bracket in maths, i.e. (reaching Level 5 or 6) as compared to Shanghai-China (55.4%), Singapore (40%), Taiwan (37.2%), Hong Kong (33.7%), South Korea (30.9). Between 15% and 25% of students in Belgium, Canada, Finland, Germany, Japan, Liechtenstein, Macao, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Poland and Switzerland are top performers in mathematics.
Even the top 5 per cent of Malaysian students perform only in line with the average Korean or Japanese pupil.
Most worrying, more than half of Malaysian students (51.8%) do not reach basic proficiency levels in Mathematics (i.e. Below Level 2).
Can Najib or Muhyiddin explain such a vast discrepancy in the results of local examinations and prestigious international educational assessment tests?
Which examinations or assessments should Malaysians believe – PMR or PISA/TIMSS, local ones or international educational benchmarks?
Suit against ex-IGP, others over lock-up death of shop assistant dismissed
KUALA LUMPUR: A High Court dismissed a
negligent suit filed by the sister of toddy shop assistant R.
Gunasegaran over his death in police custody four years ago.
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Justice Yeoh…
KUALA LUMPUR: A High Court dismissed a
negligent suit filed by the sister of toddy shop assistant R.
Gunasegaran over his death in police custody four years ago.
▲
Justice Yeoh Wee Siam said the court was satisfied, on a balance of probabilities, that the defendants were not liable.
"Thus, the plaintiff is not entitled to the damages claimed.
"Accordingly,
the plaintiff's claim against the defendants is dismissed," she said
when delivering her decision in the presence of counsel M. Visvanathan
who appeared for Gunasegaran's elder sister R. Ganga Gouri and Senior
Federal Counsel Nur Aqilah Ishak for the defendants.
Justice Yeoh made no order as to costs.
The suit was against the Government, former Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Musa Hassan and 10 others.
Justice Yeoh made the rulings on grounds that Ganga Gouri, 36, had no locus standi to commence the action.
"The
court holds that since the plaintiff is not the wife, parent or child
of the deceased, but is the sister, the plaintiff is not allowed to file
the action on behalf of herself," she said.
She
said at the time when the suit was filed, Ganga Gouri was not legally
appointed as the representative or administrator of the estate of the
deceased.
In
her suit filed on July 13, last year, Ganga Gouri claimed that seven
policemen from the Sentul police station failed to comply with their
legal duties and practises which led to Gunasegaran's death at the
police station lockup on July 16, 2009.
Among
others, the factory operator said a senior criminal investigation
officer, ASP Mohamad Idris, failed to conduct a thorough investigation
into the cause of death.
Ganga
Gouri alleged that Sentul OCPD ACP Zakaria Pagan and Musa had failed to
ensure that ASP Mohamad and seven policemen complied with the law, in
particular the Police Regulations and practices.
She said a post-mortem on July 17, 2009, stated that Gunasegaran's death was "drug related".
Not
satisfied with the findings, she made an application in the High Court
to conduct second autopsy at University Malaya Medical Centre where
pathologist Dr Prashant N. Samberkar confirmed that he found injury at
the deceased chest which may have triggered Gunasegaran's death.
On July 19, High Court Justice Kamardin Hashim upheld the open verdict by Coroner Siti Shakirah Mohtarudin.
The
inquest was conducted to determine the cause of Gunasegaran's death,
who was in police custody and collapsed while his thumb print was being
taken. He was pronounced dead at 7.40pm in the HKL.
Labels:
IGP,
killing Indians by police
I Listen To The People's Plight, Says Najib
KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 20 (Bernama) -- Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun
Razak said he listened to the people's plight, especially over the
increase in the cost of living.
The…
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The…
KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 20 (Bernama) -- Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun
Razak said he listened to the people's plight, especially over the
increase in the cost of living.
The government, he said, was always looking for suitable formulae to safeguard the people's welfare and prosperity.
In his latest Facebook posting, Najib said at the same time, the government also had to ensure sustainability of the country's economy.
"Because of that, the government agrees to set up the Laboratory on Living Cost under the Performance Management and Delivery Unit (PEMANDU)," he said.
He said the laboratory would study and identify measures to ease the people's burden.
▲
The government, he said, was always looking for suitable formulae to safeguard the people's welfare and prosperity.
In his latest Facebook posting, Najib said at the same time, the government also had to ensure sustainability of the country's economy.
"Because of that, the government agrees to set up the Laboratory on Living Cost under the Performance Management and Delivery Unit (PEMANDU)," he said.
He said the laboratory would study and identify measures to ease the people's burden.
Labels:
Najib
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