Scandal: Dutch police paid Salafis to help patrol The Hague during New Year’s Eve

Dutch police has capitulated: they can no longer uphold law and order in Muslim dominated areas, and is now hiring Salafi sharia-patrols from the local mosque to patrol the streets. This is not only in complete conflict with secular principles, it also lends authority to people who follow a doctrine that preaches destruction of democracy and death upon the very people that the police is supposed to protect.

Translated by Thomas from DenHaagfm:

The Dutch member of parliament Joram van Klaveren and Louis Bontes of the Party for the Netherlands (VNL) are upset about the cooperation during New Year’s Eve between The Hague police department and the Salafist As-Sunnah mosque.

Volunteers of the As-Sunnah mosque were patrolling the Transvaal and Schilderswijk districts of The Hague during the New Year’s Eve in order to prevent young people from causing trouble. The mosque also organized some activities for young people in the old school building “Het Startpunt”.

The volunteers of the mosque were rewarded with tourist vouchers.

The Party for the Netherlands finds it inappropriate that the Dutch government “should be represented on the streets by a Salafist mosque.” The former Freedom Party MPs said that “it is a misguided development” because “a fundamentalist Islamic institution, whose spokesperson said that it does not believe in universal human rights and that Dutch society is built on a godless foundation, should not be a partner for our secular government.”

Leon de Jong, the leader of the Freedom Party in The Hague’s city council has asked the city council written questions about what he calls the “sharia police” of the As-Sunnah mosque. “This kind of Islamization undermines the authority of the police,” he says. “The police should control the streets. For that reason, there should be no room in The Hague for any kind of Islamic law enforcement whatsoever.”

Islam forbids men from becoming homemakers, says religious research centre

By Malay Mail Online

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 4 — Islam prohibits its married men from being the homemaker in the family, the government’s Malaysian Institute of Islamic Understanding (Ikim) has said, amid Putrajaya’s efforts to discourage women from dropping out of the workforce to raise children.

Siti Fatimah Abdul Rahman, consultation and exercise unit leader in Ikim’s centre for economic and social studies, said the Quran mandates the husband, not the wife, to provide for the household, the Sunday edition of local daily New Straits Times reported today

“Although there is no prohibition for wives to work and even if the wife earns 10 times more than the husband, he still has to provide basic sustenance for the family,” Siti Fatimah was quoted saying in the New Sunday Times report.

The official from the government research centre cited the Quranic verse 34 of chapter An-Nisa in her argument that Islam made it imperative for men to be breadwinners and said it was unacceptable for a husband to manage the home while earning nothing.

Putrajaya is aiming to increase Malaysia’s female labour force participation rate to 55 per cent this year from 52.4 per cent in 2013, even as the nation plans to reach developed status in just five years’ time by 2020.

A 2012 World Bank report has noted that the Muslim-majority country’s female labour force participation level was the lowest in the Asean region at 46 per cent, compared to Singapore’s 60 per cent or Thailand’s 70 per cent, and said the rate was unexpectedly low given Malaysia’s level of development.

Muslim right-wing group Ikatan Muslimin Malaysia said last month that Malaysia could still be a high-income nation if men remained breadwinners and women focused on raising children.

The suggestion drew ridicule from social activist Datin Paduka Marina Mahathir, who called the idea old-fashioned and questioned its practicality given that women accounted for two-thirds of all tertiary students in the country.

Let public decide on Hamid’s racially charged views, says ex-Bar Council chief

Retired chief justice Tun Abdul Hamid Mohamad must be allowed to express his opinion, although his provocative views on race relations may be seen as destructive by many, former Bar Council chairman Ragunath Kesavan said.

Similar democratic space, he pointed out should also be accorded to the group of 25 prominent Malays (G25), comprising retired civil servants and influential leaders, who were on a different page from Abdul Hamid.

"I am extremely upset with the stand taken by Abdul Hamid, who once occupied the highest position in the judiciary," Ragunath said, referring to Abdul Hamid's role as the chief justice for nine months, from 2007 to 2008.

"We (council) supported his elevation to be the top judge then because he gave the impression of a man of integrity," he said.

In September, Hamid drew criticism from leaders within the ruling coalition and the opposition for claiming that only the Malays had fought for the country’s independence.

Comparing Hamid with the G25, who in an open letter on December 8 had asked for a rational dialogue on the position of Islam and Islamic law in a constitutional democracy, Ragunath said the public now can hear diverse views that has emerged after the 2008 general elections which saw the ruling Barisan Nasional losing its two-thirds majority in the Dewan Rakyat.

"They (G25) too have the right to speak out and influence public opinion. Let the people evaluate," he added.

"As such, we can also hear the views of prominent people who do not put on their thinking cap," he said, referring to Hamid's latest call, asking political arch rivals Umno and PAS to unite to check the non-Malays, especially the Chinese, from further consolidating political power.

Hamid, in a letter published in Utusan Malaysia yesterday, stated that PAS should emulate Aceh’s move when it cooperated with Jakarta after the northern Sumatran province was hit by a tsunami in 2006.

“10 years ago, Aceh, which was fighting for an autonomous Islamic state, was hit by a tsunami that resulted in thousands of deaths.

"Now Kelantan is hit by floods. Due to the tsunami, Aceh and the Indonesian government agreed to co-exist. What about the Malaysian and Kelantan governments?" he reportedly asked.

Hamid said both the federal and Kelantan governments should repent and start prioritising on bigger issues such as religion and race, instead of party interests.

The PAS-Umno unity government talk have surfaced again after Kelantan and seven other states were hit by severe floods last week which claimed the lives of 27 people and caused estimated damages of about RM1 billion on properties and infrastructure.

Ragunath said Hamid's views were skewed as the Chinese could never become a political force in this country as the Malays and Muslims formed the majority in Malaysia.

"Moreover, the overwhelming number of non-Malays have accepted the role of the rulers, the position of Islam and the special privileges accorded to the Malays," he said.

Ragunath said more voters, including the Malays were drifting away from Umno-led BN because it lacked good governance such as transparency, accountability, equality and justice.

He said it must also be remembered that it was the non-Malays who returned the BN government to power with a strong two-thirds majority in 1999 even after the sacking of former deputy prime minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.

"The Malays then voted for the opposition, especially PAS and PKR. However, since the 2008 election, voters have moved away from the BN because it lacked good governance." he added. – January 4, 2015.

- See more at: http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/let-public-decide-on-hamids-racially-charged-views-says-ex-bar-council-chie#sthash.MKwfGSjE.dpuf

What did cops tell FBI about 14K triad?

 

The Royal Malaysian Police (RMP) had as early as 2008 identified three Malaysians as members of the 14K triad, a transnational organised crime entity.

They also found the 14K triad to be operating in Malaysia, with activities ranging from, illegal gambling, money laundering and drug trafficking.

These are among the contents of an internal document prepared by the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), obtained by Malaysiakini.

The document was submitted as evidence in a US court case involving alleged gambling kingpin Paul Phua Wei Seng.

One of the three Malaysians named as a 14K triad member by the Malaysian police, according to the FBI's legal attaché in Kuala Lumpur in the document, is Phua, who is a top earning junket operator in Macau.

US prosecutors, who believe Phua to be a 14K triad member, had slapped him with illegal gambling charges.

Phua came into spotlight in Malaysia after Home Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi wrote a letter dated Dec 18, 2014, to FBI deputy director Mark F Giuliano, insisting that Phua did not belong to the 14K triad.

The minister also claimed that Phua was assisting Malaysia on matters concerning national security and was "eager" for him return to Malaysia.

This is despite the statement coming in contradiction with what the Malaysian police had informed the FBI six years earlier - on June 11, 2008.

Is 14K triad operating in Malaysia?

Yesterday, veteran lawyer Muhammad Shafee Abdullah, who is acting for Phua in Malaysia, said the information by Malaysian police was "wrong" and the minister's letter to the FBI was merely to correct this at his law firm's request.

Shafee (left), who is a leading lawyer for Umno, also repeatedly insisted that the 14K triad does not exist in Malaysia.

According to the FBI Internal document, the agency said the 14K triad was primarily operating out of Bangkok, Thailand but further investigations identified "several key members of that organisation operating in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia" with links to individuals in the US.

"On June 11, 2008, Legat (legal attaché) Kuala Lumpur received information from the RMP regarding the 14K triad.

"The RMP has identified the 14K triad as a local organised crime syndicate involved in illegal drugs, illegal gambling and money laundering activities in Malaysia," read the FBI document dated July 16, 2008.

According to the document, Malaysian police which identified Phua as a 14K triad member, determined that he resided in the US between November 2007 and January 2008 and also succeeded in obtaining his US contact number.

The Malaysian police then shared his phone number, as well as several more US contact numbers of other suspected Malaysian 14K triad members with the FBI's Kuala Lumpur legal attaché.

"On June 19, 2008, (FBI) Legat Kuala Lumpur passed the information regarding the above US telephone numbers to the Detroit, Las Vegas and New York FBI field offices with a request to obtain subscriber information and to conduct any other logical investigation deemed necessary," read the document.

Of the three suspected Malaysian 14K triad members identified by local police, only Phua's name was made public in the FBI document while the other two names were redacted for court submission.

The FBI said it was also informed by Malaysian police, that it strongly believes one of the three suspected 14K triad members, is the organisation's boss for Thailand.

'The boss' had M'sian passport
 
The document also cited information from the FBI's Bangkok legal attaché who said Thai authorities had identified a 14K triad member who went by the name of "the boss".

It is unclear if the individual referred to by the Malaysian and Thai authorities are the same person as the names are redacted.

However, Thai authorities said "the boss" possessed a Malaysian passport which was used to enter Thailand about eight times for several years leading up to 2008.

Malaysian police also identified the third suspected Malaysian 14K triad member to the FBI, but the name was also redacted in the document.

The police informed the FBI that the third individual had made 13 phone calls to a US number.

"The RMP suspects that [redacted] works in a travel agency making travel arrangements for 14K triad members," read the document.

The FBI's Kuala Lumpur legal attaché viewed the Malaysian police's cooperation positively, stating that it was an opportunity to develop a bilateral investigation and strengthening the working relationship with them.

"The RMP has indicated that it is open to sharing information with Legat KL in the development of the investigation of the 14K triad crime syndicate.

"Investigative resources will be expended to fully identify [redacted], (Paul Phua Wei) Seng, [redacted] and other members of the 14K triad organised crime syndicate, as well as the scope of their criminal activities in Malaysia and the United States," said the document.

Phua' lawyer, Shafee, yesterday insisted that the top poker player is not a triad member and is innocent of the charge slapped on him by the FBI.

AirAsia: We followed SOP on 'dead engine flight'

AirAsia Indonesia said it followed all standard operating procedures by returning a Bandung-bound plane to the apron after a system shut down.

The engines on the Surabaya-Bandung flight QZ7633 carrying 161 passengers reportedly died just before take-off yesterday.

However, AirAsia clarified that it was not the engines that died but the Auxiliary Power Unit (APU) which automatically turns off in certain circumstances as part of its safety feature.

The APU powers up the pneumatic systems on the ground before the engines start, it said in a statement.

It shuts down in the event of overspeeding, low oil pressure or overheating, AirAsia Indonesia said.

"Further checks were completed by our engineering team according to their standard operating procedues.

"After the final check was completed, the aircraft was released to fly about an hour later.

"Despite the sensationalised coverage, there were no safety issues and the aircraft landed safely in Bandung," AirAsia Indonesia chief executive officer Sunu Widyatmoko said.

An Airbus A320-200, QZ7633 is the same make as ill-fated QZ8501 which crashed in bad weather on Dec 28.

A total 34 bodies of the 162 on board have been retrieved from the Karimata Strait. The search continues.

As flood recedes, Orang Asli still out of aid

 

As the country reels from the country's worst flood in decades, the Orang Asli community living in the interiors of Kelantan, Pahang and Perak found themselves to be the last to get much needed aid.

However, much needed aid arrived by air yesterday after NGO United Sikhs dropped some 2,350kg of supplies to 278 families to the Temiar community in the interiors of Gua Musang, Kelantan.


In a Facebook posting, the NGO said it flew six sorties from its Kuala Betis base camp to eight locations with 11 orang asli settlements.

It said some 1,000 of the local population had been cut off due to landslides.

"The flood in the last 10 days also devastated their tapioca, hill paddy and vegetable crops," it said.

Some villages have also been cut off for up to three months as roads collapsed at the beginning of the monsoon season.

The aid delivery by air was a collaboration between United Sikhs and the Centre for Orang Asli Concerns.

Prior to the delivery, Jaringan Orang Asal SeMalaysia (Joas) had made a desperate appeal for help for the indigenous community in the area.

"More than 20 Orang Asli villages in the interior Kelantan have been cut off for almost 10 days since the floods.

"They remain unreachable and uncontactable and we do not have much information on their current condition.

"Army helicopters delivered food but it was some time ago and not all areas were reached," it said.

Police alerted, but still no help

Some say they received an aid drop off once by the Orang Asli Affairs Department (Jakoa) but the supplies have run out.

Volunteer Firdaus Nisha Muhammad Faizal said in Kuala Koh the river broke its banks and submerged Orang Asli home within two hours.

Firdaus and six friends spent four days on an ad hoc relief mission delivering food and other supplies through their NGO friends.

"The villagers were quick and resourceful enough to make a large raft to ferry people from one end of the river to the other side where later they would head to higher ground," he wrote on Facebook.

These villagers, whose homes were surrounded by oil palm plantations received help from the estate manager but not all were as fortunate.

In Temerloh, 140 families in Kampung Paya Pelong have been trapped since Dec 26 even though flood waters have receded in other parts of the district, said Joas representative Shafie Dris said.

He said the village chief Harun Sok managed to report the situation to the Kerdau police station but hardly any help arrived.

"Nothing has arrived since then except for 30 bags of rice from the Kuala Krau elected representative and a few kilos of rice from NGOs and church for 140 families,” he wrote on Facebook.

Supplies hijacked

Meanwhile, in Dabong, Kelantan, aid workers complained their supplies were “hijacked” by some villagers.

Aid worker Mohd Zulkifli Daud said supplies in seven Toyota Hilux intended for Kampung Mahligai was offloaded by a nearby village.

"The aid mission was stopped, they overran it, open up (the vehicles) and took the food for themselves," he said.

He added that a villager had tricked them by telling them that the bridge ahead to Kampung Mahligai had collapsed.

A video of Zulkifli relating his experience was posted on Facebook by Siti Kasim, a Bar Council human rights committee member who also assisted in the United Sikhs mission.

Ibrahim Ali: No logging for 25 years to end flooding

Perkasa leader says move will lead to soil stability and let land recover.

FMT

KUALA LUMPUR: The Malay right-wing group Perkasa has proposed a 25-year freeze on logging in flood-prone states as a measure to avert the repeat of massive floods.

Perkasa president Ibrahim Ali said that so long as logging licences were issued, there would be destruction of forests; so long as there was legalised logging, there would be illegal logging.

“We only blame logging and destruction of forests as the cause of floods but never ask who issues the logging licences,” he told reporters after launching a Perkasa goodwill event with the Orang Asli in Bukit Lagong here.

Several academicians have said that the recent widespread flooding in several states recently could be linked to logging and destruction of forests.

“We can freeze logging for 25 years at least to allow for soil stability. Licences can be given only to those involved in the (downstream) industry, for example the furniture industry. I do not think that Malaysia will lose in terms of revenue without the timber cess,” he said.

He added that Perkasa members had helped to collect and distribute aid to flood victims, and was also accepting contributions in the form of building materials such as zinc sheets, cement and planks for repairs to flood-damaged houses.

- BERNAMA

Palanivel rivals to see Registrar to avert party shutdown

Silence from party chief prompts action as two branches face being deregistered.

FMT


KUALA LUMPUR: With two branches facing deregistration, and MIC president G Palanivel out of contact, two of his rivals are to meet the Registrar of Societies tomorrow for discussions on the party’s fate.

Deputy president S Subramaniam and vice-president M Saravanan, viewed as allies against Palanivel, are going ahead with the meeting to avert a possible shutdown of the whole party in March.

“RoS has issued a letter stating that two MIC branches would be deregistered tomorrow and more divisions were at stake if the problem was left unattended,” Saravanan was quoted as saying in Kulaijaya.

“If we do not act now, not only more divisions will have to face deregistration but the party as a whole would be deregistered in March,” he claimed, according to The Star Online.

He said Palanivel had refused to answer his phone calls or reply to messages. Palanivel was not available for comment, The Star said.

On Dec 5 the registrar nullified the party elections held in November 2013 and proposed that new elections be held for the three vice-presidencies and 23 positions on the central working committee. (Palanivel and Subramaniam were re-elected unopposed.)

Palanivel’s apparent inaction about the Registrar’s instructions were viewed by an ousted central committee member, G Ramanan, as a sign that Palanivel sought to have the party deregistered in order to set up a new party formed of his own supporters.

Ramanan was one of five people ousted by Palanivel on Friday, with S Vell Paari, son of former party strongman S Samy Vellu, being replaced as MIC strategic director, A Prakash Rao removed as secretary-general, KS Nijhar and KS Balakrishnan dropped from the central committee, and a disciplinary committee formed.

However MIC Youth has objected to the appointment of G Kumar Aaman as the new secretary-general. Youth chief C. Sivaraajh said Palanivel should review Kumar Aaman’s past in view of the party chief’s recent statement on gangsterism within the party.

“I believe this party’s image is in jeopardy with this appointment,” Sivaraajh was quoted as saying. He said Kumar Aaman had “plenty of baggage” and “even police reports”, Malaysiakini reported.

Kumar Aaman’s appointment was viewed as a reward for instigating the Gerakan Anti Samy Vellu faction,

Sivaraajh said Palanivel had not met the party’s youth wing even once in over a year.

Palanivel: We’ve been talking to RoS all along

Party chief dismisses claims by his challengers that MIC may be shut down.

FMT

KUALA LUMPUR: MIC president G. Palanivel, dismissing claims by his challengers that the party was heading for deregistration, said today the party had been in touch with the Registrar of Societies since Dec 5 and had already asked for an extension of time.

On Dec 5 the registrar had nullified the party elections of November 2013 on grounds of irregularities and had told the party to hold fresh elections.

Palanivel’s rivals have claimed that he had been incommunicado since then and alleged that he intended to have the party shut down so that a new party could be formed with his own supporters.

In a statement this evening, he described the steps that the party had taken since Dec 5, and gave an assurance that everything possible was being done to keep the party going.

He said there had been many allegations and misinformation given to the media, but the party had been following procedures and proper channels in the Societies Act in respect of the registrar’s decision.

“We, together with the lawyers, are following proper procedures and have taken all measures necessary to protect the interest of MIC in this matter,” he said in a statement quoted by The Star Online.

“Firstly, ROS had issued recommendations by letter dated 5 December 2014 to MIC in relation to the allegations made by certain quarters after the elections for the vice-presidents and central working committee members. These findings and recommendations were made without MIC being given any opportunity to answer them to the RoS.

“We had immediately appointed lawyers to look into these issues and we have, on the advice of lawyers, issued a letter dated 24 December 2014 seeking clarifications and raised certain issues with the RoS.

“RoS has replied by letter dated 31 December 2014. Our lawyers are perusing all the issues and will advice on the next course of action in the near future.

“At this juncture, I am not able to give more details as it may prejudice MIC’s rights. In the meantime, we have again written to RoS on 2 January 2015 requesting for extension of time, without prejudice to MIC’s rights.

“There are fears that MIC will be deregistered within 90 days from 5 December 2014 if no re-election is conducted. I would like to assure all that we will not in any way allow such de-registration to take place,” he said.

Najib errs in his silence on Rosmah

The Prime Minister should take a leaf out of Tony Fernandes' book.

FMT

The funny thing about rumours is that you can never really choose to ignore them. But then, if you say too much, people will assume that you are acting in self preservation because there is truth to the talk. Say too little, and you add to the intrigue. Say nothing at all, and a piece of gossip takes a life of its own, ever growing in intricacy and complexity till little of the original remains.

Considering the options on the table, you’d think that addressing the situation makes the most sense for the parties involved, in this case, Prime Minister Najib Razak and the elusive Perdana 1, which currently awaits the Prime Minister in Thailand after a week-long jaunt in the United States, stopping in Los Angeles, Indianapolis, Los Angeles again and then New York en route to London, Dubai and back to South East Asia.

The fact that the aircraft remained in the US while the Prime Minister rushed home to deal with the flood crisis has intrigued many commenters and critics across the social sphere, with many coming to the conclusion that it must be the First Lady of Malaysia (FLOM), Rosmah Mansor, who is aboard the flight, probably indulging her allegedly infamous penchant for extravagant shopping and travel.

The Prime Minister’s Office has tried to pass it off as a maintenance issue, but as a piece carried by FMT on Saturday suggests, there was only one possible reason for Perdana 1 to be in Indianapolis, and for a week at that, raising even more concerns over the use of the jet, and more important, the doings of its possible passenger.

Najib should have just come out and addressed the rumours before they became such a source of national concern. Had he said, yes, it is Rosmah on board, he would have caught flak for it, but no more than he already has, as many Malaysians have already made up their minds about FLOM’s temperament and passions. Instead, his elegant silence has dealt a far worse blow to his and his wife’s reputations, at a time when he actually has made a public relations score with his efforts to address the floods. Had he clearly told Malaysians that the jet had issues, and the reason why it was in Indianapolis for so long, his honesty would have at least been appreciated by Malaysians whose tax dollars pay RM27,501.75 per hour for use of the jet.

Compare this to the way AirAsia Group CEO Tony Fernandes has been dealing with the biggest crisis facing his airline yet. The ill-fated QZ8501 would have devastated AirAsia had Fernandes dealt with the situation the way that our Prime Minister has with Perdana 1. Had he been as opaque over the issue, critics would have lambasted him for having no sympathy for his employees and the passengers onboard the flight, but what Fernandes has done is give the world a master class in crisis management.

He has gone to the ground, given comfort to the staff of AirAsia, personally accompanied the body of a stewardess back to her home, communicated constantly with the public and media, and his efforts have been rewarded with a positive afterglow on the airline despite the disaster. His constant updates have left little room for rumour, little space for unbridled speculation.

It is this openness that has given Fernandes some leeway as the airline recovers from the disaster, and our Prime Minister would serve himself well to learn from what the AirAsia Group CEO has done over the past week. Due to Najib’s refusal to address the status of Perdana 1, he has given way for gossip to hit him and his wife much harder than anything he could have possibly confessed to, even a shopping spree that spanned the breadth of America, from Los Angeles on the West Coast to New York on the East Coast.

Obviously, the magnitude of the loss of QZ8501 cannot be compared to the extravagance Perdana 1 has been associated with, but the two leaders dealing with crisis and controversy have chosen to deal with their situations in mirror-opposite ways. Najib must learn from his mistakes and stop the cycle of PR disasters marking his tenure as Prime Minister of Malaysia.

Asking for urgent meeting with Najib before Cabinet meeting on Wednesday to present four-point proposal on the floods catastrophe for Cabinet adoption

By Lim Kit Siang Blog

I am seeking an urgent meeting with the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak, before Wednesday with a four-point proposal for adoption by the Cabinet with regard to the floods catastrophe which had ravaged nine states in the past two weeks.

It would appear that the Cabinet had not met since Dec. 17, as the two previous Wednedays had fallen on Christmas eve on Dec. 24 and New Year’s Eve on Dec. 31.

Although both these dates are not public holidays in Malaysia, it is the tradition that the Cabinet would not meet on these two dates as most Ministers would be overseas on vacations.

I believe that the Cabinet had also not met on Dec. 24 and 31 last year, as there had been no reports about Cabinet meetings on these two dates, which would be most unusual and extraordinary, as the country’s worst floods in decades had spanned both these dates.

However, I confess I am not privy to information as to whether the Cabinet had met on Dec. 24 and 31, and I am prepared to stand corrected if I am proved wrong.

If I am right that the Cabinet had not met since Dec. 17, then this is a gross remiss of public duties and responsibilities by the entire Cabinet and Najib owes the country a full and satisfactory explanation for the Cabinet playing truant when the country was faced with an unprecedented floods catastrophe, which caused the evacuation of a quarter of a million people, with over a million in nine states adversely affected by the floods catastrophe and the death of at least 21 people.

Although the worst of the second wave of the floods catastrophe seemed to be over, the Meteorological Department has warned of a a third wave of a moonsoon surge to begin on Jan 7 or 8, with possible continuous heavy rainfall up to three days over cerrtain states, especially in Johor, Sabah and Sarawak.

The National Security Council, and in particular, the Federal Government, should not be caught off-guard as happened in the second wave of the floods catastrophe in the past fortnight.

The four-point proposals concern:

# the declaration of a state of emergency for the flood-stricken states;

# the formation of a BN-PR Joint Action Council on Floods Catastrophe;
# Convening of a Special Parliament this month on the Floods Catastrophe;’

# Doubling of the RM500 million allocation for relief of flood victims to RM1 billion to enable every flood victim whose livelihood/business had been wiped out by the floods catastrophe to apply for interest free loans, ranging from RM1,000 to RM250,l000 to start life and business anew.

Seven MIC Divisions In Kedah, Four In Penang Want Palanivel To Settle Party Crisis

KULIM, Jan 4 (Bernama) -- Seven out of the 12 MIC divisions in Kedah today called on MIC president Datuk Seri G. Palanivel to stick to the decision made by the party at a meeting last Dec 18 to resolve its internal crisis.

Their spokesman S. Ananthan, who is also MIC Kulim/Bandar Baharu chief, said the president must act firmly and urgently along with his deputy Datuk Dr S.Subramaniam to resolve the party's problem with the Registrar of Societies (ROS).

"The president by right should keep the pledges made at the Dec 18 meeting to resolve the issue with ROS, not appoint new members to the party's Central Working Committee (CWC)," he told Bernama here today.

On Dec 5, ROS had officially notified the MIC that its polls for the vice-president and CWC seats as well as some divisional elections were null and void due to certain irregularities and ordered the party to hold fresh polls for the said seats within 90 days.

At the Dec 18 meeting, Palanivel had said that he would deal with the matter as best as possible and form a special committee made up of himself and Dr Subramaniam, the five members who lodged complaints about irregularities in the party polls and five others, in trying to resolve it.

Ananthan said the leaders from the seven divisions feared the party could be deregistered if Palanivel did not follow ROS's instructions for MIC to hold the fresh elections.

Present with him were division chiefs Arumugam Ariman (Merbok); M.Varatharajoo (Pokok Sena); M.Sinnapan (Kuala Kedah); R.Subramaniam (Jerai); S.Ganesan (Pendang ) and Datuk DrJoginder Singh (Sungai Petani division vice-head).

Yesterday, Palanivel in an e-mailed statement had announced that MIC Secretary-General A.Prakash Rao had been replaced by Datuk Kumar Silambaram.

He also announced that Ramalingam Krishnamoorthy has been appointed as the new Strategic Director of MIC replacing Datuk Seri Vell Paari, the son of former party supremo, Datuk Seri S.Samy Vellu who handpicked Palanivel as his successor.

He also appointed three new members to the CWC. They are Karuppanan Malairaja (Penang), Datuk Ganesan Subramaniam (Kedah) and Ganesan Thankaveloo (Selangor).

They will be taking over from Tan Sri K.S Nijhar, Datuk R. Ramanan and Datuk K.S Balakrishnan.

In PENANG, four of the 13 MIC divisions in the state echoed the same.

Bayan Baru division chief Datuk M. Nyanasegaran, speaking to reporters on the behalf in Butterworth, said the top leadership of the party must "save the party" from being deregistered.

"This is not a time for making changes to the office bearers (new CWC appointments) but to resolve the crisis the party is facing," he said.

He also urged Palanivel and Dr Subramaniam to update members on the status of the fresh polls.

Present with him were division chiefs R. Kamalraj (Nibong Tebal), M.Suresh (Permatang Pauh) and P.Arumugam (Balik Pulau).

-- BERNAMA