Droughts, melts signal climate change quickens - U.N.

Ruxandra Tocito braves a flooded road to head to her nursing job at Emory Hospital from her subdivision, which was cut off due to flooding from heavy rains, in Lawrenceville, Georgia September 22, 2009. REUTERS/Tami ChappellBy Timothy Gardner

WASHINGTON, Sept 25 (Reuters) - Droughts from Australia to the U.S. Southwest, acidic ocean water and melting glaciers are signs that the pace of climate change is surpassing the worst-case scenarios scientists predicted in 2007, a U.N. report said on Thursday.

Mountain glaciers in Asia are melting at a rate that could eventually threaten water supplies, irrigation or hydropower for 20 percent to 25 percent of the world's population, the U.N. Environment Program report said.

The Climate Change Science Compendium 2009 report analyzed 400 scientific reports released through peer-reviewed literature, or from research institutions, since the U.N.'s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change published its last report in 2007.

"This is the moral challenge of our generation," U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said in a release.

Global leaders including Chinese President Hu Jintao and U.S. President Barack Obama spoke at a one-day climate change conference at the United Nations this week to try to break a global deadlock on how rich and developing countries will share the burdens of slowing global warming.

Some 190 countries will try to reach an agreement on how to slow global warming at a meeting in Copenhagen in December.

An increase in global greenhouse gas concentrations has raised concern among scientists that a rise of between 1.4 and 4.3 degrees Celsius (2.5 to 7.75 F) above pre-industrial temperatures is likely, the report said.

That is above the range of between 1 to 3 degrees C (2 to 5.4 F), many scientists see as a level that could lead to the end of summer Arctic sea ice and the eventual melting of the Himalayan glaciers and the Greenland ice sheet, the report said.

In addition, increased absorption of the main greenhouse gas carbon dioxide by oceans is leading to acidification of sea water faster than expected. For example, water that can corrode a seashell-making substance is "already welling up along the California coast -- decades earlier than existing models predict," the report said.

The acidification of oceans could threaten shellfish and coral reefs, the breeding grounds for many fish species.

Environmentalists hope leaders will pay attention to the UNEP report as the Copenhagen meeting nears but news about how the global recession is affecting emissions may also be a factor. The Paris-based International Energy Agency, said this week the recession has set the stage for the 2.6 percent drop in global carbon dioxide output this year, the sharpest fall in in 40 years.

Still, the UNEP report said that emissions that have already been released into the atmosphere could lead to the loss of ecosystems and increased desertification. The U.S. Energy Information Administration expects U.S. emissions to begin rising again next year as the economy improves.

(Reporting by Timothy Gardner; Editing by Bill Trott)

© REUTERS 2009

Gadhafi demands equality, Libyan president Moammar Ghadafi says his country is not seen as an equal in the eyes of the United Nations.

Gaddafi attacks major powers ( AL Jazeera)

Gaddafi said that the Security Council should be reformed to make it more representative [EPA] Libya's president has attacked the permanent members of the United Nations Security Council during his first ever address to the UN General Assembly. In a one-and-a-half hour speech in New York on Wednesday, Muammar Gaddafi said the veto-wielding nations of the Security Council were ignoring the views of the full 192 members of the General Assembly and the principles of the UN charter. "The preamble [of the charter] says all nations are equal whether they are small or big," Gaddafi said in his address. But he accused the permanent members of the council of undermining other states. "The veto [held by the five permanent UN members] is against the charter, we do not accept it and we do not acknowledge it," he said. "Veto power should be annulled." In a speech that far exceeded the 15-minute slot he was allocated, Gaddafi read aloud sections from a paperback copy of the UN charter; at one point, he held it up and made a small tear in the cover, signalling his disdain. "The Security Council did not provide us with security but with terror and sanctions," he said. Council members criticised Gaddafi's speech Palestine: Gaddafi called for a one-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian issue, saying Jews and Palestinians should live in a unified democratic state. Maritime piracy: He said: "We [the international community] are the pirates, not the Somalis, for what we have done to their coasts and fishing." Wars and conflict: Gaddafi called for investigations into major wars starting with the Korean War up to the invasion of Iraq. Gaddafi said the council, comprising the US, Britain, France, Russia and China, had failed to prevent or intervene in 65 wars that have taken place since the United Nations was established in 1945. "How can we be happy about the world security if the world is controlled by four or five powers?" he complained. "We are just like a decor." In his opinion, the General Assembly is the "the parliament of the world" - a 192-member body that should be dictating decisions to the Security Council. In the past two decades, emerging economic powers such as Germany, India, Japan, and Brazil have called for reforming the composition of the Security Council and creating additional permanent member seats. Veto power deplored Gaddafi said adding more permanent seats would be counterproductive. Instead, he called on regional federations and organisations, such as the Arab League, Organisation of American States, the African Union, and the Non-Aligned Movement to be given permanent seats at the Security Council. The five permanent members should lose their veto, or the UN should expand the council with additional member states, Gaddafi said. "It should not be called the Security Council, it should be called the 'terror council'," he said, adding that the permanent members treat smaller countries as "second class [and] despised" nations. "Now, brothers, there is no respect for the United Nations, no regard for the General Assembly," he said. 'Disaster' for Africa The US senate condemned the celebrations in Tripoli after al-Megrahi's release [Reuters] Mohamed Ben-Madani, editor of the Maghreb Review, told Al Jazeera's that Gaddafi's speech was a "disaster" for the African Union and Arab and Muslim delegations at the General Assembly. "I think the Libyans deserve much better than this. It is a disaster for Arab world opinion. Tearing up the UN charter is shocking, but this should have been expected from the beginning," he said. "He said nothing about Libyan human rights and better education [for Libyans]. He said nothing about climate change or the environment." As Gaddafi spoke, the US senate approved a resolution condemning the "lavish" welcome-home ceremony that Libya gave last month for Abdel Basset al-Megrahi, who was convicted of the bombing over a US passenger aircraft over the Scottish town of Lockerbie in 1989. The US senate demanded that Tripoli apologise for the celebration, which came after Scotland's justice minister released al-Megrahi, a former agent, on compassionate grounds. Libya has a temporary seat on the Security Council until the end of 2010. Compensation urged At one point, Gaddafi proposed a solution to the problem of illegal immigrants streaming from the North African coast to Europe. "World colonial powers took the wealth from Africa, Asia, and Latin America so it is to be expected that the new generation of youth will follow that wealth," he said. "Return that wealth, and you will see illegal immigration drop," he said. He praised Italy for "apologising for its colonialist venture in Libya [in the 1920s]" and building hospitals throughout his country. He called for $7.77 trillion in compensation to be paid to Africa from its past "colonial masters". Obama praised Gaddafi praised Barack Obama, the US president, describing him as a "son of Africa" and a "flash of light in the darkness". He said he fully agreed with Obama's UN speech, describing it as unprecedented from a sitting US president. Gaddafi, who was addressing the General Assembly for the first time since he seized power in his country 40 years ago, appeared to be rambling at times, reading from hand-written notes as he addressed dozens of issues. At one point, he questioned the assassination of John F Kennedy, the US president. "The assassination of Kennedy in 1963 - we want to know, who killed him? Lee Harvey? Why was Harvey killed?" he said, referring to the man who was arrested in connection with Kennedy's murder and shot dead while being transferred between jails.

Najib finds new Indian allies, bypasses the MIC

by cryingvoices

Dear Mr.Thanenthiran, I have nothing against you or your new party which was registered within weeks.. maybe the fasters in the Malaysia Book of Records!, I would like to just comment on some of the facts, because my hands are itchy now, What did u said about Kg.Buah Pala? I was there and i saw and monitor you from the time you came there, the last minute dramas. Any reasonable person would have NOT done what you, Waythamoorty(perak) and Pitchay did on that day! I really cannot understand what you did and why you signed the most unreasonable agreement on earth! after negotiating with the bailiff!

The document supposed to be signed by all the villagers but non of them signed it, remember? Only you, Waythamoorty(Perak) and Pitchay signed it, as a witness. Why? Because the villagers realised that you are doing it without realising the consequences and risks! You just want to gain a name in the issue and postpone the Demolition and claiming you stopped the demolition for the day! Where were you on the 13th Aug 2009 Demolition attempt? You did not even turn up! You said from the beginning that Najib is dealing with you regarding this matter and you will make sure that you can solve the problem in Buah Pala! But what has happened now? You have signed an unreasonable document stated that the villagers agreed to give way and to cooperate with the Developer to demolish the Village on the 1st Sept 2009, you and your allies are the culprit that signed the letter! when the villager realised something is wrong in the letter signed by you! Non of the Villager signed the letter except you and your team! without even thinking about the future of the village and the villagers! So, please do not mention anything about Kg.Buah Pala in your speech and statements! You created more damages to the Villagers than saving them! Don't use them as a bait! They are the victims of all the Political Vultures in Malaysia, Including you!

Rwindraj@cryingvoices.webs.com

http://cryingvoices.webs.com/apps/blog/

DNA trawl shows long history of India's castes

A genetic search of India's diverse populations shows most people have mixtures of European and ancient south Indian genes, and helps illustrate the deep roots of the country's caste system, researchers reported on Wednesday.

It also shows that Indians, much like the Finns and European-origin Jews, may be susceptible to recessive genetic diseases, they report in the journal Nature.

Dr David Reich of Harvard Medical School in Boston and colleagues found "strong evidence for two ancient populations, genetically divergent, that are ancestral to most Indians today".

"One, the 'Ancestral North Indians', is genetically close to Middle Easterners, Central Asians, and Europeans, whereas the other, the 'Ancestral South Indians', is as distinct from ancestral north Indians and East Asians as they are from each other," they wrote.

"Nobody's even close to having all of one or the other," Reich said in a telephone interview. "People in India are almost all a mixture of these two ancestral populations."

And virtually all also carry a risk of genetic mutations that can confer disease, Reich said.

He said his group and others should look in to that, to see if Indians have higher rates of recessive diseases, which can include deadly and incurable cystic fibrosis, sickle cell disease, and Tay-Sachs disease.

Reich's team, including a group at the Broad Institute at Harvard and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, looked at genetic mutations in people from 25 different Indian groups - a small sampling of the 6,000 or so estimated groups that restrict intermarriage.

Founder effect

What they found, time and again, was the so-called founder effect - large numbers of people descended from what was originally a small group of ancestors. People in Finland and Ashkenazi Jews are other groups marked by the founder effect.

The limits on marrying outside the group can create the risk of recessive diseases - conditions that only occur if people have two mutated genes. Marriage within groups raises this risk.

"Many Indian groups have a pattern of having been founded by a small number of individuals. They have been isolated from other groups since that time by restricted marriage across groups," Reich said.

Some people get tested for recessive genes before having children, and some people also use assisted fertility techniques to test embryos for recessive diseases.

Reich said no one had documented a higher number of recessive diseases among Indians, but it also was not something anyone had looked for. "It probably affects hundreds of millions of people in India today," he said.

While the genes clearly show that the caste system has existed for hundreds of generations, the genes do not line up by caste.

"It is impossible to distinguish castes from tribes using the data," Kumarasamy Thangaraj of the Center for Cellular and Molecular Biology in Hyderabad, India, who worked on the study, said in a statement.

"This supports the view that castes grew directly out of tribal-like organizations during the formation of Indian society."

- Reuters

3 Umno-BN policies which destroyed MIC - Malaysiakini

In the ongoing attack on MIC president S Samy Vellu that he is the sole reason for MIC's debacle in the 2008 general elections and that he has become a liability to Barisan Nasional, we should not forget that the policies implemented by the leadership of Umno and BN were also the key reasons that allowed Samy Vellu to perpetrate his wrongdoings on MIC to the extent that the party's future and relevance is being questioned today.

When we say BN leadership, it must be pointed out that BN was always helmed by the Umno president. Other office-bearers such as deputy chair, secretary-general and the treasurer-general of BN were also always from Umno.

Therefore, BN's policies were largely dictated by Umno. In the recent history of BN, there was only one brief moment where former MCA president Dr Ling Liong Sik had to chair a BN meeting just to allow Umno Baru as a coalition member into BN during the Umno turmoil in 1988.

If we look at the past, there were three key policies of Umno and BN followed so religiously that they resulted in MIC's sorry state of affairs today.

Although Samy Vellu cannot be exonerated from his failed leadership and wrongdoings, it is these policies of Umno and BN that gave him a freehand to deal with party matters the way he wanted without any regard for democracy.

Non-interference in internal affairs of component parties

This policy was so strictly followed by former premier Dr Mahathir Mohamad as BN chairperson and his successors to the extent that even though they knew something was going wrong in MIC they went ahead to condone it in the name of 'non-interference'.

However, this policy was not that strictly followed during the times of Tunku Abdul Rahman or Tun Abdul Razak as BN was then considered one big political family. It was common knowledge that Tun Abdul Razak played a mediating role between VT Sambanthan and V Manickavasagam during their leadership tussle for MIC in 1973, whereby he brokered a deal asking Sambanthan to resign and Manickavasagam to take over the leadership.

There were also several occasions when the BN leadership had interfered in the leadership tussles of MCA.

However, during the reign of Mahathir, this policy of 'non-interference' was followed strictly by him just to ensure that the other component parties do not interfere in the leadership tussles of Umno. Mahathir knew that if the component parties began to take sides in Umno's leadership tussles then BN would be split and the power of Umno as the supreme controlling party in BN would be lost. It was during his time that the most number of leadership tussles took place in Umno resulting in three deputy premiers being changed over a period of 22 years.

For example, in May 1981, Samy Vellu brought a motion in the central working committee (CWC) to expel his deputy S Subramaniam from the party and the BN leadership knowing very well that it would eventually split the party and affect BN, did not do anything about it. The motion was later withdrawn by Samy Vellu after a private chat between him and Subramaniam.

However, a few years later Samy Vellu expelled V Govindaraj who was then a vice-president of the party. Govindraj formed his own political party Democratic Malaysian Indian Party (DMIP) but in later years dismantled it to join back MIC at the invitation of Samy Vellu.

In 1988, Samy Vellu expelled MG Pandithan who was also a vice- president then. He went on to form another political party Indian Progressive Front (IPF) with a substantial number of his followers. The party remains till today but is riddled with political infighting and factionalism.

In 1988 alone, Samy Vellu closed more than 300 branches which resulted in thousands of MIC members kept outside MIC, some of whom although very talented with leadership qualities could not find their political rise even today.

Worse still, proper programmes were not drawn up by the MIC leadership to recruit new and young members even though the young Indian population was growing every year.

The BN leadership was aware of the unhealthy developments in MIC and the Indian community but chose not to do anything because even with all these nonsense, MIC candidates were still winning general elections by contesting in Malay majority seats because Umno was able to deliver the Malay votes en bloc to the MIC candidates.

Adding to the problems in MIC were the woes of Maika Holdings' shareholders. Since 1984 so many things, including the hijacking of nine million Telekom shares, went wrong but again the BN leadership (which means Mahathir) only chose to remain a silent witness to all the atrocities that were perpetrated.

Today, Maika Holdings remains a skeleton. The only jewel in the crown - Oriental Capital Assurance Bhd - has been put up for sale only to be blocked by an injunction by Nesa Cooperative and some other shareholders. Again the BN leadership did not 'interfere' although they knew that the controversial issues surrounding Maika Holdings were affecting the sentiments of Indian voters to vote in favour of MIC or BN.

By 2008, the Indian voters outside of MIC and the families of Maika Holdings' shareholders who had lost their hard-earned investments in the company had ballooned to a sizeable number and eventually they became anti-MIC and anti-BN. The only problem was that during all these years there was no alternative political platform available for the Indian voters to switch their allegiance away from BN.

However, when that political platform was formulated and presented by Anwar Ibrahim coupled with the developments in respect of Hindraf, the Indian voters ditched BN and went ahead to vote for the opposition front. When a substantial portion of Malay voters too decided to vote for the opposition, it was a disaster for MIC candidates who had always been contesting in the Malay majority seats which also had a sizeable number of Indian voters.

Therefore, it was this policy of 'non-interference' by Umno and BN that encouraged Samy Vellu to do all that he wanted to do which had resulted in MIC facing its worst crisis today.

Even after the 2008 general election debacle when every party in BN including Umno was undergoing leadership transitions, the BN leadership under Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak did not do anything when Samy Vellu announced he would seek re-election as president again in May 2009. Samy Vellu even announced that he would continue as president until 2012 and the BN leadership again remained silent in the name of 'non- interference'.

With all the damage having been done and only after the recent critical views of Mahathir on Samy Vellu, Najib came forward to announce that he would discuss with Samy Vellu about his leadership transition plans.

Now, is not 'discussing MIC's leadership transition' with its party president interference into the affairs of another political party?

Listening only to the president

The BN leadership always followed the policy of listening only to the party presidents of the component parties and acted as though the views of other leaders in the party were irrelevant.

For example, in the 1990 general election, Samy Vellu chose to drop Subramaniam and P Pathmanaban as candidates, who were then the party's duly elected deputy president and vice-president respectively. They were also popular in the party and the Indian community. It was Mahathir as prime minister and BN chairperson who consented to Samy Vellu's unfair decision of dropping these two leaders as candidates in the general election.

However, Mahathir must also be credited for taking a firm stand after the 1990 general election by not allowing Samy Vellu to nominate candidates of his choice as deputy ministers. Instead Mahathir insisted and succeeded in bringing back Subramaniam as deputy minister again, a decision which gave the space for Subramaniam to gain back his deputy president's position again in the party in the following years.

Again in 2004 general election Samy Vellu dropped a bombshell by not nominating Subramaniam as a candidate for Parliament even though he was the duly elected deputy president. This time it was Abdullah Ahmad Badawi as prime minister and BN chair who consented. The overwhelming success of BN in the 2004 general election silenced the outcry over Subramaniam's exclusion as a parliamentary candidate.

Indian academics and community leaders alike always had reservations about building a separate university for Indians who formed only about eight percent of the population. However, Samy Vellu began building the Aimst University and it is estimated that to date the government would have channeled about RM300 million towards the university just because of listening only to the party president.

If the RM300 million had been properly utilised for the benefit of the Indian community many dire needs of the Indian community such as the plight of Tamil schools and financial assistance for needy students could have been solved. However the BN leadership just listened to Samy Vellu as party president without any consideration whether the funds that are given by the government were being used for the real needs of the Indian community.

Not allowing another Indian political party into BN

Word has it that when Pandithan was heading IPF, he submitted an application to join BN which was brought up in one of the BN supreme council meetings chaired by Mahathir. In that meeting Samy Vellu voiced his objections for IPF's entry into BN and even said “that MIC will remain outside BN if IPF is admitted.”

Needless to say there were no further deliberations on the matter and since then BN had never considered bringing another Indian-based political party into BN. So there was a situation where the number of Indians unable to join MIC and remaining outside the party continued to grow and even if they were supporters of BN there was no other Indian party in BN through which they could serve and support BN.

That is how the bulk of them ended up supporting Pakatan Rakyat parties like DAP and PKR to the extent that there is even a PAS Indian supporters club today.

Some may argue that the Indians wanting to support BN could have joined other multi-racial parties like Gerakan or PPP.

The Indians, due to historical reasons always had some form of attachment towards MIC and were not in favour of joining or supporting other multi-racial parties in BN. As for Gerakan, except in recent times, the party was always behaving as an alternative Chinese party to MCA and not as a true multi-racial party and therefore the Indians were reluctant to join Gerakan.

When M Kayveas took over as PPP president, there were widespread hopes that the party even though termed multi-racial could turn into an alternative force to MIC within BN. However, to the dismay of many, the leadership of Kayveas was no better than that of Samy Vellu and some MIC members who had flocked to PPP deserting MIC later left PPP complaining "Samy Vellu's leadership looks better than that of Kayveas."

What the BN leadership should have done over the years is to harness the support of the Indians outside MIC by allowing another Indian political party into BN which would have acted as a check and balance on MIC simultaneously avoiding erosion of support for BN from the Indian community.

Furthermore, the competition between two Indian-based political parties within BN would have only increased the participation and voice of Indians in the BN. With alternative or contradicting views from both factions a better formulae to really help the Indian community could have been achieved.

With a second political party in BN the Indian community may not have gone behind a movement like Hindraf as they would have found an alternative political forum.

Only when Indian voters have gone to the opposition for good, is the BN leadership coming forward to mend fences by making direct contact with the Indian community. Najib's visit to Batu Caves and his grant of RM1 million to the Sri Murugan Centre which conducts tuition centers for Indian students are examples of how the new BN leadership operates by sidestepping MIC in addressing issues concerning the Indian community. It must be pointed out that in both the above functions Samy Vellu was conspicuously absent.

Is there a solution now?

If the BN wants to get back the support of the Indian community there is one solution. Allow one or even two Indian-based political parties into BN.

In this regard Najib could learn from what his father did in the 1970's. Tun Razak even brought opposition parties like PAS, PPP and Gerakan into the BN fold, which only strengthened BN to win back the people's support in the 1974 general election.

Since MIC was united and strong in the 1970's, probably there was no need to admit another Indian party into BN. It is also doubtful whether any other Indian political party existed then.

What Najib needs to do today is not to bring back opposition parties into BN or only talk to PAS for the sake of Malay unity but to bring the various Indian factions supporting BN directly into BN through other Indian-based political parties. However small this support may be, it will only go to strengthen BN in garnering the Indian voters.

Najib should implement this reform in BN even if MIC threatens to leave BN as by doing so MIC would only be performing 'harakiri' (suicide) at this stage.

The time has come for parties like MIC and MCA to realise that when they contest in the general election they contest under the BN symbol and not their own symbols and therefore interests and views of the larger section of the community must also be considered. MCA and MIC in claiming to represent their respective communities should act like true representatives of their community with mutual consideration for other popular leaders within their party and those outside the party.

Even if the leadership of MIC changes today it is doubtful whether the Indian political factions outside MIC would come forward to support the new leadership of MIC under (current number two and heir apparent) G Palanivel. Even within the party it must be remembered that a large number of delegates voted against Palanivel in the contest for deputy president.

Therefore, the only way out for the BN leadership is to embrace the Indian voters outside MIC by channeling their support through a second political party in BN.

Even if the BN leadership is able to achieve this gigantic task, they should not continue to follow the old policies of 'non-interference' and 'listening only to the president'.
_______________________________

RPK Speaks His Mind - ISA and Solitary Confinement

NO HOLDS BARRED

Raja Petra Kamarudin

I am God, said the Pharaoh

The more than 26 million Malaysians are paying the 798 Malaysians, employed as servants of the people during the elections, to do a job. Their job and the salary that comes with it comes from the people. The people are digging into their pockets to pay these 798 elected Malaysians their salaries.

NO HOLDS BARRED

Raja Petra Kamarudin

Sultan Pahang mahu rakyat terus sokong kerajaan Barisan Nasional

Sultan Pahang Sultan Ahmad Shah mahu rakyat negeri itu terus menyokong kerajaan Barisan Nasional (BN) agar lebih banyak pembangunan sosial, ekonomi dan pendidikan dapat dilaksanakan untuk faedah mereka.

Baginda bertitah, rakyat perlu terus bersama kerajaan kerana agenda pembangunan yang dirancang dalam jangka pendek dan panjang bakal memberi manfaat berterusan kepada mereka.

Sambil memberi contoh pembinaan jambatan Kuala Krau merentangi Sungai Pahang yang berharga RM64 juta, baginda bertitah usaha itu merupakan agenda pembangunan mampan bagi memberi keselesaan kepada penduduk yang tinggal di kedua-dua belah sungai berkenaan.

"Jambatan Kuala Krau berfungsi memendekkan perjalanan di antara Bandar Tun Razak, Jengka dengan Kuala Krau 20 minit berbanding satu jam sebelum ini yang jaraknya sejauh 55 kilometer.

"Di samping itu, jambatan ini juga akan menjadi pemangkin kemajuan ekonomi kepada penduduk di sekitar Bandar Tun Razak, Jerantut dan Temerloh di mana ia memendekkan perjalanan menjadi 22 kilometer sahaja dengan memberi manfaat kepada 60,000 orang penduduk dari daerah Jerantut, Temerloh dan Maran," titahnya kepada pemberita selepas melawat tapak jambatan Kuala Krau di sini hari ini.

Turut hadir Menteri Besar Pahang Datuk Seri Adnan Yaakob, Timbalan Menteri Pengajian Tinggi Datuk Saifuddin Abdullah, Anggota Parlimen Kuala Krau Datuk Ismail Mohamad Said, Anggota Dewan Undangan Negeri Jenderak Datuk Mohamad Jaafar dan Pegawai Daerah Temerloh Datuk Dr Salehudin Ishak.

Dalam pada itu, baginda turut meminta Jabatan Kerja Raya (JKR) membina laluan motosikal bagi menjamin keselamatan penunggang yang melalui jambatan berkenaan.

Terdahulu, Pengarah JKR Pahang Datuk Ir Rosman Yahaya dalam taklimat ringkas kepada baginda berkata, jambatan yang mula dibina pada Ogos 2007 itu dijangka siap pada Februari tahun depan di mana kini ia sudah 82 peratus siap.

Katanya jambatan empat lorong sepanjang 490 meter dan lebar 13.9 meter itu mempunyai reka bentuk yang menarik dan bakal menjadi mercu tanda bagi kawasan Parlimen Kuala Krau. - BERNAMA

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I am God, said the Pharaoh.

You are not God, replied Moses.

And why do you say I not God? asked the Pharaoh.

Because God can give life and God can take life, was Moses’s reply.

Okay, I now sentence you to death, said the Pharaoh.

But before the palace guards could drag Moses away and cut off his head, the Pharaoh added, and now I withdraw the death sentence.

So you see, said the Pharaoh, I have just taken your life and then I gave you back your life. So, since I can give life and I can take life, that means I am God.

Barisan Nasional is the ruling party, says Umno. Barisan Nasional brings development to the people. Barisan Nasional builds roads, schools, hospitals and whatnot. So the people must be grateful to Barisan Nasional. And, to demonstrate this gratitude, the people must vote for Barisan Nasional.

Barisan Nasional is just like the Pharaoh. The Pharaoh used warped logic. Barisan Nasional also uses warped logic. So Barisan Nasional has the same mind as the Pharaoh. And all those people beholden to Barisan Nasional for whatever reason, the Rulers included, who also argue that the people must support Barisan Nasional because of the development that Barisan Nasional brings, also have the mind of the Pharaoh.

Barisan Nasional does not bring development to the people, just like the Pharaoh was not able to give life. It is the people who bring development to the people. And the people bring development by paying taxes and by voting in a government to manage their tax money.

If the people refuse to pay taxes and if the people refuse to vote Barisan Nasional into office then not only will Barisan Nasional not have any money to develop the county but Barisan Nasional will also not have the power to develop the country, even if it had the money, because only the government in office can develop the country, assuming, in the first place, the people give them the money to be able to do so.

The system works like this. The people give the government money. Then the people go to the polling station to give the mandate to 222 Malaysians at federal level and another 576 Malaysians at state level to manage the people’s money. That is a total of 798 Malaysians out of more than 26 million Malaysians being given the mandate to manage the people’s money.

So these 798 Malaysians have to be grateful to the more than 26 million Malaysians. The more than 26 million Malaysians do not have to be grateful to the 798 Malaysians elected into office.

The more than 26 million Malaysians are paying the 798 Malaysians, employed as servants of the people during the elections, to do a job. Their job and the salary that comes with it comes from the people. The people are digging into their pockets to pay these 798 elected Malaysians their salaries.

The more than 26 million Malaysians are also paying for the development of the country. The more than 26 million Malaysians pay taxes to the government, which the government then uses to build roads, schools, hospitals and whatnot.

Every year, around November, the government presents its budget in Parliament for the approval of 222 elected Malaysians. These 222 elected Malaysians will have to look at the budget and on behalf of more than 26 million Malaysians tell Parliament whether this is what the people who paid that money really want. If it is not what the more than 26 million Malaysians want then the budget has to be rejected and redone to the people’s satisfaction.

If the 222 elected Malaysians do not look carefully into the budget and into how the people’s money is being spent then the more than 26 Malaysians will have to sack these 222 elected Malaysians. And this will be done during the elections every five years when the 798 elected Malaysians at federal and state levels have to go back to the people and beg the more than 26 million Malaysians to employ them for another five years with a salary attached.

That is how the system works. And let no one, even if he may be the Ruler of the land, tell you otherwise. The Pharaoh also tried to be funny. He thought he was God. And the Pharaoh was a most powerful man indeed who was matched by no one, not even the greatest dictator in history. But God smite the Pharaoh down. And the more than 26 million Malaysians are not Gods but they too have the power to smite down the 798 elected Malaysians who have the mind of the Pharaoh and expect us to be grateful to them for doing the job they are being paid to do and using our money to do it on top of that.

The Sultans had better be very careful. They are not as powerful as the Pharaoh. Heck, they are not even as powerful as the 798 elected Malaysians whom the people voted into office. The people do not want to show gratitude to Barisan Nasional. The people do not need to show gratitude to Barisan Nasional. Barisan Nasional should instead be grateful to the people. Heck, even the Sultans should be grateful to the people. Without the people’s money they would be eating sand (makan pasir, the Malays would say). And the day the people stop paying their taxes and stop voting for Barisan Nasional will be the day that those who think they are in power will realise that the people are more powerful, more powerful than even the Pharaoh and all those Malaysians who have the mind of the Pharaoh.

P.S. To Muslims, being called the Pharaoh is the greatest insult. So I urge Malaysia Today’s readers to NOT call our elected leaders, and unelected leaders like the Sultans, Pharaoh. They would get extremely upset.

Political thuggery between Dr M and Samy

The recent back and forth political bickering between former Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad and the MIC President Datuk Seri Samy Vellu is nothing short of political thuggery.

The high drama involves two equally unscrupulous men trying to paint a demonic caricature of the other, when both must simply learn to fade away gracefully.

I am sure my sentiments are shared by most Malaysians.

Samy Vellu and Mahathir have not lifted their dainty fingers to ease the socio-economic burden of poor Indians or Malays. Instead, both helped their cronies get richer and stifled dissent in their respective parties.

Mahathir, during his tenure as premier, fractured the political dynamics of the country. Samy Vellu played his flunky by shutting up the Indian community while jealously guarding his political empire.

Clearly Mahathir does not have much face value to tick off his once-upon-a-time BN lieutenant for the current woes faced by the Indian community. He certainly did nothing to stop Samy Vellu's bully boy tactics against a minority community which was already discriminated upon by the UMNO-led ruling government.

I would not be all that wrong if I said that the strongest impulse in Malaysia's politics is characterized by racial politics and sliding ethnic relations, which is threatening to divide the society even further.

One does not have to go far to figure out who propagated this tradition of racism. I quote Mahathir - "It's only when my own people hurl insults at me that I feel slighted" - this must be former Prime Minister's most telling remark.

It clearly sums up the man for who he is - a racist. In sharp contrast, Mahathir said the "slipper-garland" comment by a MIC member is like pouring water on a duck's back.

The octogenarian leader, clearly, has only considered himself as the Prime Minister for the Malays. Are Indians and the Chinese not his people when he was the premier?

Samy Vellu, to stave off the humiliation of rejection by the Indian community, claims that the people have not rejected him but the ruling BN coalition government. Mahathir, on the other hand, laments that he had overstayed his welcome and thus incurred the wrath of the people.

The current political reality in Malaysia is not a dusty road map. The simple truth is that Malaysians are fed-up with Barisan Nasional, its component parties and their leaders. The people are aware that the country's wealth has not been shared with the poor and marginalised groups but sucked dry by the elite and their cronies.

Therefore, the playground jibes and public spat which pits leaders of the component parties amongst themselves only succeeds in crystallizing the rift between them and may very well mark an end to their regime.

Charles Santiago

Member of Parliament, Klang

Dr M: PR partners moving in different directions

(Bernama) - Former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad yesterday described the Pakatan Rakyat (PR) coalition as an informal arrangement where member parties moved in different directions after last year’s general election.

“The opposition is not an alternative, unfortunately. So, it will be a disaster for this country if the opposition wins and forms the (federal) government,” he said when asked to comment on the current infighting among PR members in Selangor.

“They will not be administering the country but they will be fighting each other. PAS will fight against DAP, DAP fights against Keadilan (and so forth),” he said when visiting NGV Tech Sdn Bhd’s dockyard at Sijangkang near here.

When asked whether the Selangor Select Committee for Competency, Accountability and Transparency (Selcat) enquiry into alleged corrupt practices was destructive to Barisan Nasional (BN), Dr Mahathir said: “They can enquire... if Barisan does something wrong, it should be exposed. I know there was an enquiry about me some years back after I stepped down to find out whether I stole money or not, but they didn’t find anything.”

He added: “If they want an enquiry to find out whether past leaders had been doing wrong things, it is the right thing to do.”

Otherwise, the former prime minister said, when past leaders did something wrong and nothing happened to them upon their retirement, then a crop of new leaders would be led to believe that if they did something wrong, nothing would happen to them later because there would be a cover-up.

The Selcat enquiry had also questioned district officers on how allocations of RM500,000 for each state assemblyman by the previous state administration were disbursed within the first two months of 2008 before the 12th general election in March last year.

On the forthcoming Bagan Pinang by-election, Dr Mahathir stressed that the quality of the candidate was very important.

Asked whether he was upbeat on BN’s chances in Bagan Pinang, he believed that BN could retain the seat if it fielded a candidate who was generally accepted by the people.

Kartika tells govt, NGOs to butt out

Kartika and her husband,Muhammad Afandi Amir at her family's Aidilfitri open house party at Camp Lang Buana. – Picture by Choo Choy May

By Debra Chong - The Malaysian Insider

KUALA KANGSAR, Sept 24 – It has been three months since she was sentenced to six strokes of the rotan and a RM5,000 fine for drinking beer in a Pahang nightclub.

And now. Kartika Sari Dewi Shukarno, the Muslim mother of two whose sentence made headlines all over the world, hopes the authorities will just get on with the whipping which had been put off till after the holy fasting month of Ramadan.

Her lawyer had written recently to the Pahang Syariah High Court in Kuantan, asking for the date when the whipping is to be carried out but have yet to receive a reply, reporters were told today.

Lawyer Adham Jamalullail Ibrahim, who was also present at an impromptu press conference here today, appealed to the various parties that had been making public statements over Kartika's case to stop interfering in her personal life.

The lawyer included in his list of “meddlers” the federal government and non-governmental organisation, Sisters in Islam (SIS), which had recently filed for a judicial review against Kartika's sentence.

He pointed out that Kartika had repeatedly and clearly stated she would not appeal against her sentence and asked the parties to respect his client's decision.

He added that they may take legal action against these parties for trying to force his client to do something against her wishes.

“We may sue Sisters in Islam for damages,” the lawyer said, adding that Kartika had not given her permission to them to act on her behalf.

Adham, who is an Ipoh-based Syariah lawyer, had recently taken over Kartika's case from the previous lawyer appointed by the Kuantan Syariah High Court to act for her during the trial.

He told reporters he had also applied to the court on Sept 16 to be included in any legal action involving Kartika, and asked for a copy of the court papers to find out what had taken place during the trial itself as the trial lawyer could not be contacted.

Speaking to reporters today at her family's Aidilfitri open house party at camp Lang Buana, a scenic homestay camp owned by her father near here, Kartika said this year's celebration has been no less enjoyable.

It overlooks the Perak river in Karai, somewhere in between the road from here to Sungai Siput.

“I just wants to get on with my life”, she said, reaching for her younger child who had ambled out from back verandah.

But until the sentence is executed, she is unable to move forward, Kartika related, aided by her father and elder sister who hovered at her elbows.

The 32-year-old was previously reported to have voiced plans to further her studies. But asked today about her plans for after the caning, Kartika dressed in a demure olive green head scarf and floral baju kurung only smiled.

Elder sister Ratna Seri Dewi, 34, swooped in to her rescue, telling reporters that Kartika was unable to make plans when her future was murky – she could not even say when she could return to Singapore, where her husband works and her two children, a boy and a girl aged seven and five respectively, go to school.

The petite lady with the big smile said she had been preparing for the whipping ever since receiving the verdict from the Pahang Syariah High Court in Kuantan last July.

“I pray,” she answered in a soft voice, her big eyes framed by spectacles cast downwards when asked how she has been “preparing” for the punishment.

Ratna jumped in to elaborate, saying her sister has been performing extra prayers, mostly at night, in addition to the compulsory five times daily prayers required by Islam.

The lush green surroundings have also helped her calm and focus her mind, which had been under stress from the sudden international spotlight over her case, Kartika added.

The controversy over her sentence has drawn the world's attention on Malaysia’s dual-track justice system which provides for separate and additional punishment for Muslims under Syariah laws.

Asked if she thinks the sentence meted out was fair, she paused, drew in a deep breath and said: “I can't say.”

Najib finds new Indian allies, bypasses the MIC

Former Hindraf national co-coordinator Thanenthiran is president of Makkal Sakti. — File pic

By Baradan Kuppusamy- The Malaysian Insider

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 24 — The invitation card is glossy, in gold colour and of superior quality, in keeping with the VIP who is guest of honour at the Oct 10 launch of the new kid on the block — the Parti Makkal Sakti Malaysia.

The VIP will be Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak, who appears to be signalling that he is not going to solely depend on Barisan Nasional (BN) stalwart parties like the MIC and MCA to reach out to the non-Malay communities.

He will launch the new Indian-based party formed by former leaders of Hindraf at the Malaysia Agro Exposition Park in Serdang next month in a strategy which bears similarities to his father Tun Razak Hussein's move in the 1970s to welcome more political parties into the establishment fold.

For this reason, it is significant that Najib is launching the party which received recognition from the Registrar of Societies in a “matter of weeks” on May 11.

His presence indicates that in the changed political landscape after March 8, 2008 which saw BN allies like the MIC, MCA, Gerakan and PPP fall like tenpins, Umno is finding and creating new allies.

Leaders of the new party have already pledged to campaign for BN in the upcoming Bagan Pinang by-election.

With MIC's and even the PPP's failure to reform and reinvent under Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu and Datuk M. Kayveas, Umno may well be searching for new partners. The Makkal Sakti party could well play such a role.

A lot is riding on the party formed by former Hindraf national co-coordinator R.S. Thanenthiran, 47, who is president.

The party has yet to make an impact but Thanenthiran said it has been working quietly to recruit over 50,000 members, getting the divisions established and setting up best practices.

“We made an impact at Kampung Buah Pala trying to save it from demolition. The Indian community knows about it,” he said.

He says Najib’s presence is an honour but claims that the party is independent and only wishes to serve the people.

“The Prime Minister is launching our party and we are honoured but it does not mean we have lost our independence,” Thanenthiran told The Malaysian Insider.

“We are working together with him as partners… we walk together for the benefit of the Indian community,” he said.

“It is true the BN did not do much for us in the past 52 years but the Pakatan Rakyat has done even less for us in the past two years,” he said.

“BN under Datuk Seri (Najib) is beginning to do for the Indians in major areas and we welcome it. We want to work with him to get a fair share of the nation's resources,” he said, giving reasons why Najib was invited to launch the party and open the annual general meeting.

“We invited Selangor Chief Minister (Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim) to open a culture night the same day but he declined,” Thanenthiran. “We tried… you can’t blame us.”

Najib’s decision to launch the Makkal Sakti party is a milestone in Indian politics in Malaysia.

It not only suggests the increasing irrelevance of the MIC, but also sidelines the many Indian-based NGOs that claim to be offshoots of the Hindraf movement, including the yet-to-be registered Human Rights Party headed by lawyer and Hindraf founder P. Uthayakumar.

Having the ear of the Prime Minister is a major boon for the Makkal Sakti Party which has asked Najib to act on three main areas of concern for the Indians.

These are turning all 543 Tamil schools into fully-aided schools, 10 per cent Indian recruitment in the civil service and at all levels and socio-economic help to uplift the Indian urban poor.

Thanenthiran said Najib told them to give him two years to act on these issues. “You all watch what I do,” Najib told them, according to Thanenthiran.

The MIC for them is already irrelevant.

“We won’t be here if the MIC had delivered,” said A. Waythamoorthy, the former Perak Hindraf co-ordinator who is deputy president.

“If they had delivered there would not have been a Makkal Sakti movement in the first place, no 2008 tsunami and we won’t form a new party,” he said.

The party would also actively campaign for the Barisan Nasional in the Oct 11 Bagan Pinang by-election because leaders feel it is a BN-ruled state and another PR or independent win would not make any difference for the Indians.

“In Bagan Pinang we want to show we can bring Indian voters for the Barisan… it is an acid test for us,” Thanenthiran said.

Tanjong Tokong (Malay Village) Kg.Buah Pala-Double standards by Pakatan Rakyat

Guan Eng: Only federal government can declare Buah Pala heritage site

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 24 – Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng continued his offensive over the Kampung Buah Pala controversy today by pointing out that only the federal government had the power to declare the village a heritage site.

In a statement today. He said that the federal government had the sole right under the National Heritage Act 2005 to designate any site a heritage.

“The State Legal Advisor Datuk Faiza binti Zulkifli and the Penang Town and Country Planning Department have stressed that the Penang state government has no powers to accord any site such status.

“Unlike other states such as Malacca, Penang has no heritage laws. Accordingly, to declare any site a heritage site, the National Heritage Act holds sway.”

He said that only the Heritage Commissioner under the Minister of Information, Communications, and Culture Minister Datuk Seri Rais Yatim, could designate any site to be a heritage site under Section 24.

Section 30 requires the consent from the relevant state government before any designation can be made.

“Clearly BN or Gerakan and its allies were barking up the wrong tree when they tried to blame the state government for refusing to designate certain sites such as Kampung Buah Pala as a heritage area,” said Lim.

Yesterday, Lim challenged former Barisan Nasional (BN) state executive councillor Datuk Dr Teng Hock Nan to show proof of his claim that the Pakatan Rakyat state administration had finalised the deal to acquire Kampung Buah Pala.

He also accused the previous BN state government of selling the Kampung Buah Pala land cheaply and without consulting the residents.

Lim and Teng have been trading barbs over which party is responsible for the land transaction which resulted in a standoff between residents and the state over the issue of compensation.

In his statement today, Lim said “there was nothing for me to sign as the previous BN administration led by Tan Sri Dr Koh Tsu Koon had signed away all the rights of the Kampung Buah Pala residents.”

“BN, Gerakan and its allies have spread lies claiming that I have signed documents, finalised the deal and transferred the land to the cooperative. Until today I have not signed a single document in favour of the developer or the cooperative. The deal was finalised by the previous BN administration.”

He added that his government was powerless to legally stop the transfer of the land as this was a consequential administrative action following the approvals given by the previous BN administration.

The only recourse left was to improve on the offer of a RM75,000 flat unit offered to the residents by BN on the basis that they were illegal squatters, he said.

Lim said the PR government had succeeded in compelling the developer to offer a double-storey house worth RM600,000 on the basis that they had a right to a 99-year legally-binding lease to own land in Kampung Buah Pala.

Setiawan Indian cowherds both P.R and BN state government cheated Indians

Indians should be given land to near cows in Sitiawan says long time cowherds since 1967 says Sarbil MIC branch chief. Other Malays have been given up to 150 acres of land. We have up to 500 cows but not given land. Note: both the P.R and BN Perak state governments have cheated these Indians by merely wanting their votes.

Is Malaysia heading for the worst Transparency International Corruption Perception Index ranking and score in 15 years?

By Lim Kit Siang,

Is Malaysia heading for the worst Transparency International (TI) Corruption Perception Index (CPI) ranking and score in 15 years, when the TI CPI 2009 is released next month?

When launching the country report in the TI Global Corruption Report (GCR) 2009 yesterday, Transparency International Malaysia president Datuk Paul Low said the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) and other “reforms” introduced by the government have so far been ineffective in fighting corruption.

These measures have not produced the desired results and so the public perception of corruption remains unchanged.

Pointing out that Malaysians are fed up with the status quo and the unbearable effects of corruption in the country, Low said the Global Corruption Barometer 2009 surveyed released in May showed that 70 per cent of Malaysians believe that the government is ineffective in fighting corruption.

In contrast, although Indonesia has a far worse position in the corruption perception index than Malaysia, 76% of its people believe their government is effective in fighting corruption.

The public perception position for Malaysia is likely to be even worse than the Global Corruption Barometer 2009 survey in May after two further developments:

• the mysterious death of DAP political aide Teoh Beng Hock on July 16, who went to the 14th floor MACC headquarters as a healthy, vigorous, idealistic young man to give his co-operation as a witness but ended up as a corpse on the 5th floor of the building; and

• the MACC role as Umno catspaw to declare war on Pakatan Rakyat instead of declaring war on corruption, going all out to harass Pakatan Rakyat over alleged constituency allocation improprieties involving RM2,400 (even costing a human life) while being totally blind to corruption and abuses of power against Barisan Nasional leaders running into tens or hundreds of millions or even billions of ringgit!

Transparency International will be releasing its CPI 2009 report next month, which will be the 15th in its annual series since 1995 in the ranking of countries based on their perceived levels of corruption, as determined by expert assessments and opinion surveys.

The TI Malaysia president is pessimistic about Malaysia’s rating for the TI CPI 2009 expecting it to remain static or even worsen despite (or more correctly, precisely because of) the revamp of the Anti-Corruption Agency to become the MACC and the setting up of the much watered-down Special Complaints Commission in lieu of the Independent Police Complaints and Misconduct Commission (IPCMC) proposed by the Royal Police Commission in 2005.

A survey of the 14 annual reports of the TI CPI from 1995 to 2008 shows that Malaysia occupies dubious company, sharing with Philippines the dishonour of being two of the 12 Asian countries first surveyed in 1995 which had ended with both lower CPI ranking and score in CPI 2008 as compared to CPI 1995 (See table, CPI score in bracket with “10” highly clean and “0” highly corrupt).

Country	CPI 1995 (out of 41)	CPI 2008 (out of 180)
Malaysia	23 (5.28)	47 (5.1)
Philippines	36 (2.77)	141 (2.3)

In the first TI CPI 1995 report, the last two of the 41 countries surveyed were all from Asia, viz: China (No. 40) and Indonesia (No. 41) but both have made significant strides in anti-corruption efforts as illustrated as follows:

Country	CPI 1995 (out of 41)	CPI 2008 (out of 180)
China	40 (2.16)	72 (3.6)
Indonesia	41 (1.94)	126 (2.6)

In the first TI CPI 1995 report, Malaysia was fourth top-ranked Asian country, behind Singapore (No. 3), Hong Kong (No. 17) and Japan (No. 20), but 14 years later, Malaysia has slipped to sixth place when ranked No. 47 in the CPI 2008 report, behind Taiwan (No. 39) and South Korea (No. 40).

Even Thailand and India made significant strides in combating corruption in their CPI scores if not in ranking, as follows:

Country	CPI 1995 (out of 41)	CPI 2008 (out of 180)
Thailand	34 (2.79)	80 (3.5)
India	35 (2.78)	85 (3.4)

It will an enormous shame and great infamy for Malaysia if in the TI CPI 2009 report, Malaysia slides further in both indicators of CPI ranking and score.

Lessons from Kg Buah Pala

After years of tussle ,Kampung Buah Pala, popularly known as the High Chaparral of Penang, was finally destroyed and it will soon become just a name in the history of Penang. It is to be replaced by RM200 million luxurious condominiums ironically called "The Oasis" that is expected to give Penang a more pleasant, modern and luxurious outlook to boost its image as a tourist destination.

t is a well known fact that evicting long-term occupants of public land had always been a vIery thorny problem that is closely inter-twined with emotional, social and human rights issues which are easily sensationalized by the media and exploited by political opportunists. Kampung Buah Pala was not any different, where the controversial acquisition and sale of the land, negotiations for compensation and the subsequent forced eviction of the residents were handled in a very high handed and inhumane manner that leaves much to be desired.

Unreasonable promises by certain parties raised the hopes of the residents to emotionally high levels that led to the unpleasant encounters between them, the government, developer and finally the demolition team and police. The whole saga revealed that in business and politics there is no place for compassion and humanity towards the underprivileged even by the state.

The issue of Kg.Buah Pala is not something that cropped up overnight but has been going on for some years from the time of the previous government. I am sure the government, owner and developer were well aware of its ramifications, yet the way it was handled and finally demolished does not speak well for a government that puts the people's welfare above all others.

The villagers were accused of being too greedy in not wanting to accept the quantum to be paid in compensation. By the way in our materialistic society who is not greedy these days? Who doesn't want a better deal? Why was the land sold to a third party in such a controversial manner when it should rightly be offered first to the occupants? What was the reason for the erecting the luxury condominiums in that place? Is that what Penang needs most now? If these were not done out of greed what is it then? It is ironical that in a society where everything is driven by greed, these poor villagers and cowherds are being branded as greedy for not willing to give up their homes.

This should be a lesson for all to prevent the repeat of such incidences in the future. The government should be more accountable and forthright in its dealings with the people. The truth must be revealed and not submerged by false promises made for political gains. The truth, that the residents will have to finally vacate the premises, may be bitter but will eventually be accepted by the people if it is handled with tact and care.

The government must review all development projects in the state and stop all unnecessary ones. Over development has resulted in the unnecessary loss of beautiful beaches, hills and recreational parks and fields that were once the attractions of Penang. The so-called development projects should not be carried out solely for the sake of spinning money for the state and big co-operations but for the benefit off the people at large. It must strike a balance between development and the all-important preservation of natural resources, the environment and our heritage.

Meanwhile occupants of government land should realise that they are only temporary occupants who may be required to vacate one day and they must plan their own developments and activities in advance and not wait till forcefully evicted. They must understand that developments are inevitable with time and negotiations for compensation and relocation must be carried out well in advance in accordance with the laws of the land.

The feelings of the residents can be summed up by the comments of a 84year old resident that was quoted in the NST: "My children were born and bred here. Now, I have to live to see the day everything that we built being smashed to the ground" said the elderly man with tears in his eyes as he watched his partly wooden house being pulled down by the workers.

Dr.Chris Anthony

CALON PILIHANRAYA

1. Saya akui calon yang bersih pun boleh kalah dan calon yang kotor pun boleh menang. Di Bagan Pinang, saya percaya siapa juga yang dilantik sebagai calon, besar kemungkinan dia akan menang.

2. Sudah lupakah kita akan pilihanraya kecil di Permatang Pasir di mana calon Barisan Nasional terdiri daripada seorang peguam yang dikatakan terlibat dengan melesapkan duit pelanggannya dan berbohong berkenaan dengan jumlah isterinya? Kempen BN mudah dipatah oleh parti lawan. Apabila ia kalah ramai yang berkata BN harus selidik dahulu latarbelakang calon. BN tidak harus letak calon yang mempunyai latar belakang yang mudah dijadikan isu oleh parti lawan.

3. Imej UMNO sekarang sudah banyak tercemar dengan politik wang semasa pemilihan Majlis Tertinggi. Boleh dikatakan hampir semua yang dipilih terlibat dengan rasuah.

4. Sesungguhnya orang ramai tidak lagi hormati UMNO. Dan besar kemungkinan mereka tidak akan undi calon UMNO dalam Pilihanraya Umum ke-13.

5. Imej ini boleh diubah jika UMNO secara serius cuba bertindak membersihkan dirinya. Yang rakyat lihat ialah janji akan terus bertindak terhadap yang terlibat dengan penggunaan wang dalam pemilihan Majlis Tertinggi tidak dikotakan. Sebaliknya banyak tanda-tanda yang menunjuk yang kotor diterima juga. Jika yang dipilih sebagai calon di Bagan Pinang tidak bersih maka persepsi rakyat terhadap UMNO sebagai parti rasuah tidak akan berubah. Ia akan mempunyai kesan buruk dalam Pilihanraya Umum ke-13.

6. Memang benar saya disingkir daripada UMNO dan kemudian diterima balik dan dicalonkan dalam Pilihanraya Umum 1974. Tetapi saya tidak disingkir kerana jenayah rasuah. Saya disingkir kerana saya telah suarakan pendapat ramai ahli parti yang tidak senang dengan dasar Presiden ketika itu.

7. Demikian juga beberapa orang ahli Semangat 46 telah diterima balik, dicalon dan ada yang dipilih menjadi menteri. Mereka bukan diambil tindakan disiplin kerana rasuah atau politik wang. Kesalahan mereka bukan satu jenayah. Sebaliknya tindakan mereka disebabkan perbezaan pendapat politik dengan kepimpinan parti.

8. Tidak ada persamaan di antara kes saya dengan kes tindakan tatatertib keatas seorang yang menggunakan wang untuk mendapat jawatan dalam parti.

9. Jika ahli UMNO utamakan orang tertentu lebih daripada parti dan penerimaannya oleh masyarakat, janganlah hairan jika UMNO sekali lagi ditolak dalam pilihanraya umum.

10. Sebenarnya penolakan UMNO dalam Pilihanraya Umum ke-12 disebabkan kebanyakan ahli UMNO terus menyokong pemimpin yang tidak disukai oleh rakyat. Oleh kerana ahli UMNO tidak bertindak menukar pemimpin yang tercemar dengan rasuah dan nepotisme, maka rakyat sebagai pengundi terpaksa bertindak mengalahkan BN dan UMNO di banyak kawasan.

11. Kalau sayang pada parti, janganlah begitu utamakan individu tertentu sehingga imej parti tercemar lagi. Korbankanlah sedikit supaya akhirnya parti dapat dipulih semula.

Wee: Let Representatives Resolve MCA Internal Crisis

PUTRAJAYA, Sept 24 (Bernama) -- MCA Central Committee member Wee Jeck Seng said Thursday any internal crisis facing the party should be resolved by the delegates at its emergency general meeting (EGM) on Oct 10.

He said it was unfortunate that suspended deputy president Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek's sex scandal video had resurfaced and those responsible must have their motive but the investigation should be left to the police.

"What matters now is the decision of the delegates (at the EGM) on Oct 10 so let the MCA delegates resolve the MCA crisis," Wee, who is Deputy Youth and Sports Minister, told a news conference on Malaysia's first Outstanding Youth Conference here.

He was asked to comment on a report that the sex DVD which caused the downfall of Dr Chua had resurfaced, sparking a fresh round of controversy.

The EGM is being called following Dr Chua's sacking from the party on Aug 26 but the MCA Central Committee last Saturday revised the presidential council's decision and suspended him for four years.

Wee said he was happy to note that the number of youths taking part in entrepreneurship had risen from 51.6 per cent in 2006 to 63.2 per cent in 2008, attributing the greater success to the Ministry's take on developing entrepeneurship, leadership and skills.

The Outstanding Youth Conference, organised by the Universiti Utara Malaysia student body, will be held at its Sintok campus on Oct 9.

Experts Pleased With 2010 Delhi Games Security Plan

By P. Vijian

NEW DELHI, Sept 24 (Bernama) -- Several participating nations are so far satisfied with India's security arrangement for the 2010 Delhi Commonwealth Games.

Delegates from Commonwealth countries attended a two-day international security conference ahead of the games where Indian organisers managed to convince them of its capability to host the event and fend off any security threat.

"As of now there is no specific threat to the Commonwealth Games, or to India or to any (participating) countries. By and large, security experts are impressed with security and traffic arrangements," India's home secretary G. K. Pillai told the media Thursday.

India's Home Ministry formed the International Security Liaison Group to coordinate security arrangements, as several participating nations pressured the country to shape up its security for athletes and officials.

"Not a single country said they were not satisfied with our arrangement. Overall they are satisfied with our presentation but they want us to manage the perception of threats being played up in the media," added Pillai.

He said 76 delegates from 28 countries, mostly security professionals, who attended the meeting in Delhi, also assured India that they would share any information on any sort of threat to the Commonwealth Games, which is being held in the Asian region for the second time.

Malaysia hosted the games in 1998.

Najib: OIC A Stage To Launch Defence Against Extremism, Islamophobia

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 25 (Bernama) -- The Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC) is not only a platform for cooperation among the Ummah, but also a stage to launch a defence against extremism and Islamophobia at international level, Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak said.

The prime minister said that the growing negative perceptions and insults against Islam had exacerbated hostilities against Muslims, especially those living in the West.

"It is for the Ummah to project and promote the true image of Islam by highlighting the universal values, the rich heritage and achievements of this sacred religion that teaches its followers tolerance and respect for others," he said in his message on the commemoration of the 40th anniversary of establishment of the OIC Friday.

The message was released here.

Najib also said that after 40 years, the OIC had evolved into a body that served and safeguarded the interests of the Ummah.

The prime minister is pleased to note that the organisation has actively involved in the promotion of activities to further enhance cooperation, coordination and collaboration among the 57 member states with a population of more than 1.5 billion.

Najib said however that the world was a vastly different place today than it was 40 years ago, and that many new challenges had emerged.

"For the OIC to remain relevant in the globalised, technological and a borderless world, it must move with the times," he said.

"Members must work together, maximise the use of their combined resources for the collective good and benefit of the Ummah.

The OIC must recognise the new challenges in the post Sept 11 era not only in the political and security areas but also in the economic and social sphere."

Najib said the OIC must play the role of catalyst and provider for the economic and social development among the least developed members of the organisation.

"As the world moves on, we cannot afford to be left behind. Joint and concerted efforts are needed to remove the shackles of poverty still afflicting millions of our fellow Muslims around the world.

"It is for us to shape our own destiny and therefore we must aim to grow through self-reliance. Poverty, hunger and disease are the common enemies of mankind," he said.

The prime minister said while the international community was addressing these problems, the OIC must play its part.

"While the challenges are many, they cannot be ignored. Members must close ranks to address them for the benefit of the present and future generations," he said.

On the Palestinian issue, Najib said despite international efforts to resolve the matter, "we are disheartened and dismayed over the grave and volatile situation that continues in the occupied Palestinian territories."

On Malaysia's role in the OIC, Najib said as a founding member of the organisation, Malaysia played an important role in its establishment.

He added that while holding the OIC chairmanship from Oct 2003 until March 2008, Malaysia had reoriented the focus of the organisation from solely deliberating on political issues to one that also emphasised on economic issues.

"To this effect, the government of Malaysia remains committed to enhancing economic cooperation among the OIC member states and promoting intra-OIC trade.

"Despite the potential, intra-OIC trade currently stands at 16.7 per cent of total world trade," he said.

Pakatan MPs for UNGA

Malaysian delegates. They'll be in New York for 2 weeks. Not a holiday, mind you. They will have to sit in for meetings of UNGA, its sub-committees, envoys, etc. "It's a great chance for me to represent my country," one YB was overheard saying.

A move on the part of Najib's government certainly to raise eyebrows on both sides of the political fence. Read HERE.

CORRECTION: The MM got 2 out of 3 right. The New York-bound DAP man won't be Chong.

PAS should give Hasan Ali a pass. Sack him, if it isn't too late.

By Jeff Ooi,

Months ago, a non-partisan lawyer friend SMS-ed me that if Pakatan Rakyat (PR) didn't rein in Hasan Ali, PAS Commissioner for Selangor who leads the party's representation in the state government, the fledgling coalition will ultimately pay a hefty price in the next general election. Selangor, or even Malaysia, will eclipse and escape PR when push comes to shove.

Of late, there had been more Hasan Ali headlines in the local press, all for the wrong reasons.

From his holier-than-thou stance in fanning the beer-banning self-campaign to his recent unilateral empowering of non-enforcement officers from mosques to nab Muslims for consuming alcohol, and now, openly ordering the dissolution of Selcat (Select Committee for Competency, Accountability and Transparency) that was formed via the very legislative process he took part in and approved at the Selangor Legislative Assembly -- these are indisputable proofs that Hasan Ali belongs philosophically more to Umno than PAS and Pakatan Rakyat combined.

Look. Klang District Officer (DO) Bakhtiar Husin overtly reared his ugly warlordism by accusing Selcat of political opportunism and shaming him in an inquiry into misused state allocations.

Look. Hasan Ali swiftly jumped in to lend his support to Bakhtiar.

Embolden, Bakhtiar and a few other DOs collectively boycotted the state government’s Malaysia Day celebrations last Wednesday.

To put Selcat in context, its recent deliberations involved the ongoing public inquiry into the misuse of state allocations by former Barisan Nasional state assemblymen where a year's annual allocation was used up within weeks ahead of the March 8 general election.

Through the testimonies of five Selangor DOs called up at the Selcat inquiry, it has been established that Barisan Nasional state reps had used up RM500,000 annual state allocations in two months before the March general election last year.

Evidently, in attempts to rid Selangor of corrupt political practices, Hasan had misadventured to protect the corrupt.

It's now a foregone conclusion that Hasan Ali is not a solution but a part of the problem for the PR state government.

Nobody will discount the possibility Hasan will help Umno stage a Perak-like coup d'etat that Najib had openly called for.

Why Hasan must go

Hasan Ali's superficial but over-indulgence in the Islamic State overtures will do nothing to resolve the after-effect of a corruption-ridden government under Khir Toyo, which now continues to fester even the top echelon of the civil service.

Hasan Ali's Islamic overtures, be it a munāfiq posturing or otherwise, has even aroused the anxiety of the investor and the non-Muslim communities. A large cluster of the electorates who voted in PR -- lock, stock and barrel -- to deliver total revamp of BN-styled governance is feeling rudely unsettled. Can PR can't rule the Selangor state, can it do the whole country?

If Hasan Ali thinks he can be made the BN-plus menteri besar by bringing the 8-member PAS representation in the Selangor state assembly to cross-over to join Khir Toyo, he must have had wet dreams. Nobody would ever think local PAS leaders like Saari Sungip shared Hasan's wavelength.

Even PAS vice-president Mahfuz Omar said Hasan should not have kicked up the matter in the open as it was tantamount to attacking the principle of separation of powers enshrined in parliamentary democracy.

Here, we should ask a pertinent question: What and who is Hasan manoeuvring for if not to destroy the new political baseline PR has garnered against BN?

What should DAP and PKR, and even PAS leaders, do when we find ourselves no longer able to condone Hasan's misdemeanour, and we refuse to be associated with him in the coalition?

The options are limited for a runaway train who defies the spirit of Pakatan Team that aspires to wrest Putrajaya in the next general election. Hasan has to be asked to leave Pakatan Rakyat for the larger good.

Hasan Ali is not an asset for PAS nor PR. He is neither a trained ulama, a technocrat, nor a economist. He but camouflages himself as a motivational speaker who rode on the political tsunami of GE2008.

Hasan Ali is not indispensable. He is not even a consequence of Pakatan Victory in Selangor. Talking about political baseline, Hasan Ali only managed to return a meagre 8-seat contingent into the state assembly, whereas PKR delivered 15, and DAP 13.

The 28-seat collateral secured by PKR and DAP combined shouldn't be cowed by a minion that Hasan leads with dissents from within his rank.

A recalcitrant bent on destroying the fledgling PR like him should be sacked if welcome is overstayed.

PAS chief Hadi Awang should rest in comfort that the Gombak Setia seat can be retained if the cancer of Hasan Ali is to be ridden off.

A by-election forced in Gombak Setia willbe the next best thing to appease the angry electorates who colossally supported PR.

Nothing less than that.