The Nut Graph’s 2012 Merdeka Awards

The Nut Graph
by Koh Lay Chin

AS we welcome Peninsular Malaysia’s 55th year of independence this year, we celebrate once again the people who continue to inspire us and give us hope for a better Malaysia.

We first published The Nut Graph’s Merdeka Awards in 2009. Four years later, we continue to be reminded of the immense talent in the country. And we continue to be moved by fresh initiatives from citizens of all stripes. Our selection comprises awardees who uphold constitutional freedoms and civil rights, empower citizens and/or care for the environment or the cities we live in. They are people whose actions contribute towards making Malaysia a better democracy and place to live.

We do not claim that this list of awardees is definitive or exhaustive in any way. Indeed, these are our picks. We welcome readers to include theirs in the comments section to make the picture complete.

At The Nut Graph, we tip our hats off to the following Malaysians, in no particular order:

Borders

This bookstore chain has been uncompromising about ensuring that the religious authorities don’t get away with abuse of power. When its store manager was arrested and charged for distributing Irshad Manji’s book Allah, Kebebasan dan Cinta before it was banned, Borders publicly protested the actions of the Federal Territories Islamic Department (Jawi). And then Borders took Jawi to court. In an environment where Islamisation has ridden roughshod over our constitutional civil liberties, no less because many fear speaking up, we salute Borders for standing by its employee and standing up to the religious authorities’ abuse of power.

The courts

Against the backdrop of more book banning, the Court of Appeal upheld the lifting of the ban on a Sisters in Islam book. The court went as far as to describe the Home Ministry’s ban as “outrageous” and “irrational”.

There was also another nod for freedom of expression and freedom of peaceful assembly when the Kuala Lumpur High Court quashed the home minister’s declaration that Bersih 2.0 was unlawful.

And where the High Court had failed to grant a stay, the Court of Appeal unanimously granted a temporary stay against Jawi’s further action over the Manji book ban, in favour of Borders.

Yes, two, or in this case, three swallows do not make a summer. And it’s hard to predict if these three cases demonstrate that our courts are returning to their rightful role as custodians of our constitutional freedoms. Indeed, there is still room for an intelligent, independent and fearless judiciary in Malaysia. Still, in these three cases, the courts provided a check and balance against the executive. After years of court decisions that were seen to deny constitutional freedoms and cement the executive’s power, these three court decisions have been a breath of fresh spring air.

Rumah Anak Teater

Set up in 2008 by Malay-language playwright and actor Nam Ron, and other theatre practitioners, Rumah Anak Teater has been pushing the bar when it comes to showcasing and promoting local talent in the performing arts.

It’s also not afraid to tackle political and social issues through its productions. The collective is responsible for Beng Hock, a production that drew from the Royal Commission of Inquiry’s findings into Teoh Beng Hock’s controversial death at the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission’s office in Shah Alam. It also produced independent film, Jalan Pintas. The group has also been instrumental in setting up Projek Asas Teater which trains aspiring thespians in acting, dance, music and scenography.

For their work with youth, and for bringing a different feel and relevance to Malay-language theatre and film, we hope Rumah Anak Teater will continue to inspire us with their work.

Poskod.my

Poskod.my is an online community-driven site about the city, with a focus on what’s happening in local communities and on the streets. Poskod “believes that the more we know about ourselves and the people around us, the stronger our communities, the easier our participation as citizens in this country, and the better our lives.”

To realise this mission statement, Poskod.my launched #betterKL, a grassroots campaign linking various people and initiatives in Kuala Lumpur. Thus far, the two have organised a series of Poskod Talks that have highlighted topics like public transportation, urban cycling, and creative young companies in the city.

Rafizi Ramli and Khairy Jamaluddin

In the past year, several politicians have had public debates on issues of national interest. One, however, was notable above the other debates.

On 29 Jan 2012, at a debate organised by the United Kingdom and Eire Council of Malaysian Students, Pakatan Rakyat’s Rafizi Ramli and Barisan Nasional’s Khairy Jamaluddin showed Malaysians that political opponents can still be equally civil and respectful of each other.

Other debates between politicians have featured rhetorical questions or ad hominem attacks. Rafizi and Khairy showed us a glimpse of mature politics where discussing issues like education, student rights and economic growth are far more important than personality attacks or mere rhetorics.

Occupy Dataran

They were beaten, harassed and arrested, but that did not deter them. Those involved in Occupy Dataran did more than just set up tents in a historic public space. They ignited debate about student rights, freedom of assembly, public spaces and education.

Occupy Dataran was founded even before Occupy Wall Street emerged in the US. The leaderless, independent and autonomous grassroots initiative wanted to reclaim Dataran Merdeka as an open and democratic space. And by doing so, they wanted to explore and imagine a new political culture that redefined the meaning of democracy in Malaysia.

It takes courage to think outside the box. Just as it takes courage to stay the course despite the violent response from state and non-state actors. What will the authorities do if more citizens demonstrate such courage?

Kill The Bill

Initially formed as a “one-stop information centre” against the Peaceful Assembly Bill 2011, Kill The Bill now specialises in spreading information and gathering supporters for civil society events. Their main mission? To grow an empowered citizen movement that organises and supports peaceful assemblies.

The team organised a Bersih 2.0 remembrance day this July, where people walked from Merdeka Square to Stadium Merdeka. It was a feat and a record. Activist Wong Chin Huat, who is also a columnist for The Nut Graph, said he couldn’t remember the last time an assembly, which had no police permit, dispersed according to the organiser’s schedule instead of being dispersed by the police.

They are on our list for their tenacity in upholding freedom of peaceful assembly and expression for all Malaysians.

Election monitoring and civic education groups

These groups include  Bersih 2.0, UndiMsia!, Jom Pantau PRU13, Tindak Malaysia, and the #MyMP project which have been educating, informing and engaging voters in Malaysia.

With the 13th general election approaching, these groups have been relentless despite their limited resources. The mammoth success of the Bersih 3.0 rally this year speaks for itself. At the same time, Jom Pantau PRU13 aims to monitor any irregular and fraudulent practices in the coming general election. Tindak Malaysia has been providing regular training for anyone who wants to be a polling and counting agent when the election is held. Many of these initiatives target young voters, hence ensuring we have an engaged citizenry in the generation to come.

LoyarBurok

They shared this award last year with the UKM4 for their fight for students’ rights and freedom. But LoyarBurok has continued to inspire us with its drive and commitment and hence, they deserve to be mentioned again and on their own.

Impressive by any standard, efforts under the LoyarBurok group include Undi Msia!, Idola Demokrasi, #MyMP, and regular events for youths at their Pusat LoyarBurok in Bangsar.

The LoyarBurokkers have continued to stir debate and discussion on social media platforms on a variety of issues. With a presence on many fronts, LoyarBurok continues to engage young Malaysians in cool and intelligent ways, hence empowering more citizens to participate more actively in shaping this nation.

Wild Asia*

Wild Asia has been working diligently throughout Malaysia and across Asia, encouraging businesses to be both profitable and responsible. Through their Responsible Tourism Initiative, Sustainable Agriculture Initiative and Corporate Social Responsibility programmes, the homegrown social enterprise has been reaching out to a wide range of companies.

These range from hotels to oil palm producers with a message that emphasises sustainability through practical and viable changes. The social enterprise is humble in size, but dreams big and makes meaningful changes that benefit both businesses and the environment.

Sabah government

It must be something when WWF-Malaysia praises a state government for its actions in protecting the environment. In July, WWF-Malaysia applauded “the Sabah state government’s passing of the Bill to prohibit coastal areas in Kota Kinabalu to be alienated to others”.

An amendment to the Sabah Land Ordinance 1930, the Bill that was passed bars any development on the Kota Kinabalu seafront from Tanjung Aru to Likas Bay. The passing of this law garnered plenty of praise from other environmental NGOs. And rightfully so. The amendment helps protect the state’s precious coastal areas, mangroves and coral reefs.

Irene Fernandez and Tenaganita

She has endured two decades of state pressure and persecution for her longstanding work for migrant workers. But Irene Fernandez continues to soldier on to protect the rights of vulnerable and abused migrant workers who live in our midst.

While the authorities regard her as unpatriotic and have threatened her with the Sedition Act, Fernandez remains unflinching. At 66, her untiring work at Tenaganita, which helps foreign workers and victims of human trafficking, has been recognised internationally. It is a pity that her work gets less than positive coverage in her own country. We salute Fernandez for being such a strong voice for those who have none.

Sze Ning

(Corrected) Sze Ning became aware of the plight of indigenous communities affected by oil palm estates while interning with Centre for Orang Asli Concerns. Today, this freelance photographer documents these marginalised communities through her lens. Sze Ning continues to do research, documentation and capacity-building training for the Orang Asli.

She is also involved in the online fair trade enterprise Elevyn which connects craftspeople directly with consumers. Craft producers benefit from up to 85% of their goods’ sale price. The initiative also allows consumers to evaluate how their purchases improve the lives of the indigenous communities.

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The list of awardees were selected by The Nut Graph team. We created and published The Nut Graph’s Merdeka and Malaysia Day awards as a way to honour and model exemplary Malaysians.

* Disclosure: The Nut Graph’s editor Jacqueline Ann Surin was the media trainer for Wild Asia’s Responsible Journalists Programme II last year.

Putrajaya Contract Workers To Wear Uniforms, Says Aseh

PUTRAJAYA, Aug 28 (Bernama) -- Putrajaya Corporation (PPj) is making all contract workers involved in cleaning and maintenance works at the federal government administrative centre to wear uniforms, said PPj president Tan Sri Aseh Che Mat.

He said this was among the improvement measures to be carried out quickly to facilitate enforcement teams and the public to identify such workers.

"At the moment, there are 1,050 foreign workers involved in cleaning work. Putting on uniforms will enable us to easily identify the workers. It will also give them a new image apart from appreciating their work. The uniform colour has been identified," he told reporters here Tuesday.

Janji Demokrasi: Polis belum beri kata putus

Muqadas Kainat Murdered after allegedly being Gang Raped by Muslims

A Christian minor girl from Sahiwal, a city in Punjab, Pakistan, was recently murdered after being “gang raped” by a group of five Muslim men.

The young girl’s name, Muqadas Kainat, was revealed to the ASSIST News Service (www.assistnews.net) by the Legal Evangelical Association Development (LEAD Family Pakistan), an organization that provides free legal aid, settlement and spiritual support to Christian persecuted and destitute,

The group said that they had discovered news of this terrible crime after being visited in their office by two rights campaigners who told them that the father of child, Mr. Rafique Masih, had been working as a brick maker and had lived in the area for the past 15 years. Also that he, and his wife, had seven children.

They were told that on August 14, 2012, he was visiting a local hospital where his wife was having her appendix removed and during that time, the group were told that the minor girl had gone into a local field to relieve herself and was then viciously set upon by a gang of men and gang raped and murdered.

“The father’s elder brother, Arshad Masih, came to hospital and told Rafique Masih that his daughter had not come home since the morning,” said a spokesperson for LEAD Family Pakistan.

“Rafique Masih rushed to home and searched for her in area of the brick kiln company [where he worked] and also in the homes his neighbors, but did not find his daughter.

“Then, on August 15, 2012, the Muslim clerk of the brick kiln company told Rafique Masih that he had received a phone call on his cell phone from an unknown caller that Muqadas Kainat was in fields. On hearing this, Rafique Masih, along with other people, started searching the nearby fields and eventually found dead body of his daughter.”

The spokesperson went on to say that her body was taken to the police station for a postmortem which, he said, proved that she had been “gang raped and later strangled to death by five men.”

The Farid Town Police Station has since registered a First Information Report (FIR) against unknown rapists and killers and started an investigation, but at this time none of culprits have been found and arrested.

Now Missionary Pastor, Mushtaq Gill, President/National Director of LEAD, is pledging for legal help and support for this case.

Taliban behead 17 caught dancing to music at party

Taliban militants pictured in Musa Qala in 2007.  Photo: AFP/GETTY

Taliban militants beheaded 15 men and two women for holding a late night party with music and dancing, according to Afghan officials.

The insurgents executed the guests, who included two women, after attacking the party in northern Helmand late on Sunday because they considered it immoral.

Hamid Karzai ordered a full investigation into the “mass killing”. “This attack shows that there are irresponsible members among the Taliban,” the Afghan president said in a statement.

The attack occurred in an area of Musa Qala district which is almost totally under Taliban control and Afghan officials said an investigation into the deaths was being hampered because they could not reach the area.

Nematullah Khan, governor of Musa Qala, said the Taliban had tried to stop the party. “They were having a music party and the Taliban came and killed them and cut off their heads,” he said.

Shooting was heard at the scene, he said, and it was unclear if they had been shot dead first.

There was no claim of responsibility from the Taliban and their spokesmen were unavailable for comment.

Parties and social occasions in Afghanistan are usually strictly segregated and there is no mixing of men and women unless they are related.

An elder from the area confirmed a group of young men had held an “immoral” party at a house and had been attacked and killed.

Juma Khan said: “Unfortunately the young men do this sometimes. They had a party with music and dancing and they were behaving badly with the women.”

However he said the killing may have been driven by a local feud, with enemies of the guests either tipping off the Taliban, or pretending to act with their authority.

A statement from the provincial governor’s office later claimed the massacre was caused by two Taliban commanders fighting over the women, but did not explain how so many civilians came to be beheaded.

Hours after the massacre, an Afghan army checkpoint was stormed elsewhere in the province and 10 soldiers killed.

A spokesman for the governor said the post in Washer district was believed to have been betrayed by insiders and five soldiers who were missing after the attack were being investigated.

Meanwhile two American soldiers were shot dead by an Afghan comrade after an argument during a joint patrol.

Monday’s shooting in the eastern province of Laghman brought the Nato coalition death toll from so-called green on blue killings to 42 this year, and 12 in August alone.

American soldiers returned fire and shot dead the Afghan soldier.

Bowler escaped jail for rape of minor as he did not use force, coercion or violence, says court

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 27 — A lengthy jail sentence would have been imposed on national bowler Noor Afizal Azizan for the statutory rape of a 13-year-old girl when he was 19 if he had been older or had used force, coercion or violence, the Court of Appeal said today in a written judgment explaining why it had controversially substituted imprisonment with a good behaviour bond for five years.

The court said, however, that its decision should not be considered a precedent for all future cases involving statutory rape and should be judged on its own merits.

Court of Appeal president Tan Sri Raus Sharif (picture) said in the judgment released today that Noor Afizal, who is now 21, was a “young boy who was extremely remorseful for what he had done and had thrown himself to the mercy of the court by pleading guilty to the charge.”

Raus, who sat with Justices K.N. Segara and Azhar Ma’ah, wrote the grounds of judgment.

Noor Afizal was let off with a RM25,000 bond instead of being jailed after he pleaded guilty to statutory rape, sparking a firestorm online over the court’s message on sex with minors even as it raised questions about the Penal Code and other criminal laws.

Incensed Malaysians have taken to Twitter and Facebook to vent their outrage against the judiciary after the Court of Appeal reversed earlier this month a High Court decision to jail the bowling ace for five years — suggesting that fame and a bright future are enough to ensure a convicted offender gets a ticket away from jail.

But the Court of Appeal pointed out today that its decision to let the bowler off with a bond did not have blanket application, or applied to all cases involving young offenders committing a similar offence.

“If the appellant (Noor Afizal) had been older or if he had used force, coercion or violence on the victim, or if he had tricked the victim... or he had not co-operated with the police and he had not shown any remorse to his act or there is no guarantee that he will not be committing the same offence in future, we would not have any hesitation, as we have done in many other cases of similar nature, to impose a lengthy custodial sentence,” said Raus.

In the Malacca Sessions Court, the judge had imposed a RM25,000 bond with good behaviour for five years on Noor Afizal after he pleaded guilty to raping the girl at a hotel in Ayer Keroh, Malacca on July 5, 2010.

However, the public prosecutor had appealed to the High Court on September 20 last year and obtained a five-year custodial sentence, the mandatory minimum for rape under the Penal Code.

According to the facts of the case which was laid down in the written judgment of the Court of Appeal today, Noor Afizal had checked into a hotel in Malacca on July 5, 2010 together with the girl who was then 13 years and four months old.

The two had what was described as consensual sex. The next morning Noor Afizal sent the girl home.

The girl did not complain to anyone and the incident only came to light when her father read about what she had done in her diary.

Raus pointed out today that Noor Afizal’s bond was in fact a suspended jail sentence and that he would always have a criminal record as a rapist.

Pakatan beri jamin hak Melayu dan kaum lain

Negara tidak akan bangkrap jika ditadbir Pakatan Rakyat.

PETALING JAYA: Ahli Parlimen Permatang Pauh Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim menegaskan bahawa hak keistimewaan orang Melayu dan lain- lain kaum akan terjamin jika Pakatan Rakyat berjaya membentuk Kerajaan Pusat pada pilihan raya umum akan datang.

Katanya, antara tawaran Pakatan termasuklah menurunkan harga minyak dan kereta serta membatalkan Perbadanan Tabung Pendidikan Tinggi Nasional (PTPTN).

“Rakyat tak bodoh…..menurut Umno-BN (Barisan Nasional), negara akan bankrap sedangkan kita bagi fakta,” katanya merujuk tawaran berkenaan ketika berucap pada Ceramah Perdana Demi Rakyat di Bagan Serai malam tadi.

Beliau yang juga Ketua Umum PKR berkata, rakyat tidak bodoh untuk terus percaya dakwaan Umno-BN bahawa negara akan bangkrap jika ditadbir Pakatan.

Anwar berkata, semua golongan akan mendapat keuntungan daripada tawaran tersebut, terutama rakyat miskin dan kebanyakannya Melayu.

Beliau turut menyangkal tohmahan sesetengah pihak mengatakan nasib orang Melayu tidak akan terbela di bawah pentadbiran Pakatan.

Menurutnya, PKR, PAS dan DAP bersetuju memberi jaminan untuk terus membela Melayu dan pada masa sama hak kaum lain sebagai warganegara yang sah.

“Ini kerana Malaysia tidak akan selamat kalau orang Melayu sebagai kaum majoriti tersisih dan tidak kuat,” kata Anwar lagi. Jelasnya, orang Melayu tidak mendapat pembelaan sebenar di bawah pemerintahan Umno-BN yang hanya mengkayakan keluarga dan kroni.

“Ahli-ahli Umno yang bawah dapat apa? Itupun ahli masih lagi melaungkan ‘Hidup Melayu’,” kata Anwar.

‘Suspend all who attended meeting’

The recent leak of a closed-door meeting involving Penang DCM Mansor Othman was a 'clear act of sabotage', claims PKR.

GEORGE TOWN: PKR’s top brass must immediately suspend those who attended the now leaked closed-door unofficial meeting with state chairman Mansor Othman, pending a probe on their alleged internal misconduct.

State PKR information chief Johari Kassim insisted that the leadership should not hesitate to sack any of them if found guilty as charged in the internal investigation.

He said the leak was a clear act of sabotage on the party that the central leadership cannot ignore and step aside.

He said it was obvious that one or more among them could have leaked out the information to serve own selfish interests and the party disciplinary committee must act fast to punish them.

“Obviously the culprits who leaked the meeting details did not hold dear the party’s best interests.

“All those who attended the meeting should be hauled up to the dock and suspended immediately pending investigation.

“If anyone is found guilty, sack instantly to teach others a lesson. It’s the best way to deal with it or else it will happen again,” warned Johari.

Lim ‘cocky and arrogant’

Details of the closed-door meeting between Mansor and party local grassroots Chinese leaders, including elected representatives, were posted in a blog Gelagat Anwar in June.

The meeting was held in May in Mansor’s DCM office in Komtar.

In the leaked details, Mansor had allegedly described Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng as “cocky and arrogant”.

However, last Friday, Mansor denied describing Lim as “cocky and arrogant” but admitted saying that Lim was being revered like a “tokong” (deity) by Chinese voters in Penang.

In its postings in June 16, 18 and 19, the blog revealed that PKR’s state deputy chief and Batu Kawan division chief Law Choo Kiang; Bukit Bendera division deputy chief Felix Ooi; Bayan Baru deputy chairman Tan Seng Keat; 2004 candidate for Bayan Baru parliament seat Raymond Ong; Tanjung Youth chief Ng Chek Siang; Batu Uban branch chief Cheah Peng Guan and Mansor’s assistant John Ooi attended the meeting.

Party insiders and political observers view the controversy as part of a conspiracy by certain PKR local reps to kick out Mansor from state PKR altogether.

Merdeka ‘no relevance’ to Sabah, Sarawak

The true 'National Day is Sept 16, according to Sabah opposition STAR as that was when Sabah, Sarawak and Malaya committed themselves to a 'common identity.

RANAU: The federal government should stop duping Sabah and Sarawak into celebrating Merdeka Day when the 55th anniversary had “no relevance” to the two states, STAR Sabah chairman Jeffrey Kitingan said.

“How can these leaders continue to twist history to suit their political interests without considering our feelings and the truth?

“How could they [federal government] insist we must celebrate Malayan independence which has no relevance to Sabah and Sarawak?” asked Kitingan when launching STAR’s Kundasang zone in Pinampadan near here.

He said what was important and relevant to Sabah and Sarawak is their own independence – July 22, 1963 for Sarawak and Aug 31, 1963 for Sabah – and that of Malaysia Day or the formation of Malaysia on Sept 16, 1963.

“This date – Sept 16, 1963 – is the true ‘National Day’ that gives all three territories of Malaya, Sabah and Sarawak, a common identity as Malaysians”, said Jeffrey.

He said that by continuing to impose Malaya’s version of history on Sabahans and Sarawakians, “the government is alienating the two territories”.

“By insisting that Malaysia is 55 years old now and not 49, the federal government is sending the wrong message to the people.

“Firstly, what the government is doing is teaching the people how to lie and manipulate the facts of history.

“Secondly, the Peninsula-controlled federal government is now telling Sabahans and Sarawakians [intentionally or not] that Malaysia was nothing more than a ‘takeover’ project for Malaya and that Sabah and Sarawak are now Malayan states/territories so they [Sabah and Sarawak] must now adopt Malayan historical independence,” he said.

Jeffrey, who is expected to take on his elder brother Joseph Pairin, the president of Parti Bersatu Sabah (PBS), a Barisan Nasional member, for the Keningau parliamentary seat in the coming general election, also described the BN’s Janji diTepati (Promise Fulfilled) as an empty slogan.

“If this was indeed Malaya’s real intention, then those promises, assurances, undertakings and persuasions by Tunku Abdul Rahman and other Malayan leaders were all lies or Janji Terang Bulan.”

“And if they were mere Janji Terang Bulan, then the slogan Janji diTepati is an empty and hollow slogan as far as Sabah and Sarawak are concerned.

“If we Sabah and Sarawak have been cheated, we have to stop all this nonsense and start putting things right,” added Jeffrey.

Is Malaysia’s IPO Boom Overhyped?

By: Dhara Ranasinghe

Malaysia is marking itself out as the IPO destination to beat this year with a string of billion-dollar-plus deals. Impressive, for sure, but don’t take the booming IPO market as a sign that Malaysia is poised to become a regional financial hub, experts say.

The reasons for this, they add, are simple: once the slew of big Malaysian companies seeking new listings runs out there is likely to be a dearth of initial public offerings (IPOs) in Malaysia. Because Malaysia is still developing open and liquid capital markets, foreign firms looking to list in the region are likely to pick Singapore and Hong Kong over Kuala Lumpur.

All the big companies listed in Malaysia this year are local firms. To really develop itself as a centre for IPOs, Malaysia needs to attract new listings from big foreign firms in the way Singapore and Hong Kong have done in the past, analysts add.

“Part of the boom in the Malaysian IPO market can be explained by the well-developed pension system in Malaysia, which has allowed for growth in domestic demand for equities,” said Herald Van Der Linde, Head of Equity Strategy, Asia-Pacific at HSBC in Hong Kong.

“However, when it comes to comparing Malaysia with Singapore and Hong Kong, these markets are much larger, more diversified and much better developed. As such, they can compete for global IPOs. This is unlikely to happen in Malaysia yet,” Van Der Linde said.

Pay-TV company, Astro Malaysia last week said it would launch an IPO, worth about $1.75 billion. The new listing, expected by the end of September, would be Malaysia’s third largest this year and follows a $3.3 billion listing in June by palm oil firm Felda Global Ventures and a $2.1 billion IPO by state-backed IHH Healthcare last month.

The high-profile listings – Felda’s IPO is the biggest globally so far this year after the listing of Facebook – have certainly made investors sit up and pay attention to the developments in the Southeast Asian economy.

The hot IPO market in Malaysia also compares with a generally lackluster market globally as the fragile state of the global economy prompts many companies to shelve their IPO plans. Jeweler Graff Diamonds postponed a $1 billion listing in Hong Kong in May, while motor racing company Formula One earlier this year postponed a listing, worth up to $3 billion, in Singapore.

Despite these setbacks, the long-term outlook for IPOs in Asia still favor Hong Kong and Singapore over Malaysia, analysts said.

“To have a large IPO market, you need an international investor community and that isn’t there in Malaysia,” said Sanjay Mathur, Director of Research Strategy Asia ex-Japan at Royal Bank of Scotland in Singapore.

“You need to have an unfettered flow of capital, a diaspora of fund managers and a strong linkage with other financial centers,” Mathur added, referring to the things Malaysia would need to turn its booming local market into a regional one.

Domestic Focus

According to research firm Dealogic, Malaysia has moved to third place after the U.S. and China in rankings of new listings in value terms globally. That’s up from twelfth place last year.

Analysts point out that the boom in the Malaysian IPO market must be seen in the context of what is happening in Malaysia locally and not as a sign of what is changing in terms of Malaysia’s role regionally.

The Malaysian government, keen to open up the equity market, has encouraged firms to list and the growth of large domestic pension funds has meant there has been strong demand locally for the new listings.

HSBC says that the core of Malaysia’s pension system is the Employees Provident Fund, which covers around half of the country’s work force. It adds that the equity portion of the fund is estimated to have grown to almost 30 percent of total assets in 2010 from below 5 percent in 1991 and 20 percent in 2000.

Against this backdrop, the momentum in Malaysia’s IPO market was expected to continue for a little while longer. Malaysian Power firm Malakoff and Karex, the world’s biggest condom maker, are both said to be considering listings in the months ahead.

“The IPOs will continue for a while. Remember there is a herd mentality, so if one company does well that encourages others,” Mathur at RBS said.

From the perspective of a foreign investor, what Malaysia lacked was a regional exposure, analysts said. Hong Kong has attracted new listings from global companies keen to tap into the China growth story – examples of this are the listings of commodities trader Glencore and luxury goods firm Prada in 2011.

“We are looking at very different markets here,” said Chris Wong, Senior Investment Manager at Aberdeen Asset Management in Singapore. “Hong Kong is the market centre for the greater China story and Singapore is a magnet for the regional story.”

While Malaysia’s equity market [.KLSE 1648.13 -0.09 (-0.01%) ] has attracted a lot of attention because of the large IPOs, the benchmark stock index is up about 7.8 percent year-to-date, this is a similar performance to Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index [.HSI 19798.67 -81.36 (-0.41%) ]and perhaps not as impressive as the 15 percent rally in Singapore’s stock index [.FTSTI 3044.49 -6.00 (-0.2%) ] .

“As for the outlook on IPOs in 2013, I would think that this is very dependent upon global growth and how Europe will resolve its crisis,” said HSBC’s Van Der Linde. “If it was up to Asia, it should be a good IPO market - demand for equities is rising and companies need to invest more and can tap equity markets for this.”

- By CNBC's Dhara Ranasinghe

Nazri looks into bid to close court

The New Straits Times 
by JASPAL SINGH

TAIPING HIGH COURT: Minister to discuss matter with chief justice

PADANG RENGAS:  WITH pressure from the public and the legal fraternity mounting against the proposed closure of the Taiping High Court, the government will  hold talks with the judiciary to resolve the issue.

Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz said he would be meeting Chief Justice Tun Arifin Zakaria to discuss the matter.

Nazri, who is also the de facto law minister, said the government respected the separation of powers between the executive and the judiciary.

"(However), I will be meeting the chief justice to discuss the closure proposal in the very near future," he said at a community programme in his constituency here yesterday.

Acknowledging that the closure was related to changes made in the jurisdiction of the Sessions and magistrate's courts, Nazri said the proposal was not advisable after taking into account the long-term needs for a court in Taiping.

"Perak is not a small state. It is one of the bigger states in Peninsular Malaysia," he said, adding that the proposal to close down the High Court, which was set up 20 years ago, was a regressive move.

"In the future, the Taiping High Court may serve not only the northern regions of Perak but also Penang and southern parts of Kedah."

The closure was suggested following amendments to the Subordinate Courts Act two years ago.

Under the amendments, magistrates have jurisdiction to hear claims of up to RM100,000. Previously, the limit was RM25,000.

Sessions Courts have been empowered to preside over civil claims of up to RM1 million, from RM250,000 previously.

On Saturday, Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Dr Zambry Abd Kadir had urged the Federal Government and the judiciary to reconsider closing Taiping High Court.

Police Supt Gets Two Years Jail, RM1.75 Million Fine For Money Laundering

JOHOR BAHARU, Aug 27 (Bernama) -- A police superintendent was today sentenced to two years jail for each of the four counts of money laundering by the Sessions Court here.

Azmi Osman, 55, was also fined RM1.75 million for the offences committed between 2002 and 2005.

Johor Baharu Sessions Court Judge Salawati Djambari ordered the sentence on Azmi Osman to run concurrently after finding him guilty under the Anti-Money Laundering and Anti-Terrorism Financing Act 2001.

Salawati later allowed Azmi to be freed on RM900,000 bail in two sureties and a stay of execution pending an appeal on the decision.

Eyewitness: Cops shot unarmed man point blank

Cover-up suspected as shootout witnesses detained

(Malaysiakini) PKR supreme council member Latheefa Koya said police are trying to cover up an extra-judicial killing by “harassing” eyewitnesses and the friends and relatives of the deceased.

At a press conference today, she said four people who had witnessed the fatal shooting of D Dinesh, 26, in Ampang on Aug 21 were re-arrested and sent to the Sea Park police station after their remand order expired on Aug 25.

“This is what is called ‘chain-smoking remand’ (tukar gari). If the police can’t get an extension of remand,
they pass (the suspect) to another set of police... defying the magistrate’s order,” said Latheefa (right).

Two of Dinesh’s cousins and four of his friends who had visited him in Hospital Ampang were nabbed there, but released last night after four days in remand.

“They were nowhere near the shootout. If (police) did nothing wrong, there is no reason to do this,” she said.

Dinesh died from close range gunshot wounds to the head and arm two days after the shooting.

Police have claimed that the shooting occurred after patrolling officers were attacked with a parang.

Ampang Jaya district deputy police chief Md Nazri Zawawi was reported by dailies Kosmo! and Harian Metro as saying that the car which Dinesh was in tried to rear-end a patrol car.

He also said that those in the car with Dinesh, allegedly from the Viva Nanda gang, also smashed the windscreen of the patrol car with parangs.

They were said to be involved in a gang fight in Pandan Perdana earlier, and were on the way back to resume the fight when intercepted at about 2am.

When contacted, Ampang OCPD Amiruddin Jamaluddin, who is still on leave, said he stands by his deputy’s statement but pledged to conduct a “thorough investigation”.

According to PKR vice-president N Surendran (extreme left in photo), the police statement on the matter
smells of a cover-up as eyewitnesses said Dinesh was unarmed and retreating when he was shot.

He said that, instead of trying to cover up the matter, police should classify the case as murder, suspend all personnel who were involved and begin investigations.

“They are interfering with key witnesses. I am warning the home minister and the inspector-general of police ... We have other witnesses. Do no touch, harass or intimidate these witnesses.

“Don't try to go after these witnesses, or you’ll face street protests."

Latheefa noted that the police reaction has not changed since the fatal shooting of 14-year-old Aminulrasyid Amzah, despite vows to review the standard operating procedure.
Echoing him was his son Rajan (right in photo), who tearfully defended his brother’s innocence.

“My brother was always teaching me how to do business. I didn’t expect things to end up like this. I want justice for him. Please,” he pleaded, alongside his mother Florence Abeyesekera and sister Sharon.

Citing statistics provided in Parliament, Kapar MP S Manickavasagam said that from 2000 to 2009, 279 people had been shot dead by police, the majority of whom were Indonesian nationals.

The written reply by Home Minister Hishammuddin Hussein said this is in accordance to the Criminal Procedure Code and the Inspector-General of Police Standing Order.

However, Subang MP Sivarasa Rasiah said the figure could be understated.

“In 2008 alone, police figures state that 27 people were shot, but human rights NGO Suaram documented at least 44 cases that year alone (as) published in their documents.

“The Human Rights Party which also monitors this, found 82 cases the same year."
“Since then we have had other shootings, like the Glenmarie shootings which involved three youths who were also claimed to be part of a gang. The parang said to be found in Aminulrasyid’s car is also still unaccounted for,” she added.

Family refutes police claims

Like the family of Aminulrasyid and the three youths gunned down in Glenmarie, Shah Alam, Dinesh’s family members who were present today refuted claims that he was part of a gang.

“My son is a very pious and simple boy. He won’t do anything like this. I want justice, I want the person (responsible) to be charged,” his father W Darmasena said.

Echoing him was his son Rajan (right in photo), who tearfully defended his brother’s innocence.

“My brother was always teaching me how to do business. I didn’t expect things to end up like this. I want justice for him. Please,” he pleaded, alongside his mother Florence Abeyesekera and sister Sharon.

Citing statistics provided in Parliament, Kapar MP S Manickavasagam said that from 2000 to 2009, 279 people had been shot dead by police, the majority of whom were Indonesian nationals.

The written reply by Home Minister Hishammuddin Hussein said this is in accordance to the Criminal Procedure Code and the Inspector-General of Police Standing Order.

However, Subang MP Sivarasa Rasiah said the figure could be understated.

“In 2008 alone, police figures state that 27 people were shot, but human rights NGO Suaram documented at least 44 cases that year alone (as) published in their documents.

“The Human Rights Party which also monitors this, found 82 cases the same year."

Eyewitness: Cops shot unarmed man point blank

Two eyewitnesses of a police shootout in Ampang last week have claimed that plainclothes personnel shot an unarmed man "point blank" and released at least 10 rounds of ammunition indiscriminately.

Entrepreneur D Dinesh, 26, who died two days after he was shot in the wee hours of Aug 21, was not

carrying anything when he got out of a white Proton Perdana, said his friend Y Ilavarasen, 24 (right).

He said the Proton had been blocked by an unmarked car at a traffic light near Ampang Waterfront.

"I was a few cars ahead of him and could see him from the back. He wasn't holding anything, Ilavarasen told a press conference called by PKR today.

"(Police) were shooting point blank, up and down. Everyone panicked. The shooting was haywire and there was no warning, neither did they identify themselves as police. They just started shooting, pointing towards people and cars.”

Ilavarasen said he had seen the Proton behind him after he sped off, and thought that Dinesh had escaped unscathed.

“When I pulled to the side of the car, I notice that he was not the one driving, but another person. The driver told me Dinesh had been shot. I found out from his cousin that he was taken to Ampang Hospital,” he said.

The second eyewitness and another friend, K Moses, 23, (left) had stopped at the traffic lights two cars behind the Proton. He said Dinesh was “running back” to his car when he was shot.

“Then I saw beside my car (that) a guy was shooting. I didn't know who he was. He shot everyone, whatever that was moving,” he said.

“I sped off, but one bullet hit my car. I was lucky it didn't hit the side window. The way he was shooting, it looked like he wanted to kill people. He didn't stop. I heard more than 10 shots. (One bullet hit) a taxi.. If I knew they were police, I would not have left.”

Asked if he would be able to recognise the officer who released the shots, he said: “Yes.”

Ilavarasen, who works in logistics and Moses who works at a car dealership, were driving separate cars and were planning to have supper with Dinesh in the area, after receiving a call from him.

“We had not decided where to go. Just to meet around Ampang, maybe go to Pandan, to Steven's Corner, but on the way there, we saw Dinesh's car so we just followed him,” Ilvarasen said.

He did not know if Dinesh's car was part of a 14-car convoy - as the police have claimed - as the supper plan only involved Dinesh, Moses and himself.

Police report lodged

The duo lodged police reports today at the Tropicana police station with their respective accounts of the incident.

They were accompanied by PKR MPs for Subang and Kapar, Sivarasa Rasiah and S Manickvasagam, PKR vice-president N Surendran and PKR supreme council bureau member Latheefa Koya.

Ilavarasen’s account refutes that of the police, who had said the Proton had tried to back into a police patrol car.


"After that, four men carrying parangs got out of the car and smashed the (windscreen of the) patrol car," Ampang Jaya deputy police chief Md Nazri Zawawi was reported as saying in Malay daily Kosmo!.

Police also claimed that the Proton had been intercepted as it was part of a 14-car convoy which was on the way to resume a gang fight which had taken place at the Pandan Perdana flats.

Harian Metro quoted Md Nazri as saying that the Dinesh was part of the ‘Viva Nanda’ gang which is suspected to be involved with loan shark syndicates.

He said police were on the hunt for the gang members after the gang fight was reported to have left three injured.

Dinesh's father W Darmasena has lodged a police report to seek an investigation into the death of his son.

‘Dinesh was shot like in the Wild West’

PKR duo maintains that businessman Dinesh's death was a cold blooded murder.

PETALING JAYA: Kapar MP S Manikavasagam today described the ruthless police killing of businessman, D Dinesh, as akin to the shooting in the Wild West.

“Dinesh was shot ruthlessly by the police near Ampang Point traffic light,” he said after attending the 26-year-old’s funeral in Prima Damansara, Selangor.

Dinesh, who was the youngest child in his family, was shot on Aug 21 while travelling with six of his friends and two relatives.

According to Manikavasagam, the police shot Dinesh, engaged to be married next month, at a close range.

“The post mortem report shows one shot went through his skull and another went through his shoulder.

“The police are claiming gang clash but we have eyewitnesses to prove otherwise,” said Manikavasagam.

Dinesh was sent to Ampang Hospital and then to Kuala Lumpur Hospital for post-mortem.

The funeral held today attracted a large crowd.

Dinesh’s body was taken from his home in Prima Damansara to his car-wash outlets in Damansara Damai and Sungai Buloh before the burial ceremony was held in Jalan Loke Yew.

PKR vice president N Surendran, who also attended the funeral, meanwhile described Dinesh’s death as a “cold blooded murder”.

“We want an explanation from the police on this cold blooded murder and we urge them not to cover up the case.

“We will also prove that this is a cold blooded murder since we have eye witnesses,” said Surendran.

A press conference would be called tomorrow in PKR headquarters where eye-witnesses are expected to debunk police allegations of a gang clash.

Sufi Muslim Shrine Bulldozed in Libya

Attackers bulldozed a Sufi Muslim shrine and mosque in the Libyan capital on Saturday, one day after hardliners razed a similar shrine and library elsewhere in the country.

It was not immediately clear who was behind Saturday's attack, the third on a Sufi shrine in Tripoli in recent months, although officials have blamed past vandalism on Islamic hardliners, some of whom are followers of the ultraconservative Salafi doctrine.

Libya is a deeply conservative Muslim nation, and Islamists were heavily repressed under longtime dictator Moammar Gadhafi, who was captured and killed in October after an eight-month civil war. Since then, there has been a string of attacks on shrines across the country belonging to Muslim sects.

The campaign appears to be aimed mainly at shrines revered by Sufis, a mystical order whose members often pray over the tombs of revered saints and ask for blessings or intervention to bring success, marriage or other desired outcomes. Hard-line Salafi Muslims deem the practice offensive because they consider worshipping over graves to be idolatry.

Libya's Grand Mufti, Sheik Sadek al-Ghariani, condemned the vandalism and said it was the government's responsibility to protect the graves.

"No group outside of the government should use weapons and it is the responsibility of the government to provide security and prevent religious strife and division," he said in a statement Saturday.

Resident Abdullah Zakaria said he saw the bulldozers destroy the Sufi tombs Saturday morning. Hours later a group of men bulldozed a mosque in the same area that also contained tombs.

Security officials closed the road leading to the shrines and mosque but did not intervene to stop the men from attacking the mosque hours later. Police were seen instead protecting a nearby hotel.

Interim President Mohammed el-Megarif said in a televised speech Saturday called the actions "unacceptable" and vowed the perpetrators would be prosecuted. He also called on citizens and the security services to be more vigilant in preventing disruptive behavior.

Following the civil war, Libya has been largely without a military or police force and has relied on disparate militias to provide security and protect government installations.

Libyan writer Fathi Bin Eissa, a Sufi, said he had hoped the police would investigate who ordered past desecration of the shrines and wanted answers as to why security forces moved to protect the hotel, but did nothing as the mosque was being bulldozed before their eyes.

A security official said the police were ordered only to ensure violence does not break out.

Other attacks have taken place in the past against shrines in the eastern cities of Darna and Benghazi.

More recently, extremists on Friday bulldozed one of Libya's most important Sufi shrines and Sufi libraries in the city of Zlitan, 90 miles (145 kilometers) southeast of Tripoli.

Security officials say the attackers took advantage of deadly clashes between tribes in Zlitan this week to attack the more than 500-year-old shrine and library.

All officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to release the information.

Muslim woman 'beaten, hair hacked off' for kissing 'white' boy in UK

London, Aug 25 (ANI): A Muslim woman in the UK was attacked by her siblings for kissing a white boy during her 18th birthday celebrations.

Shamima Akhtar, now a 19-yr-old, suffered a sickening assault by her siblings, sisters Nazira, 29, Nadiya, 25, and brother Mohammed-Abdul, 24, which culminated in her sisters slapping and punching her and hacking off her waist-length hair.

Akhtar now lives with Gary Pain, 23, the work colleague whom she had kissed, after she severed ties with her strict Muslim family.

"Gary is the one good thing to come out of this. I am happy, but at the same time I've lost my entire family and that's hard. I can never go back," the Daily Mail quoted Akhtar, as saying.

Akhtar was the youngest of six siblings raised by a Muslim family, who had immigrated from Bangladesh to the UK.

It was during March last year when Akhtar turned 18, and had gone out with her colleagues to celebrate her birthday, when her siblings saw her kissing Pain and launched an assault on her.

"My brother grabbed Gary by the throat and my sisters dragged me into the car. Nazira punched me in the head as soon as I got in. They put the childlock on so I couldn't escape," she said.

Following the incident, Akhtar managed to text Pain and asked him to call the police, after which her siblings were arrested, the paper said.

Akhtar admitted that she had hoped that her siblings would go to prison, but instead the jury in the case gave them each a conditional discharge and a fine.

"I couldn't have asked for more from the police, but part of me felt like a fool. I wanted the judge to send a message to families like mine," she said.

"I don't want people to feel sorry for me. I just want people to know this is going on behind closed doors. In some ways I'm one of the lucky ones. I've got Gary. But there are hundreds of girls like me out there who have no one to turn to," she added. (ANI)

Review 114A, rights group demands

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 26 — The Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (Suhakam) today urged Putrajaya to review or even repeal the new law that threatens to curb freedom of expression on the Internet as it violates basic human rights principles.

Suhakam said today the controversial section 114A of the Evidence Act 1950 violates the human rights principles of freedom of expression as enshrined in Article 19 of both the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR).

The commission added that the newly-introduced provision, which came into force on 31 July 2012, also goes against a fundamental principle of law that a person is considered innocent until proven guilty as provided for under Article 11(1) of the UDHR.

“While the presumption of fact under the Section 114A is rebuttable, a person against whom the presumption is applied may lack the time, resources and more importantly, technical expertise in relation to the Internet environment, to prove the contrary in order to rebut the presumption,” the commission said today in a press statement. “In contrast, the prosecution, in criminal cases, may be better equipped to prove the guilt of the accused, as they are authorised to compel any of the potential witness to produce evidence, and has the technical expertise and resources to assist its investigation or prosecution,” it added.

The commission pointed out the new law may also discourage expression, dissemination and sharing of ideas, news and information, “thus limiting and impinging on the freedom of expression — an essential attribute of a full- functional democracy”.

It also detailed conditions of how any power or measure on the limitation of rights must be subjected according to human rights norms:

i. That the limitation of rights of an individual must be imposed solely for the purpose of protecting a legitimate aim (i.e. national security, rights or reputation of others, public health or morals) that is prescribed by international human rights principles;

ii. That the limitation of rights must be absolutely necessary for the protection of the legitimate aim;

iii. That the limitation of rights must be proportional to the protection of the legitimate aim. It must be remembered, however, that, there are some rights and freedoms that cannot be limited and they include the freedom from torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment; and

iv. That there must be adequate safeguards so as to avoid any abuse of powers. These conditions are important to strike a fair balance between public interests — legitimate national security concerns, on the one hand, and fundamental freedoms of an individual, on the other.

Suhakam reiterated that although national security is paramount to ensure peace and stability, Section 114A of the Evidence Act must be reviewed or repealed to protect and respect fundamental liberties and human rights to freedom of expression and the presumption of innocence until proven guilty.

“The Commission looks forward to engaging with the Attorney General’s Chambers and other stakeholders in the review of the Act, as well as in the drafting of any new law to ensure that they are consistent with universally accepted human rights principles,” it said. Review 114A, rights group demands accepted human rights principles,” it said.

MIC youth condemns JAIPP for ‘stealing’ ashes

Department must explain its action and disclose what it was going to do with alleged Muslim convert's cremated ashes, says its chief J Dhinagaran

NIBONG TEBAL: Penang MIC youth condemned the state Islamic Religious Affairs Department (JAIPP) for taking away the ashes of an alleged Muslim convert in Sungai Bakap last week.

Youth chief, J Dhinagaran said: “JAIPP practically stole the ashes of Nagamah without her family’s knowledge or consent, and did not show evidence that she was a convert.

“We strongly condemn the unlawful action,” he said today.

Nagamah passed away in Sungai Bakap hospital on Aug 14 and her family cremated her body at Batu Berapit Crematorium on the same day.

However, JAIPP officials took away her ashes despite objections from her family members, claiming that Nagamah was a convert.

Various Hindu bodies and rights groups, especially Hindraf Makkal Sakti, have condemned JAIPP for its high-handed insensitive action.

State executive councillor in charge of Islamic Religious Affairs, Abdul Malik Kassim, said on Thursday that Nagamah, 64, was converted to Islam by Ustaz Anuar Ismail in November 2006.

He said she was converted at JAIPP’s Seberang Perai Selatan district office after marrying one Ibrahim Noyan and had nine children registered as Muslims by the NRD.

Return Nagamah’s ashes

Nagamah’s family has lodged several police reports against JAIPP for taking away her ashes.

Dhinagaran said JAIPP’s high-handed action without due regard to the process of law has hurt the feelings of ethnic Indians in the state and country.

He demanded JAIPP to explain the rationale for its action and disclose what it was going to do with Nagamah’s ashes.

He said it was unfortunate that Nagamah’s eldest son M Kamasantheran, 46, could not fulfill his religious obligations to conduct Hindu obituary prayers for his late mother.

“Unfortunately her ashes are with JAIPP,” he said.

He hit out at Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng’s Pakatan Rakyat government for again failing to safeguard Hindu interests in the state.

He said Lim should direct JAIPP to stipulate a standard operating procedure that must be strictly adhered in future cases of ‘body-snatching’ or taking away of ashes.

He also slammed Pakatan Indian elected representatives for being busy in securing seats to contest in the next general election, rather than addressing and resolving Indian issues.

He suggested that JAIPP should return Nagamah’s ashes to her grieving family members to enable them to perform the final rites in accordance to the Hindu practices

“We hope goodwill would prevail,” said Dhinagaran.

Britons back naked prince: poll

Some 75 percent still had a positive view of the 27-year-old army helicopter pilot.

LONDON: More than two-thirds of adults in Britain thought Prince Harry cavorting naked with women at a Las Vegas party was acceptable behaviour, according to a poll out Sunday.

The YouGov survey in The Sunday Times newspaper found that 68 percent thought the third in line to the throne’s antics were acceptable for a young, single man having fun on a private holiday, with 22 percent saying it was not.

Some 75 percent still had a positive view of the 27-year-old army helicopter pilot.

While the two images of Harry are widely available on the Internet and abroad, only The Sun newspaper has published them in Britain, saying it was striking a blow for press freedom.

Some 61 percent thought media baron Rupert Murdoch’s tabloid was wrong to do so, with 25 percent saying Britain’s biggest-selling newspaper had been right to print them.

YouGov sampled 1,731 adults on Thursday and Friday for the poll on whether Harry’s behaviour was acceptable and 694 adults on Friday for the poll on The Sun publishing the images.

UMNO made Indians politically irrelevant

Senator S.Ramakrishnan, 23/8/2012

Last week MIC president Datuk G.Palanivel expressed disappointment over the public Services Commission (PSC) for not including any Indian Malaysians in the recruitment of 21 graduates by the works ministry. In the same week Datuk G.Palanivel expressed happiness over the PSC statement that mentions of wanting to increase Indian counter staff from 1000 to 3000 at government officers. Instead of demanding for more civil service intake MIC is protecting and giving excuses for the UMNO led government. Indians taken in by civil services and local government agencies are mostly contract workers and not permanent civil servants. When the Indians were dominating health and education services Malaysia had a world class service. All these have become history. Indians must correct all these injustice by voting out the UMNO led government.

MIC sings praises each time there is an announcement of wanting to increase Indian Malaysian in civil service intake. But when there are no Indians taken in MIC is quite. Despite all the empty promises MIC, PPP and other mosquito Indian parties in BN will continue to support UMNO. In 1971 Indians were 17.4% of the civil service but this has dropped to 5.12% in 2005 and now it dropped further to 4.1%. The bulk of Indian civil servants are in Tamil schools. In the police forces Indians account for only 3%. Despite the solid support from Indians to BN before 2008, they are deceived and cheated by MIC/UMNO government. Even after 2008 UMNO has not changed its racist attitude and arrogance.
The government will say that Indians don’t apply for jobs in civil service but those non Malays in government service know how conveniently those applications are thrown into the rubbish bins. Malaysia is the only country where ethnicity is the main criteria for civil service intake and not qualifications and capability to perform. Malaysia exports talents and professionals and imports illegal and legal migrant workers. One World Bank report says that Malaysia could have attracted 5 times more FDIs if not for NEP. 1.5 million Malaysian professionals are working overseas with about half of them in Singapore. But the BN government is dreaming to form a world class civil service. As long as UMNO in power there is no hope of Indians increasing their presence in civil service?
UMNO will only take proactive actions when their vote bank is affected. They want the Indian votes but they don’t want to give a fair share to Indian community. They think Indians are beggars and therefore Indians don’t deserve any job or business opportunities except hampers and rice bags. That is MIC’s achievement after 55 years in coalition with UMNO. During elections and by elections it is MIC that distributes hampers to poor Indians on behalf of UMNO to support BN.
MIC has successfully produced stateless Indians, criminal Indians and poor and unskilled Indians. Indians need a political change. The current political system neglects and side lines Indians. UMNO made Indians politically irrelevant. This has to change. Indians must become politically relevant to play a key role in the development of this country. Indians need to redeem their dignity and pride. It’s now or never

We know this man, Mahathir

AUG 25 ― He says that the Barisan Nasional is the devil that Malaysians know and we should stick with this devil because the Opposition is the devil we don’t know.

But we do know the Opposition. We know that DAP/PAS/PKR politicians don’t always stand on the same page; they make mistakes and say really dumb things and may even be arrogant. And not all their populist ideas will be good for Malaysia; some may be downright stupid.

We also know that they don’t have a Dr Mahathir Mohamad in their midst and that is always an advantage. He is the devil we know and have to put up with for more than two decades and now it does seem that, Mahathir is still running the country. And offering unsolicited rubbish as advice.

This is what Dr Mahathir the “angel” has given Malaysia:

1) A corrupt culture, where civil servants, corporate figures and even ordinary Malaysians don’t think twice about bribing, stealing and cheating. A Malaysia where the government and police fudge crime figures and where ministers live beyond their means without fear of getting arrested.

2) A country where race relations have worsened over the years. Dr Mahathir can take credit that all his slogans have remained slogans and we still live in race silos. And his party Umno and Utusan Malaysia have crossed the line with a campaign of driving the wedge between Muslims and non-Muslims.

3) A country where corporate figures and cronies milk the system with one-sided privatisation deals. These sweet deals are the norms here; look at the NFC and Ampang LRT.

4) A country where the education system is in a mess.

The list can go on. So take a bow, Dr Mahathir, “the devil” we know.

* Ali Kadir reads The Malaysian Insider.

* This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insider.

PM Advises People Not To Make A Change They Are Uncertain About

PEKAN, Aug 26 (Bernama) -- Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak today advised the people not to make a change which is uncertain of guaranteeing them prosperity and well-being.

Not all change would bring good, he said, adding that the people should institute change in something dependable rather than go for others who have no successful track record.

"We must hold on to something which we know well. God willing, it (the BN government) will bring about a better future," he said in his address at the Aidilfitri open house hosted by him and his wife, Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor, in Taman Tasik Sultan Abu Bakar, here.

Najib cautioned the people against being easily fooled by the sweet promises of the opposition political parties which he said had evidently failed in the four states they had been administrating after the general election of 2008.

He said that not all the changes promised would bring good for the people, but the BN-led government had brought about various changes which benefited them since the era of Tunku Abdul Rahman, the first prime minister.

"We cannot change a government solely because the time has come for us to make a change. We are not wanting to make a change but wanting something better.

"Change will not necessarily bring good. It can lead to something worse than what we are enjoying today," he said.

Najib said the BN government was continuing the struggle of past leaders in the effort to value add and bring about a better change to realise Vision 2020.

He said even developed countries which were not administered well and failed to grow new wealth would collapse and face a critical economic situation, such as the several European countries which had to put up with unemployment and economic recession.

"The truth is we cannot go on accepting aid after aid without figuring out how to create and generate wealth. Countries which do not generate economic wealth will face problems," he said.

The Tengku Mahkota of Pahang, Tengku Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah, and Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Adnan Yaakob and other state leaders were among the more than 70,000 people who attended the open house.

-- BERNAMA

Defectors put Sabah in spotlight

The defection of two key ruling coalition parliamentarians to the political opposition has shifted Malaysia’s pre-election equation and highlighted the importance of the crucial swing states of Sabah and Sarawak in what is expected to be a neck and neck contest.

Historically a “fixed deposit” of votes for the Barisan Nasional (BN), the coalition that has ruled the country consecutively since independence from colonial rule, Sabah and Sarawak are expected to play a prominent role in the coming general election pitting Prime Minister Najib Razak versus opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim.

BN won 140 of 222 federal parliament seats at the 2008 elections, a result that saw the Pakatan Rakyat opposition win control of five of 13 federal states. After the recent defections, BN holds 20 of 25 federal parliament seats allocated to Sabah and 29 of 31 in Sarawak on the island of Borneo.

M'kini subscribers' comments earn wrath of Muslim NGOs

(Malaysiakini) Several NGOs have lodged police reports on allegedly inflammatory comments posted on the Malaysiakini website, threatening to hold protests in front of its office as well as that of the Home Ministry's if no action is taken.

"Some 200 subscribers used pseudonyms in Malaysiakini to criticise and lower the status of Islam.
"This would have consequences and bring chaos to this peaceful country," read three largely identical police reports from each NGO.

Malaysian Muslim People's Coalition (IRIMM), Dewan Ekonomi dan Sosial Muslim Malaysia (Desmma) and Malaysian Muslim Consumer's Association (PPIM) lodged the reports together at the Dang Wangi police district headquarters, Kuala Lumpur, at around 2.30pm today.

A representative from the Malaysian Indian Muslim Missionary Council (MIM) was also present to endorse the complaint.

The report refers to readers' comments posted on Aug 22 regarding in an article titled ‘Police reports against JAIPP for 'body-snatching''.

"They (Malaysiakini subscribers) said in one comment, ‘Umno has turned Islam into a mafia religion.' What is this?
"These people are trying to act funny in this country.
"We don't want these kinds of things to happen in this country," said IRIMM president Amir Amsaa Alla Pitchay (left), commenting on one of several readers he quoted.
"(They said) a lot of things, you know. I didn't print them all out... We want Malaysiakini to put a stop to such things. We don't want these kind of things.

"We will send a memorandum to the Home Ministry and we will protest in front of their office (in Putrajaya) for allowing such comments," he said.

He added that the protest is tentatively scheduled for next week, and he would try to get more NGOs on board.

"We will protest in front of Malaysiakini as well if they don't do anything about this issue," he said.
'Don't publish sensitive issues'
In the Wednesday article, Malaysiakini reported that a group of Hindu devotees lodged police reports against Penang Islamic Affairs Department (JAIPP) for confiscating the ashes of M Nagamah, who was cremated in accordance to Hindu rites.

Her family claims that she had lived and died as a Hindu, while South Seberang Perai (SPS) Religious Department said records show that she had converted to Islam in 2006.

Nagamah's family wishes to conduct the ‘karumakirei' ceremony on the remains, which is to be held 14 days after her death on Aug 28, after which the ashes would be strewn into a nearby river.

Amir Amsaa said that any criticism of the matter should be directed at JAIPP, but not Islam itself.

Desmma president Mohd Fazil Abdullah (right), who lodged one of the reports, also urged Malaysiakini not to publish such sensitive issues.

He described the issue as an ‘isolated case' in which the deceased had not informed her next-of-kin of her conversion and the online news portal should not have played it up.

"We urge Malaysiakini to stop giving space to statements that could affect the harmony, sensitivities and tolerance within Malaysia's multiethnic society," he said.

Effigy of Karpal Singh

Meanwhile, MIM secretary general Mohammed Shariff Ghani noted that ‘body snatching' allegations are not new and urged Muslim converts to take necessary precautions.

"I recommend whoever who converts into Islam to contact the relevant religious departments and to practice the religion. Don't cause an issue when you pass away," said Mohammed Shariff (right).

He stressed that no Muslim would condone another Muslim being cremated because it is against the religion's beliefs.

On a separate issue raised during the same press conference outside the district police headquarters, IRIMM secretary-general Zainol Abidin Ahmad said a protest could be held against DAP chairperson Karpal Singh next week for allegedly questioning hudud law.

"We may do a protest in Pulau Pinang against Karpal Singh where we would probably burn his effigy," said Zainol Abidin (left).

When asked, he said the protest is slated to take place after Friday prayers in Teluk Air Tawar, Butterworth.

"We warn the DAP chairperson not to play with fire. Do not press Malaysian Muslims on sensitive issues about religion and religious laws to be point of turning the issue into a racial conflict," he said, urging Karpal to apologise.

He alleged in his police report that whilst watching TV recently, some time before the Raya celebrations, Karpal was shown questioning hudud.

Death threats against Little India chair from 'cemetery'

(Malaysiakini) Little India Action Committee (LIAC) chairperson S Pathavachalam has been receiving death threats against him and his family from a man calling himself Sudukattu (graveyard) Ravi, since last Thursday.

According to Pathavachalam (left in photo), Sudukattu called him on his handphone about 12.30am on Aug 16, threatening to chop him up and destroy his family.

"The man said that he will send a coffin to my house and will come to my house if I test him," he said.

Pathavachalam, who is an estate agent, lodged a police report on the threat at 5.29pm the same day, at the Jalan Travers police station.

He said the threats are related to his dialogue with Federal Territories and Urban Well-being Minister Raja Nong Chik Raja Zainal Abidin.
This was when Raja Nong Chick was introducing reporters to the developer in charge of the land where former Brickfields district police headquarters once stood.
Pathavachalam said Sudukattu Ravi threatened him because he and many other NGOs had rejected Nong Chik’s idea of building a police beat base, instead of a proper district police station, at the site.
Setting RM10,000 reward for death
The estate agent had lodged another police report on Aug 22, saying that Sudukattu had called him a second time on Aug 16 at around 10.30pm, warning him against going to the police if he wanted to be safe, and advised him to send a representative for a "table talk" with his men.

"The man told me to send someone for a table talk, to discuss my safety with his group since an order had been issued for my death, with a reward of RM10,000 offered.

"The man told me it would be useless for me to lodge a police report. He said the police and government belonged to him," Pathavachalam told a press conference at Tropicana in Petaling Jaya today.

According to him, the investigating officer handling his case vowed to personally catch the man.

"The officer told me that the government might be his government, but we are not his police," Pathavachalam said.

Lembah Pantai MP Nurul Izzah Anwar (left), who was also present at the press conference, said she would compile all documents and evidence obtained from the Brickfields police station land deal case and forward these to the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) next week.

French councillor beaten by Tunisian extremists over family's dress

Paris (dpa) - A French councillor of Tunisian origin on Wednesday said he was beaten by religious extremists in Tunisia because his wife and daughter‘s clothing were seen as provocative.

Jamel Gharbi, a councillor in the north-western city of Le Mans, said that he and his family were strolling around the northern coastal Tunisian town of Bizerte August 16 when they came across a group of men with the long beards and tunics of ultra-conservative Salafi Muslims.

"I saw they were looking at them (his wife and daughter) with hate because of their summer clothes, even though there was nothing provocative about them (the clothes)," he was quoted by the Lemainelibre.fr, a Le Mans news site, as saying.

"They told us we were in an Islamist country and I quickly understood things were going to degenerate," he said.

"I cried out to my wife and daughter to run. They then pounced on me and struck me with their fists, feet and sticks," he added.

Gharbi, 62, said he had reported the attack to police and cut short his visit to Tunisia.

Paris Mayor Bertrand Delanoe, who was born in Tunisia, condemned the "cowardly, despicable act by an extremist minority" as an "attack on Tunisia‘s values."

The attack took place on the same evening as a group of Salafis attacked festivalgoers in Bizerte with knives and batons, injuring five people.

The demonstrators were protesting the presence of a Lebanese Shiite militant, who had expressed support for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

Salafis are Sunnis. They see Shia Muslims as heretical.

Two other towns also saw protests last week by Salafis against artists they accused of offending Islam in their work.

The opposition and civil society groups accuse the authorities of hanging back during Salafi demonstrations.

Tunisia is run by a tripartite coalition headed by the moderate Islamist party Ennahda. dpa str cfb jln

‘Explain manipulation in crime statistics’

Several Pakatan Rakyat leaders urged the government to clarify allegations made by an anonymous policeman who said that the government had tampered with the crime statistics.

PETALING JAYA: The government must explain allegations made by an anonymous policeman who alleged that there was a manipulation in the nation’s crime index, said Pakatan Rakyat.

“Home Ministry and Performance Management and Delivery Unit [Pemandu] must clarify the accusation. The allegation is serious as it casts doubt on the integrity of official statistics,” said several Pakatan leaders in a joint statement today.

The statement were signed by PKR vice-president Nurul Izzah Anwar, Kuala Krai MP Hatta Ramli and Bukit Bendera MP Liew Chin Tong.

Yesterday, Liew published a letter on his blog, purpotedly from a policeman, claiming that there was a systematic attempt to lower the crime statistics by shifting the index crime to the non-index crime when a police report is lodged.

Citing examples, he said that a robbery case, which falls under the Penal Code, comes under the index crime category. However, the police would classify it under Section 382 of the code and automatically relegate it to a non-index crime .

The policeman added that causing hurt comes under Sections 324 and 326 of the Penal Codem which are index crimes. But these offences will be classified under Section 148 of the Penal Code.

Since Section 148 of the Penal Code is a non-index crime category, the case will not be reflected in the crime statistics.

The policeman said that under-classification of the index crime to non-index crime runs into several thousand cases.

The opposition pact urged Home Minister Hishammuddin Hussein and Pemandu chief executive Idris Jala to disclose the statistics of cases classified under Sections 148, 382, 452 and 453 of the Penal Code as soon as possible to clarify the matter.

“The data provided must start from the time the National Key Results Area (NKRA) system was implemented and the three years preceeding it, to refute the allegation made,” they said.

Johor MB expects to lose nine seats

If Umno can convince former minister Shahrir Samad to contest, the party may get to keep Johor Baru in the coming general election.
COMMENT

Johor has always been touted as the bastion of Umno, but one wonders if it really is so, given the inroads the opposition made in 2008.

In the 2008 general election, there was a 14% swing to the opposition. What has happened to that swing? It is increasing and getting stronger.

And this has got the menteri besar worried, intimating to his Umno division heads in one meeting that he expects at least nine parliamentary seats and up to 16 state seats to fall to the opposition in the 13th general election.

That means he has not discounted fully the swing to the opposition.

He has acknowledged that, at best, with all the efforts and the bribery that Umno has carried out, the party has only managed to claim back some 5%.

That means there is still around a 9% swing with the opposition.

Based on that conservative assumption, the nine parliamentary seats are indeed in jeopardy.

My personal view is that Pakatan Rakyat can win the nine parliamentary seats and more.

Umno and Barisan Nasional is dicey in at least six more seats – Tanjung Piai, Gelang Patah, Pulai, Pasir Gudang Tebrau, Simpang Rengam and Parit Sulong.

Which really means, Pakatan could end up with between nine and 15 seats.

Will Shahrir contest?

Having said that, there is also the Johor Baru seat to consider. JB has a sizeable Chinese population which should prove to be a boon to Pakatan.

The determining factor here would be Umno’s choice of candidates. If Shahrir Samad chooses to retire, then JB will fall to Pakatan.

Shahrir can only be persuaded to stand if the Umno people can stoke his contempt for Anwar Ibrahim.

Shahrir himself is not that confident. He has said privately that most of the faces he sees in JB are not familiar to him.

The other seat which I am interested to see is Pulai. It’s currently held by UDA Holdings Bhd chairman Nur Jazlan Mohamed Rahmat.

Nur Jazlan is a decent fellow but has recently been the victim of Umno’s habit of practising infanticide. It kills off its young talent.

When Nur Jazlan came up with a strategy of raising money for UDA with the redevelopment of the Pudu Jail area, he became a victim to the ravenous appetite of Umno warlords ever on the lookout of using government to make tons of money.

And that has not gone down well with him and his supporters.

The writer is a former Umno state assemblyman but joined DAP earlier this year. He is a FMT columnist.

No roses in Palanivel’s GE list

The MIC president has decided not to field a single woman for the upcoming general election, reveals a party source.

KUALA LUMPUR: MIC president G Palanivel is expected to meet Prime Minister and Barisan Nasional chief Najib Tun Razak next Tuesday to finalise the party’s candidates list for the coming general election.

Apart from some minor changes to the list, the most shocking was that the largest Indian-based party in the country would not field any women candidates.

Sources revealed that although Palanivel had submitted a list of potential candidates, the meeting on Aug 28 would “finalise everything including two seat swaps”.

The source said that Palanivel had a meeting with the party’s women’s wing towards the end of July.

“And the outcome of the meeting shocked the wing as the president decided not to field any women candidates for the general election,” he added.

The source also claimed that Palanivel was peeved when only six representatives from the women’s wing turned up for the meeting.

In the last general election, MIC fielded four women, one for a parliamentary seat and the rest for state assembly seats.

Of the four, only T Murukasvary managed to retain the Tenggaroh state seat in Johor defeating PAS member Shahar Abdullah with a large majority of 8,233 votes.

Not up to expectations

Wanita MIC chief Komala Krishnamoorthy was defeated in the Kapar parliamentary seat by PKR’s S Manikavasagam.

However, the source claimed that the MIC leadership would also drop Murukasvary for the coming polls.

“Palanivel has decided to close the door to women candidates since the next general election will be toughest in the history of MIC,” he told FMT.

He said the president only wanted winnable candidates and the latter felt that those from the women’s wing would not make the cut.

The source also pointed out that the women’s wing had not performed up to expectations since the 2008 general election.

“Just look at the Wanita office in the party headquarters… it has remained locked for the last four to five months,” he added.

The source also said speculation was rife that Wanita MIC might boycott the polls as a result of the president’s decision.

“But I believe it will not happen since the women’s wing depends on the party’s top leadership for funds,” he added.

Nesa Land Scam

The Traveler, Thursday, August 23, 2012

Two years back  Traveler wrote an article, Family of Land Scam, highlighting how lawyer Pathmanaban, who is on trial for the murder of cosmetics millionaire Sosilawati Lawiya, her driver Kamaruddin shamsudin, lawyer Ahmad Kamil Abdul Karim, and CIMB Bank officer Noorhisham Mohammad,  and his family benefited from Nesa Cooperative Society in the land deals in Banting district.

On July 28 2012, expelled Vice President Nadaraja has exposed Nesa’s several other land scams in a press conference. Since then, Nesa has been maintaining a resounding silence on the allegations.

PAS needs to state stand on Hudud, not the DAP

(Bernama) It is PAS that needs to issue a statement on its stand on the 'hudud' law, not the DAP, said the Prime Minister's Political Secretary, Datuk Mohamad Fatmi Che Salleh.

Mohamad Fatmi, who is also the Kota Baharu Umno division head, said that PAS, as a party that champions Islam in the opposition pact, must be firm on its stand to implement the hudud law although the DAP disagreed on its implementation.

"What is important today, PAS must make a stand, not the DAP. Malaysians had already known from the start that the DAP was against an Islamic state, and rejects hudud.

"The mistake was why PAS had accepted the DAP," he told reporters when met at the Open House organised by the Kota Baharu Umno division, here today.

The press reported today that PAS Youth deputy head, Nik Abduh Nik Abdul Aziz had said that the DAP top leadership, especially its advisor Lim Kit Siang, and secretary-general Lim Guan Eng, should make an official party stand on the implementation of Islamic law in the country such as the hudud law.

Nik Abduh had said that the statement was crucial to correct the public perception following a series of statements by the DAP chairman, Karpal Singh, who rejected the hudud law and Islamic state which PAS was trying to implement if it were to take over the federal government.

Mohamad Fatmi said PAS should also make a stand whether it wanted to remain in the opposition pact after their statements on the setting up of an Islamic state appeared to be rejected by the DAP.

Be aware of Fitch’s fiscal warning — Ramon Navaratnam

AUG 23 — International ratings agency Fitch Ratings has once again warned Malaysia that its public finances are under sustained strain!

This firm but polite expression of censure, if not admonition, should not be played down by unduly highlighting Malaysia’s short-term good economic growth gains in the last two quarters of this year .

Neither should we be complacent about the serious declines in economic growth and stability occurring currently in the relatively rich developed industrial world. We can do this only at our own peril.

The fact of the matter is that Malaysia will be adversely affected by the global slowdown in the near future. The extent of our economic slide is difficult to project at this time. But we know for sure that we cannot take a “business as usual” attitude against the headwinds and strong disruptive socio-economic currents whirling around us, at home and from abroad.

Thus we have to safeguard the economy against increasing strains on our national “credit profile”. This means, in short, exercising more fiscal discipline to restrain our high budget deficits and the budget and national debt from growing big and bad.

Budget 2013, to be tabled in Parliament next month, must therefore ensure that the necessary budget fiscal and monetary measures are adopted to strengthen our economic foundation and the fiscal reforms relating to better management of budget revenues, expenditures, the national debt and balance of payments, in the face of the inevitable global economic slowdown

Budget 2013 must therefore clearly show that it has taken Fitch’s fiscal warning seriously or Malaysia will have to pay penalties now being experienced by many developed countries!
We believe 2013 Budget should and will accordingly be designed appropriately.

* Tan Sri Ramon Navaratnam is chairman of the Asli Centre of Public Policy Studies.
* This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insider.

Shah Rukh Booked For Insulting National Flag

PUNE, Aug 22 (Bernama) -- Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan has been booked by city police for allegedly insulting the national flag, police said Tuesday.

Police in the western Indian Pune city brought the case against the actor on Aug 14 after Lok Janshakti Party national secretary Ravi Brahme claimed the 46-year-old actor had insulted the flag in a video purportedly uploaded on Youtube.

"Shah Rukh Khan has been booked under the Prevention of Insults to National Honour Act 1971. The case has been transferred to Mumbai police for further investigation. The case documents consist some photos and videos," Press Trust of India quoted a police officer as saying.

Brahme had recently lodged a complaint against Mumbai-based model Gehna Vashisht for allegedly insulting the national flag by wearing it as a bikini.

She was arrested on Aug 18 by police in Pune and released on bail the next day.

Shah Rukh's manager was unavailable for comment.

However, sources close to Shah Rukh said the actor did not have any knowledge about the complaint lodged against him.

Anti Party-Hopping Proposal Is Mere DAP Political Spinning - Chua

PETALING JAYA, Aug 23 (Bernama) -- MCA president Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek today slammed DAP for proposing to amend the Penang state constitution to prevent party-hopping, saying that the move was only political spinning by the opposition party.

Questioning DAP sincerity on the matter, Dr Chua said DAP also knew it well that the proposal would not pass through the state assembly and it was against the Federal Constitution to restrict an individual's political freedom.

He said if DAP was really committed on preventing party-hopping, they could just do so by amending its party constitution.

"Amending party constitution is the simplest. It is easy to amend and to say that the party will not accept any "political frog", and if they (party-hoppers) jump, they will not be offered any seat.

"The whole story ends. Why need to go to the state assembly. At the end of the day, you make a lot of noise, attract attention but it is not as honorable as the DAP make it out to be," he told reporters after witnessing a presentation of monetary rewards by The Star Publications (M) Berhad to national Olympians Datuk Lee Chong Wei and Pandelela Rinong Pamg, here today.

Lee, who won a silver in badminton and Pandelala, a bronze in the diving event in the just concluded London Olympic Games were awarded RM100,000 each.

The MCA president was commenting on Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng's proposal to table at the state assembly an anti-party hopping law.

Recounting several events on party hopping since 2008, including PKR's advisor Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim's Sept 16 infamous claim that the opposition would form the Federal Government after a list of Barisan Nasional (BN) lawmakers were said to be defecting to the opposition, Dr Chua said DAP had been all along supporting party hopping.

He said DAP had accepted two former Umno leaders to its fold early this year and the two Umno veterans were even promised seats in the upcoming general election.

"In a recent case, two former Sabah BN leaders also joined the opposition but the DAP didn't say a word," he said referring to Beaufort MP and chairman of BN Beaufort Datuk Seri Lajim Ukin and Tuaran MP Datuk Seri Wilfred Bumburing, who is also United Pasokmomogun Kadazandusun Murut Organisation (Upko) deputy president, who had quit BN last month to support the opposition.

"If DAP was sincere about anti-party hopping, they should not accept party hoppers from the very beginning," he added.

Earlier in his speech at the reward ceremony, Dr Chua urged all Malaysians to be united and support the national atheletes in their quests to bring greater glory to the country.

"If politicians failed to unite all Malaysians, at least both of you have helped to unite all Malaysians.

"Let us not let politics divide all of us when it comes to us," he added.

New Study: Eggs as Harmful as Cigarettes

New research has found that egg consumption is nearly as harmful to heart health as smoking tobacco. The study found a correlation between the number of egg yolks consumed and thickened arteries; the correlation was nearly as high as the correlation between the amount of tobacco smoked and thickened arteries.

Researchers measured the carotid wall thickness (an indicator of heart health) and measured the smoking, diet, and exercise habits of over 1,200 participants. "We believe our study makes it imperative to reassess the role of egg yolks, and dietary cholesterol in general, as a risk factor for coronary heart disease," the study authors concluded. 

 

 

 

 As scientific research continues to show the harmful effects of egg consumption on human health, undercover investigations continue to expose the horrific abuses hens and other farmed animals endure. Fortunately, preventing cruelty, heart disease, and cancer is easy with a plant-based diet.