Anwar an asset to Pakatan, roars DAP's lion

By S Rutra
FMT EXCLUSIVE KUALA LUMPUR: DAP national chairman Karpal Singh will celebrate his 70th birthday on June 28. His mane may have turned silver with age, but the “Lion of Jelutong”, despite being confined to a wheelchair after a road accident, is still ferocious as ever and continues to strike fear in the hearts of his opponents, be it in Parliament or a courtroom.
His cubs are a chip off the old block, especially his sons Gobind and Jagdeep, who are an MP and state assemblyman respectively. The two, like father, are also known for their tenacity.
In an exclusive interview with FMT, the senior lawyer and Bukit Gelugor MP speaks on several issues, including the secular DAP's dicey partnership with the Islamic PAS and whether Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim is a liability to the coalition.
Karpal, who is Anwar's lead counsel in the latter's ongoing sodomy trial, does not believe that the PKR supremo is a cause for concern.
On the contrary, he feels that Anwar is an asset, and credits him as a politician who managed to conquer the odds after being sacked and thrown in jail; and re-invent himself as a force to be recokned with.
“I believe he is an asset to Pakatan. We must look at the bigger picture. Despite his prosecution, he remains a charismatic leader. This can be seen in the way he is garnering Malay support.
“Just look at the number of people who throng his ceramah, the numbers never dwindle. This shows how much of impact he has made on the Malays,” he said.
Asked if this perception will change if Anwar is found guilty, Karpal insisted that even then, Anwar cannot be considered a liability to Pakatan and his jailing will just boost his image.
“If he is found guilty and sent to jail, he will become a martyr... during the 1999 and 2008 general elections, he was the crucial factor in securing votes for the opposition,” he said.
PKR undergoing cleansing process
Karpal also disagreed that with the current spate of defections, the Anwar-led PKR looked poised to take its Pakatan partners, DAP and PAS, to the political grave as well.
“I don't think so. Look at the last general election's result, I consider this (2008 election) one of the most democractic where nobody ever dreamt that certain seats could be won.
“It did not matter who contested (they still won). It was a repeat of the 1969 election where many who were not qualified to be candidates were elected as MPs,” he said.
When a tsunami hits, Karpal said, “you get the best and the worst of fish” being washed up to shore, and now they (the latter) are “showing their true colours”.
Since every cloud has its silver lining, the veteran politician believes that PKR is undergoing a cleasing process of those who do not deserve to be part of its struggle.
“The core PKR leaders are still there, there are some good and qualified MPs. Only a handful are a liability, it is better for them to leave now instead of jumping ship in the next election,” he said.
Below are excerpts from the interview:
FMT: What about the difference in policies among Pakatan parties?
This where PKR comes in, with Anwar being some sort of a buffer between PAS and DAP. I think PKR, especially Anwar, is crucial as a unifying factor, being able to get these two parties together. This was considered as something impossible in the past.
In 1999, we had reached some understanding on issues like the Islamic state but our own supporters disagreed with me and (DAP supremo) Lim Kit Siang. In my own (previous) constituency in Jelutong where I contested for the sixth time, a Chinese woman came up to me and told me that she was not going to support me because we (DAP) were working with an extremist group (PAS). She complained that even Kit Siang had let down the Chinese community.
I tried explaining that it was just an election understanding, but I still got thrown out of Jelutong, a seat which Barisan Nasional never won before. I had a difficult time in making a comeback and we only managed to do it in 2004. By having common strategies, we were no longer adamant about old ideologies and had put aside our differences. This happened in India during the 1990s, where all parties joined forces with (Hindu right wing party) BJP in toppling the ruling government led by the Congress Party.
Are you saying that Pakatan parties have abandoned their basic principles?
The basic principles remain, and we would always be committed to them. This is clear from what happened in 2001 when we pulled out from Barisan Alternatif, immediately after the 9/11 attack in the United States.
This resulted in Kit Siang and myself being voted back into Parliament. Many did not expect us to make a comeback. The Chinese told us that they had forgiven us. But in 2008, joining forces with PKR and PAS worked well. Now we realise that Pakatan ould work on many common issues such as human rights, the economy and many more.
For example in Sibu, we achieved what was unthinkable in the past, where PAS and PKR campaigned with us (to help DAP clinch the Chinese majority seat, which was a BN stronghold). PAS flags were hoisted alongside DAP flags.
What about Pakatan's chances to form the next government?
That's not something which is impossile. Looking at the reaction of people during our ceramah whether they are Malays, Chinese or Indians. In fact, PAS has announced that they want to list non-Muslims as candidates in the next general election. Many Indians have also joined the PAS supporters club. This shows that PAS has become more liberal.

Najib 'destroyed' Felda, says ex-deputy minister

By Patrick Lee - Free Malaysia Today


PETALING JAYA: In a scathing open letter, the former deputy minister of land and cooperatives Tan Kee Kwong has accused Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak of “destroying” Felda.

Felda or the Federal Land Development Authority is a government agency tasked with handling the resettlement of rural poor into newly developed areas.

In his letter, first sighted on the popular blog “People's Parliament”, Tan said: “I publicly accuse Najib of single-handedly destroying Felda.”

Contacted later, the former Gerakan leader and ex-Segambut MP, who is now with PKR, told FMT that the letter was penned in a “moment of anger and frustration” after learning of some new information 10 days ago.

According to Tan, Felda's cash reserve was around RM4.5 billion in 2004, but the amount has since declined by RM200 million. He blames Najib's “mismanagement” of the scheme for this.

He also claimed that Najib's real intention to helm Felda was to have access to its huge hoard.

“The sacrifices (in the Felda scheme) have all gone down the drain. Felda was a world-class name many years ago. It's (just) utter rubbish,” he said.

Asked if he had documents to back his claim, Tan expressed confidence in his source and challenged the government to probe the matter.

Felda's 'five-star' office

Meanwhile, Tan also questioned Felda's foray into the real estate market.
According to him, Felda bought a “five-star office” located next to the Singapore High Commission in Kuala Lumpur.

Tan also alleged that Felda officials had paid up to 40 percent of the building costs prior to its construction.

“Even before one piece of construction was laid out, Felda gave RM230 million (to the developers),” he said, adding that the building would cost roughly RM600 million.

“What guarantee do you have that you would finish (constructing) the building?” he asked.

Tan also told FMT that 40 percent was unusually high for a deposit and that 10 percent was a more reasonable amount.

He said that the building was being developed by local construction company Naza TTDI.

The PKR member also challenged Felda's recent decision to raise bonds for the scheme.
“Why raise bonds when it's apparently got so much reserves?” he asked.

Anwar predicts doom for Najib's plan

By Rahmah Ghazali - Free Malaysia Today

KUALA LUMPUR: Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim is not impressed with the 10th Malaysian Plan (10MP), saying there is little difference between this blueprint and its “failed” predecessors.

According to the Permatang Pauh MP, the government has always over-projected the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and the new plan does the same.

Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak set a six percent growth for the GDP and aimed to reduce deficit from seven to 2.8 percent.

Najib's plan was given the thumbs up by certain quarters, but Anwar, a former finance minister, felt that it was "just another billion-ringgit announcement.”

"In terms of thought process, 10MP is nowhere different compared to the previous economic plans although our financial situation is now at crossroads," he added.

For instance, explained Anwar, the Eighth Malaysia Plan (8MP) announced by former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad projected 7.5 percent growth for the GDP for 2001 to 2005.

"However, throughout that period, we only managed to achieve 4.7 percent," he said.

When Abdullah Ahmad Badawi took over, Anwar said the situation worsened when the former premier demanded national oil company Petronas to fork out RM235.6 billion to sustain the economy from 2006 and 2009 under the Ninth Malaysia Plan (9MP).

"But the economy only managed to grow at an average of 4.2 percent while in the plan, they projected six percent for the GDP," he said.

Since its establishment in the 1970s, Anwar said Petronas has paid a total of RM431 billion to the government and 55 percent of its revenue has been spent "without any impact on our economy”.

"In other countries, our dependency on debts could be reduced if a government-owned company contributed even 45 percent of its revenue," he added.

Malaysian being left behind

Malaysia, he said, is now trailing behind other developing nations such as Brazil and neighboring Indonesia.

"Brazil, which just emerged as a new economic power is now leading when it comes to reducing public debts. Malaysia is too addicted to debts,” he added.

The opposition leader noted that Indonesia has also made an effort to reduce public debts, bringing the figure down from 77 percent in 2001 to 29 percent in 2009.

Anwar also pointed out that Malaysia's financial situation was not like this between 1991 and 1998 when he was in the cabinet.

"That was because we realised that the burden should be reduced so that we would not burden the next generation," he added.

Quoting the International Monetory Fund's (IMF) findings on Malaysia's national budget for 2009, Anwar said the report indicated that the country's deficit could hit a “chronic level” without help from petroleum sources.

"In 2009, the budget deficit reached 7.4 percent of the GDP although it was expected to be reduced to 5.3 percent for the year 2010," he said.

He added that it was not only that the budget could not be balanced out at the end of the 8MP period, the government was still tangled in a deficit problem.

Failed twice before

"When the government announced the 9MP, the government once again promised to reduce deficit by controlling government spending.

“They had aimed to reduce the deficit to 3.4 percent of the GDP by 2010 even though the 8MP target was not achieved,” he said.

"That is why we are looking at this matter seriously because the government has failed twice in a row, and now they want to reduce the deficit for the 10MP as well," he added.

Shifting his focus to Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), Anwar revealed that the country has only received RM46 billion in 2008 and RM22 billion last year compared to Indonesia's RM50.6 billion (2008) and RM37.9 billion (2009).

"What disappoints me the most is while Indonesia is enjoying the increase of average income of 10 percent between 2007 and 2009 - Malaysia is still struggling with high-cost of living with only 4.7 percent increase of average income for 2009 and 6.3 percent for 2008," he added.

"Now we are competing with Thailand and Vietnam. Soon after this, the Philippines too will leave us behind if we don't improve our economy with more drastic and realistic measures," he added.

In other words

Yesterday, Malaysiakini ran a news item called Dr M gives thumbs up to sports betting. When it comes to politicians from any side of the political divide, you must read not what they say but what they mean ‘in other words’.
NO HOLDS BARRED
Raja Petra Kamarudin
Former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad does not object to federal government plans to license sports betting because it can help regulate the industry, currently run by underground syndicates.
"With or without a licence, there is a lot of betting going on in this country.”
"The Chinese like to gamble," he said during a press conference after the Melayu Bangkit rally at the Terengganu Indoor Stadium in Kuala Terengganu this morning.
"Without licensing, there is no way to regulate (sports gambling)," he added.
In other words: The Chinese are immoral and if we can’t beat, then join them.
Quizzed on Pakatan Rakyat's criticism of the move, Mahathir said its motive is purely political.
"They are doing it for politics and not (for) Islam. How could DAP (be expected to) uphold Islam? This is opposition politics. They are looking for mileage," he said.
In other words: DAP is not sincere and is an enemy of Islam.
Asked if Tan is one of those who have contributed to Umno's political funding, Mahathir was coy in his reply.
"He gave the money (from the sale of Ascot Sports) to the (Better Malaysia) foundation, (so) it is (meant) to be given to all Malaysians, not to Umno," said Mahathir.
He claimed that Tan has been engaged in channelling funds to parties on both sides of the political divide.
"... (H)e is a businessman, and as a businessman I think he does not give to only one side. He gives to Umno, but I think he also gives to the oppostion party as well," said the former premier.
In other words: Yes, I admit, Vincent Tan does give money to Umno, but I suspect he also gives money to the opposition.
Mahathir also gave his approval to the recently announced 10th Malaysia Plan, describing it as a continuation of the New Economic Policy affirmative action towards solving the problems of Malays.
"The NEM, (the thrust of) which is included in 10MP, takes into account the criticism voiced by Malay NGOs. Hence it continues to protect the interests of Malays."
In other words: The NEP has not ended and never will.

Low turnout at Melayu Bangkit rally

By SAZALI M. NOOR, The Star

Dr Mahathir, in keynote speech, blames PAS and PKR for Malay disunity

KUALA TERENGGANU: The anticipated 5,000 people failed to turn up at the Melayu Bangkit rally here Monday, and the organisers blamed the FIFA World Cup for the low turnout.

"Probably, they (locals) were all tired after watching the World Cup telecasts, while many of those employed could not get leave," rally organising chairman Razali Idris of Gerakan Kebangkitan Rakyat (People’s Consciousness Movement) told The Star.

However, Razali expressed his delight over the initiatives of 58 Malay non-governmental organisations (NGOs) to ensure their representatives were present at the rally.

The hundreds who turned up heard former Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad deliver his keynote speech, in which he warned that the Malays risked becoming marginalised like "Singapore Malays", if they continued to be mired in political diversion and were unable to tackle any crisis effectively.

He said Malays could end up as a minority in their own country if the community was disunited due to the agendas of political parties. He insinuated that Opposition leaders were responsible for Malays' predicament.

Dr Mahathir observed that the Malay electorate's support was now split into three Malay-based political parties, including Umno.

"Although Malays consists of 60% of the population, our votes are divided, eventually triggering feuds among the community. They (PAS and PKR) are only interested in power and not race or religion.

"They are willing to go to any extent to become prime minister," he added.

Will PAS come, body, mind and soul, to the middle path?

By Haris Ibrahim,

In the 2004 general elections, PAS was severely punished for the Islamic state blue print that they came out with, having fallen for the needling from Mahathir to walk their ‘negara Islam’ talk.
They learnt from that experience, it seems, and learnt well.
12th GE, there was no mention of ‘Islamic state’ in their election manifesto.
They went one step further.
They endorsed the People’s Declaration.
And for the first time, they were able to forge a working relationship with DAP.
They have just concluded their annual general assembly.
YB Khalid Samad spoke to Malaysianinsider about a proposal called “PAS action plan for the 13th general elections” by which PAS aims to capture  37 Parliamentary seats presently under the belt of Umno to add to PAS’s own 23 seats.
They’re targeting 60 parliamentary seats in the next general election.
The stated objective : to replace Umno as the core of national politics based on leadership by Islamic values.
I’d like to know what is meant by ‘leadership by Islamic values’.
Islamic values determined by whom?
Would moves to ban rock shows and the sale of alcohol come within ‘leadership by Islamic values’?
PAS must make explicit whether they are prepared to respect and uphold that the constitution gives to the citizenry, both Muslim and non-Muslim, the right of choice in many matters of a personal nature.
Would ‘leadership by Islamic values’ honour this?
That PAS is serious in pursuing this 13th GE agenda is made clear by their opening of this year’s assembly to non-Muslim delegates, a move that is clearly intended to make the Islamist party more acceptable to non-Muslim voters.
New PAS supporters wing chief Hu Pang Chow states that the supporters wing, with about 20,000 members, are an asset to the Islamic party in winning over Malay and non-Malay votes, and demonstrates PAS’ inclusiveness.
“The important thing is to make sure Pakatan and PAS win big so that we can take over Putrajaya”,  Hu said.
Take over Putrajaya with ‘leadership by Islamic values’?.
Same old questions come to mind.
Whose values?
How’s it going to impact on our daily lives?
Will Hu and the 20,000 members use their position in the party to exact the answers to the many questions so many in civil society have about how this ‘leadership by Islamic values’ might pan out?

Sasaran 30% Ekuiti Bumi Tidak Akan Tercapai

Dari Malaysiakini

Sasaran 30 peratus ekuiti untuk bumiputera di bawah Rancangan Malaysia kesepuluh (RMK10) tidak akan dapat dicapai kerana tiada insentif yang diberikan untuk mempertahankan pegangan mereka, kata ahli ekonomi terkemuka, Jomo KS.

“Anda mempunyai situasi, di mana ukuran anda mengenai apa yang akan membawa kemajuan kepada orang Melayu, adalah satu ukuran yang akan gagal, kerana dasar tersebut,” katanya dalam sidang media selepas memberi taklimat kepada ahli parlimen Pakatan Rakyat mengenai RMK10.

Jomo mendakwa mantan Perdana Menteri Dr Mahathir Mohamad adalah orang yang bertanggungjawab memulakan amalan di mana saham bumiputera diberi kepada segelintir golongan elit sahaja.

Menurutnya, amalan tersebut telah mengakibatkan ekuiti bumiputera menjadi beku antara 18 hingga 22 peratus sejak pertengahan 1980-an.

“Jika anda melihat angka-angka dari tahun 1970 dan seterusnya, dari 2.4 pada tahun 1970, ia meningkat ke sekitar 18 peratus pada

awal 1980-an dan kemudian kekal antara 18 hingga 22 peratus untuk 30 tahun akan datang.

“Mengapa itu berlaku? Kerana anda mengambil aset yang dipegang bagi pihak masyarakat bumiputera dan kemudian memberikannya kepada beberapa orang sahaja.

“Jadi apa yang mereka lakukan? Kerana mereka mahu buat duit, maka apa yang mereka lakukan ialah menjualnya. Jadi hasilnya adalah ianya tidak lagi dimiliki oleh bumiputera,” jelasnya.

Bhopal and the US Response to BP's Gulf Blowout

The wrecked Bhopal plant, Nov 2009

(Asia Sentinel) A witness to the Bhopal disaster points out American hypocrisy

I was there in Bhopal on December 7,1984, when Warren Anderson, then the chairman of Union Carbide, was whisked away from the stricken city to Delhi and back to the US – and we all knew that it was happening with the help of Rajiv Gandhi, then India's prime minister.

Since then Anderson has been protected by the US business-political establishment from being extradited to India to answer for the appalling human and environmental damage wrought by his company's gas leak in Bhopal a few days earlier. That was one of the world's worst industrial disasters, leading to the death of over 5,000 people and continuing ill-health of over 500,000. (See my last visit and report six months ago).

Now that same American establishment that has protected Anderson has been pillorying Tony Hayward, BP's chief executive, following BP's oil leak in the Gulf of Mexico. The tirade has been led by President Barack Obama, who has been behaving like a spoiled child for the past 50 or so days, casting around for someone to blame when it is his own officials who are primarily at fault.

These two man-made catastrophes have generated mega outbursts of irrational media coverage in India and the US in the past week, both fuelled by political cant.

In Delhi, politicians and media have been in a frenzy over the Bhopal gas leak following a court judgment last Monday that eight Indian former Union Carbide executives should serve two-year prison sentences and be fined about $2,000 (subject to appeals that could take years).

In neither case are the main political players really focusing on the primary issues – the appalling damage and threat to the environment in the Gulf, and health problems in Bhopal where thousands of people have suffered for over 25 years.

In both cases it is the US that is making sure its interest are protected. On Bhopal, Anderson was airlifted out of India when he could have been detained, and has been protected ever since by the American business-political establishment. On the Gulf spill, it is America that has decided that BP and Hayward, not its own officials and companies, should be the target for abuse and penalties.

"Whose ass to kick?"

Obama is frightened politically about the damage the spill will do to him and the Democrats. Consequently, he has been stoking anti-BP sentiment instead of steadying it, when the real culprits are officials in various US government organisations that for years have allowed oil companies to negotiate exceptions on environmental and safety procedures. The New York Times explained this on June 6. It started by talking about the managerial muddle on the BP rig, with unclear lines of authority and control, but it then went on to report how US officials had allowed the catastrophic situation to develop.:

"Deepwater rigs operate under an ad hoc system of exceptions. The deeper the water, the further the exceptions stretch, not just from federal guidelines but also often from company policy. So, for example, when BP officials first set their sights on extracting the oily riches under what is known as Mississippi Canyon Block 252 in the Gulf of Mexico, they asked for and received permission from federal regulators to exempt the drilling project from federal law that requires a rigorous type of environmental review, internal documents and federal records indicate."

So when Obama said last week that he wanted to know "whose ass to kick", the answer should have been American officials in the regulatory authorities. Sure, BP is massively responsible for what has happened, but for Obama to have personally attacked its chief executive, Tony Hayward, is mean and pathetic – and the president has ended up demeaning himself.

On Bhopal, the court sentences passed on the eight men are of course ridiculously small – and 25 years late. But the Indian media, egged on by politicians, has gone off chasing who it was that allowed Anderson to escape instead of focusing on Indian and Bhopal authorities that allowed a potentially unsafe chemical plant to be built so near the city, then allowed slum housing to mushroom nearby, and then failed to carry out regulatory checks.

Of the eight, the only well-known figure is Keshub Mahindra, chairman of Mahindra & Mahindra, one of the most respected and "clean" Indian groups. He was non-executive chairman of Union Carbide India at a time when such posts had no real corporate responsibility and were mainly involved in helping the company operate in the country. The other seven (including one who has died) were victims of an American management that had effectively walked away from the investment and wanted to dump it.

On the escape of Anderson, I was there in Bhopal at the time – December 7, 1984 - and later learned about what happened from both government and company sources.

Arjun Singh, then the chief minister of Madhya Pradesh (Bhopal is the state capital) heard that Anderson was flying into Bhopal from Bombay on a flight that stopped in Indore. So he ordered his police to the airport without (fearing leaks) telling them why, till the plane had taken off from Indore, when he told them Anderson should be arrested on arrival.

Anderson had planned his visit as some sort of mercy and goodwill mission. As the plane landed in Bhopal, he looked out of the cabin window and saw the police cars, so said to Mahindra, who was sitting beside him, how good it was of the state government to provide him with an escort.

He was immediately arrested and taken to the Union Carbide guest house on a hill overlooking the city. Along with a crowd of Indian and foreign journalists, I stood that afternoon at the guest house's front gates waiting for Anderson to emerge. Shame on us all, he was whisked out of the back gate without most of us seeing him, and was released on bail after being held for just six hours. He was put on a government plane to Delhi, and then flew to the US.

Although we did not know that afternoon whether Anderson was being flown to Delhi to be detained there, we had no doubt that Singh, a leading Congress politician, was acting on the orders of – or at least with the approval of Rajiv Gandhi, the Congress prime minister. The government is now saying that Singh sent Anderson out of Bhopal because he feared civil unrest if the executive was seen in the city. But that does not explain why, presumably at the behest of the US, Anderson was then allowed to leave the country.

But whether Singh or Gandhi were wrong to have done that is not now relevant. The real crime has been committed by the Indian and American authorities, and by Union Carbide and Dow which has now taken over the company, by not punishing the right people and cleaning up the health hazards in Bhopal.

Now there's a cause where President Obama could usefully "kick ass".

John Elliott, a former longtime Financial Times correspondent in India, blogs at Riding the Elephant, which appears across the page on Asia Sentinel.

EPF Withdrawals For More Illnesses And Family Members Below 16

KUALA LUMPUR, June 14 (Bernama) -- The Employees' Provident Fund (EPF) is allowing withdrawals for more critical illnesses and treatment of family members under the age of 16 for severe asthma, leukaemia and intellectual impairment caused by sickness or accidents.

The list of critical illnesses had been expanded from 13 to 36, EPF chief exeutive officer Tan Sri Azlan Zainol said in a statement Monday.

"The new expanded list takes into consideration the significant costs required in treating these critical illnesses, and is aimed at helping members fully settle or help ease their financial burden of seeking treatment," he added.

Members can now withdraw their savings also for Alzheimer's Disease, Parkinson's Disease, chronic liver and lung diseases, Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE) with Lupus Nephritis and paralysis.

Azlan said that for withdrawals to treat family members who are under the age of 16, joint withdrawal could be made with other family members to cover the required medical expenses subject to the balance in Account 2 and total cost of treatment.

Family members include spouse, children, stepchildren or legally adopted children, parents, parents-in-law, step parents or legally foster parents and siblings.

All withdrawals are subjected to the validity of medical report, bills and receipts which must not exceed one year from the date the withdrawal application is submitted.

All bills and receipts must also be in the name of the patient or applicant.

Withdrawals are not allowed for illnesses outside the approved list or when the cost of medical treatment is fully covered by the respective member's employer or the employer of his or her family members.

Those receiving fertility treatments or alternative treatments such as acupuncture or traditional medication are also not entitled.

The 36 critical illnesses are aplastic anaemia, appalic syndrome, Alzheimer's Disease, benign tumour of the brain, blindness, cancer, cardiomyopathy, chronic liver disease, chronic lung disease, coma, coronary artery disease, deafness, encephalitis, fulminant viral hepatitis, heart attack, heart valve replacement, kidney failure, loss of independence existence, loss of speech, major burns, major head Trauma, major organ transplant, medullary Cystic disease, meningitis, motor neurone disease, multiple sclerosis, muscular dystrophy, paralysis, Parkinson's disease, poliomyelitis, primary pulmonary, stroke, surgery to aorta, systemic lupus erythematosus with lupus nephritis, terminal illness and total permanent disability.

For more information, visit myEPF wesite at www.KWSP.gov.my, contact 03-89226000 or visit any EPF branch.

By Anil Netto

I cannot for the life of me imagine why any businessman would want to invest in Zimbabwe.
Look what happened to one such business venture, a Malaysian-Dutch firm Matanuska, which had its banana plantation seized by a retired army general-turned-Zimbabwe’s ambassador to Tanzania.
Perhaps Matanuska thought its interests would be protected by Zimbabwe’s Bilateral Investment Promotion and Protection Agreement (Bippa) with Malaysia. Under this agreement, the firm was reportedly offered land but not title to the land. Or maybe they thought Malaysia enjoyed a special relationship with Zimbabwe!
The former general claimed that the property had been granted to him under Mugabe’s land reform programme under which white-owned farms were seized and handed over to landless black citizens.
The investors are now trying to regain control of their banana plantation. As one political economist told me, “If they are willing to invest in Robert Mugabe’s lawless country, they should not then complain that they are losing out due to the lawlessness there.”
Check out the story here, here, and here.

Nik Aziz: Being likened to Gandhi is ok, head of PR not ok

KOTA BARU: PAS spiritual leader Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat does not want to be the No 1 leader of the opposition coalition should it win the general election.

He said that Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) advisor Anwar Ibrahim is the one most suitable for the job.

"I don't want to be the No 1 man although someone has have proposed it. I've always said that Anwar is the most suitable person because he has passed the physical and moral tests.

"If people appoint me, I will give it to him," he told reporters after opening the 11th symposium of the Malaysian Society of Applied Biology here.

He was asked to comment on a call by a delegate at the PAS muktamar last week that he be appointed Pakatan Rakyat spiritual leader because of his integrity and success in helming Kelantan for 20 years.

On the remark by a delegate that the Indian community likened him to India's revered leader, Mahatma Gandhi, Nik Aziz said that was alright but he could not accept the post of supreme leader of the opposition coalition.

- Bernama

Prove RM2m claim or zip up, Anwar told

By Rahmah Ghazali - Free Malaysia Today

KUALA LUMPUR: Former PKR MP Zahrain Mohamed Hashim today challenged Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim to show evidence that those who deserted PKR received RM2 million.

Interrupting Anwar's speech on the 10th Malaysia Plan in Parliament, Zahrain likened the issue to Anwar's failed promise to take over the government on Sept 16, 2008, with the help of defections.

"This is the first time that I am challenging Permatang Pauh (Anwar) to show evidence that we received RM2 million each to resign from the party. If you think you want to be a hero, please prove it," he said.

During the PKR congress in Kota Bharu two weeks ago, Anwar had alleged that the PKR MPs who quit the party and turned independent had been paid RM2 million by Barisan Nasional.

However, Zahrain and the other ex-PKR MPs such as Tan Tee Beng (Nibong Tebal), Mohsin Fadzli Samsuri (Bagan Serai) and Wee Choo Keong (Wangsa Maju) had cited lack of confidence in Anwar's leadership as one of the main reasons for quitting.

Meanwhile, another independent Zulkifli Noordin (Kulim Bandar Baru) was sacked from the party for refusing toe the line.

Anwar: I'll do it at the right time

Despite Zahrain's attack, Anwar remained calm and maintained that he had documents to back his claim.

"I don't need to answer this, Mr Speaker. However, I would like to congratulate Bayan Baru (Zahrain) now that he has a nice house and a new car.

“The whole of Penang knows about this, everyone knows," he said.

An irate Zahrain reiterated that the opposition leader furnish proof, but the latter replied that he would do so when the time is right.

Speaking at a joint press conference with the other ex-PKR MPs later, Zahrain said: "If he does not have proof, he should shut up.”

Former MIED CEO ordered to surrender passport

KUALA LUMPUR: The Sessions Court today ordered former Maju Institute of Educational Development (MIED) chief executive officer P Chithirakala, who faces three cheating charges, to surrender her passport to the court pending disposal of the case.

Judge Azizah Mahamud made the order after hearing submissions from deputy public prosecutor Kevin Morais of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) and Chithirakala, 39, who represented herself.

Azizah said the decision was made on the ground that the MACC had received a report from the investigating officer, Fikri Abdul Rahim, that Chithirakala had intention to abscond and evade trial.

She said the prosecution had succeeded in proving that Chithirakala had intention to jump bail based on the affidavits and reports filed earlier. However, she said, the court could still consider it if the mother of two applied for the return of the passport to go overseas.

Chithirakala, 39, is charged with cheating former MIC secretary-general M Mahalingam, 74, who was a director and signatory of MIED Sdn Bhd, by deceiving him into signing three cheques for a total of RM4 million on Jan 9 and 30 and May 3, 2007.

Each offence carries a maximum 10 years jail and whipping and liability of a fine on conviction.

Azizah also fixed June 28 for mention to enable her to engage counsel after her three counsel - Saseedharan Menon, Prem Shandar and B.Muralidharan - discharged themselves.

Chithirakala was later seen handing over her passport to the court interpreter.

- Bernama

New palace: Direct contracts due to 'safety'

By Syed Jaymal Zahiid - Free Malaysia Today

FULL REPORT KUALA LUMPUR: The contracts to build the nation's new palace worth RM811 million were awarded directly to three companies, said Deputy Works Minister Yong Khoon Seng.

He told Parliament today that after "consulting the private sector", the government had decided to award the contracts to the three companies.

Yong cited "safety" reasons for the decision to award the contracts directly.

This runs contrary to Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak's vow to award government contracts through an open tender process under his New Economic Model.

The new palace construction in Jalan Duta is currently underway.

Yong said the construction was divided into three categories: the main complex, the public space including parking lots, and road upgrades around the palace

The contract for the main complex and the public space worth RM650 million had been awarded to a company named Maya Maju Sdn Bhd.

Meanwhile the sub-contract to upgrade roads worth RM130 million and RM32.5 million were awarded directly to Ahmad Zaki Resources Bhd and Kejuruteraan Kenari Sdn Bhd.

Taiping DAP parliamentarian Nga Kor Ming blasted the government for the lack of transparency when awarding the contracts.

He also demanded to know why the cost had ballooned by 100 percent since it was announced by then Works Minister S Samy Vellu in 2006.

100 percent cost inflation

In a statement issued immediately after the announcement, the first-term MP questioned the rationale behind the direct awarding of the contract.

"According to the Treasury rules, any award or procurement of government contracts worth more than RM200,00 must undergo an open tender system. The contracts to build the new palace did not meet this criteria," said Nga.

Nga also said he was shocked by the 100 percent cost inflation within five years.

But Yong in his reply defended the move to award the contracts through direct negotiations because the construction of the new palace was "special".

He also said the cost of the new palace was cheaper compared to other palaces as the land on which the new palace is to be built on was cheaper.

"The land cost RM670 per square feet, whereas it was sold at RM1,000 per square feet in other states like Selangor, Kedah and others where the palaces are situated," he said.

MIED 'can be sued' for alleged mismanagement

The Maju Institute of Educational Development (MIED) can now go ahead and sue its chairperson and eight trustees for alleged mismanagement, resulting in financial losses.

The Kuala Lumpur High Court judicial c ommissioner Mah Weng Kwai allowed ex-MIC Youth chief A Vigneswaran's application to name MIED as the plaintiff in his proposed suit.

Vigneswaran, who is an MIED member, had sought leave under Section 181A of the Companies Act 1965, which stipulates that parties that want to be named on behalf of the company as plaintiff in a suit can only institute it with the leave of the court.

On April 14, the court rejected the MIED's preliminary objection to Vigneswaran's application for leave to commence the suit.

His counsel, A Vasanthi, told reporters that the court allowed Vigneswaran's application on the grounds that there was a prima facie case against the MIED's trustees and other wrongdoers.

She said her client had 30 days to file the writ of summons.

In his proposed suit, Vigneswaran named the MIED, the party's educational arm, as the plaintiff and its chairperson and eight trustees as the defendants.

- Bernama

Malaysia upgraded in human trafficking report

Hishammuddin commended his ministry’s officials for the status improvement. — file pic

KUALA LUMPUR, June 14 — Malaysia has been upgraded to Tier 2 from Tier 3 in the Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report 2010 to be released this evening by the US Department of States.

Home Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein said today he was informed of the new ranking in a letter from the US Embassy.

“This is recognition to all our efforts. I would like to congratulate KDN (home ministry) officials and our secretary-general,” he told reporters in Parliament.

Malaysia was downgraded to Tier 3 from Tier 2 in the same report last year.

It resulted in the strict enforcement of the Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act in 2007 to prosecute traffickers, and protect and rehabilitate the victims to improve Malaysia’s status.

Under the TIP, Tier 1 countries are those whose governments fully comply with the Trafficking Victims Protection Act’s (TVPA) minimum standards, while Tier 2 countries are countries whose governments do not fully comply with the minimum standards but are making significant efforts to bring themselves into compliance with those standards.

There are also those who are on the Tier 2 watch list, where they are making significant efforts to bring themselves into compliance with those standards and:

a) The absolute number of victims of severe forms of trafficking is very significant or is significantly increasing or;

b) There is a failure to provide evidence of increasing efforts to combat severe forms of trafficking in persons from the previous year or;

c) The determination that a country is making significant efforts to bring themselves into compliance with minimum standards was based on commitments by the country to take additional future steps over the next year.

Tier 3 countries are whose governments do not fully comply with the minimum standards and are not making significant efforts to do so.

Mahathir: Only cowards sue critics

By G Vinod
PETALING JAYA: Former premier Dr Mahathir Mohamad has taken a swipe at politicians who file legal suits against critics, calling them cowards.
In his latest blog posting, he says he will not sue author Barry Wain, who in his book 'Malaysian Maverick: Mahathir Mohamad in Turbulent Times' writes that he misappropriated public funds when he was prime minister.
“I am leery of politicians who sue their critics,” he said.
“I suspect that what they want is to make the issue sub judice so as to prevent the critics from attacking them on the issue. This is a cowardly move and in fact proves that the criticisms are fully justified.”
He urges the public to be cautious of such politicians, saying they are prone to abusing their power.
He said a politician should be able to fend of criticisms without going to court if he is innocent.
Mahathir, during whose years in power a number of publications had their licences suspended or cancelled, says politicians who use the legal process to muzzle criticism are no better than a government that shuts down publications which are critical of it.

PAS steps on friends' toes with new wing

By Zainal Epi - The Malaysian Insider

COMMENT KOTA BARU: Things do not look rosy for Pakatan Raktyat in the next general election now that PAS has officially opened its doors to non-Muslims.


By establishing a PAS Supporters Congress, the party has given disgruntled Chinese and Indians who need a platform, a chance to continue their political struggles.

Although the members of this congress have no right to vote nor have a say in PAS policies, the platform is seen as a way out for them to show their displeasure for their former parties.

In setting up the wing, PAS aims to widen its support base, a move it first attempted in the 1980s but fizzled out due to lack of support and its image as an Islamic fundamentalist.

However, it has undergone a transformation. Ulamaks with skull caps and green robes have taken a backseat to young intellectuals wearing neckties, eating in hotel coffee-houses and speaking eloquent English.

Portraying a moderate face of Islam seemed to have paid off handsomely for PAS as in the 2008 general election, even non-Muslims carried the party’s flags on campaign rounds.

Given the change in the political landscape, and with the ruling Barisan Nasional component parties losing influence and credibility, the new wing is a judicious move.

By establishing this supporters; congress, PAS is now also seen as attempting to be the dominant force in three-party coalition of PAS, PKR and DAP that make up Pakatan Raktyat

It reaches out to ‘dissatisfied’ members of the partner-parties, especially when the seemingly dominant PKR is embroiled in a ‘credibility crisis’ from within.

The Indians in PKR have openly voiced their dissatisfaction at the party leadership and they are now looking for an alternative platform to continue their political struggle.

The Chinese in PKR, though not that many, are also having similar thoughts, and with PAS making available a platform, may just jump over without being accused of ‘selling out to BN'.

Tolerant face of Islam

PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang said members of the wing could contest the general election under the PAS ticket. This will not only benefit the individuals but more so to PAS.

The move is likely to affect unity and reduce the support base of PKR and even DAP as ‘quite a number of party members are angry at father-son hold on the party’.

DAP is worried PAS' open policies would erode its support from the Chinese while PKR also worries its influence among them would decline, and Indian support reduced drastically.

PAS, in its eagerness to widen its support base, is stepping on its friends’ toes but this is just a coincidence, and not a deliberate move.

Like PAS Youth central committee member Nik Abdul Nik Abdul Aziz said, the move was inevitable and competing for the non-Muslim vote was perfectly normal.

“By allowing a non-Muslim to contest under PAS' banner goes a long way to show Islam is tolerant,” he said.

Abdul Hadi, in leading the move, has also chosen to stay ‘silent’ this time around on PAS’ objective of setting up an Islamic state which it has been pursuing since its formation in 1955.

After all, as some say, politics is a game of the impossible and PAS is proving the adage right.

Khairy wants press law abolished

By Syed Jaymal Zahiid
FMT ALERT KUALA LUMPUR: Umno Youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin today called for the Printing Presses and Publications Act (PPPA) to be repealed, breaking the ranks in the government's stand on the issue.
The Rembau MP said the powers to decide on media matters should be within the jurisdiction of the government proposed National Media Council.
The media council idea was mooted in 2000 under the then premier Abdullah Ahmad Badawi government. It was meant to identify the weaknesses in the media and to ensure accurate reporting.

SAPP asks Musa to explain MACC probe

By Queville To - Free Malaysia Today

KOTA KINABALU: Sabah Chief Minister Musa Aman has been urged to explain reports that several persons allegedly linked to him have been questioned by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) to facilitate investigations into money-laundering activities.

Sabah Progressive Party (SAPP) information chief Chong Pit Fah said the party had received many calls from both the concerned public as well as members of the state Barisan Nasional about a recent news reports on the matter.

Chong said the state government and Chief Minister Musa should give an explanation to clear the air. He also queried if the money laundering case was related to a RM500 million bond issued by the state government.

Chong said it was troubling to note that a huge sum of money was involved in the ongoing investigations when Sabah is known to be the poorest state in the country.

Chinese daily Nanyang Siang Pau on its June 11 report reported that eight people allegedly linked to Musa had been detained by MACC to facilitate investigations into cases tied to the high profile case of a businessman linked to Sabah Umno who was apprehended at the Hong Kong International Airport on Aug 18, 2006 with RM16 million in cash.

Another report suggested that the MACC had taken into custody a senior lawyer and others here in an operation last week.

Many myths of the Mahathir mafia

by uppercaise

Seeking might out of rights

Myth-making gets a new stage today when the postponed intimidatory May 13 rally organised by a devout idoliser of Mahathir Mohamad is held in Kuala Terengganu. The Mamak or Mamak Kutty (as he is widely and vulgarly known) will be there with a so-called keynote address, ready to clothe intimidation with cloying references to the uplifting of Malay society.
Postponed or not, there can be no mistaking the nexus between the original choice of date and that day of blood-letting in 1969 when Umno Malay political hegemony seemed to have shattered.
Nor can one overlook the nexus between the rally and Dr Mahathir, the person around whom this has been organised (the continuing references to his preferably-forgotten-ancestry aside) and his long-established politics of race-baiting.
That racist attitudes lie deep in Malaysian society is undeniable, as in the occasional flare-ups over Banggali, the now-forgotten suit to banish Mamak from the Kamus Dewan, and the all-too-frequent blarddy Chinaman or Oi Keling spoken in anger or annoyance. But these are of informal, personal, use and over time have begun to lose their pejorative sting.
Mamak stall is, indeed, idiomatic Malaysian English now; ma’chan and bhai might soon be, and Ah Long we would rather not encounter, whether in a dark alley or in daylight.

Privileges turned into rights

It is the formalised and institutionalised form of racism that should be of concern; to describe “special privileges” as a form of racism might be too uncomfortable, but use of the anodyne “affirmative action” cannot mask the institutions, systems and procedures set in place to discriminate on the basis of race — the essence of racism.
A constitutional provision that allowed 10 years of “special privileges” — from 1957 to 1967 — and constitutional recognition of the special position of the Malay people has been distorted through the 1971 New Economic Policy into 30 years of special privileges; in the aftermath of the NEP it has become a self-perpetuating form of self-proclaimed Malay rights.
Today’s rally by the Gertak movement is fundamentally about preserving and perpetuating those self-proclaimed rights. And at the head of that baying pack — a self-proclaimed Malay.
In essence both are myths, the self-proclaimed “rights” and the self-proclaimed “Malay”. Both have wellsprings in the constitution.
“Malay rights” was never part of the constitution, which speaks only of “special privileges” for the Malay people.
The myth of Mahathir the ethnic Malay rests on how the constitution defines a Malay person, and the inherent conflict with how our polyglot society accepts ethnicity, usually on patrilineal terms. Ikut bapa in other words.
Mahathir the constitutionally defined Malay is thus only a notional Malay to many, who prefer to view him as a Mamak or more accurately, a Kaka interloper.

(This is not to make light of the constitutional definition. After all, another constitutional provision at the stroke of a pen turned into citizens those born a subject of His Majesty King George VI or Her Majesty the Queen in the Straits Settlements or in northern Borneo.)
These myths might be largely ignored when the faithful gather to rally under the slogan Melayu Bangkit which could be translated as “Malays Arise” or more provocatively stated as a Malay Uprising.
The call for Malays to arise, the choice of May 13 on which to hold a rally, leaves little room to doubt that these were deliberate, and meant to be provocative, especially in the context of the current government’s stated aim to end race-based policies and racial quotas.
The organiser, Razali Idris, has dismissed such notions. He now says the date was a coincidence. He had also previously said it was the only date Mahathir was free. And also that it was Mahathir himself who chose the date.
Mahathir Mohamad is not a man to forego symbolism, or to ignore the significance of the date. Certainly not a man who was at the centre of events before and after May 13, 1969, and most certainly not the politician so often fond of reminding the non-Malay communities, at around May 13, that the country “did not want another May 13″.
Razali Idris thus sounds very much like one who prefers myth-making.
Especially when he now states that his organisation’s name, abbreviated as Gertak, only means a “connecting bridge” — in Terengganu Malay dialect — rather than the commonly-known meanings of “to frighten, to scare, or to intimidate”.

Chimera of ‘Malay unity’

He stretches credulity to its limits when he states that the 20,000 people he hopes to gather before Mahathir the constitutionally-defined Malay, under the slogan Malays Arise, are not an intimidating prospect and are only there to discuss “Malay unity”.
This fabled “Malay unity”, too, is a myth, a chimera, a beast of many portions that does not exist. Twelve general elections have proven that Malay people, like all people, hold different views and support a group, a party, or a team of their own choice, whether in politics or in football.
The reality is that Mahathir and his stooges seek only to perpetuate the myth that Umno is the only organisation of and for Malay people and by doing so continue a political hegemony based on race, institutionalised racism, and divide-and-rule-by-race.
Strip away all their myths and all that remains is a gathering of a minority of Malay people determined by sheer weight of numbers to force their views on public policy in the name of all the Malay people.
By choosing the bloody date of May 13, their protestations of innocence notwithstanding, they have stripped bare the myths of Malay power: that behind the myths lies merely a tawdry gathering of bullies, led by a grand bully himself, Mahathir the notional but constitutionally-defined Malay, swaggering pathetically as bullies do.
The boasting and the bombast cannot hide their faith in might, not right. For they are merely bullies. And that, too, is a meaning of Gertak.

© 2010 uppercaise

Ban Toto, Magnum as well, 'hypocrite' told

By Athi Shankar

BUTTERWORTH: Penang opposition leader Azhar Ibrahim has accused the Pakatan Rakyat state government of being a “hypocrite” over its ban on sports betting.

He said if Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng was honest about wanting to ban gambling, then he should come down hard on all such activities in the state.

He added that while the state government has banned sports betting, other forms of gambling and vice continue to thrive in Penang.

“Why has the state government not banned Sports Toto, Magnum and Big Sweep? This is sheer hypocrisy,” he told FMT today.

Penang banned sport betting outlets following the federal government's decision in May to grant a sports betting licence to Ascot Sports, a company linked to influential tycoon Vincent Tan.

521 new licences for entertainment outlets

Meanwhile, Azhar said he once mentioned in the state assembly that Penang has become the country’s hub for vice activities.

Last year alone, he added, the state authorities issued 521 operational licences for new entertainment outlets.

Azhar claimed that these outlets encouraged vice activities, and this was evident when the police or other enforcement agencies conducted their checks.

“Many China and Indonesian dolls are detained in these raids. Drug processing laboratories are frequently uncovered and Penang also has gay clubs,” he said.

The opposition leader and Penaga assemblyman also took a swipe at the Persatuan Ulama Pulau Pinang, which called on Pakatan state governments to ban gambling.

Azhar, who is against gambling himself, asked why the association only raised this issue but remained silent on the new entertainment outlets which have mushroomed in the state.

“Gambling is bad. All religions prohibit it. But why just pick on this? If the ulama are serious about preaching religious values, they should call for a ban on all vices,” said the Penang Umno secretary.

PKR Allegation Of Crossover By Three Umno Elected Reps A Lie - Perak MB

(Bernama) Perak Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Dr Zambry Abdul Kadir Sunday dismissed as a lie an opposition claim that three Perak Umno state assemblymen would join Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) soon.


Dr Zambry, who is chairman of the Perak Umno Liaison Committee, said the allegation was designed to cause disunity in the state Umno which was gaining strength.

"They (the opposition) are trying to create issues at a time when their leaders are leaving the party one by one," he said when contacted by Bernama.

Dr Zambry was asked to comment on the statement today by Perak PKR Information chief Zulkifli Ibrahim that Perak Umno was facing a severe internal crisis which would result in three elected representatives to leave the party and join PKR soon.

However, Zulkifli had declined to identify the three assemblymen, saying discussions were still ongoing for their eventual admission into the opposition party.

Zambry "advised" Zulkifli to focus on harnessing humanitarian aid for the people of Gaza instead of trying to disunite the people in Perak.

Zulkifli had also said that the alleged crossover of the Umno assemblymen was expected to be announced by the PKR leadership at the right time.

"The three assemblymen are dissatisfied with Dr Zambry's style of leadership as he (Dr Zambry) gives priority to former PKR members who have joined the Barisan Nasional (BN)," he said.

He said the assemblymen had claimed to have had several meetings on the alleged crossover and had contacted PKR prior to the PKR congress last month.

“Is Chinese penis really that good?”

By Shanon Shah - The Nut Graph
 

Nabila Nasir (pic courtesy of Nabila Nasir)

IN part two of stories about those who have encountered the religious police, freelance writer Nabila Nasir, 25, recounts the harassment and extortion she and a now ex-boyfriend experienced at the hands of moral guardians in mid-2007.

The KL-born and raised Nabila says that until today, she has no proof that the man who claimed to be a religious enforcer was really one at all. Eventually, though, Nabila and her then boyfriend were allowed to go free without any charges. In this exclusive phone interview with The Nut Graph on 26 May 2010, she gives a blow by blow account of what happened.
The Nut Graph: Tell us what you were doing before the authorities showed up.
Nabila Nasir: Back then I was dating a Chinese [Malaysian] guy, who was studying in Sydney and came back during his break. He came over to my house one weekday, in Subang, to watch a movie on DVD. After the movie, we went out to have ice cream in Taipan. We were dressed very casually – I didn’t even bring my handphone or IC with me. After ice cream, we drove around and stopped at a park. We kissed a bit, and after five minutes a police car pulled up behind us. This was around 7pm, I guess.
In the car were three men — two in police uniform and one plainclothes. All three were Malay [Malaysian]. The plainclothes man said he was from the jabatan agama. When we got out of the car and I asked for his ID, all three said, “You are in the wrong now, so it’s not your place to ask for his ID.”

What did you say to that?
I said, “I know my rights.” When I said that, they asked my ex-boyfriend to order me to go back into our car. I didn’t want to, but I eventually did. They ended up taking my ex-boyfriend’s IC. I could overhear them telling him, “This is khalwat. Your girlfriend could be charged, and you would also have to go to court and angkat sumpah. Do you want to go to court?” Then they asked him for RM300.
I shouted from inside the car, “No bloody way!” I told my ex-boyfriend, “If anyone is going to get charged for khalwat, it’s going to be me and not you, so don’t listen to them!”

Caught off guard…

I couldn’t call any of my lawyer friends because I didn’t bring my phone with me. So I demanded to use my ex-boyfriend’s phone to call my friends and tell them what was happening. But then I realised I had not memorised any of their numbers. I pretended to dial the phone anyway. I could sense the officers getting scared when they saw me doing this and they continued telling him, “You don’t want to go to court and face the hassle.”
I was really losing my temper, but my ex-boyfriend kept telling me not to lose it, because he didn’t want to get into more trouble. The three men then refused to give him back his IC and asked us to go to the police station. I was like, “For what?” But I went eventually with my ex-boyfriend.

Why did your ex-boyfriend follow them, and why did you choose to follow them as well?
The thing is, they acted rough with my ex-boyfriend every time I started kicking up a fuss. I really didn’t want to go along, but I didn’t have my wallet on me, or my handphone, or my IC.

Which police station did they bring you to? Did they tell you if you were under arrest?

Bersih, cekap, amanah…?

It was the USJ8 police station, and no, they didn’t tell us we were under arrest. At the police station, they then asked us for RM500 so that we could settle the issue right there and walk away. I said, “We are not paying you RM500.” But then my ex-boyfriend agreed to pay. But we didn’t have any money on us at that time. That’s when they asked me for my home address, and I said, “No bloody way.” My ex-boyfriend then decided to call his friend to borrow the money. I said, “No bloody way! That’s not the point!”
But then the officers all started threatening him again, telling him he couldn’t go back to Sydney, that they could do things to withhold his visa to re-enter Australia. In the end, my ex-boyfriend caved in and called his friend.

Did his friend come?

Not a fan, then? (Sepet poster depicting interracial couple; source: Wiki Commons)

Yes, it took about 20 minutes for his friend to come to the station. While waiting for his friend, the officers started harassing my ex-boyfriend. They said things like, “Are you serious about going out with her?”, “Getting married soon?”, “You’re not scared of getting circumcised?”, and “Don’t you want to convert to Islam?”
Then my ex-boyfriend had to go to the bathroom and they started harassing me instead. They said, “Oh, your boyfriend is lucky to have a girlfriend with big breasts.” And then they said, “There’s no more shame in this world when Malay [Malaysian] girls can stoop to dating Chinese [Malaysian] men.” And then they asked me, “Is Chinese penis really that good?”

How did you respond to this?
I glared at the religious enforcer and said, “Yes, it’s delicious and I love it!”

And what did he say to that?
He was shocked into silence.
Then my ex-boyfriend returned from the bathroom and everyone was quiet for a while. He signalled at me not to make a scene. Then his friend arrived with the money, and he paid them off. They didn’t give us a receipt or anything, and told us we were free to go. As we were leaving, the religious enforcer said, “Don’t forget to invite us to your wedding.” I said, “Don’t forget to bring a RM500 ang pow.”

Has this experience affected you in any way?
It does make me a bit wary about where and who I hang out with now. I mean, I live in a condo in Bangsar now, and I’m always having dinner parties and some of my guests include men. But if any enforcers tried to intrude, I’d probably still try to fight them off.

The 10th Malaysia Five Year Plan : Old Wine in New Bottles – Part 3

Unlearnt Lessons from the Past: Where have we come from?

A brief review is in order to understand how the nation got to the precarious point best amplified by a Minister sternly warning that Malaysia is heading towards bankruptcy by the end of the decade.

Malaysia is more integrated into the global economy than many other countries of a similar size and at a comparable stage of development. Globalization is a fact of life. It has contributed both positively and negatively to Malaysian development. On the upside, integration with the global economy permitted the nation to prosper through trade and flows of FDI in the years prior to the East Asian Crisis of 1997. There was rapid economic growth, rising income levels, declining poverty and unemployment and a somewhat more egalitarian distribution of wealth. A contributing factor was the fact that Malaysia was blessed with a rich resource base – its forests and oil and gas. It had reasonably well functioning institutions in the form of an established public service, a modestly independent judiciary and institutions that measured well against those in other developing countries. The nation progressed despite creeping corruption, growing race polarization, authoritarianism and a general deterioration in the delivery of public services. The early 1990s saw a degree of deregulation and the privatization that gave momentum to modest reforms. The economic fundamentals were essentially sound with the budget largely balanced, and low inflation and robust growth. These outcomes occurred despite the constraints and distortions imposed by the NEP.

The 1997 East Asia crisis provided a rude awakening. Absence of accountability, lack of transparency and the growing cronyism, nepotism and the megalomaniac obsession with mega projects contributed to the creation of conditions that left Malaysia vulnerable to external forces. Capital flows that had sustained Malaysian growth reversed; the currency plummeted; the banking system was near collapse because of the portfolio of bad loans; confidence in the Government fell. The markets recognized these flaws and punished Malaysia. Compounding these factors was the adoption of authoritarian measures to silence dissent. The show trials of Anwar Ibrahim resulted in increasing the loss of confidence, both globally and domestically. The abuse of human rights and the destruction of judicial independence earned Malaysia the odium of the global community, to the extent that the Government had to resort to getting the private sector to bribe unscrupulous lobbyists in Washington DC to “buy” an entry ticket for the Prime Minister to visit the White House in an attempt to gain respectability. To boot, payments were made to third rate columnists to write op-ed pieces to create a synthetic image for Malaysia. Confidence declined and FDI flows began to plummet.

Malaysia survived and partially recovered from the East Asian crisis. Much of this was at a heavy cost. That cost included the adoption of an exchange rate that carried the seeds for the loss of competitiveness and the eventual importation of inflation to Malaysian shores. It included massive bail outs, a resort to unsustainable fiscal deficits, a growing debt burden for future generations to bear, and the diversion of resources away from the provision of public services and the effort to reduce poverty to feather the nests of a band of robber barons. To the extent that economic growth returned, credit must be given to the favorable trading environment. Yet the favorable circumstances were dissipated: Malaysia lost competitiveness over the past decade; FDI flows were reduced to a trickle; the stock market has under-performed virtually every other stock exchange in the region. Capital flight has reached levels that cause alarm. Outward FDI from Malaysia was RM 50.2 billion in 2008 and RM 27.9 billion in 2009 far exceeding the inflows. These numbers only reflect part of the capital flight. In addition to these, the sizable errors and omissions figure in the Balance of Payments incorporates an element of other parts of capital flight. The Human capital stock has been eroded as thousands upon thousands of Malaysian youths have left these shores to seek a living in distant lands in the face of discriminatory employment policies in both the public and private sectors. Paradoxically, while Malaysia is in need of a better skilled labor force to sustain growth, it is losing talent.

This then is the lost decade of the opening years of the new millennium. The rather bleak portrait painted above is not in dispute. There is some belated acknowledgement of these adverse trends on the part of the Government. Nor are the remedies difficult to find. What is wholly lacking is the political will to seek solutions by moving away from the distorting effects of the NEP. The Plan misses an opportunity to put right past missteps and to change course from the policies set in place by Tun Dr Mahathir in the aftermath of the East Asia crisis of the late 1990s.

The poisoned chalice that Tun Abdullah Badawi inherited when he took office in 2003 as the fifth Prime Minister has been passed on to Datuk Najib. It is disheartening that he is unable and unwilling to discard failed policies by matching his rhetoric to bold new policies. The launch of the 10th Five Year Plan is a missed opportunity. It is tragic that he has demonstrated his inability to exercise true leadership and to move the nation forward.

MCA Presidential Council To Submit Proposal To Protect Party's Assets

SANDAKAN, June 14 (Bernama) -- MCA President Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek said MCA Presidential Council may soon come out with a proposal, to monitor and protect party's assets, to avoid being misused by any leader.

Dr Chua said two members from the Presidential Council, namely Datuk Seri Dr Fong Chan Onn and Chua Tee Yong, were tasked to study the implementation of such a proposal two months ago.

"This is to ensure the party's assets are not misused by any leader since the assets belong the party and not any individual," he told reporters after opening the Sandakan, Libaran, Beluran and Batu Sapi MCA Division's Annual meeting here last night.

He added that Dr Fong and Chua would table the proposal that would outline ways to monitor and protect the assets professionally, at the Presidential Council meeting tomorrow.

Meanwhile, Dr Chua said Sabah currently had 35,000 MCA members and that the figure showed a positive acceptance level by the Chinese community in Sabah.

He added that with an increase in membership, he would meet Sabah Chief Minister Datuk Seri Musa Aman, to appeal for more MCA representation in district and town councils.

Perak Crossovers, Internet Access

Over the next few days little to no internet access :( sorry guys. But will be back home soon.
In the meantime, crossovers in Perak? I have to concur w/commentors at MK. If we do gain a majority, better to dissolve the whole State Assembly. Even I a bit jelak of this katak2 :P :)
I’ll see you soon, Malaysia :)

Slovenia sneak win to go top

Robert Koren's 79th-minute goal handed Slovenia a 1-0 win over 10-man Algeria on Sunday in Polokwane for their first-ever FIFA World Cup™ victory. Following the US and England's 1-1 draw the night before in Rustenburg, the Slovenians jumped to the top of Group C at a boisterous Peter Mokaba Stadium, which also witnessed second-half substitute Abdelkader Ghezzal sent off after just 15 minutes on the pitch.

A mostly cagey but hard-fought affair was settled by the West Bromwich Albion man from a seemingly innocuous shot that bounded past the out-of-sorts Algerian goalkeeper, Faouzi Chaouchi. The two teams packed their midfields and looked to hit on the counter-attack or via dead-ball situations, but Algeria's Nadir Belhadj was the main instigator of attacking football from his left back position. In just the third minute, the Portsmouth player unleashed one of his trademark free-kicks, which seemed destined to dip under the crossbar, but goalkeeper Samir Handanovic was able to punch the 20-yard blast over his bar.

The sides continued to feel each other out until around the half-hour mark when the north Africans seemed to gain in confidence, spurred on by the majority of travelling supporters and the South Africans in attendance as well. In the 34th minute, Belhadj won a free-kick down the left and then sent in a dangerous cross. From the resulting corner, which was sent in well by Karim Ziani, Rafik Halliche rose highest and looked certain to score, but he headed agonisingly wide.

However, Slovenia's Valter Birsa had perhaps the best chance of the opening period just before the break. But his 25-yard rocket after a quick turn was acrobatically tipped over the crossbar by Chaouchi.

After the half-time interval, the two teams continued to battle it out in the middle of the park, but Andraz Kirm looked like opening the accounts just after the hour mark. He found himself alone on the left side of the box after some nice build-up, but his shot was right at the goalkeeper.

Algeria brought on Ghezzal for the tiring Rafik Djebbour, but a quick yellow card set him up for disaster as he received another caution in the 73rd minute for bringing down the ball in the box with his arm. Despite going down to 10 men, Algeria almost took the lead when Slovenia goalkeeper Samir Handanovic was too lax with a pass and slid it straight into the path of Ziani. But the Udinese netminder scrambled to cover the ball bravely at his feet.

In the end, the extra man did not do much for Slovenia, but Budweiser Man of the Match Koren hit his shot well from the edge of the area. Chaouchi seemed to be well-placed to save the shot, but to the shock of the colourful supporters from Algeria, the ball bulged the back of the net.

Slovenia next meet USA in Johannesburg's Ellis Park on 18 June, while Algeria will try to rebound against group favourites England the same day in Cape Town.

Ghana snatch win as Serbia self-destruct

An 83rd-minute Asamoah Gyan penalty snatched Ghana a deserved 1-0 victory over Serbia in their Group D opener at the Loftus Versfeld Stadium. The Black Stars, despite having the better of the play, appeared en route to a goalless draw until the Beli Orlovi hit the self-destruct button late on, with Aleksandar Lukovic earning himself a red card before Zdravko Kuzmanovic’s needless handball presented the Africans with the spot-kick from which they seized the three points.

The game got off to a lively start, with Gyan firing a free-kick narrowly over from the edge of the box before Prince Tagoe shot wide. Ghana continued to press forward. Kwadwo Asamoah’s 18th-minute set-piece found the head of Mensah, who was unable to direct it on target, while Gyan, from six yards out, was just inches from connecting with Boateng’s teasing cross two minutes later when the slightest of touches would have surely broken the deadlock.

Serbia spurned a golden opportunity on 26 minutes. Milijas curled a set-piece into the path of Pantelic, who had cleverly spun and lost his marker to find space inside the penalty area. However, the Ajax forward’s control deserted him and the ball went out for a goal-kick. Soon after, Kolarov curled a firmly-stuck free-kick narrowly wide of the post.

Ghana emerged from the break in determined mood and proceeded to monopolise possession. The opportunities duly began to flow. Eight minutes after the restart, Tagoe curled a delightful ball to the back post, but the unmarked Ayew somehow failed to hit the target with a close-range header. With the half-hour mark approaching, Gyan stole in front of Vidic to head the ball against the post from five yards, and Tagoe then volleyed wide a difficult chance at the back post.

With 16 minutes remaining, Ghana gained a numerical advantage. Lukovic, who had already been booked, held back Gyan and was consequently given a second yellow card. This, curiously, spurred Serbia into life and when Marko Pantelic’s mishit shot fell inviting into the path of Krasic, the CSKA Moscow winger should have done better then shooting straight at goalkeeper Richard Kingson.

Milovan Rajevac’s side swiftly regained control, though, and got the reward they merited seven minutes from time. There appeared no danger when an overhit cross from the left travelled towards Kuzmanovic, but he inexplicably handled it to afford Ghana a glorious chance to clinch victory. And that Gyan did, thumping the ball down the middle and into the back of the net.

The scorer then hit the post late on, but that will have done little to dampen his delight on an afternoon when he walked away with the Budweiser Man of the Match Award, Ghana put three points on the board and Africa got its first victory of this FIFA World Cup.

German lessons for stunned Socceroos

Any worries the Germans had about the loss of influential captain Michael Ballack were quickly put to rest in their 4-0 opening win against outgunned Australia in Durban. Richard Garcia provided an early scare for the three-time world champions in the nervy awkwardness of the opening exchanges, but it proved a false dawn as Germany were a goal to the good inside seven minutes of the Group D curtain raiser.

Miroslave Klose fired a warning shot after four minutes which was well dealt with by Mark Scharzer, but Australia’s Fulham-based net-minder could do nothing about what came just four minutes later. A diagonal ball from Messut Oezil sent Thomas Mueller rampaging through the right side of the area, and the Bayern Munich starlet crossed low for Lucas Podolski, a one-time Munich gem in his own right, who drilled home with his left foot past the despairing custodian, who did well just to get a hand to it.

The Australians were stunned by the early set-back and the heavy underdogs, labelled such by captain Lucas Neill in the build-up, had no luck grinding their way back into the contest. After 20 minutes, Garcia was again vaguely threatening, but his tame strike from the edge of the box failed to do justice to some clever approach work.

The Germans were eminently in the ascendancy, and threatening from both flanks. In the 24th minute, Miroslave Klose – so reliable on the world stage – fluffed an absolute sitter, woefully poking high and wide on the end of a brilliant cross out left from scorer Podolski, who was looking a new man after a horror season with FC Cologne.

It didn’t take long for Klose to go from goat to hero, rising high to head home from an inch-perfect cross – this time from the right – from captain Philipp Lahm , who recently made the apparently justifiable claim that this German team is the “best he’s ever played in,” after 26 minutes. Oezil had another golden chance on the half-hour mark, but his delicate chip over Schwarzer was booted clear by Neill, who was leading a rearguard in serious danger of total collapse as the halftime whistle, mercifully, blew an end to the opening stanza.

The second half began with Neill unceremoniously planting a knee into the back of danger-man Klose. That bit of impetuousness combined with a red card for Tim Cahill in the 56th minute for a tackle from behind on Bastian Schweinsteiger, as the full measure of Aussie resistance.

With a man advantage, the German juggernaut went into overdrive. Oezil and Podolski both went close to scoring from close range before the outstanding Mueller made it 3-0 with a sharp strike in off the post after a wily give-and-go with Podolski cut a swath through the despairing Australian defence in the 66th minute. 120 seconds later Cacau added a fourth and final goal with his first touch of the ball after coming on as a substitute for Klose, slotting home the simplest of finishes from six yards out.

The Germans, on top of the group alongside Ghana, who beat Serbia earlier in the day, next face the Serbs on 18 June in Nelson Mandela Bay while Australia will look to rebound against a powerful Ghana one day later in Rustenburg.

Video: HINDRAF/ HRP wants standard varsity exams for all and abolish STPM

Sign our Petition here: http://www.hrp-my.org/sign-our-petition/
SPM 7 A’s above denied JPA Scholarship, Matriculation & University seats.
Urgent Public Petition Campaign to PM Najib Razak (Download, circulate &
return to us by 14/6/10
HINDRAF & Human Rights Party (HRP) urges all concerned citizens to protest
the injustices of the UMNO/BN led Malay-sian government denying top and
high achieving Indian students UP TO 13A’s JPA scholarships, Matriculation
and Public University seats locally and overseas. We call upon all
concerned citizens to support our “HINDRAF & HRP 10,000 signature campaign
Petition to PM.Najib Razak on Indian students being denied JPA
scholarships, Matriculation & Public University places especially in
critical courses and also for a Royal Commission of Enquiry to stop such
UMNO’s racial discrimination”.
Please avoid waiting until the last moment to sign and we urge you all to
access our website www.humanrightspartymalaysia.com & www.hrp-my.org to
sign our online petition or download our petition get it sign and return
the same to us.
You could also come to our HRP HQ at No.6, Jalan Abdullah, off Jalan
Bangsar, Kuala Lumpur (near to Klinik Pergigian Jalan Bangsar) and collect
the signature campaign petition and return it immediately or by 14/6/10 to
us by fax at 03 22825245 & Tel: 03 22825241 or email to
jayaathas@gmail.com.
Please help this campaign in putting to a stop these 40 years of
injustices against the top and high achieving Indian students.
Please join us on 15/6/10 at 11.00am at the Parliament House in submitting
our Memorandum to Prime Minister Najib Razak.
Thank you.
Yours faithfully
S.JAYATHAS
HINDRAF & Human Rights Party (HRP)
Information Chief
012 6362287