Najib denies making 'bankrupt without GST' claim

After fourteen days (Two weeks) under attack by many quarters over his statement in the news, Najib finally broke his silence with a denial.

Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak has denied ever claiming that the country would go bankrupt should the goods and services tax (GST) not be implemented.

Instead, he claimed that he had been “misquoted” by several newspapers, which is part and parcel of the“hazards” of being a politician.

Najib said that what he had actually meant was that Malaysia was at risk of becoming like Greece, which is trying to revive its economy following a debt crisis, if Malaysia continues to spend in excess without taking into consideration the amount of revenue it collects.

Umno assembly a 'racist, anti-human rights slugfest'

Human rights NGO Suaram has slammed the just concluded 67th Umno general assembly as a “slugfest of anti-human rights”.

Suaram's adviser Kua Kia Song said Malaysia gets an "F" from him for its human rights record in 2013. But more than that, the human rights observer was aghast at the things carelessly said at the Umno general assembly over the weekend.

“(Every time) the delegates at the Umno general assembly will raise all kinds of things that are violations of human rights - racial discrimination, threats against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) group and human rights defenders like us...

“These are not even veiled threats, they are direct threats... which the government is asked to take action against us," Kua told a function in Kuala Lumpur for the release of Suaram’s 2013 report.

Malays would be "more civilised beings" if Umno does not exist

Former Umno member Zaid Ibrahim delivered this view in a stinging riposte to party president Najib Abdul Razak’s remarks during the annual assembly over the weekend.

Najib had told Malays to reflect on where they would be without the party.

In his blog-post today, Zaid said that, without the party, "Malays would accept the plurality and the diversity of the country".

"The short answer is that the Malays will still be Malays without Umno. There may not be as many instant Malay millionaires and billionaires but under any party in power that practises good and fair policies, the Malays would be all right," he said.

He said that Malays have lost the art of being "hospitable and accommodating" to foreigners and immigrants.

Accident triggers Bangla riot in Singapore, scores injured

Damaged bus by rioters

Hundreds of South Asian workers rioted in Singapore late yesterday after being enraged by a fatal road accident, leaving 18 people injured and police vehicles burnt in the city-state's worst outbreak of violence in more than 40 years.

A police statement said the disturbance started in the congested Little India district when a 33-year-old Indian man was killed after being hit by a private bus.

Police said about 400 people on the scene began rioting, attacking the bus as well as police vehicles after officers responded to reports of a commotion.

Ten policemen, four civil defence staff and the bus driver and conductor were among the injured, but none were seriously hurt, officials said.

19 isolated after contact with man in Hong Kong's second bird flu case

At least one of those who came into contact with 80-year-old Shenzhen man was found to have mild respiratory symptoms, health chief says

Nineteen people who came into contact with Hong Kong's second H7N9 flu patient are being kept in isolation in a hospital and at a holiday camp.

They include 13 Tuen Mun Hospital patients who were being cared for in beds close to the 80-year-old man when he was initially admitted to hospital for diabetes and heart failure. Five of the man's relatives and the taxi driver who took him from the Shenzhen Bay border post to the hospital make up the rest of the group.

Seven of the 19 were yesterday moved from Princess Margaret Hospital to a quarantine centre set up at the Lady MacLehose Holiday Village in Sai Kung. The rest remain in the hospital in Kwai Chung.

Health chief Dr Ko Wing-man said one or two of the 19 had mild symptoms of upper respiratory tract infection.

A bridge to link Limbang to Brunei

While the Labuan bridge proposal stays backseat..Limbang, proximity of the controversial  L & M oil fields, was 'previously claimed' by Brunei will be linked to Brunei. The report did not reveal who pay or sponsor the bridge project.

LIMBANG: Prime Minister  Najib Tun Razak and Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah of Brunei Darussalam today officially opened a RM20.8 million bridge at the Malaysia-Brunei Darussalam common border here to facilitate travel between the two countries.

The 189 metre long and 14 metre wide bridge brings to end a 50- year wait for ‘connectivity’.

Najib and Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah signed a plaque and cut a ribbon in a symbolic gesture to open the Friendship Bridge that goes across the Pandaruan River and connecting the Limbang Division in Sarawak to the Temburong District in Brunei.

Mat Sabu mulls suing Zahid over Shiite claim

PAS deputy president Mohamad Sabu is considering legal action against Home Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi for accusing him of being a Shiite.

According to Harakahdaily, Mohamad Sabu who is better known as Mat Sabu, denied Ahmad Zahid's accusation and described it as ill-intentioned.

pas youth protest against egypt coup mohamad mat sabu"I have not heard what he said, but I will discuss it with my lawyers first.

"I am a Sunni, a Muslim that follows the Sunni school of thought," he was quoted saying.

Shiism is an Islamic school of thought that has been declared deviant in Malaysia, where almost the entire Muslim population is said to follow the Sunni school of thought.

Ahmad Zahid, who is also Umno vice president, made the accusation against Mat Sabu yesterday during the Umno general assembly.

Umno general assembly: Racist and Religious Bogeyman game replay

Despite chest-beating on progressive politics and wasatiyah (moderation), such elements were few and far in between at the Umno general assembly.

In its place, there were further justifications for racial politics and increasing religious conservatism leading up to some good old fashioned PAS bashing.

If once PAS was once the "extremist" and Umno the "moderate" of Malaysian politics, the tables have turned, with PAS showing a more inclusive face at its recent Muktamar, and delegates at Umno waging war against anything from the LGBT community to liberalism and even universal human rights.

Zahid says PAS "number two" is a Shi'ite

Home Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi has claimed on live television that the second-ranked leader in the opposition Parti Islam SeMalaysia (PAS) is a Shiiite, a controversial claim in staunchly Sunni Malaysia.

"There is no need to hide," Datuk Seri Zahid, speaking in his capacity as Umno vice-president, told some 3,000 delegates at the party's annual assembly today (Sat). The speech was telecast live on television.

Though Mr Zahid did not name the person, he expressed puzzlement as to why PAS, which held its biennial elections two weeks ago, again picked a Shi'ite as "its number two".

Sook villagers accuse Land Dept of bias

SOOK - About 2,000 villagers in Kg Biah Skim have gathered to call the Department of Lands and Survey to solve the issue of encroachment of land in the village.

Chairman of the Village Development and Security Committee (JKKK) there, Julian Lingkiron, 51, said villagers here are very disappointed with the Land and Survey Department when their decisions are often siding with outside parties.

Fear of clowns revisited in Umno circus

"I remain just one thing, and one thing only, and that is a clown. It places me on a far higher plane than any politician." - Charlie Chaplin

COMMENT Whenever the Klan holds its annual congregation, it will revive the hitherto dormant coulrophobia in me. And when I confided in a colleague hoping that she will lend a sympathetic ear, she asked, much to my dismay, if it meant that I despised cauliflowers.

The condition has nothing to do with cauliflowers, I retorted. Or any other vegetable for that matter. Coulrophobia refers to the fear of clowns.

Hong Kong Reports Second Case of Deadly Bird Flu

HONG KONG — Health officials in Hong Kong late Friday reported the city’s second confirmed case of avian influenza in a week, an 80-year-old man who resides in the neighboring mainland Chinese city of Shenzhen.

The man, who officials did not name, had spent two weeks in a hospital in Shenzhen being treated for chronic illness before arriving in Hong Kong on Tuesday and checking in to the Tuen Mun Hospital. He developed a fever on Friday morning and was immediately put into isolation, where he tested positive for the H7N9 avian influenza, Hong Kong’s Center for Health and Protection said in a statement.

It is the second case of the deadly virus in the city, after a 36-year-old Indonesian woman was confirmed on Monday to have contracted the disease after traveling across the border to Shenzhen, where she purchased a chicken, slaughtered it and then ate it.

Perkasa’s Zulkifli Noordin imaginary 7 threats against Muslims in Malaysia

Perkasa today highlighted seven threats to the survival of Malay-Islam in Malaysia and warned Putrajaya that the 14th general election may turn out to be a "Christianisation Tsunami" if the threats are not dealt with seriously.

The vice-president of the Malay rights group, Datuk Zulkifli Noordin, said the threats included Pakatan Rakyat, Singapore, non-government organisations (NGOs) and liberal Malays.

He pointed out that the move by Christians to drag the Allah issue to court was provocative and one which insulted Muslims.

"Their failure in the appellate court did not deter them as they attempted to drag it into the international arena using the United Nations.

Shareda: More will not be able to afford houses after GST

KOTA KINABALU - It is likely that more Sabahans will not be able to afford to buy houses once the six per cent Government Services Tax (GST) is implemented on April 1 next year.

Despite about 50,000 units of affordable homes believed planned for Sabah in five years, Sabah Housing and Real Estate Developers Association (Shareda) fears that more Sabahans may not be eligible for housing loans.

Naturally, with the introduction of the GST, property prices will go up and are expected to slow down due to uncertainties in the bank borrowing policies, said its President Francis Goh, Friday.

"Demand for properties, however, will prevail but loan approvals will dampen.

Plaintiff failed to satisfy court, so Lajim gets to keep Klias seat

KOTA KINABALU - The Election Court dismissed with costs, Friday, a petition challenging the election of Sabah opposition leader Datuk Seri Lajim Ukin as Klias Assemblyman in the 13th general election earlier this year.

Kuching-based Judge Datuk Yew Jen Kie held that the plaintiff (Isnin Aliasnih) had failed to satisfy the court with evidence or certainty that a corrupt practice campaign was committed by one Wong Kui En @ Norliah as a polling agent with the knowledge and consent of the respondent (Lajim).

She awarded costs of RM50,000 to Lajim. Lajim, 58, who is Sabah Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) chief could barely contain his emotion over the decision of the court.

"Sabah & Sarawak should pull out of Malaysia" Debate: Group wants live telecast

KUCHING - A Sarawak nationalist Facebook group outlined conditions for debate on Malaysia’s formation after a Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu (PBB) supreme council member accepted the challenge.

Calling itself 916 Occupation Day, the group through its administrator Lina Soo, said the debate themed ‘Sabah & Sarawak should pull out of Malaysia’, with Idris Buang be telecast ‘live’.

“A ‘live’ debate would be appropriate as we can actively engage the people of Sarawak and Sabah, instead of arguing in the social media until the cows come home,” said Soo.

The debate was originally proposed by several members of nationalist Facebook groups last month, and Idris accepted it despite a warning by a federal level deputy minister not to do so.

Hundreds of millions swindled from banks in past 5 years, mostly by staff, say police

Fraud by bank employees is getting more serious as losses incurred by banks due to money swindled by staff has increased to RM473.82 million over the last five years.

Bukit Aman Commercial Crimes Department's Head of Unit for Banking and Financial Crimes Supt Harjinder Kaur Gurdial Singh said overall the banks suffered losses amounting to RM789,106,376 for various types of fraud during the period.

In 2008, it was RM10.1 million, RM27.1 million (2009), RM85.4 million (2010), RM84.5 million (2011), RM191.8 million (2012) and RM390 million (up to November 2013), she told reporters during a special interview on commercial crime in Kuala Lumpur today.

She said among fraud cases involving bank employees were withdrawing money from accounts that have been inactive for more than three years and not crediting cash deposits into customers' accounts.

“BN govt has failed Sabahans – Dr. Jeffrey”

KOTA KINABALU -  “The federal and Sabah governments along with their Ministers are failing the people in Sabah and turning a blind eye to unwarranted increases in the electricity tariffs in Sabah without solving the real problems.  It’s a gross misconduct and misgovernance on their part creating a “lose-lose-lose” scenario for Sabahans” said Datuk Dr. Jeffrey Kitingan, STAR Sabah Chief in response to the 16.9% increase in tariffs for Sabah and Labuan compared to 15% increase in the Peninsula commencing next year.

The governments and Ministers need to understand that as the ruling regime, they are first and foremost, holding trusteeship as well as fiduciary and social responsibilities to the people.

‘Penang’s RM200m profits from selling govt lands’

MCA has hit out at the Penang government for resorting to selling land to amass hundreds of millions of ringgit last year, saying that it was a short-term solution that came at the expense of the state’s citizens.

MCA Young Professionals Bureau Chairman Chua Tee Yong said the move not only created unsustainable income for the government, but had also deprived Penangites of affordable homes.

“In long term, the state government will be richer but the people will be poorer. This is because state government earns their income from selling land but the people [grow] poorer as they need to pay a higher price for home ownership,” said Chua in a statement today.

Conmen fleecing Malaysians since 2012

KUALA LUMPUR - Conmen have cheated Malaysians a total of RM5.2mil since last year, said Datuk Seri Michael Chong.

“In these two years, there were 22 cases involving 17 female victims and five men,” said the MCA Public Services and Complaints De­­partment head.

Chong said this at a press conference in which he gave details of two latest cases involving an Indian national – Tiju George Thomas, 29.

Thomas, who was arrested on Dec 3 in Petaling Jaya, allegedly conned two Malaysians he had met over the online matrimony website shaadi.com.

Illiterate migrant kids a 'time bomb'

Glue sniffing street kids

KOTA KINABALU - The growing number of uneducated migrant children in Sabah, will pose a social time bomb situation in Malaysia if unsolved in the long term, possibly escalating crime rates as seen in West Malaysia by 'Sabahans' and social problems, as seen in some countries in Europe by migrant youths.

This was deliberated at seminar entitled 'The Rights of Migrant Children' organised by European Union Delegation to Malaysia with the participation of Unicef and Suhakam and European Union Delegation to Malaysia at Hyatt Regency, here, Wednesday

European Union Ambassador and Head of Delegation to Malaysia, H. E. Luc Vandebon officiated the seminar by stating the fact that Malaysia is a signatory of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), which states that all children have a right to education and acquire nationality at birth and no child should be discriminated by skin colour, ethnicity, religion or nationality.

Johor’s Lego man stickers now on Penang walls

GEORGE TOWN - Reproductions of Johor's controversial Lego mural by Lithuanian-born street artist Ernest Zacharevic have been stuck on a wall along Ah Quee Street here, causing a local stir in Penang.

Unlike the southern state, however, the Pakatan Rakyat (PR) government sees no issue with the depiction of a knife-wielding Lego man waiting to rob a Lego woman carrying a “Chanel” handbag.

The Penang Chief Minister said the stickers will remain on its city wall unless Zacharevic objects to it.

“We will not white wash it, we will not remove it but we will consult with Zacharevic on this as he is the artist who first created the mural in Johor,” the Penang lawmaker said this morning.

Jeffrey also wants to hop out

KENINGAU - Sabah Star Chairman Datuk Dr Jeffrey Kitingan who contested the recent general election on a Sarawak-based party ticket (Star) does not deny rumours that he may soon become the fourth State Assemblyman to declare himself partyless.

However, unlike the other three - Hiew King Cheu (ex-DAP) and ex PKR duo Jelani Hamdan and Jeremy Malajad - who declared themselves to be pro-BN, Dr Jeffrey said he would side with neither the Government nor opposition.

"I have always been independent. Even before the election. I do not support any particular party but I could work together with other parties especially when it would help the people in solving their economic problems," he said.

Ahli PKR Cabang Tenom minta MPN tarik balik perlantikan Adris Taripin

TENOM - Kemelut isu perlantikkan Ketua Cabang Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) Tenom Adris Taripin yang didakwa kononnya melalui “pintu belakang” semakin rancak dibincang malah ia seakan akan menjadi buah mulut para ahli parti itu diperingkat akar umbi setakat ini.

Isu tersebut terus memuncak selepas perhimpunan agung khas PKR di Shah Alam Selangor bulan lalu (November) dimana sumber mengatakan bahawa urusetia perhimpunan itu tidak mengiktiraf malah tidak menyenarai langsung nama Adris Taripin selaku Ketua Cabang PKR Tenom dan juga sebagai seorang perwakilan.

Hal itu didedahkan sendiri Dzulkifli Gunsika salah seorang Naib Ketua Cabang PKR Tenom didalam senarai jawatankuasa cabang pada sebelumnya (barisan AJK diterajui Halik Zaman) yang masih dianggap sah oleh pucuk pimpinan PKR Pusat.

Sabah and Sarawak brace for floods as heavy rain

SK St Catherine Inanam flooded few months ago

After days of grappling with raging flood waters, those living in the East Coast states of Terengganu, Pahang and Kelantan can finally look forward to a respite after the Malaysian Meterological Department lifted the orange and yellow alert for heavy rain in the states.

A similar warning in Kedah and Perak have also been withdrawn.

However, a notice issued this morning said thunderstorms and heavy rain are expected to persist in Sarawak till later today.
Strong winds, rough seas and thunderstorms are also expected off the coastal waters.

When Umno meets, non-Malays bear the brunt of attack

Described as the poster boy of race relations, Umno has its annual meeting this week, and its first target remains the non-Malays for their lack of support to the dominant Bumiputera and the Barisan Nasional (BN) lynchpin.

Umno Youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin set the tone for the 2013 general assembly in his policy speech where he castigated non-Bumiputera companies for not hiring Malay chief executives, unlike the Malay-led government that had non-Malay secretary-generals.

First question: What ever happened to meritocracy in the country? Or is race still the main pre-qualifier for Umno Youth despite party president Datuk Seri Najib Razak's emphasis for 1 Malaysia and meritocracy?

Hong Kong to quarantine 17 people over bird flu case

HONG KONG - Hong Kong will quarantine 17 people after the city confirmed its first human case of the deadly H7N9 bird flu, officials said Tuesday.

The 17 are mostly relatives of the employer of a 36 year old Indonesian domestic helper, who is in critical condition in a Hong Kong hospital after a visit to mainland China.

They were all taken to hospital for observation.

“If those who had been in close contact (with the patient) don’t have symptoms, we will later arrange for them to enter quarantine facilities,” health minister Ko Wing-man told a press conference.

Tariff hike is good for the people ...win-win situation, say Pairin

KOTA KINABALU - Sabah Deputy Chief Minister Tan Sri Joseph Pairin Kitingan described the restructuring of the electricity tariff announced by the government today as a win-win situation for consumers and the government in the long run.

Pairin who is also state Infrastructure Development minister said the restructuring effective Jan 1, 2014 would enable Sabah Electricity Sdn Bhd (SESB) to serve consumers more efficiently.

"What we did was to adopt a comprehensive approach to finally reach a satisfactory level of electricity supply services for the good of the people," he told reporters in response to the announcement today by Energy, Green Technology and Water minister Datuk Seri Dr Maximus Ongkili.

Children trained as thieves by parents

Cheras police chief ACP Mohan Singh Tara Singh (left )
shows the shoe in which the jewellery was hidden.

KUALA LUMPUR - Three children allegedly trained by their parents to be slick thieves preyed on kids aged between five and seven during the holiday season when they stole jewellery from their victims.

The brothers, aged 15 and 16, and their 13-year-old sister, spent their school holiday this year attending the Jom Heboh carnival in various states, where they befriended young kids while their father, 50, and mother, 43, targeted adults.

Cheras police chief ACP Mohan Singh Tara Singh said the family from Sabah is believed to have committed more than 30 thefts at carnivals.

However, Mohan said police have only received two police reports so far.

“We believe many did not come forward as they assumed their children misplaced or dropped the jewellery.

Patrick: TNB failed in Sabah

KOTA KINABALU - Sabah consumer and social activist, Patrick Sindu, has suggested that the Sabah government retake power utility, Sabah Electricity Sdn Bhd (SESB), that they surrendered to Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB) two decades ago.

The u-turn, he said, was necessary to help resolve the unabated energy power problems in Sabah.
“In the beginning when TNB took over SESB 20 years ago, the reason given was to help the Sabah government solve its energy problems.

“Now the power problem in Sabah has become worse, so it is much better for the Sabah government to take back SESB and solve the problem,” he told FMT in an immediate reaction to the federal government’s announcement to increase power tariff from next month.

Pom Pom murder and kidnap: two suspects nabbed

KOTA KINABALU - Police have arrested two men said to be linked to the kidnapping of a Taiwanese woman and the murder of a man, believed to be her husband, in Pom Pom Island, Semporna last month.

The suspects, both in their 30′s, were picked up in Kampung Bangau-Bangau, Semporna at about 3am yesterday, said Sabah Police Commissioner Datuk Hamza Taib.



“We believe the two men who do not have any identification documents were also involved in other cases, as well,” he said, adding that the suspects were working in the island area at Semporna.

Hong Kong on high alert after first human case of H7N9 bird flu

HONG KONG - Hong Kong is on high alert after an Indonesian domestic helper contracted the city's first human case of H7N9 avian flu, the city's government says.

The 36-year-old maid is in hospital in a critical condition, Ko Wing-man, Hong Kong's secretary for food and health said in a statement.

The woman had recently traveled to Shenzhen, the mainland Chinese city nearest to Hong Kong, where she bought, slaughtered and ate a chicken, Ko added. Her close contacts have also been isolated in hospital.

Ko said that Hong Kong had raised its level of preparedness for an influenza pandemic to "serious."

Human infections from the H7N9 strain of bird flu first emerged in Shanghai in March this year and within weeks more than 100 cases were confirmed, according to the World Health Organization.

Whopping 16.9 per cent increase in electricity tariff for Sabah come Jan 1

KOTA KINABALU - Effective Jan 1, 2014, electricity tariff in Sabah and Labuan FT will be increased by five sen/kWh from 29.52 sen/kWh to 34.52sen/kWh.

“This is a 16.9 per cent increase from the current rate,” Energy, Green Technology and Water Minister Datuk Dr Maximus Ongkili said yesterday.

Maximus said after taking into consideration the need to rationalise energy subsidies and to improve the weaknesses in the current tariff structure, the government decided to review the electricity tariff in Sabah and Labuan FT.

“Implement Borneonisation, Safeguard Autonomy of High Court – Dr. Jeffrey”

KOTA KINABALU -  “The Sabah government must ensure that the Registrar of the High Court here is headed by a Borneo native and not replaced by another Malayan and put to rest the rumours circulating over his replacement” said Datuk Dr. Jeffrey Kitingan, STAR Sabah Chief commenting on the promotion of the current Registrar as a Judicial Commissioner leaving the vacancy to be filled.

Recently, 7 Borneo native non-Muslim Sessions judges and magistrates were transferred in one go in a highly unusual manner to the Peninsula. The rumour then was that the Registrar would be promoted and the 7 judicial officers were sent away and be removed from contention to be the replacement Registrar.   It was also rumoured that the replacement Registrar would be another Muslim officer from the Peninsula.

BN friendly Hiew remains Independent trying to allay claims of being an opportunist

Ex-DAP assemblyman in Sabah chooses to remain independent for now as he enjoys the privileges extended by BN

KOTA KINABALU: Party hopping is endemic in Sabah. Some politicians have no qualms about jumping ship.

On Sunday, former DAP member Hiew King Cheu, the state assemblyman from Luyang, who had won a seat on the opposition ticket jumped ship and declared himself ‘independent’; finding new friends in the government camp.

Sabah Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister Masidi Manjun was on hand to receive a basket of fruits at a Pesta Buah-Buahan (fruit festival) organised by Hiew to show some sort of alliance between the state government and the erstwhile opposition member.

Columnist: IGP's warning was a misguided attempt to silence the public

A columnist vowed to continue giving her opinions despite “crude threats” from the Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar over her piece decrying Putrajaya’s treatment of two Malaysian-born communists.

Mariam Mokhtar said she felt that Khalid’s warning was a misguided attempt to silence the public rather than being aimed at her.

“I think the IGP was acting under orders,” she said in an email to The Malaysian Insider from London, where she is based.

Mariam said it was “refreshing to learn that the IGP reads online news portals”.

Feudal mindset and money breeding political frogs in Sabah

A feudal political culture and an underdeveloped economy are the two factors that will see the party-hopping of the past few months among Sabah Pakatan Rakyat state assemblymen continue for at least the next 10 years, say politicians and academics.

They believe the latest batch of defections among Sabah PKR and DAP is part of the maturing process for Sabah’s political landscape.

Changing party affiliations has been a feature of Sabah and Sarawak politics since both states joined the federation in 1963.

The practice has seen the Sabah government change hands between coalitions at times within a period of several months, such as in 1994.

Political scientist Dr Zaini Othman said Sabah’s political culture was still largely feudal where support and membership networks revolve around personalities.

Communal leadership titles, such as the Kadazandusun Huguan Siou and Bisayak Janang Gayuh, still carry a lot of weight.

Members of those respective communities tend to support and vote for politicians with those titles, said Zaini.

Kuli: West Malaysians ignorant about Malaysia Agreement

KOTA KINABALU - Malaysians in the peninsula are not disrespecting the special rights of Sabah and Sarawak as specified in the Malaysian Agreement but are simply ignorant about the history of the formation of Malaysia, said Tengku Razaliegh Hamzah.

The Angkatan Amanah Merdeka (Amanah) president, who is affectionately known as Ku Li, said those from Peninsular Malaysia had no intention to purposely belittle or brush aside the issues brought up by the people from the two states in regard to their rights.

However, they lack the knowledge and understanding of historical facts that could enable them to grasp the significance of the issues being raised to Sabah and Sarawak, particularly the 20 Points and the 18 Points.

GST a bailout by Rakyat for a failed govt

The government tries to cover the fact that it is broke but all its explanations are flimsy and faulty.

Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak has recently mentioned that GST (Goods and Services Tax) was a more equitable taxation system and the additional revenue would allow the government to finance future developments.

He also said that the current taxation system was not efficient as only 1.34 million workers out of 14 million workers paid income tax.

This was reported in an English local daily dated Nov 28, 2013.

His statement regarding the number of taxpayers is downright silly. The small number of workers paying income tax is because many workers are not taxable as they are low-wage earners. This shows how much he knows about economics.

Ku Li cadang perjanjian penubuhan Malaysia dikaji

Kematian Tun Abul Razak Hussein dan timbalannya, Tun Dr Ismail Abdul Rahman menyebabkan urusan penyemakan perjanjian laporan antara kerajaan (IGC) diketepikan sementara waktu, katanya.

KOTA KINABALU: Bekas naib presiden Umno dan  menteri kabinet, Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah mencadangkan agar perjanjian penubuhan Malaysia disemak selepas kegagalan pada  tahun 1973.

Kematian bekas Perdana Menteri Tun Abdul Razak Hussein dan timbalannya, Tun Dr Ismail Abdul Rahman menyebabkan urusan penyemakan perjanjian laporan antara kerajaan (IGC) diketepikan sementara waktu, katanya.

Dr Ismail meninggal dunia pada Ogos 1973 diikuti Tun Razak pada Januari 1976.

“Perkara-perkara yang terkandung dalam Perjanjian 20/18 Perkara seharusnya disemak semula selepas 10 tahun penubuhan Malaysia,” katanya dalam satu forum anjuran Angkatan Amanah Merdeka cawangan Sabah itu turut dihadiri Pengerusi Amanah Merdeka Sabah, Datuk Wifred Bumburing dan Pengerusi PKR Negeri, Datuk Lajim Ukin di sini kelmarin.

Bersih to petition agong for new EC line-up

Fresh after the coalition's elections today, Coalition for Free and Fair Elections' (Bersih) new steering committee will now start pressuring the agong for a new Election Commission (EC) to replace the existing members.

Bersih chairperson Maria Chin Abdullah, who took over from Ambiga Sreenevasan, said for its next phase, the coalition of 90 NGOs will go nationwide with six new regional representatives to be elected.

But first, it has three requests for the agong, who has the power to appoint EC members.

Zaid: Malays have too much power

KUALA LUMPUR - Despite repeated fears by Malay rights groups that Malaysia’s largest race group is losing its dominance in politics and in business, Datuk Zaid Ibrahim believes otherwise.

To the former Umno minister, Malay power has increased over the years and is now at its zenith under the present Barisan Nasional (BN) leadership, insisting the potency has “gone to their heads”.

“I think the Malays have too much power and it’s gone to their heads,” the minister in charge of law during the Abdullah administration said in an email statement to The Malay Mail Online.

“Only people who have too much power will conduct themselves in the way Umno and Utusan have,” he said, referring to the BN’s main party and the Malay broadsheet it controls, adding: “To them, the idea of being sensible and reasonable is unreasonable and weak.”

PKR lega bila duri sudah terkeluar, kata Risham Mail

KENINGAU - Penghijrahan beberapa pemimpin Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) Sabah yang didalangi Adun Matunggung Dato' Jelani Hamdan dan Adun Kedamaian Jeremy Uku Malajad baru baru ini tidak mengejutkan banyak pihak dalam parti terutamanya Cabang PKR Keningau.

Timbalan Ketua Cabang PKR Keningau Risham Ismail (gambar), berkata demikian pada Rabu ketika diminta mengulas tindakan 11 pemimpin cabang PKR Sabah keluar parti dan difahamkan kumpulan ini yang lebih sinonim kepada “Geng 11” akan menyokong Barisan Nasional (BN).

Katanya, semua warga PKR bersyukur kerana “Geng 11” ini telah bertindak lebih awal sebelum menjelangnya pilihanraya umum kali ke-14 (PRU) iaitu kira kira 4 tahun dari sekarang untuk membolehkan jentera parti dibersihkan, ibarat sebaik sahaja duri dalam daging terkeluar dari isi tidak akan mengganggu tuannya lagi.

Selangor MB's drawing salary & emoluments totalling RM50K per month

PETALING JAYA - Come end of January 2014, Selangor Menteri Besar Abdul Khalid Ibrahim would not be pocketing merely RM29,250 in salary, instead he will be receiving more than RM50,000.

This is because other than receiving salary for being the state’s Menteri Besar, he is also eligible to receive payments as a state assemblyman and member of parliament.

Zaid: Unconstitutional to stop Muslims from gambling

Measures to bar Muslims from gambling are unconstitutional, former de facto law minister Zaid Ibrahim said.

“It is unconstitutional to prevent Muslims from gambling. The responsibility of government does not extend to making Muslims pious or religious,” he said yesterday.

In a series of tweets, he added that any efforts to stop Muslims from gambling by Muslim leaders are “hypocritical”.

“If Malacca is serious on checking Muslims who gamble, (they should) go to Crown Casino in Melbourne, Las Vegas or London. Don’t punish four-digit buyers like me.

Revelation by ex-EC chief showed its real dirty colours

It is the personal choice of former EC chief Abdul Rashid Abdul Rahman to join Perkasa, and nothing much of our business. Nevertheless, he made the shocking statement that the redelineation of constituencies was meant to defend the special privileges of the Malays. Little wonder that Bersih 2.0 chairman Ambiga Sreenevasan hit out at him unapologetically, accusing his statement as confessing the EC is playing the gerrymandering game.

While I am not going to explain the term gerrymandering here as it has been explained in the press, we nevertheless need to further understand and explore this political tactic of using gerrymandering to produce a situation favorable to the gerrymanderers.

Gerrymandering is basically effectuated by means of two different strategies: maximizing the effective use of own party's vote bank while minimizing the effective use of other party's vote bank. While redelineating the constituencies, the support bases of specific political parties will be put "under siege" in a bid to manipulate the election outcome. To achieve this end, gerrymanderers adopt one or both of the following tactics:

Sabah PKR's Opportunists at work

We provided tickets for them to go to KL (Kuala Lumpur), food and lodging at the hotel, and yet they utilized the PKR tickets not to attend our PKR congress but to enter another party.

KOTA KINABALU: Sabah Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) chief Datuk Lajim Haji Ukin yesterday thanked Barisan Nasional (BN) for taking Matunggong assemblyman Datuk Jelani Hamdan and Kadaimaian assemblyman Jeremy Majalad out of PKR.

“We thank you BN for bringing these people into BN. These leaders have been nothing but liabilities to the party (PKR),” said Lajim during a press conference held at the PKR Sabah headquarters.
He also clarified that only eight PKR leaders were leaving the party instead of the reported 11 leaders, two days ago.

Dua ‘Trojan Horse’ hancurkan PKR Sabah

Dua individu tersebut masih mempunyai hubungan rapat dengan pemimpin Umno. Musli dikatakan kerap berhubung dengan Setiausaha Agong Umno, Datuk Seri Tengku Adnan Mansor.

KOTA KINABALU: Dua nama yang kerap disebut-sebut sebagai trojan horse Umno dalam PKR ialah timbalan ketua penerangan PKR dan anggota MPN,  Musli Oli dan ADUN Matunggong, Datuk Jelani Hamdan.

Sumber dalaman PKR memberitahu FMT, dua individu tersebut masih mempunyai hubungan rapat dengan pemimpin Umno. Musli dikatakan kerap berhubung dengan Setiausaha Agong Umno, Datuk Seri Tengku Adnan Mansor dan menyampaikan maklumat kepada Umno setiap kali menghadiri mesyuarat MPN yang dihadiri Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim. Beliau juga mempunyai hubungan rapat dengan Timbalan Ketua Umno Sabah, Datuk Seri Dr  Mohd Salleh Said.

SD enough for cops to probe AG on Pulau Batu Puteh

Former CID chief Mat Zain Ibrahim today urged the police to start investigating his allegation that Attorney-General Abdul Gani Patail had erred in the Pulau Batu Puteh case.

The police, Mat Zain said, should have been prompted into action based on his statutory declaration on the matter alone.

Mat Zain was responding to the Home Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi (right) who was quoted in news reports as saying yesterday that the police could do nothing until a police report was lodged on Mat Zain's charges.

"Section 107 and 107A of the Criminal Procedure Code relate to information given to the police and their powers to investigate are very clear," Mat Zain said in a brief message to Malaysiakini.

PKR leaders in Sarawak quit party

KUCHING - The 'dump PKR' phenomenon seems to have spread from Sabah to Sarawak.

A day after 11 Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) divisional leaders quit the opposition party in Sabah and expressed support for the Barisan Nasional (BN), a PKR branch chairman and secretary in Sarawak have resigned to join the Sarawak Progressive Democratic Party (SPDP).

Gani Eli, who has been chairman of the PKR Roban branch in Sarawak from 2011, and Abang Mokhtar Abang Zulkifli claim to have taken along with them 108 other members and supporters, thus allegedly crippling the branch.

Gani led the PKR deserters in submitting their applications to join SPDP to the party's president, Tan Sri William Mawan Ikom, here today.

Family rejoices as Malaysian police identify "slave" victim

Hasnah Abdul Wahab, 88 hold old portrait of younger sister
Siti Aishah, one of the 3 women allegedly held as slaves in London

Police in Kuala Lumpur said Wednesday one of three women allegedly held as slaves in London for 30 years was a Malaysian who went missing in the 1960s, prompting a joyous reaction from the long-lost woman's sister.

JELEBU - Police in Kuala Lumpur said Wednesday one of three women allegedly held as slaves in London for 30 years was a Malaysian who went missing in the 1960s, prompting a joyous reaction from the long-lost woman's sister.

Malaysia's top police official Khalid Abu Bakar, citing information provided by British police, confirmed the woman was Siti Aishah Abdul Wahab, The Star newspaper said in a brief report on its website.