FMT News

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• AES is a life safer and not a money minter
• A prophet not accepted in his own hometown?
• MB Selangor angkuh
• Irked by ads cutting into movie time
• Gold investors’ fear, worry and grief
• GE13: Should the global community care?
• How biased are our newspapers, online media?
• Sabah rights: ‘Stop lying, Najib’
• New US envoy to Libya pledges support
• Rats, mold won’t delay Guantanamo hearings in 9-11 case
• New version of Flame virus uncovered: Researchers
• Myanmar blocks world Islamic body office after rallies
• Norway appeals court ups sentence in Prophet cartoon case
• Controversy in Russia’s south over hijab ban at schools
• Israel MPs gather to clear way for snap election
• Peace envoy seeks Iranian help for Syria ceasefire
• Amazon offers refunds following e-book settlement
• More than three million Austrians tuned in live to Austrian space jumper
• Greek minister says EU-IMF wrong on austerity impact
• Palani ‘sacks’ aide Dr Vijay
• Nazri praises Pakatan led states
• KL shares end mixed, CI up
• Obama-Romney race remains nearly tied
• France rejects minister’s call for debate on legal cannabis
• RM3.2b for low quality military housing
• Nazri: Receiving foreign funds is not treason
• Sisters in Islam call for Syariah law review
• Nestle to cut sugar and salt in cereals
• Sarawak roads way behind schedule
• 5 sebab pinda Seksyen 294 Kanun Tatacara Jenayah
• MACC an international fool, says Kit Siang
• BN feigning unity in Sabah
• Lonely, hard work on oil rigs, but salaries soaring
• Philippines, Muslim rebels sign peace pact
• SAR: Ketepi fahaman politik – Muhyiddin
• The court got it wrong, it was a cold blooded murder
• Rice subsidies not working out
• PAC chief cuts off deputy over MRT issue
• Asian markets mostly down, China growth data eyed
• AG report: Top marks to Pakatan states
• S’gor temui kaedah rawatan air lebih murah
• Vettel to join Ferrari in 2014, but Massa stays
• ‘PAS dress code doesn’t make sense’
• Hindraf to back Pakatan, provided…
• Debt crisis tops agenda at Asia-Europe finance talks
• Pakistani child campaigner sent to Britain for treatment
• World’s biggest school has 45,000 kids
• Kenali artis: Prema Yin
• Suaram didakwa pernah gugat kestabilan Indonesia

AES is a life safer and not a money minter Posted: 15 Oct 2012 04:31 PM PDT FMT LETTER: From S Param, via e-mail I welcome the government's introduction of the Automated Enforcement System (AES) to capture motorists for traffic offences. All those who truly understand what it means to lose 19 lives per day (about 7,000 per year) on our roads due to accidents will appreciate what the authorities are trying to achieve with the AES. A young nation with just over 29 million people registering such a colossal figure of deaths on our roads is akin to self destruction or can be described as suicidal. Although China and India have been known to have the highest number of road accidents respectively,I believe Malaysia stands out for its accident ratio if compared to its population with Indai and China. There could be several contributing factors attributed for fatal accidents on our roads. However, studies indicate that the deliberate act of beating speed limits and traffic lights have been the major contributing factors. Annually, hundreds of innocent lives are lost and many hundreds are maimed or crippled for life due to reckless motorists who care a hoot for the law and other innocent road users. Many families have lost their loved ones in road accidents and have been suffering in silence. No amount of compensation or sympathies will be able to erase the tragic losses and emotional scars. The country too, suffers as it loses a son or a daughter (citizens) who may have had the potential to contribute immensely towards her social and economic development. Whichever way we choose to see it, the unexceptionally high rate of fatal road accidents does not speak well of a young nation like Malaysia. It’s time for drastic action.The introduction of the AES will help to haul up those who flout the traffic rules and reduce fatal accidents. I strongly believe AES will help reduce the number of accidents in the country. We are already seeing some encouraging results going by the statistics released by the authorities recently. I’ve been a frequent weekend traveller between Ipoh and Kuala Lumpur and have noticed motorists are now very careful not to beat the speed limit. With ample visible warning signs of the AES installation at strategic points along the highway, it has further helped to keep the motorists alert of their speed. Those who see the AES in the right light will definitely vote for it. The AES is here to safe lives and to prevent unwanted injuries and loss of properties. I hope the Penang government will not turn this AES installation as another political issue. By all means study the implications but do not stall the installation. Penang is also one of the notorious states renowned for its traffic violators and fatal accidents. Delaying the AES installation amounts to betraying those who loves to see the roads safe. It will be reckless to delay the AES instalation. Having said that, the authorities should ensure the AES summonses are issued to all types of motor vehicles, be it that of a dignitary, private individual or public owned vehicle. There should not be any biasness in the issuance of summons for traffic offences captured in AES. The law should apply aross the board.The authorities should also provide an avenue for first time traffic offenders to appeal for a reduction in the imposed fines and a rebate for those who settled their fines earlier. Public education on road safety should be on going thing to create an awareness.The AES should seen as a life safer and not a money minter. Finally, I wish to suggest to the authorities concerned that an AES audit committee to be set up. Ideally this committee should include public representatives (NGOs like CAP) to audit the issuances of AES summons and to ensure that it is not been abused or misused to benefit certain individuals or parties.

A prophet not accepted in his own hometown? Posted: 15 Oct 2012 04:29 PM PDT FMT LETTER: From May Chee Chook Ying, via e-mail Just recently, a most revered politician from Umno was flayed for not "embracing his party's stand and claims". Embrace a claim? The upstart who had the gall to tell his own boss off is so typical of those blinded by ambition. Saifuddin Abdullah, the Deputy Higher Education Minister, in my humble opinion, is the only credible person left in Umno. He is the one who had to save Umno now and then, from the red-hot blushes stemming from their stupid antics and diabolical behaviour! While the commander -in- chief has not had the gumption to face-off his equal in the opposition, here we have Saifuddin going to opposition-led Penang, and charming everyone there with nothing more than his usual dose of honesty, clarity and sincerity. While the whole of Umno seem to be conducting themselves in unbecoming behaviour, this one healthy being sticks out like a sore thumb. I feel so sorry for you, my dear Saifuddin. Now and then, you see some headlines in the news that just put you off reading any further. You wonder where all those stupidity came from. Then, when it's time for Saifuddin to say his piece, you reassure yourself that all is not lost with Malaysia. In their ravings, his detractors from his own party debase the original struggle of Umno and what they once stood for. They insult and scorn what they do not understand, what they know by instinct and the Umno we now know, is instinctively corrupted to the core! Save, for Saifuddin, of course. He is the silver lining in those clouds carried along by the wind that never bring rain, and his detractors within his own party are like trees without fruit at the end of autumn, twice dead when uprooted. Over and beyond other truths which people discover, there is a light that is total Truth. This light can neither be dimmed nor divided. You are or you are not with the light. This light does not give knowledge directly but affects the person who acts, lives and walks in the light. Those walking in this light walk in faith and find themselves free from obstacles. So, they are not afraid to speak the truth, the truth as it should be, like Saifuddin. This faith opens for us a global vision of human reality. Those who walk in darkness dwell in a sectarianism that prevents them embracing others as universal brothers and sisters. The Umno we know now manifests a deep alienation for logic and truth, and of course, love for their fellow Malaysians. If they are reinventing themselves as "tuans", then what are the rest of us to them? I, for one, thought that politicians in power, including those in Umno, were public servants. Servants, mind you, not masters. Only in Malaysia, public servants behave as if they are public masters. They expect others to pick up their tabs, launder "dirty linen", shouldering yolks that eat into their flesh, taking the best of the rakyat's harvests for themselves; the list goes on.  Medieval, no? Yet, these clowns are telling us that we are marching towards 2020, the year we become a developed nation. I could die laughing but it's tears I shed. Isn't a public servant elected on the premise that he is accountable to his electorate, their progress and development? How is it some of our public servants consider their electorate as their "thing", to use and neglect according to their fancy? To force the way their electorate should think? That they should be "grateful"? Oh, I forgot, these public servants think themselves "tuans"; I,ni, mudah pelupa! By telling the wiser Saifuddin off, is the upstart saying that we must always support the people in charge, no matter the circumstances? Even when they are accusing some really good people of doing poor Soros' bidding and helping him set up a puppet regime in Malaysia? Progressive Malaysian leaders I feel really embarrassed to have such news leaving our shores. What must others think of us? Perhaps, the tempurung might be able to shield us from the scorching scorn people from outside Malaysia can pour on us? Insane comedy, alright! I believe people like Saifuddin know that the Truth forms free people. He also knows that we cannot blindly accept another's stand without evaluating for ourselves, according to the criterion of the larger good. It's our responsibility to think for ourselves and however much we criticise what must be criticised, does not make us lesser Malaysians. And however much Saifuddin is at odds with the present leadership of Umno, does not make him love Umno less, or their original stuggle for a better Malaysia. Even if people like Saifuddin are marginalised for their courage in upholding the Truth, they wouldn't be responsible for the demise of the diseased community. The latter is already in a self-destructive mode. It's a pity that the majority in Umno "loves" blindly and sentimentally. Rather, they should love effectively, in a way that can liberate and transform their brothers and sisters from a complacency that can be debilitating. Progressive people like Saifuddin has emerged from what some would refer to as feudalistic politics. (Hi, Nat!) They are aware that the Malaysian identity has evolved, developed even; situating itself within the realities of the Malaysian context. There has been a constant effort on the part of progressive Malaysians to express what being Malaysian means in the language of our day. We should make good use of this time given to us to advance and to change for the better. Having said that, however, I don't see many progressive specimens in the powers-that-be. In fact, I see the danger in hanging on to dim-wits or half-wits that sudah lupa that we are now in the 21st century. These wrinkled prunes are not helping their brothers or sisters to face their true destiny; to realise themselves through their own efforts and to discover they are helpless if they do not first, acknowledge their other brothers and sisters and act with them. These dim-wits and half-wits do not have the wisdom in them (or is it courage) to tell their brothers and sisters the Truth as it is. Instead they make bogeymen out of the Jews, Christians and whatnots. These dim-wits and half-wits are entrenched in the power of delusion, entertaining the likes of themselves with sterile arguments and failed doctrines. We have, in the likes of Saifuddin, progressive Malaysian leaders, who act in solidarity with fellow Malaysians. They are aware that their duty is not just to govern the nation alone, but to be an advocate before the Truth; to promote the Truth, encourage love among fellow Malaysians and to establish peaceful relationships. They are the leaven sorely needed for a better Malaysia. They are not like those upstarts who "mengigau" to be in the company of the best of society, in pursuit of money and power till they isolate themselves from their duty to their electorate. In spite of propounding reforms, I for one, don't see the shadow of a change. In fact, I see how, with each passing day, the powers-that-be are playing God with our lives by disregarding the conscience and the rights of the common Malaysian. It is said that the real sin is to lose hope but I don't have any more hope in the present powers-that-be. I just don't. God bless, especially progressive Malaysians wanting a better Malaysia, for all.

MB Selangor angkuh Posted: 15 Oct 2012 04:22 PM PDT SURAT FMT: Dari Hamidzun Khairuddin, melalui e-mel Angkuh.  Itu perkataan paling sesuai gambarkan pendirian Menteri Besar Selangor, Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim tentang kemelut isu air yang nampaknya tidak berkesudahan.  Jika dilihat dari sikap yang sebegini memang pentadbiran Negeri Selangor diperintah secara emosi, bukan dengan pemikiran sebuah kerajaan yang berwibawa. Jika Exco Selangor, Dr Xavier Jeyakumar sebelum ini "sangat gembira" dengan pendirian Kerajaan Pahang untuk membatalkan perjanjian pembekalan air mentah ke Selangor dan begitu bangga mendabik dada yang bekalan air mentah di Selangor mencukupi, mungkin sekarang beliau akan berfikir sebelum bercakap. Sejak kebelakangan ini paras penyusutan paras air di empangan telah menjadi kritikal akibat cuaca kering dan panas yang dialami.  Tentulah sekali fenomena ini tidak dijangka oleh seorang ahli politik seperti Dr. Xavier, sebab itu beliau  main bercakap sedap mulut saja. Tan Sri Khalid pula baru-baru ini telah memaklumkan di dalam media bahawa Selangor punya masa 75-90 hari lagi sebelum empangan kering sepenuhnya.  Kerajaan Negeri juga akan menjalankan pembenihan awan sekiranya tiada hujan turun dalam tempoh 22 hari. Persoalannya, kenapa seringkali Kerajaan Selangor mengambil pendekatan "mengubati" bukannya "mencegah" yang jelas menunjukkan yang Kerajaan Selangor tidak membuat persediaan sebelum ini. Bukankah fenomena cuaca ini sesuatu yang biasa terjadi dan bukannya kejadian yang tidak dijangka seperti tsunami. Bukankah pentadbiran Kerajaan Negeri disokong oleh jabatan-jabatan seperti meteorologi dan sebagainya?  Takkan satu fenomena cuaca yang begitu lazim seperti ini pun tidak dapat dijangka? Dulu syarikat pembekal air telah awal-awal memberikan amaran, namun tidak diendahkan, malah dituduh sebagai memulakan propaganda. Kerajaan Negeri menolak sama sekali bahawa krisis air akan terjadi dengan alasan-alasan yang tidak disokong oleh fakta. Jika dahulu MB Selangor berkata krisis air tidak akan berlaku kerana paras empangan masih penuh.  Apakah sekarang ini kenyataan tu masih relevan? Ada alternatif jangka panjang, dan lebih efisyen dan telah dilaksanakan kerja-kerjanya hanya menanti kelulusan Kerajaan Negeri untuk diteruskan pembinaannya.  Tidak dapat dinafikan, pembinaan Loji Langat 2 adalah satu keputusan yang bertanggungjawab, dan pilihan yang muktamad. Tambahan pula infrastruktur  untuk projek Penyaluran Air Mentah dari Pahang (PPAMP) telah siap 50% dan menelan belanja RM2.41 billion.  Takkan infrastruktur yang terbina untuk masadepan rakyat Selangor akan dibiarkan menjadi sia-sia sahaja. Sebelum ini Dr Xavier menolak sekeras-kerasnya PPAMP dengan memberikan hujah tentang ekologi, kerosakan alam semula jadi dan penempatan orang asli, tetapi tidak menyedari pula keputusan untuk tidak membina Loji Langat 2 bakal "membunuh" rakyat di negeri sendiri. Yang menjadi persoalannya adalah cara Kerajaan Negeri berfikir dan bertindak,  tidak tahu apa yang patut diberikan keutamaan.  Jika isu air mentah yang begitu asas tidak dapat diuruskan dengan baik dan berkesan, bagaimana hendak menguruskan pembekalan air terawat yang jauh lebih teknikal. Dalam pada itu, perlu ada kepakaran dan pengetahuan teknikal yang mendalam beserta pengalaman, bukan boleh dicapai secara "overnight success". Kenapakah Kerajaan Negeri  yang begitu yakin bahawa mereka mempunyai kepakaran untuk menguruskan industri air di Selangor ini tidak dapat melihat kehadapan dan membuat persiapan awal bagi  sesuatu yang bermusim seperti ini? Ini baru air mentah, belum masuk bab-bab proses merawat air lagi, dan proses pengagihan. Bagaimana hendak menguruskan penstrukturan dan mengambil-alih syarikat-syarikat konsesi sedangkan perkara yang paling asas pun tak lepas. Pendek kata, jangan buang masa! Penulis adalah presiden Gagasan Anti Penyelewengan Selangor (GAPS),Shah Alam

Irked by ads cutting into movie time Posted: 15 Oct 2012 04:19 PM PDT FMT LETTER: From Dr Sattian Kollanthavelu, via e-mail Movies have always been my favourite pastime, be it on television or in theatres. The last two movies I watched were ‘The Expendables 2′ and ‘Taken 2′. I caught Expendables 2 in Kota Kinabalu and Taken 2 in Mid Valley, both theatres operated by Golden Screen Cinemas. While the watching the movie itself was fun, the part where they delayed the screening by 15 minutes is a no no for me! Both movies started the screening well beyond the stated time, as the were loads of advertisement going on. Right from Samsung’s new projector phone to the small KFC chicks and our Colonel struggling to open the theatre door to let the chicks enter. It was further joined by housing developers advertisement. Now, this is not a free screening theatre as all of cinema-oers are paying for it. I don’ mind if the advertisements run before the screening time but to continue playing it beyond the stated time, is a rip off! Is there any regulation that addresses this problem or only this specific cinema operator is doing it? As far as I know, other cinema operators don’t behave like this. I hope someone can look into this.

Gold investors’ fear, worry and grief Posted: 15 Oct 2012 04:17 PM PDT FMT LETTER: From Shereen Lim, via e-mail I value Bank Negara’s good intentions to protect the welfare of thousands of investors in Genneva Malaysia. Having to fight inflation as a retiree, I trust that Bank Negara would help us in these trying times. About 6,000 of us consultants have helped many people to improve their lives as the returns in the form of Hibah has brought sunshine into their daily lives. We appeal to Bank Negara to allow Genneva to operate while the investigation is ongoing.  This is to pave the way for us to be able to support our our families with our monthly Hibah and commissions, which we were supposed to collect on the first week of October. We also would like to appeal to Bank Negara to be compassionate by releasing the cheques and gold seized so that we can deliver them to the rightful owners. In addition, those cheques already collected by customers before the raid to be honoured by the bank. We are all living in fear, worry and grief. Fathers, mothers, sons and daughters of 1Malaysia are in sorrow. There is so much tears and suffering. My primary concern is for those who need the income i.e. the Hibah and commission for their daily expenses, especially the sick and the aged. Some had to resort to borrowing money from friends to pay for medical bills. Several have also been also unable to pay their housing, car, education loans, etc.  driving them to contemplate suicide. The writer is a customer and consultant of Genneva

GE13: Should the global community care? Posted: 15 Oct 2012 03:22 PM PDT By S Ambiga Those in the international community may be forgiven for saying… "is there a problem with the democratic process in Malaysia?". In the international arena, our leaders portray Malaysia as a moderate Islamic nation that is built on the democratic principles that are enshrined in our Federal Constitution. The fundamental rights of freedom of expression, freedom of association, freedom of assembly, the right to life and a fair electoral process, are indeed guaranteed under our Federal Constitution. The reality is, however, far less idyllic. There are serious questions whether these rights are respected and upheld by those in power. Since before the 1990s, Malaysians have been pushing for a reform of the system of governance. There has been growing discontent over issues like rampant corruption, abuse of power, deaths in custody and selective prosecution (or persecution), to name but a few of the grouses. We are increasingly alarmed by the use of race and religion by politicians to divide the people for political gain, with no regard whatsoever for the possible long-term consequences of this conduct. We note with disgust our mainstream media descending to the lowest depths of junk journalism. We are appalled at the growing instances of political violence. In the clearest example of how low we have sunk, human rights defenders and civil society who are seen as opposing the government are facing ruthless attacks by the government of the day. Suaram, established in 1989 and which has in the past year been exposing possible corruption by Malaysians in high places in the purchase of Scorpene submarines from France, is suddenly facing investigation by several government agencies. The mainstream media is once again playing its role in showing no regard whatsoever for presenting the whole truth. In a front-page news story, preposterous claims were made that NGOs like Suaram and Bersih were funded by organisations like National Democratic Institute (NDI) and Open Society Institute (OSI) for the purpose of overthrowing the government. Directors of Suaram have been hauled up by enforcement agencies for their exposé on the corruption, yet our anti-corruption agency fails to even begin to investigate the claims of Suaram that a huge commission of RM500 million had been received by a Malaysian entity in the Scorpene deal. Civil society is now continuously portrayed in the media as the enemy which is seeking to overthrow the government at the behest of foreign powers. These accusations have also been hurled at Bersih, more so since July last year when we had a successful rally of more than 50,000 people on the streets of KL, clamouring for clean and fair elections. Another rally was held in April this year when more than 200,000 people were on the streets, again asking for electoral reform. Malaysians do not easily take to the streets. The numbers must mean that there were good reasons why they did. What reforms? I will not go into more details of the attacks that human rights defenders have had to face by those in authority or those who had the tacit approval of the authorities. Suffice it to say they have been sustained and relentless. When asked, our leaders will say that this government is reforming because of the replacement of many oppressive laws, and the apparent move to greater democracy. They will say that after the Bersih rally last year, a parliamentary select committee (PSC) for electoral reform was set up and a report issued. What they don't go on to explain is, what replaces these oppressive laws and what they are doing to effectively implement the PSC recommendations. In my view, the new legislation just does not go far enough, and the important recommendations of the PSC report are largely ignored or poorly implemented. Bersih also continues to receive reports of electoral malpractices and the integrity of the electoral roll leaves much to be desired. Our Election Commission does not enjoy public confidence and is not seen by many as independent. This, together with all the other issues that plague our system of governance, leads to the inevitable conclusion that the next crucial general election will be seriously flawed. All the so-called reforms are like attempting to varnish a table that is ridden with termites. It is difficult to fix a system that is fundamentally flawed by building on the same rotten foundation. That is, even if there is real political will to reform. The Global Commission on Elections, Democracy and Security which is headed by Kofi Annan (former United Nations secretary-general) and which has many distinguished members including Ernesto Zedillo (former president of Mexico), Madeleine K Albright (former US Secretary of State) and Professor Amartya Sen, issued a ground-breaking report on clean and fair elections dated September 2012. In his foreword, Annan states, "The spread of democracy across the world has been one of the most dramatic changes I have witnessed over the course of my career. In country after country, people have risked their lives to call for free elections, democratic accountability, the rule of law and respect for human rights. Elections are the indispensable root of democracy…" I make no apologies for quoting from this report at length for I cannot say it better. The report clearly outlines that clean and fair elections are not just about choosing leaders, but are about building a solid framework for a democracy that works for the people. Some conclusions After studies, the following were some of the conclusions arrived at: 1. "Elections with integrity are important to values that we hold dear – human rights and democratic principles. Elections give life to rights enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, including freedom of opinion and expression, freedom of peaceful assembly and association, the right to take part in the government of one's country through freely elected representatives, the right of equal access to public service in one's country, and the recognition that the authority of government derives from the will of the people, expressed in ‘genuine periodic elections’ which shall be by universal and equal suffrage and shall be held by secret ballot. 2. Elections are fundamental to the ethos and principles of democracy… 3. Citizens lose confidence in democratic processes when elections are not inclusive, transparent, and accountable. When elections have integrity, they bolster democracy, respect fundamental rights, and produce elected officials who are more likely to represent their citizens' interests. 4. But in addition to promoting democratic values and human rights, elections with integrity can also yield other tangible benefits for citizens. Evidence from around the world suggests that elections with integrity matter for empowering women, fighting corruption, delivering services to the poor, improving governance, and ending civil wars… 5. Electoral accountability, in turn, is associated with lessening government corruption… 6. Electoral accountability, in turn, has direct benefits for improving representation of the poor… 7. Even in countries emerging from civil wars – the most difficult of contexts for building democracy – research now shows that when the termination of the war is accompanied by elections in which former combatants run for office and campaign for votes, countries are less likely to revert to civil war. At the same time, however, other studies note that fraudulent elections are correlated with societal violence and political instability…" In an interview after the presentation of the report, Stephen Stedman, director of the Global Commission and a political scientist from Stanford, was asked what the motivation was for the report. In speaking of the chairman (Kofi Annan), he said that Annan was "driven by his experience of having to deal with several elections in Africa that had become violent and had gone off the rails. And there is a frustration he feels about how little attention had been paid to those places before they blew up". Fear causes corruption Let us be clear. Malaysia is not facing the problems nor the hopelessness that gave rise to the Arab Spring. We are blessed with an abundance of resources and talent. But to assume that all is well and that there is no need to scrutinise the democratic processes, would be a mistake. We want change before things do blow up in our faces. We do not want an Arab Spring. We want to choose our leaders in clean and fair elections. If there is to be change, we want to do it through the ballot box. If the government is willing to overlook, and in fact tacitly support, corruption and abuse of power, and promote racism and religious bigotry for its own ends, how can we trust that the elections will be clean and fair? There is even an admission of malpractices in the past. A Royal Commission of Inquiry has been set up by the government in the state of Sabah in respect of a large number of foreigners having been given citizenships in exchange for votes for more than 20 years. Bersih has received reports that this practice continues and even in West Malaysia. Why is this happening? It is because the party that has been in power for 55 years is now feeling vulnerable. As Aung Sang Suu Kyi has famously said… "It is not power that corrupts but fear. Fear of losing power corrupts those who wield it and fear of the scourge of power corrupts those who are subject to it." So why should one country be bothered about electoral processes in another? We know that if any such suggestion is made, the immediate diplomatic response is that there will be no interference by one country into such domestic matters of another country. Not that this is entirely true in fact. As observed of the international community in the commission report "While their rhetorical support for elections with integrity may be constant, their record of responding to flawed elections is not. In some cases, their interest lies in bolstering a preferred candidate, not in an election with integrity per se. Too often, democratic governments have turned a blind eye to electoral malpractice by regimes and incumbents with whom they have friendly relations". And the best answer to why everyone should be interested in clean and fair elections everywhere is stated in the report thus: "We still live in a world in which states act on their strategic interests. The key lies in reminding democratic governments that their strategic interest is best served by supporting elections with integrity. Not only do democratic governments share an interest in the spread of democracy as a bulwark for international peace, but they must also learn that their bilateral relations are strengthened when their partners have democratic legitimacy earned through genuine elections" Malaysia is a member of many important regional and international organisations and appears to enjoy the confidence of its neighbours. We can set valuable examples in the region. We have what it takes to be a role model. But we can only be that if the example we set is one of a truly democratic system of governance borne out of clean and fair elections. And if we are to be valuable contributors to the global community, then it is in everyone's interests that our elections are clean and fair. S Ambiga is the co-chairperson for polls reform movement Bersih 2.0

How biased are our newspapers, online media? Posted: 15 Oct 2012 03:20 PM PDT By Aziff Azuddin It's been some time since I caught up with our political scene. The last time was when Budget 2013 was presented. It's not that I am not interested in politics. It’s just that all the statements by our politicians are stale news. Now, it has almost become impossible to go to a online news portal or pick up a newspaper and not lose any sense of objectivity. There are many who would argue that the mainstream media are biased and controlled by the establishment in one way or another. Many would cite the PPPA (Printing Presses and Publications Act) that rules the media as the reason. And because of this the Internet is seen as the bastion of freedom. This, of course, is not unfounded. Was it not the Internet and social network which rallied the people of Egypt to Tahrir Square in Cairo, and brought an end to the Hosni Mubarak's regime? Was it not through the Internet that the Bersih rallies gained support and grew in numbers? But, can the Internet also be controlled? The sad fact is that even online media cannot escape some form of control by their financiers. That’s why some stories are slanted to favour certain personalties or organisations.This practice is not just a Malaysian problem. News organisations the world over practise slanting and all it takes is a keen eye, logic and background knowledge. As much as people would like to point towards the United States of America as the land of free journalism, this is hardly the case. An example would be in 2009, when Fox News was accused of slanting news towards the right-wing. It was accused of violating journalistic principles. Vested interests Recently Malaysiakini's former editor YL Chong claimed that George Soros indirectly funded the online news portal and that the online news portal refused to allow this fact to be known and that the former editor resigned in protest. Malaysiankini, of course, refuted these allegations. In any form of media, biased reports will always exist. One can point fingers at publications such as Utusan and The Star and say they're biased. But have these same people taken the trouble to also look at publications such as Harakah and The Rocket? Most media organisations have vested interests and they will always run stories favouring their owners. What the average Malaysian is lacking is perspective. We're so drawn in by the Internet and (sometimes) take what's published in it for gospel truth that we possibly forget that it, too, is biased in one form or another. The remedy is simple: read everything and take not only the supporting views but also the opposing ones. We have to remember that the media are tailored towards their audience to reflect their ideologies. The simplest proof would be to observe the groups that read the different varieties of news publications; an observation that would make an interesting social study. This is what I've learnt so far being a final-year student in journalism: Nothing is what it seems and that the search for the truth often requires scratching under the surface, reading all sides and finally coming down with an objective conclusion. Aziff Azuddin is a journalism student.

Sabah rights: ‘Stop lying, Najib’ Posted: 15 Oct 2012 03:17 PM PDT KOTA KINABALU: The State Reform Party (STAR) is stunned by Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak’s claim that Sabah’s rights and autonomy have not been usurped by the federal government and that they remain intact. The party’s Sabah chapter chairman, Jeffrey Kitingan, said the prime minister was either ignorant or being crafty by claiming Sabah’s rights had not been diminished in any way after the formation of Malaysia in 1963. "How can the prime minister say that Sabah's rights have not been taken away when it is very clear that from its position as an equal partner with Malaya in 1963, Sabah is now downgraded to become the 12th state and its Umno-BN state leaders are subservient to Umno-KL leaders?" asked Jeffrey. He said that it was the manoeuvring of peninsula-based Umno and federal leaders that had resulted in Sabah being made a de facto colony of Malaya and Umno-BN leaders treating Sabah as their "fixed deposit" and treating Sabahans with disrespect. Sabahans, he said, lost their political independence and rights when Umno manoeuvred itself into Sabah and misguided Usno (United Sabah National Organisation) into handing over power to its proxies and stooges. “Sabahans further lost their rights to determine their own future through the evil ‘Project IC’ during [former premier] Dr Mahathir Mohamad's administration which also resulted in illegal immigrants being given ICs and voting rights. “The reverse ethnic cleansing through these illegal immigrants has affected true Sabahans in every aspect and yet the federal government has been dragging its feet on the RCI [Royal Commission of Inquiry]. “To top it all, under Umno-BN's rule, Sabah is now the poorest state in Malaysia which accounts for 40% of all the poor in Malaysia,” he said, adding that the federal government had also taken over all revenue collection in the state. “What is RM32 million for schools and RM132 million for infrastructures for Sabah when Sabah contributes about RM15 billion oil revenue annually to Petronas and for 2011, the federal government collected about RM22.7 billion in federal taxes and revenue from Sabah excluding other collections? “The Immigration Department alone collected about RM200 million from Sabah for 2011. The federal government took away the right of the Sabah state [government] to collect its own revenue when Point 11 of the 20-Point Agreement was not implemented. “Point 11 reads: ‘Sabah [North Borneo] should have control of its own finance, development funds and tariffs’,” he said. Borneonise civil service According to him, the revenue from Sabah's oil and gas has been unfairly taken from Sabah when the prime minister's father, Abdul Razak Hussein, in 1975 signed an order granting ownership of Sabah's oil and gas resources to Petronas. “If the prime minister means what he says, he should immediately rescind the vesting order and hand back the oil and gas resources to Sabah. “Since 1975, Sabah's oil revenue has been channelled to Malaya via Petronas to develop the Malayan states at the expense of Sabah. “Recently, this was acknowledged by Najib himself in Sarawak that for 49 years, Sabah and Sarawak had contributed their revenues towards the development of Malaya,” he said. According to Jeffrey, who gained a doctorate at the prestigious Harvard University, it was also well known and agreed at the outset of the formation of Malaysia in 1963 that "Borneonisation" of the Sabah civil service would take place immediately, but this was not honoured and civil servants from the peninsula, some not even experienced or qualified for the job, took over senior posts in government after the British left. He said that even now, after 49 years, it was clear that the federal government had become the new colonial master and taken over almost all the key positions in the federal civil service in Sabah. “The problem is compounded by the duplicating roles of federal agencies in Sabah to the extent that they usurped the roles of Sabah agencies. These federal agencies have even deemed it appropriate to import their staff, even junior staff, from the peninsula and marginalised Sabahans. “It is all part of a devious scheme to control and make Sabah a colony of Malaya and Umno,” he said. Manipulations by Mahathir Jeffrey argued that the situation became worse for Sabah from 1965 when Singapore was kicked out of Malaysia. The federal government, he said, through various schemes, manipulated the situation to secure 75% control of the federal Parliament when it was agreed in 1963 that Malaya would not have more than 65% of the parliamentary seats as a constitutional safeguard for Sabah and Sarawak. The realignment of power in 1965 allowed the Umno federal government to make Sabah the 12th state in the nation and subservient to Malaya, he added. “Even during Usno’s early days, Umno sent its advisers; it could not be said that whatever Usno did was purely its own doing. “During Berjaya's tenure, Sabah lost Labuan and its oil revenue. The then chief minister [Harris Salleh] seemed more interested in trying to please the federal government so as to achieve the political ambition of overthrowing Mustapha [Harun]. “During the PBS era, Mahathir showed his dictatorial side in sidelining the PBS government which was democratically elected by the people and even stopped Pairin [Kitingan] from being sworn in as the legitimate chief minister. “Mahathir also induced the jumping of PBS elected representatives that caused the downfall of the PBS government and used his dictatorial powers to put his opponents in jail under the draconian ISA,” said Jeffrey, the younger brother of current deputy chief minister Joseph Pairin. He reminded Najib that the rotation system of the chief minister was then introduced against the Sabah constitution to induce and later trap the other BN leaders while, at the same time, gerrymandering the electoral boundaries to create additional seats for Umno and make it the single largest Barisan Nasional coalition component with 32 out of 60 seats. “With the Project IC then at its height, the takeover of Sabah by the federal Umno government was complete. “Why is the prime minister turning a blind eye to these testimonies of loss of Sabah's rights?” he asked. No religious freedom Jeffrey also touched on the loss of religious freedom in Sabah. Jeffrey, who was jailed under the Internal Security Act (ISA) during Mahathir’s time for speaking up on Sabah’s rights, also reminded Najib and Umno that freedom of religion was guaranteed by Point No 1 of the 20-Point Agreement as well as the Batu Sumpah (Oath Stone) in Keningau. “The fact that Sabahans today no longer enjoy freedom of religion clearly suggests that they have been robbed of this right. “In addition, there is a steady creeping in of the ‘Ketuanan Melayu’ policy where new imported Malays are accorded better rights than the original indigenous natives, many of whom are Muslims,” he said. Jeffrey also said that if Najib is correct in his claim that Sabah had received development and progress similar to its counterparts in Malaya, then surely Sabah would be one of the richest states in Malaysia, if not the richest. “If the prime ministere had only opened his eyes to his surroundings when officiating at the ground-breaking ceremony of the Native Court Training Institute building and the opening of the bridge at Padang Pagansakan in Penampang, he would notice that the development of the surrounding areas including roads, bridges and other infrastructure is not on par with the peninsular states. “And that is only 10 miles from Kota Kinabalu city centre. He should then imagine how much below par is the development status in the other areas, especially in the interiors like far-flung Pensiangan,” he said. “Or better still, he should travel by road instead of helicopter to see for himself the status of development in Sabah,” Jeffrey added, taking a swipe at Najib for travelling around the state by air. Malaysia is not 55 Touching on the federal stand that Malaysia is 55 years old, Jeffrey said by insisting Malaysia is 55 years old now and not 49, the federal government is propagating the worst lie to the people of Sabah, Sarawak and Malaysia as a whole. “What is the motive of the Umno federal government in manipulating the facts of history? The prime minister should restore Sabah's rights and not lie anymore. “He should learn how to view Malaysia and the federal government from the perspective of Sabahans and not just from the top as an Umno leader with a Malayan Agenda,” he said. “Sabah has lost a lot since agreeing to form Malaysia in 1963 and suffered a great deal due to the manipulations and policies of the Umno federal government in the name of national integration; the federal government of Malaya has ruled the state in the guise of the federal government of Malaysia. “There was never a genuine partnership for Sabah in Malaysia. “The federal government has disrespected the Malaysia Agreement 1963 and the autonomy and rights of Sabah. After 49 years of an unequal partnership and treatment, Sabahans are now clamouring for the restoration of their rights and autonomy,” Jeffrey said, adding that the prime minister and the federal government should stop treating Sabahans as fools. Taking a swipe at Najib’s Budget 2013, he said it was nothing to shout about for Sabahans. “Sabahans deserve more than 1Malaysia water tanks and BRIMs. “What the prime minister can and should do, if he truly wants to make a difference… is to restore the rights and autonomy of Sabah and the status of Sabah as an equal partner to Malaya… and to treat Sabahans with respect and dignity,” he said.

New US envoy to Libya pledges support Posted: 15 Oct 2012 09:36 AM PDT TRIPOLI: The US envoy sent to Tripoli following the death of the American ambassador in an attack last month said yesterday the United States remained committed to supporting Libya. Veteran diplomat Lawrence Pope said in his first comments since arriving in Libya last week that the United States would “continue on the path” of ambassador Christopher Stevens, who along with three other Americans was killed in what the United States has called a “terrorist” attack in Benghazi on September 11. The incident has triggered a debate in Washington over whether the ambassador, and the US mission in Benghazi more broadly, were given sufficient protection. “The United States remains deeply committed to supporting the aspirations of the Libyan people as they build a sovereign, stable and economically prosperous nation,” Pope said after talks with Deputy Foreign Minister Mohammed Abdulaziz. He said the United States was determined to bring to justice the perpetrators of the attack which killed four Americans. The assault forced the evacuation of US personnel from Benghazi, the eastern city that was the hub for the Libyan rebel movement that, with the assistance of NATO-led air strikes, toppled former Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi last year. Pope came out of retirement to take up the position of “charge d’affairs”, the title given to a diplomat who represents a country in the absence of an ambassador. He had retired in 2000 after a 31-year career as a foreign service officer. He is a former US ambassador to Chad and senior State Department counter-terrorism official. He speaks Arabic and French. - AFP

Rats, mold won’t delay Guantanamo hearings in 9-11 case Posted: 15 Oct 2012 09:35 AM PDT GUANTANAMO BAY US NAVAL BASE, (Cuba): US attempts to move forward in the trial of five Guantanamo prisoners accused of plotting the September 11 attacks have been thwarted for months by scheduling conflicts, religious observances, an Internet outage and a tropical storm. But the judge has rejected a request to further delay the military tribunal proceedings because of a rat and mold infestation in the offices assigned to defense lawyers at the Guantanamo Bay US Naval Base in Cuba. A week of pretrial hearings is set to begin at the base on Monday morning for Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the alleged mastermind of the hijacked plane attacks that killed 2,976 people in the United States in 2001, and four alleged al Qaeda conspirators accused of providing money and other support for the hijackers. After an aborted attempt to try them at Guantanamo in 2008, the five were arraigned on revised charges during a chaotic 13-hour hearing in May that was marked by defiant outbursts from the defendants. There have been no hearings in the case since then. A hearing tentatively set for June was delayed because one of Mohammed’s defense lawyers, a civilian death penalty expert, had to attend the execution of a client in an unrelated case. A July session was postponed to allow the defendants to observe the holy month of Ramadan, when Muslims fast during daylight hours. Hearings set for August were delayed when an Internet outage left the lawyers unable to access their electronic legal documents, and then canceled altogether as Tropical Storm Isaac approached. It doused the base but caused no damage. In late September, the work space used by the defense lawyers was shut down because it was infested with mold, rat droppings and at least one decaying rat carcass. Defense lawyers said the 1940s-era building was making them sick. “My eyes burn. I lose breath,” said Cheryl Bormann, a civilian lawyer for defendant Walid Bin Attash. “All of us suffer some sort of symptoms.” They asked for a delay, saying that without their work area they did not have resources to prepare for the hearings. The judge, Army Colonel James Pohl, ordered a cleanup but ruled on October 5 that there would be no further postponement. The building has since been certified as safe by the base hospital’s Industrial Hygiene Department, though some of the lawyers said it was still toxic and are working from a cramped high-security trailer inside the court complex rather than return to that building. Many buildings at the humid and tropical base are kept uncomfortably cold to keep the mold and vermin at bay. The chief prosecutor, Army Brigadier General Mark Martins, acknowledged to journalists on Sunday evening that the tribunals were taking place in a “relatively austere setting,” but said, “Justice is not determined by the plushness of the surroundings.” Many of the issues the court will address during this week’s hearing pertain to secrecy issues. Defense lawyers want the judge to abolish a “presumptive classification” process that treats as a top national secret any discussion of what happened to the defendants during interrogations in secret CIA prisons before being sent to Guantanamo in 2006. The judge will also hear news organizations’ request to limit closing of the courtroom for secret sessions, and be asked to decide whether the U.S. Constitution governs the tribunals being held at the U.S. base in southeast Cuba. In addition to Mohammed and bin Attash, defendants Ramzi Binalshibh, Ali Abdul Aziz Ali and Mustafa al Hawsawi, are charged with conspiring with al Qaeda, attacking civilians and civilian targets, murder in violation of the laws of war, destruction of property, hijacking and terrorism. All five could face the death penalty if convicted. - Reuters

New version of Flame virus uncovered: Researchers Posted: 15 Oct 2012 09:34 AM PDT WASHINGTON:- A new cyberespionage tool linked to the Flame virus has been infecting computers in Lebanon, Iran and elsewhere, security researchers said yesterday. Kaspersky Lab, which was credited with revealing the Flame virus earlier this year, dubbed the new malware “miniFlame,” and said it was “a small and highly flexible malicious program designed to steal data and control infected systems during targeted cyber espionage operations.” Russian-based Kaspersky said miniFlame “is based on the same architectural platform as Flame,” widely reported to be part of a US-Israeli effort to slow Iran’s suspected nuclear weapons drive. The smaller version “can function as its own independent cyber espionage program or as a component” inside Flame and related malware. Unlike Flame, which is designed for “massive spy operations,” miniFlame is “a high precision, surgical attack tool,” according to Alexander Gostev at Kaspersky Lab. “Most likely it is a targeted cyberweapon used in what can be defined as the second wave of a cyberattack.” Kaspersky Lab data indicates the total number of infections worldwide is just 50 to 60, including computers in Lebanon, France, the United States, Iran and Lithuania. MiniFlame operates “as a backdoor designed for data theft and direct access to infected systems,” according to Kaspersky, which said development of the malware might have started as early as 2007 and continued until the end of 2011, with several variations. “We believe that the developers of miniFlame created dozens of different modifications of the program,” Kaspersky said. “At this time, we have only found six of these, dated 2010-2011.” Flame previously has been linked to Stuxnet, which attacked computer control systems made by German industrial giant Siemens used to manage water supplies, oil rigs, power plants and other critical infrastructure. Most Stuxnet infections have been discovered in Iran, giving rise to speculation it was intended to sabotage nuclear facilities there. The worm was crafted to recognize the system it was to attack. Some reports say US and Israeli intelligence services collaborated to develop the computer worm to sabotage Iran’s efforts to make a nuclear bomb. - AFP

Myanmar blocks world Islamic body office after rallies Posted: 15 Oct 2012 09:31 AM PDT NAYPYIDAW: Myanmar’s president blocked a world Islamic body from opening an office in the country, an official said yesterday, bowing to rallies against its efforts to help Muslims in unrest-hit Rakhine state. “The president will not allow an OIC office because it is not in accordance with the people’s desires,” said an official from Myanmar leader Thein Sein’s office, after thousands of monks held the latest protests against the Organisation of the Islamic Conference in two major cities on Monday. The official, who asked not to be named, declined to comment on an agreement signed with the OIC, the top world Muslim body, which confirmed to AFP last week that it had obtained the green light to open an office in the country. Around 3,000 maroon-robed clerics, some shouting and holding banners reading “No OIC”, marched through the country’s commercial hub Yangon, according to an AFP photographer. Thousands more protested in the second-largest city Mandalay, with another demonstration in the town of Pakokku in Magway region in central Myanmar, according to organisers. “We cannot accept any OIC office here,” Oattamathara, a monk leading the Mandalay protest, told AFP. “Not a temporary office and not a permanent office.” Sectarian tensions are running high following Buddhist-Rohingya clashes in June in western Rakhine which left dozens of people dead and forced tens of thousands to seek refuge in temporary shelters. Monks were at the vanguard of a 2007 pro-democracy uprising that was brutally crushed by the former junta. They have been involved in a series of protests against the OIC and Myanmar’s 800,000 stateless Rohingya, who are described by the UN as one of the world’s most persecuted minorities. Members of the 57-member OIC toured Rakhine last month after accusations from rights groups that security forces opened fire on Rohingya during the sectarian unrest, prompting concern across the Islamic world. Myanmar’s Rohingya, who speak a dialect similar to one in neighbouring Bangladesh, are seen by the government and many Burmese as illegal immigrants. Tensions in Rakhine have spread to neighbouring Bangladesh, where police said recently they had arrested nearly 300 people in connection with a wave of violence targeting Buddhist homes and temples. The OIC head office did not react officially to Monday’s decision. At the time of its visit in September, the delegation signed “a memorandum of co-operation, envisaging the opening of an office for humanitarian work in the Burmese capital and a coordination office” in Rakhine State, an IOC source told AFP. The document was signed by the border affairs minister, said the source. - AFP

Norway appeals court ups sentence in Prophet cartoon case Posted: 15 Oct 2012 09:26 AM PDT OSLO: A Norwegian appeals court yesterday tacked an extra year onto the seven-year sentence of a man convicted of Al-Qaeda ties and plotting to bomb a Danish newspaper that published cartoons deemed offensive to the Prophet Mohamed. Norwegian national Mikael Davud, a member of China’s Uighur minority and considered the mastermind behind the plot against the Jyllands-Posten daily, was first sentenced in January. The Oslo appeals court last month upheld the guilty verdict against him and an accomplice, Shawan Sadek Saeed Bujak, an Iraqi Kurd residing in Norway. The court, however, lopped six months off the three-and-a-half-year sentence originally meted out to Bujak. Arrested in July 2010, the two men were found guilty of planning a bombing attack against the newspaper, which has been the target of several plots by Islamist extremists since publishing a series of inflammatory cartoons featuring Mohammed in 2005. One cartoon showed the prophet wearing a turban resembling a bomb with a lit fuse. Prosecutors, who also accused the men of planning to murder cartoonist Kurt Westergaard, had initially demanded they receive prison sentences of 11 and five years respectively. The court failed to come to a decision over the guilt of a third man, David Jakobsen – an Uzbek arrested at the same time as Davud and Bujak. Jakobsen was acquitted in January of the most serious charges but was sentenced to four months in jail for helping the others procure bomb-making material. Though David acknowledged plotting an attack, he said he was targeting Chinese interests and not the newspaper. China’s Uighur community is an oppressed minority. He said he was acting for purely personal reasons and had manipulated the other two men so they could help him buy chemicals to make a bomb. - AFP

Controversy in Russia’s south over hijab ban at schools Posted: 15 Oct 2012 09:24 AM PDT MOSCOW: Several Muslim families pulled their daughters out of schools in Russia’s south after the girls were told they were not allowed to wear their hijabs, a top Muslim cleric told AFP yesterday. The Mufti of the southern Stavropol region Muhammad-Haji Rakhimov said he had received complaints from several parents whose daughters were for the first time not being allowed into their schools wearing the headscarves. The situation resembles a “stalemate” because both the Muslim parents and school authorities refuse to budge, and several girls including second-graders have not been to school for two weeks now, he said. “The parents of these girls are not letting them go to school, which can lead to the child welfare services taking them away,” Rakhimov told AFP. He could not explain the authorities’ sudden change in school policies. “There have not been any problems before this month.” He added that there were now “many girls” in the Stavropol region who were being kept out of school for this reason, and their parents were too poor to send them to private schools. One such institution is a rural public school in the village of Kara-Tyube, close to the overwhelmingly Muslim region of Dagestan. The school’s list of rules posted on its website says that students’ appearance should be in line with the “business style used in a secular society, excluding provocative elements”. Russia’s pro-government newspaper Izvestiya quoted the school’s director Marina Savchenko as saying that girls would not be permitted in class in their hijabs, but that they could wear ordinary headscarves instead. It added that the parents had filed a complaint with the local prosecutor. There are about 20 million Muslims in Russia, most of them living in the mountainous North Caucasus, as well as in Tatarstan and Bashkortostan on the Volga River. - AFP

Israel MPs gather to clear way for snap election Posted: 15 Oct 2012 09:22 AM PDT JERUSALEM: The Israeli parliament was in session yesterday to vote on a motion to dissolve itself and clear the way for a snap election, likely to be set for January 22. At the session, which began at 1400 GMT, MPs were expected to approve a government bill to dissolve the parliament, or Knesset, paving the way for early elections which were called last week by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. “I’m asking to hold elections today, January 22, 2013,” Netanyahu told the house at the start of the debate. “In less than 100 days the people of Israel will decide who will lead them in the face of the greatest security challenges which we have known since the founding of the state; who will lead them in the face of the toughest economic crisis the world has known in the past 80 years,” he said. President Shimon Peres also made reference to the threat posed by Iran’s nuclear programme, which Israel and much of the West believes is an attempt to build a weapons capability, despite Tehran’s denials. “We stand in the face of Iran’s attempts to acquire a nuclear weapon,” he said. MPs will debate the bill and vote on it in three readings in a lengthy session expected to run late into the night, said Yariv Levin, chairman of the Knesset’s House Committee. “We will use an accelerated procedure which will let us vote on the bill in three readings in one day,” he told public radio. To be adopted, the text must be approved by an absolute majority of 61 in the 120-seat Knesset, a parliamentary spokesman said. Commentators say the bill is likely to be easily approved. On approval, the Knesset will be immediately dissolved and an election recess will come into force, marking the official start of a campaign which polls suggest Netanyahu and his rightwing and ultra-Orthodox allies will comfortably win. A survey published last week by the left-leaning Haaretz newspaper found that Netanyahu and his allies were set to increase their number of seats to 68, while the opposition — comprising centrist, leftwing and Arab parties — would win just 52. Netanyahu’s existing coalition, which includes the centrist Independence party headed by Defence Minister Ehud Barak, holds 66 seats. The Israeli leader said his decision to call a snap election was driven by the deadlock among coalition partners over the passage of a budget packed with austerity measures. But commentators said Netanyahu had called an early vote to capitalise on his current standing in the polls, which show him holding a commanding lead over any potential rivals for the premiership. - AFP

Peace envoy seeks Iranian help for Syria ceasefire Posted: 15 Oct 2012 09:20 AM PDT BEIRUT: International peace envoy Lakhdar Brahimi appealed to Iran to help arrange a ceasefire in Syria during the Islamic holiday of Eid al-Adha as rebels and government forces fought street by street and village by village yesterday. Brahimi made the request in talks with Iranian leaders on Sunday in Tehran, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s closest regional ally in his campaign to crush a 19-month-old uprising. The veteran Algerian diplomat said the civil war in Syria was getting worse by the day and stressed the urgent need to stop the bloodshed, his spokesman said on Monday. He suggested the truce be held during the Eid holiday, which starts around October 25 and lasts several days. It would “help create an environment that would allow a political process to develop”. There was no immediate response from either side and with fighting raging yesterday in several Syrian cities and in the countryside, it was not clear if they would want to put the brakes on any battlefield advantages. The crucial strategic battles in a conflict that has claimed more than 30,000 lives since March 2011 are being fought in an arc through western Syria, where most of the population lives. Aleppo street-fighting The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said two rebel-held districts in northeast Aleppo, al-Shaar and Karm al-Jabal, came under heavy bombardment from Assad’s forces yesterday. It also reported fierce clashes in the district of Jdeideh, just north of the ancient citadel in Syria’s biggest city. Syrian television showed footage of soldiers inside Aleppo’s Great Mosque, which dates back to the 8th century and was badly damaged in fighting between government forces and rebels battling for control of the Old City. The mosque’s medieval arches were charred, its elaborate wooden panels smashed and metal filigree lanterns lay broken in the courtyard. The sound of nearby gunfire could be heard. Assad issued a decree on Monday establishing a committee to restore the mosque, though it was not clear how that would happen with fighting still raging in Aleppo. In northwestern Idlib province, government warplanes bombed several towns yesterday, the pro-opposition Observatory said. Rebels had surrounded an army garrison on Sunday close to a northwestern town in the latest push to seize more territory near the border with Turkey, opposition activists said. Several hundred soldiers were trapped in the siege of a base in Urum al-Sughra, on the main road between Aleppo, Syria’s commercial and industrial hub, and Turkey. “Rebels attacked an armored column sent from Aleppo to rescue the 46th Regiment at Urum al-Sughra and stopped it in its tracks,” Firas Fuleifel, one of the activists, told Reuters by phone from Idlib province, the main base and supply route for insurgents fighting in Aleppo. He said a jet was shot down while trying to provide air support to the column. Assad’s forces still control the city of Idlib on a main highway linking Aleppo to the port of Latakia, making the route an important rebel target. On the border with Turkey’s Hatay province, the rebels appeared to have a tentative hold after four days of heavy fighting in the town of Azmarin and surrounding villages. Giving an overview of the military situation, analyst Shashank Joshi of the Royal United Services Institute in London said the rebels, boosted by weapons from Gulf States and gaining in fighting skills, were possibly doing better. Assad’s forces were increasingly stretched and taking more casualties. On the other hand, opposition forces have not coalesced and formed a reliable chain of command connecting local groups. “So even if government forces are losing their grip, what is taking over is many opposition groups,” Joshi told Reuters. “I am less confident of regime collapse within six months than I was in July.” The rebels have made ground in Aleppo but not as much as they would have liked and at much higher cost, he said. It would be important if the rebels are able to maintain their block of the north-south highway between Damascus and Aleppo but the lack of cover on the roads make them vulnerable to air strikes, he said. If they can hold the road, the government’s helicopter fleet would be strained as it would be diverted from an attack role by the need to resupply stranded towns. Turkey game-changer The “game-changer” could be Turkey, once an ally of Assad and now leading international calls for him to quit, Joshi said. Turkey’s confrontation with Syria deepened in the past two weeks because of cross-border shelling and escalated on October 10 when Ankara forced down a Syrian airliner en route from Moscow, accusing it of carrying Russian munitions for Assad’s military. Ankara on Sunday closed Turkish air space to Syrian planes after Damascus banned Turkish planes from flying over its territory. Russia has said there were no weapons on the grounded plane and that it was carrying a non-legal cargo of radar. But it acted to cool friction with Ankara – Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said the incident would not hurt “solid” relations. After meeting mediator Brahimi, Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Salehi said Iran was ready to work with him for peace and repeated Tehran’s call for an immediate ceasefire before reforms and elections to resolve the conflict. “We all need to join hands so that this conflict comes to a halt and further bloodshed is stopped,” Salehi said. Shi’ite Iran is the main ally in the region of Assad, who is a member of the Alawite sect, an offshoot of Shi’ite Islam. The uprising has been led by the Sunni Muslim majority and is backed by Sunni-ruled Arab states and by Turkey, also led by a party with its roots in Sunni Islamist politics. Turkey’s disaster management agency said on Monday the number of Syrian refugees housed in camps in southern Turkey has exceeded 100,000, reaching the limits of its ability to cope. Two other Syrian neighbors, Lebanon and Jordan, are sheltering 94,000 and 106,000 refugees respectively, according to the United Nations refugee agency. - AFP

Amazon offers refunds following e-book settlement Posted: 15 Oct 2012 09:16 AM PDT NEW YORK: Amazon has announced it will offer refunds to customers who bought e-books as a result of a partial settlement of a lawsuit against publishers in a price-fixing case. The e-commerce giant said the precise amounts won’t be known until a court finalizes the deal but that the refunds will probably range from 30 cents to US$1.32 for certain Kindle books purchased between April 2010 and May 2012. In notifications to customers over the past few days, Amazon noted that publishers Hachette, Harper Collins, and Simon & Schuster have agreed to the deal in a US government lawsuit alleging a price-fixing conspiracy with Apple. The settlements create a US$69 million fund for refunds. “We think these settlements are a big win for customers and look forward to lowering prices on more Kindle books in the future,” Amazon said in a message to its customers. The three publishers reached a settlement in April when the US government launched its case against Apple and other publishing houses “for conspiring to end e-book retailers’ freedom to compete on price.” The lawsuit will proceed against Apple along with publishers Macmillan and Penguin Group for what US authorities called a conspiracy to raise prices and limit competition for e-books. US officials said the scheme was aimed at ending a discounting effort by Amazon, which sold most e-books at $9.99 until the new pricing plan was forced on the retail giant. The move almost instantly raised the prices consumers paid for e-books, authorities said. - AFP

More than three million Austrians tuned in live to Austrian space jumper Posted: 15 Oct 2012 09:15 AM PDT VIENNA: More than three million television and internet viewers in Austria tuned in live to watch Austrian Felix Baumgartner jump from the edge of space on Sunday and become the first man to break the sound barrier unaided by a vehicle. National broadcaster ORF recorded some 2.3 million television viewers during the nine minutes that 43-year-old Baumgartner plummeted to the earth from 39 kilometres above New Mexico, the highest freefall jump ever made. ServusTV, a private channel owned by Baumgartner’s sponsors Red Bull that offered almost 10 hours of live broadcast, added another 830,000 viewers in a country of eight million people. Together the two channels – the only ones providing live broadcats – made up 80 percent of viewership on Sunday. Almost half a million people also followed the event live on the internet platforms of Servus TV and ORF. Baumgartner broke three records with his daring jump: the highest freefall jump, the fastest freefall speed and the highest balloon flight by a human. But these records will still have to be verified by the Supreme National Air Sport Commission (ONF) in Vienna – to establish them as Austrian records — before they can be confirmed by the World Air Sports Federation (FAI). This could take up to two and a half months, said an ONF spokeswoman. Austria was quick to hail Baumgartner’s accomplishment. “I warmly congratulate Felix Baumgartner on this great success, which was achieved with courage and perseverance and is finding worldwide attention,” President Heinz Fischer reacted on his Facebook page almost immediately after Baumgartner had landed safely in New Mexico. Chancellor Werner Faymann also rejoiced that the record attempt went smoothly, praising “this impressive achievement.” “Together they went to the boundaries of human possibility and of physics,” he said of Baumgartner and his team. Without exception, the front page of every Austrian newspaper on Monday featured a picture of the Salzburg native in his spacesuit, with headlines including “Success!,” “A historic jump” and “Happy End.” The free daily Heute described him as a “The man of the century” while the tabloid Oesterreich spoke of “A jump for eternity.” - AFP

Greek minister says EU-IMF wrong on austerity impact Posted: 15 Oct 2012 09:12 AM PDT ATHENS: Greece’s deputy finance minister yesterday said that international creditors had underestimated the impact of three years of austerity on the country’s deep recession by using a faulty calculation. Christos Staikouras said the actual fiscal multiplier, or negative effect, of austerity on growth is “around 1.0, not 0.5,” the number used by auditors from the European Union, International Monetary Fund and the European Central Bank to draft their fiscal policy recommendations. As a result, the 49 billion euros (US$64 billion) in cuts imposed by successive Greek governments since 2010 have failed to provide their forecast fiscal results, Staikouras told a conference organised by the International Herald Tribune. Greece’s conservative-led government is in talks with the troika on an austerity package needed to unlock a loan payment of 31.5 billion euros. Athens had hoped to clinch an agreement with the auditors before a European Union summit on October 18 that is expected to discuss Greece. But Finance Minister Yannis Stournaras now says this is unlikely. “We are trying, but I don’t think so,” he told reporters yesterday in relation to the chances of a deal before Thursday. “The negotiations will continue until the summit and beyond,” he said. The troika report on Greece is required by European leaders and the IMF before approval is given for the release of the funds. Another finance ministry source said that an emergency Eurogroup meeting between eurozone finance ministers on Greece was “the most likely” scenario to close the latest round of negotiations. Greece needs to secure the loan tranche by next month. The payment, which has been pending since June, is a part of the two rescue plans provided to the heavily-indebted eurozone country. Greece has also benefited from the cancellation of more than 100 billion euros in privately held debt. The government has presented a draft budget that foresees 7.8 billion in savings next year, but EU/IMF/ECB auditors say measures worth 9.2 billion are needed. The troika mission estimates that the Greek economy will contract by more than four percent in 2013, according to a finance ministry source, while the government expects gross domestic product to shrink by 3.8 percent. - AFP

Palani ‘sacks’ aide Dr Vijay Posted: 15 Oct 2012 03:54 AM PDT KUALA LUMPUR: MIC president G Palanivel has told Dr Vijendran Shanmugam, who allegedly claimed he was the former's political secretary, to quit within a week, according to a local NGO. S Gobi Krishnan, chairman of the People's Welfare and Rights Organisation (Power), said he received the news by text message from Palanivel himself. Dr Vijendran, who is often referred to as Dr Vijay, is alleged to have distributed call cards describing himself as political secretary to the MIC president, who is also a minister in the Prime Minister’s Department. A Tamil daily recently questioned his appointment to the post, saying he was a bankrupt. According to documents shown to FMT, the Department of Insolvency declared Dr Vijendran a bankrupt last March 1. Subsequent to the report in the Tamil paper, he clarified that he was a private secretary to Palanivel, not his political secretary. He also denied that he was a bankrupt. Observers of MIC politics are questioning his right to distribute name cards indicating his position as political secretary when he has not taken the oath of secrecy before the Prime Minister. Gobi Krishnan said he recently raised this question in a text message to Palanivel and urged him to call for Dr Vijendran's resignation within 48 hours, threatening to lodge reports with the police and MACC. It was in reply to the message that the MIC president said he had told Dr Vijendran to resign within a week, Gobi Krishnan added. He said Power checked Dr Vijendran's status on Oct 4 and found that he was still a bankrupt. “It seems like Dr Vijay has given false reports to media,” he added. “Palanivel is the boss. He should be the one clearing the air. Even if Dr Vijay is the private secretary, it is still not right. A declared bankrupt cannot hold any government position”. Gobi Krishnan also said that by saying he was only a private secretary, Dr Vijay had dug his own grave. “There is evidence to show that he is a declared bankrupt. Now Dr Vijay has to dispute that. But it is Palanivel’s duty to clear the air." FMT has been unable to obtain a clarification from Dr Vijay.

Nazri praises Pakatan led states Posted: 15 Oct 2012 03:11 AM PDT KUALA LUMPUR: After receiving praises from the Auditor-General (AG) for managing their state finances well, a federal minister also congratulated Pakatan Rakyat-led states. "It’s good for them. There are good Pakatan and BN managed states. I congratulate them," said Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Nazri Aziz, at a press conference held at the Parliament lobby today. Earlier, it was reported that the AG had praised Selangor and Penang for collecting a revenue of RM62.50 million and RM192.19 million respectively. Both states recorded an surge of 46.8% and four percent respectively as compared to the previous year. The AG report also praised Kedah and Kelantan for their revenue collection but said that the states needed to improve their debt management system. Nazri said that the AG report proved that the Barisan Nasional (BN) government has no bad intention against their political rivals as accused by some quarters. "If we wanted to hide facts, we would have hidden all the praises meant for Pakatan led states," he said. On accusations that the AG report was "filtered", Nazri dismissed the claims outright saying it was baseless. "How can we ‘filter’ the report? Besides, we have no ability to hide anything. People these days are too advanced," said the Padang Rengas MP. On related matter, Nazri said that the report was delayed for two weeks in order to allow Budget 2013 to be debated first at the Dewan Rakyat. "All ministries will wrap up their debate on Budget 2013 this week. So MPs will have a week to study the AG report and raise issues next week," he said. Also read: AG report: Top marks to Pakatan states

KL shares end mixed, CI up Posted: 15 Oct 2012 03:05 AM PDT KUALA LUMPUR: Share prices on Bursa Malaysia ended mixed today amid a lack of fresh leads coupled with last-minute buying that pushed the key index into positive territory, dealers said. At 5pm today, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) rose 1.08 points to 1,654.44, tracking gains in major bluechips. The benchmark index had hovered between 1,649.15 and 1,654.44 at trade today. Dealers said investors took the opportunity to buy shares at lower prices today after the stock market saw consecutive losses last week. "Investors are reluctant to take major position on riskier assets on concerns over the global economy,” a dealer said. The dealer said although China’s trade figures recently revealed were positive, they seem to have failed to dispel market worry on the global economic outlook. The Plantation Index rose 9.84 points to 8,185.64 and the FBM Mid 70 Index decreased 18.771 points to 12,159.68. The Finance Index fell 23.11 points to 14,682.46 and the Industrial Index was up 7.32 points to 2,853.82 and the FBM Ace declined 7.75 points to 4,193.20. The FBM Emas Index was 1.36 points higher at 11,243.82. Losers outnumbered gainers by 389 to 285, while 338 counters were unchanged, 634 untraded and 25 others suspended. Turnover increased to 1.002 billion shares valued at RM981.601 million from 780.94 million shares valued at RM1.21 billion last Friday. Among actives, SAAG Consolidated fell 3.5 sen to 1.5 sen, Compugates, Asia Media and Scomi Group added half-a-sen each to 9.5 sen, 35.5 sen and 44 sen respectively. Of the heavyweights, Maybank was unchanged at RM8.94, Sime Darby gained seven sen to RM9.79, CIMB lost four sen to RM7.66 and Axiata added a sen to RM6.50. Volume on the Main Market was higher at 820.756 million shares worth RM952.022 million compared with 589.65 million shares valued at RM1.17 billion last Friday. Turnover on the ACE Market declined to 133.817 million shares valued at RM26.045 million from 158.57 million shares valued at RM36.224 million last Friday. Warrants was up to 43.949 million units worth RM2.252 million from 29.433 million units worth RM1.977 million previously. Consumer products accounted for 66.88 million shares traded on the Main Market, industrial products 121.630 million, construction 36.52 million, trade and services 459.097 million, technology 32.158 million, infrastructure 9.84 million, finance 27.628 million, hotels 944,600, properties 47.792 million, plantations 12.68 million, mining 373,900, REITs 5.14 million and closed/fund 57,200. - Bernama

Obama-Romney race remains nearly tied Posted: 15 Oct 2012 02:50 AM PDT WASHINGTON: Three weeks before election day, the White House race between US president Barack Obama and his Republican foe Mitt Romney remains statistically tied, with Obama maintaining just a slight advantage, a new opinion poll found today. The latest ABC News/Washington Post survey showed that likely voters favoured Obama over Romney by 49 percent to 46 percent, which is within the poll’s margin of error. But Obama was still leading in nine battleground states – Colorado, Florida, Iowa, Nevada, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Ohio, Virginia and Wisconsin – by 51-46 percent. The mood of the voters slightly improved although most of them remained gloomy. According to the survey, only 42 percent of registered voters said the country was headed in the right direction. The good news for Obama is that that figure was up by 13 percentage points since late August and, experts say, has reached a level at which an incumbent can survive. Neither candidate has so far managed to sway the voters toward their economic plan, the survey showed. Just 51 percent of likely voters expressed confidence the economy will improve under Romney, and 48 percent said the same about Obama. But the Republican nominee has the class factor to worry about. According to the survey, 57 percent of likely voters believed he would do more as president to favour the wealthy than the middle class. Sixty-eight percent thought Obama had favoured the middle class. The race factor also plays a certain role. Obama trails by 11 points among whites, but has an overwhelming 73-18 percent lead among non-whites, the poll found. The survey of 1,252 adults, including 1,063 registered voters and 923 likely voters, was conducted October 10-13 and had a margin of sampling error of 3.5 points. - AFP

France rejects minister’s call for debate on legal cannabis Posted: 15 Oct 2012 02:47 AM PDT PARIS: France’s Socialist government was forced to reassert its opposition to legalising cannabis today after the education minister drew howls of outrage by calling for a debate on the issue. Education Minister Vincent Peillon raised the issue on Sunday, saying legalising cannabis was a “serious question” that warranted debate. After the remarks were pounced on by France’s right-wing opposition, Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault’s office insisted government policy had not changed. “The prime minister and Mr. Peillon spoke on the telephone this morning, there will be no decriminalisation of cannabis,” Ayrault’s office said. In a broadcast organised by France Inter radio, Le Monde and AFP, Peillon had said: “This question is worth asking, and I am amazed sometimes by how France is a bit behind on this subject, which for me is important.” After coming under fire for the remarks, Peillon issued a statement saying his comments reflected his “personal opinion” and were in no way “contrary to the complete and total solidarity” within the government. Former prime minister Francois Fillon of the right-wing UMP called Peillon’s remarks “irresponsible and dangerous”, saying: “The ban on consuming cannabis in France remains more than ever necessary to protect our children.” UMP party leader Jean-Francois Cope called on President Francois Hollande to react to the minister’s statements. “The legalisation of so-called soft drugs is simply unacceptable,” Cope said on France Info radio, citing “dozens and dozens of researchers around the world” who have pointed to the dangerous effects of smoking cannabis. The controversy highlighted what critics say is increasing confusion and disorganisation within the government formed after Hollande won the presidency in May, which saw the Socialists take power for the first time in a decade. - AFP

RM3.2b for low quality military housing Posted: 15 Oct 2012 02:42 AM PDT KUALA LUMPUR: The Ministry of Defence (Mindef) spent a whopping RM3.2 billion for poor quality living quarters, according to the Auditor-General's 2011 report. The report also pointed to a 15% cost overrun in the project, aimed at housing married military personnel. The initial cost of the project was estimated at RM1.22 billion. “Under the Ninth Malaysia Plan, Mindef had completed 38 married quarters projects with the initial cost of RM1.740 billion," it said. "As at December 2011, 46,880 units of various class of married quarters had been built for the four services. “Audit findings revealed that the overall construction performance of 12 married quarters projects built within the Ninth Malaysia Plan and management of married quarters were unsatisfactory.” The report stated that the contractors failed to complete construction within the initial contract period and were given time extensions of 94 to 1,240 days. Completed married quarters projects were marred by damage as well as construction defects, and contractors failed to carry out repairs within the stipulated period. The report also noted evidence of weakness in the management of the quarters, such as a shortfall from full occupation of the facilities and the poor quality of furniture supplied. Past failures “The level of satisfaction among the armed forces towards the married quarters facilities was less than satisfactory,” it said. The audit also found that only one of the audited projects had been awarded through open tender. The rest were contracts given through direct negotiation or limited tender or by obtaining quotations. The contractor implicated was Syarikat USL, a joint venture of the Finance Ministry-owned Syarikat Perumahan Negara Bhd and the Armed Forces Fund Board Sdn Bhd. The report described the company as “inexperienced” and “technically incompetent”. Mindef was censured and urged to ensure that it appoint only eligible and capable contractors. The report also noted that although USL was fined RM87.12 million for the delays, the Finance Ministry waived the penalty following an application by Mindef. In 2006, the same company was censured for sub-par delivery of an air force quarters project in Subang. Despite the reprimand, no repairs were made. However, the report revealed, the ministry had nevertheless issued a “certificate of making good defects” to indicate that repairs had been completed. Also read: AG report: Govt agencies improved in 2011

Nazri: Receiving foreign funds is not treason Posted: 15 Oct 2012 02:33 AM PDT KUALA LUMPUR: There are no laws stopping organisations from receiving foreign funding, said Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Nazri Abul Aziz despite several parliamentarians pushing for prosecution against those they considered "treasonous". “There can’t be any prosecution against those who receive foreign funding. Charges can only be made on bodies which are illegal and go against other laws under the Companies Act or Society Act,” the de facto law minister told Parliament during his winding-up speech of the Budget 2013. Several BN-friendly independent MPs such as Ibrahim Ali (Pasir Mas) and Zahrain Mohamed Hashim (Bayan Baru) today urged again for new legislation to address the issue of channelling of foreign funds to local organisations aimed at “toppling the government” or threatening the nation’s security. But Nazri firmly repeated several times that no prosecution can be made based on those assumptions alone. “If it can’t be linked to any offences that threaten security, or linked to anything that amounts to acts of treason, then we cannot act based solely on the fact that they are receiving foreign funding,” he said. PKR’s Batu MP Tian Chua then asked if the RM40 million smuggled out of Hong Kong by a businessman meant for Sabah Umno, and other genuine bodies such as Red Crescent, Girl Guides, and World Wildlife Fund, would come under the same category. Zahrain argued that Suaram, which he called “Suara Haram”, was obviously trying to topple the government. And there is a clear distinction between funds that are “genuinely for nation building” and (funds) “to topple the government” While debating the issue, BN-Sri Gading Mohamad Aziz stood up and asked: “Why do they insist on defending traitors?” “Because they are traitors themselves!” retorted Ibrahim. PAS’ Shah Alam MP Khalid Samad then commented that the main agenda of NGOs such as Suaram was to expose corruption. “I’m surprised. Suaram exposes corruption, is that something that is considered an act of treason? Or are the protectors of corruption commiting treason,” he said. In recent months, several NGOs critical of the government, including Suaram, newsportal Malaysiakini, and Lawyers for Liberty, had been "exposed" as receiving foreign funding. Authorities initiated extensive probes on the financial structures of these organisations, which the NGOs described as an act of intimidation. Some quarters, including a UN rapporteur, had argued there was nothing unusual about NGOs receiving foreign funds, adding that even the government received international funding.

Sisters in Islam call for Syariah law review Posted: 15 Oct 2012 02:20 AM PDT PETALING JAYA: The Seremban High Court judgment on four Muslim transgenders last week has prompted NGO Sisters In Islam (SIS) to call for a comprehensive review on the Syariah Criminal Offences Enactment. SIS manager Suri Kempe said this when commenting on the court's dismissal of the transgenders’ application to seek for the right to dress in women clothes under Article 8 of the Federal Constitution. Justice Siti Mariah Ahmad, when delivering the judgment, had said that the applicants are Muslims and hence are subjected to Section 66 of Syariah Criminal Enactment 1992, that bars Muslim men from dressing or posing as women. Suri said the Syariah Criminal Offences Enactment and its record of enforcement is questionable as it can be abused. "Is it the duty of the state, under the name of bringing about a moral society, to turn what it considers 'sins' into 'crimes against the state'? "Should the state extend the long arm of the law to what should be best left to the religious conscience of the individual?" she asked. She said the reality is that sexual minorities in Malaysia, especially Muslims, are vulnerable to numerous abuses by the state, "We urge the government to form a committee which includes representation from women's groups, human rights groups, progressive Islamic scholars and constitutional experts," she said. She said the government needed to adopt a more humane way that embraces the Islamic spirit of justice, equality and compassion. "We need one that is not punitive in nature, and does not subject Muslims to discrimination and persecution in the name of Islam," she said. Lawyers for Liberty adviser Latheefa Koya labelled the verdict as "a dangerous trend" as the Federal Constitution now seemed to be subservient to Syariah law. "It’s a problem if the court just makes assumption and did not take into account the differences between Syariah law and the Federal Constitution." She stressed that the Federal Constitution is supposed to be applied to everyone irrespective of race or religion. "There is no article that says it is selective except when it comes to the position of religion and Bahasa Malaysia," she said.

Nestle to cut sugar and salt in cereals Posted: 15 Oct 2012 01:58 AM PDT ORBE, (Switzerland): Nestle SA and General Mills Inc will cut sugar and salt in the children’s breakfast cereals they jointly market outside North America, the latest attempt by major food companies to respond to health concerns. The two have been in a joint venture since 1990 to sell Nestle-brand cereals such as Cheerios in more than 140 countries outside the United States and Canada, markets which account for about half total global cereal sales of some US$25 billion. They say they will reformulate 20 cereal brands popular with children and teenagers by 2015, boosting wholegrains and calcium and aiming for average reductions of 24 percent in sugar and 12 percent in sodium. The reformulation will affect about 5.3 billion portions of cereals sold each year. The 50/50 joint venture called Cereal Partners Worldwide (CPW) is the second-biggest breakfast cereal producer after Kellogg Co but is Europe’s leading manufacturer of children’s cereal. It had sales of 1.9 billion Swiss francs (US$2 billion) in 2011. CPW Chief Executive Jeffrey Harmening said the plan builds on efforts started in 2003 to improve the nutritional profile of cereals. The group has cut almost 900 metric tons of salt and more than 9,000 metric tons of sugar from its recipes since then. “A certain number of moms don’t want their kids to have as much sugar as they do right now, so that is a barrier for some to purchasing breakfast cereal,” Harmening told Reuters at CPW’s new global innovation centre in the Swiss town of Orbe. The move comes as food and beverage companies seek to preempt tougher regulation due to the global obesity epidemic by offering healthier products or smaller portions. The World Health Organisation estimated there were over 42 million overweight children under the age of five in 2010. It says obesity in Europe is already responsible for up to 8 percent of health costs and up to 13 percent of deaths. High in sugar A study this year by British consumer magazine Which? found that 32 of the 50 top-selling cereals were high in sugar, with almost all those aimed at children – including Cheerios – recording levels of sugar similar to chocolate biscuits. However it did say that most cereals had significantly lower levels of salt than a few years ago and judged Nestle’s Shredded Wheat the healthiest, with low levels of sugar, fat and salt. Malcolm Clark, coordinator of the Children’s Food Campaign of Britain’s Sustain charity, which seeks to protect children from junk food marketing, was skeptical about the Nestle move. “Reformulating is great, but the question is how they then talk about their products. They can’t talk about them being healthy. They will be mildly less unhealthy than they were before,” he said. Harmening defended breakfast cereals as a low-calorie, high-nutrition option and said children who eat them tend to have a lower body mass index than those who do not. Kellogg – which makes some of the sweetest cereals according to several surveys – has also reformulated some brands in recent years to cut sugar, as has General Mills for the cereals it produces for the North American market. McDonald’s Corp is including apples and cutting calories in its Happy Meals for kids, while Kraft Foods Group Inc has stopped advertising Kool-Aid and Oreos to children. It has also cut sugar and salt in some products. In a report earlier this year, Yale University’s Rudd Center for Food Policy & Obesity said U.S. cereal producers are offsetting the benefits of cutting sugar and adding wholegrains by targeting kids with more ads for their unhealthiest products. Less marketing “There is a fundamental difference between what the food industry thinks is improvement and what the public health community thinks is improvement,” said Dr Jennifer Harris, director of marketing initiatives at the Rudd Center. “The food industry is really focusing on reformulating products that they’ve always marketed to children, which are some of their highest-sugar products, whereas what we want to see is less marketing overall for unhealthy products.” Harmening said CPW’s move was driven by consumers rather than a threat of tougher regulation, which he said could backfire as people might switch to less healthy alternatives. “If we’re not delivering what they want, somebody else will deliver what they are looking for. The consumers are the judge.” He said the biggest challenge was to improve the nutritional profile of cereals without compromising on taste. At CPW’s research centre in Orbe, food scientists are already testing recipes that comply with the new targets, experimenting with cooking and drying techniques to maintain flavor even with less sugar and salt and more wholegrain. Trained teams of sensory experts sample the new products in laboratories where different colored lights force them to focus on taste rather than appearance of the cereals. “We spend an enormous amount of time and money so that consumers don’t perceive the changes,” said Harmening. “That is a competitive advantage for us because – to the extent we can crack that – we will receive a benefit from consumers.”—Reuters

Sarawak roads way behind schedule Posted: 15 Oct 2012 01:24 AM PDT KUALA LUMPUR: The road construction projects in Sarawak do not meet deadlines and are wanting in safety standards. The Auditor-General’s report states the construction and upgrading of rural road projects were approved during the Ninth Malaysia Plan. And from 2010 the projects were continued under the National Key Result Area (NKRA) to speed up the construction of more rural roads. There are not enough roads connecting the towns in Sarawak and this is one of the major reasons behind the state’s under-development. Many of the inhabitants in the vast interiors sometimes have no access to healthcare and schools. Despite the staggering allocations given for the projects, the AG’s report noted poor implementation on the part of the Ministry of Rural and Regional Development and the Sarawak government. Contract violations “Projects implementation performance was rather unsatisfactory because 38 projects (37.6%) costing RM178.94 million out of 101 completed projects amounting to RM437.57 million were delayed in completion ranging from 15 to 242 days from the original schedule. ” A total of 13 projects (17.6%) out of 74 costing RM229.27 million under construction were behind schedule by more than 20% whileconstruction and upgrading of roads did not follow contract specifications,” said the report. The report also noted that customer feedback results indicate that road users were not satisfied with the quality, safety and comfortability aspects of the roads. The report stated that from 2006 to 2010, the government had approved an allocation of RM1.727 billion for the implementation of 175 road projects. Out of the 175 projects, 146 projects costing RM1.104 billion were implemented by the Public Works Department Sarawak and the remaining 29 projects costing RM622.84 million were implemented by the Drainage and Irrigation Department Sarawak. The actual expenditure for these road projects as at Dec 31, 2011 amounted to RM1.024 billion

5 sebab pinda Seksyen 294 Kanun Tatacara Jenayah Posted: 15 Oct 2012 01:11 AM PDT KUALA LUMPUR: Menteri di Jabatan Perdana Menteri Datuk Seri Mohamed Nazri Abdul Aziz menjelaskan lima sebab mengapa Seksyen 294 Kanun Tatacara Jenayah perlu dipinda dan tidak digunapakai bersama Seksyen 376 dalam Kanun Keseksaan yang melibatkan kes rogol bawah umur. “Seksyen 376 memberi perlindungan kepada gadis dan kanak-kanak bawah umur 16 tahun dari dieksploitasi secara seksual. “Kajian dan perundingan juga perlu dibuat dengan segenap lapisan masyatakat melalui persidangan meja bulat,” kata Nazri dalam persidangan Dewan Rakyat ketika membawa usul untuk tidak membenarkan hukuman ringan dalam kes rogol bawah umur. Seksyen 294 membenarkan seseorang diberikan hukuman bon selama lima tahun menggunakan budi bicara hakim manakala Seksyen 376 memperuntukkan hukuman minima selama lima tahun. Kejadian rogol bawah umur menjadi isu apabila pemain boling Noor Afizal Azizan dan juruelektrik Chuah Guan Jiu dibebaskan dengan bon selama lima tahun pada Ogos lalu. Beliau turut menjelaskan bahawa bilangan kes rogol bawah umur adalah sangat tinggi. Sejak tahun 2007 sehingga Ogos 2012, sebanyak 5,976 kes dihadapkan ke mahkamah. Seramai 5,119 individu dituduh dan 1,631 disabitkan kesalahan manakala 327 dibebaskan selepas perbicaraan manakala 444 dibebaskan tanpa bicara. Seterusnya beliau menyatakan perbezaan tafsiran dalam menafsir faktor peringan di antara mahkamah dan Jabatan Peguam Negara sebagai alasan pindaan dibuat. “Pihak Peguam Negara membuat rayuan kerana perbezaan pendapat dalam menafsir faktor peringan. Kalau tak buat rayuan akan jadi ikutan,” kata Nazri sambil merujuk kepada salah satu kes tersebut. Selain itu beliau memberitahu sidang Dewan Rakyat hari ini bahawa pihak kerajaan juga sedia maklum dengan kemarahan orang ramai apabila pesalah dibebaskan dengan bon.

MACC an international fool, says Kit Siang Posted: 15 Oct 2012 01:06 AM PDT KUALA LUMPUR: The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) has exposed itself as an international fool over its handling of the case involving Sabah Chief Minister Musa Aman, according to DAP leader Lim Kit Siang. In an article posted in his blog yesterday, Lim chided MACC for taking four years to conclude that Musa was innocent of corruption. He questioned the rationale behind the agency's action of submitting its investigation papers to the Attorney-General Abdul Gani Patail for his decision when, according to Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Nazri Aziz, "no element of corruption" had been proven. Referring to the coincidence of the news about Musa being exonerated and MACC's hosting of an international anti-corruption conference, Lim said it was "most pathetic" that the agency had shown itself to be an "international fool". He questioned if MACC could ever recover from the "disastrous setback of being exposed as among the most inept and incompetent anti-corruption agencies in the world". In any other country, he added, the head of the anti-corruption agency would have resigned over the indignity. MACC apparently began investigating Musa following reports that he was to be the beneficiary of the RM40 million that Sabah businessman Michael Chia was carrying when Hong Kong authorities arrested him in 2008. Nazri said last week that the sum was a political contribution to Sabah Umno and not meant for Musa's personal coffers. Musa previously claimed that he had "no business associations whatsoever with an individual named Michael Chia". Meanwhile, whistleblower group Sarawak Report has posted on its website a list of donors to Sabah Umno, featuring a number of timber tycoons. "If there is nothing wrong with millions of dollars being donated to Sabah Umno [chaired by CM Musa Aman] from timber barons who have received valuable concessions granted by the board of Yayasan Sabah (chaired by CM Musa Aman), why does the Prime Minister leave it to Sarawak Report to make all this public?" the article said.

BN feigning unity in Sabah Posted: 15 Oct 2012 01:04 AM PDT KOTA KINABALU: As the countdown to the 13th general election edges towards a fixed date, the ruling coalition is showing signs of strain with bigger parties attempting to muscle in on the turf of their smaller partners. Parti Bersatu Sabah (PBS) joined the queue lobbying to take over candidacy for the Pensiangan MP seat or one of the two state seats – Nabawan and Sook – in the parliamentary constituency. The problem is, the Pensiangan MP seat is now held by federal Deputy Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Joseph Kurup who helms Barisan Nasional coalition partner Parti Bersatu Rakyat Sabah (PBRS). It is well known that there is little love lost between PBS and PBRS and now the frayed threads that hold the Umno-led ruling coalition are being exposed once again as they always are before an election. To gain a higher profile in the state assembly, PBS headed by Deputy Chief Minister Joseph Pairin Kitingan is also laying claim to another state seat that comes under the Keningau parliamentary constituency. Pairin is Keningau MP as well as Tambunan state assembly representative. The two other state seats within his parliamentary constituency, Liawan and Bingkor, are shared by Umno and PBS spin-off, the United Pasokmomogun Kadazandusun Murut Organisation (Upko). Sairin Karno of Umno is the Liawan representative and Upko’s Justin Guka sits in Bingkor so based on the coalition’s power structure, Guka’s seat is the target as PBS plays second fiddle to Umno in any realignment of seat allocation in that parliamentary constituency. Over in Pensiangan, the state seats of Nabawan and Sook are held by Bobby Ah Fang Suan of Upko and Ellron Angin of PBRS respectively. Here PBRS is in PBS crosshairs. The problem is Kurup who won the MP seat uncontested in the 2008 election is the sole MP from the party while Angin is the only assemblyman for the party in the 60-members State Legislative Assembly. PBS’s demand for the extra seats came during the annual general meetings of the PBS divisions of Pensiangan, Sook, Bingkor and Liawan recently. The calls were made with the full support of Pairin, and the motions were quickly endorsed by him as logical as he said the constituencies were traditionally the stronghold of his party since it was formed in 1985. In fact PBS controlled almost all the state and parliamentary seats until Pairin’s government, then in the opposition, was toppled by the BN in 1994 when it won just 25 of the 48 state assembly seats. Umno showing claws The party’s elected representatives, seeing the writing on the wall, jumped ship as a matter of political survival. Kurup was among them. He ditched PBS to form PBRS. Other formed new political or joined Umno. PBS delegates of the Pensiangan and Sook divisions under the leadership of former MP Bernard Maraat have long memories and want the party to be given at least one of the two seats in the next election. However, another shark in the form of Umno is circling. The main component in the ruling coalition which already has the giant share of state and parliamentary seats in Sabah, registered its intention to make a bid to takeover the Pensiangan constituency or one of the state seats under its jurisdiction. Kurup responded to the implied threat that should he be dropped, BN could expect an exodus of PBRS members out to support the opposition in the election. Maraat, on the other hand announced that if the seat was given to Umno to contest, he would offer to contest as a BN-friendly independent candidate. Bingkor PBS division chief Peter Jino Allion has claimed that the party is far more established in the constituency compared with other BN component parties whose weakness was demonstrated by a decline in votes in the past two elections. He said the BN leadership should not underestimate the opposition in Bingkor. However, he was careful to be respectful to Umno saying: "Bingkor PBS will support any BN candidate who contested and would ensure the victory of the candidate." He suggested that the BN leadership appoint party leaders in Bingkor and Liawan – who are not selected as candidates – as a senator or an appointed member of the state legislative assembly to strengthen PBS under Pairin’s leadership. Cut-throat politics His proposal however is all nonsense according to political pundits familiar with Sabah’s post-1994 election tactics and the cut-throat world of Sabah politics. “They (party leaders) are trying to keep every one in line by promising them rewards if they don’t get to contest seats in the election. “They have to keep making way for others and everyone knows an elected position is a money-spinner. They all want their share of the pie,” said one former BN supporter who requested anonymity PBS, whose traditional support-base is shaky is also worried that BN’s much hyped ‘Janji Ditepati’ (Promises Fulfilled) slogan has not gone down well in Sabah. Allion said as much when he asked that all projects approved by the government be implemented before the 13th general election. Such is the fear that the party and the BN may not do as well in the coming election. Party leaders have also called on their members to quit NGOs that have criticised the government and coalition leaders. "Members of the party and BN must defend their leaders by leaving these NGOs and struggle alongside their parties," Allion said recently. With Pairin’s image tarnished since rejoining the BN and Umno (his once bitter foe) even his position as PBS president has come under attack and senior party leaders who know they lack credibility without the community’s Huguan Siou (Paramaount Chief) are running scared. Meanwhile, Liawan PBS division deputy head, Zachary Kinsik, has proposed the tried and tested BN candidate quota system be scrapped altogether, a suggestion first made by Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin. He also said that the number of seats held by Umno should be reduced as recommended by former premier Mahathir Mohamed and that the distribution of seats and power sharing should be fair and transparent.

Lonely, hard work on oil rigs, but salaries soaring Posted: 15 Oct 2012 12:55 AM PDT SINGAPORE: What jobs offer the highest pay? Investment banking is up there. So is specialist surgery. But consider this. Slightly over 20 years ago, Johnathan Roberts started work on an oil rig at US$5 an hour. Today, the newly appointed operations manager of Norway’s Standard Drilling makes about half a million dollars a year. Even accounting for inflation, it’s a huge jump for the 45-year-old American. Salaries on oil rigs have soared because of a global boom in offshore drilling. Managers and workers are scarce in this specialised industry, where the work is intense and the job involves living on a platform in remote seas for weeks. For new players in Asia, where the energy demands of booming economies are driving a foray into offshore drilling, the costs and availability of skilled workers will be a big restraining factor. “The amount of money they are making an hour is just mind-boggling now, just five years ago they were making just half that,” said Roberts, who moved to Singapore this year from Texas. He said his pay more than doubled in 1999 when the industry faced a labour shortage like the one that appears to be emerging. The increasing demand for oil and gas is pushing energy companies to explore frontier areas like the Arctic and new offshore zones given that output from accessible fields is declining. Global oil demand has risen 14% in total to 88 million barrels per day (bpd) in 2011 from 2001, according to the BP annual statistical review. Rapidly growing economies have accounted for much of the increase – consumption in China doubled in the same period to 9.76 million bpd. Energy and mining offer good salaries, said Wyn James, a Singapore-based Briton who left a career in banking this year to open Zhen Global, a firm that recruits and places workers in mining and oil extraction. “What we are seeing now is an acute shortage of people actually with applied skills, from engineering or chemical backgrounds,” James said. “Even if the skills do exist globally, they don’t necessarily exist in the place that is needed. So what we are doing is we are picking up people from all corners of the world and we are sticking them into projects, whether it’s short-term or medium-term, but where they can earn reasonable money, live in a different country, live offshore, whatever that may be.” Global trend Deepwater drilling, one of the most difficult but most lucrative parts of the extraction business, has mainly been centred in the Gulf of Mexico. But in the past decade, Brazil has become a key player, exploring untapped reserves in the Santos basin as far away as 300km (188 miles) southeast of Sao Paulo, and at depths of over 1,500 metres. That drive is sucking in hundreds of rig operators, drillers, engineers and other technicians. On the other side of the world, China National Offshore Oil Corp (CNOOC) aims to build capacity to produce one million barrels per day of oil equivalent in deep waters offshore China by 2020. India, Asia’s third-biggest oil consumer, is also expanding into the deep waters of the Bay of Bengal. There were 540 offshore oil rigs in the world last year and, by the end of 2012, the number should rise by 51 to 591, says Faststream Recruitment, a UK-based firm that specialises in hiring for the shipping, oil and gas industry. It is the biggest jump for any year in the past decade, said Mark Robertshaw, managing director of Faststream. In 2013, the number will grow by 28 to 619. The increase would mean more than 11,000 new jobs over the next 12 to 18 months from a total of 117,000, based on an average need of about 184 jobs on one rig, he said. “If you consider that over the past 10 years, the annual number of rigs under contract has grown to average 539 during 2011, it becomes apparent that offshore employment for workers actually housed on floaters and jackups will spike significantly,” Robertshaw said. Roustabouts and roughnecks The labour crunch has already seen pay for a roustabout, the least skilled worker on a rig, nearly double in the past five years to US$18-US$20 an hour. A roughneck, a rank higher, earns about US$27-US$28, said Roberts, the US rig manager. “When the rousta gets a raise it doesn’t just stop there,” he said. “It goes all the way to the top.” A rig operates on 12-hour shifts and typically workers do 14 days and then rotate out for a break for another 14 days. The schedule puts off many and with salaries in IT and other industries growing, an engineering graduate or technician has other options. “Skilled labour is becoming difficult to find,” said Scott Kerr, chief executive of Norwegian deepwater drilling company Sevan Drilling. The salary increases show up on balance sheets. For Keppel Corp, the world’s largest rig builder, wages and salaries surged 27% to US$1.43 billion by 2011 from 2007, while the number of employees increased 5.7% over the same period, according to its annual reports. Nearly 90% of staff work in the oil rig division. Besides pay, companies try to attract talent with career opportunities. “An engineer does not need to stay an engineer all his life. I was trained as a naval architect and I practised for a few years, but beyond that I was in management,” said Choo Chiau Beng, chief executive of Keppel Corp. “In some respects, being a highly paid CEO has attracted people to Keppel, because it shows you don’t need to be a lawyer to be highly paid, you can be an engineer and be highly paid.” For rig men like Roberts, the money is not to be sneezed at. “After clearing taxes, my first cheque after one week was US$167,” he said. “My first apartment was very small, it was a little bitty one bedroom studio.” Today, Roberts owns a home in a community in Texas that has manicured lawns, landscaped gardens and four golf courses. He is saving to buy a US$2 million ranch. “I didn’t come up with a silver spoon in my mouth, I came up working through the ranks,” he said. - Reuters

Philippines, Muslim rebels sign peace pact Posted: 15 Oct 2012 12:41 AM PDT MANILA:  Muslim rebels waging a four-decade insurgency in the Philippines signed a historic pact with the government on Monday to end the conflict, but both sides warned the road to peace had only just begun. President Benigno Aquino and Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) chief Murad Ebrahim witnessed the signing of the accord, which aims for a final peace pact by 2016, in a landmark ceremony at the presidential palace in Manila. “I come in peace and to forge a partnership of peace on the basis of the framework agreement between the MILF and the Philippine government,” Ebrahim said in a speech at the palace just ahead of the signing. “We extend the hand of friendship and partnership to the president and Filipino people”. President Benigno Aquino, who has driven the process since assuming office in 2010, also hailed the agreement as a chance to “finally achieve genuine, lasting peace”. Ebrahim became the first MILF chief to visit the presidential palace, signifying the optimism from both sides about finally ending a conflict that has claimed 150,000 lives and the priority Aquino has put on achieving peace. Under the plan, the 12,000-strong MILF would give up its quest for an independent homeland in the southern Philippine region of Mindanao in return for significant power and wealth sharing in a new autonomous region there. However the MILF’s leadership, the government and independent observers have also all warned the path towards peace remains littered with obstacles, and that Monday’s signing does not guarantee an end to the conflict. “As the saying goes, the devil is in the details. Much work remains to be done in order to fully reap the fruits of this framework agreement,” Aquino said in his speech just before the signing by both sides’ chief negotiators. Ebrahim’s deputy for political affairs, Ghazali Jaafar, expressed similar caution. “We feel honoured to be welcomed in Manila, but I must stress this is just the beginning of the peace journey,” Jaafar told AFP on Sunday before flying to the nation’s capital. Muslim rebel groups have been fighting since the 1970s for full independence or autonomy in Mindanao, which they consider their ancestral homeland from before Spanish Christian colonisation of the country began in the 1500s. The estimated four to nine million Muslims are now a minority in Mindanao after years of Catholic immigration, but they remain a majority in some areas. Muslims would be a majority in the planned new autonomous region. The conflict has left huge areas of Mindanao, a resource-rich and fertile farming region covering the southern third of the Philippines, in deep poverty. It has also led to the proliferation of unlicensed guns and political warlords who battle over fiefdoms, while smaller but more militant Islamic separatist groups have been able to create strongholds in lawless areas. The MILF is the biggest and most important remaining rebel group, after the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) signed a peace pact with the government in 1996. That peace pact led to an autonomous region in Mindanao but Aquino described it last week as a “failed experiment” because of massive corruption and worsening poverty there. The planned new autonomous region would replace the old one. Some of the MNLF’s leaders have voiced anger at seeing their powerbase dissolve, and have warned they may be prepared to take up arms again. Fresh attacks by the MNLF or small Islamic groups who still want independence are among the potential obstacles to the peace process. Another is potential opposition from Catholic politicians and business leaders. The nation’s parliament, dominated by Catholics, will have to approve the laws of the new autonomous region. However experts have said that Aquino, who is one of the most popular presidents in the country’s history, may be able to convince the country’s Catholic majority to support the plan. The two sides have set 2016 as a deadline because that is when Aquino is required by the constitution to stand down after serving a single six-year term. -AFP

SAR: Ketepi fahaman politik – Muhyiddin Posted: 15 Oct 2012 12:34 AM PDT Sekitar Dewan Rakyat KUALA LUMPUR: Timbalan Perdana Menteri Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin berkata parti pembangkang khususnya PAS perlu mengenepikan fahaman politik dalam usaha memartabatkan sekolah agama rakyat (SAR) serta menjaga kebajikan pelajarnya. Muhyiddin, yang juga Menteri Pelajaran, berkata usaha menjaga kebajikan SAR secara lestari dalam tempoh jangka panjang akan lebih mudah dilaksanakan jika PAS boleh membantu SAR berdaftar dengan kementerian. “Daftar dengan Kementerian Pelajaran. Saya dah buka tawaran ini sejak dulu, lebih mudah untuk kita bantu bukan saja infrastruktur, kualiti guru, kurikulum yang diajar dan lain-lain bentuk bantuan. Kalau itu boleh dipersetujui untuk kebaikan pembelajaran dan pengajaran…maka daftarlah. Kita boleh bantu secara terancang. “Saya kemuka cadangan itu supaya diterima oleh mereka tapi malangnya sebahagian besar anggap tak boleh, tak mahu bersama dengan kementerian kerana dia anggap kementerian ini BN punya. Ini bukan soal politik…kalau boleh buat, boleh kurang masalah,” katanya ketika menggulung perbahasan Rang Undang-Undang Perbekalan 2013 peringkat dasar bagi Kementerian Pelajaran di Dewan Rakyat di sini, hari ini. Bagaimanapun, Muhyiddin berkata sungguhpun SAR tertakluk di bawah kawalan kerajaan negeri namun kerajaan persekutuan tetap menyalurkan bantuan kepada SAR termasuk sekolah-sekolah yang masih belum berdaftar dengan kementerian. Katanya RM10.5 juta peruntukan perkapita disediakan bagi SAR yang menjalankan Kelas Al-Quran dan Fardu Ain (KAFA) pada tahun ini. Pada tahun lepas, RM95 juta disalurkan secara dibayar sekali sebagai bantuan ihsan kepada 247 SAR di seluruh negara. “Saya sedar sekolah-sekolah ini masih memerlukan bantuan, justeru dengan jumlah peruntukan yang kita ada, mungkin bantuan ehsan ini boleh dipertimbangkan berdasarkan kepada kes demi kes melalui permohonan dari SAR yang benar-benar memaklumkannya,” kata Muhyiddin. Dalam perkembangan berkaitan, Timbalan Perdana Menteri menyangkal dakwaan pemberian peruntukan yang tidak adil kepada sekolah-sekolah di seluruh negara. Jelasnya, semua sekolah di bawah bidang kuasa kementerian diberikan peruntukan yang saksama merangkumi emolumen, utiliti, Bantuan Geran Perkapita, bantuan kokurikulum, bantuan sukan dan lain-lain mengikut jumlah murid di setiap sekolah. Katanya, pada tahun ini RM937 juta disediakan untuk pengoperasian sekolah (belanja mengurus) bagi 8,216 buah sekolah rendah dan menengah kebangsaan, RM87 juta untuk 1,294 buah Sekolah Jenis Kebangsaan Cina dan RM19.2 juta bagi 523 buah Sekolah Jenis Kebangsaan Tamil. - Bernama

The court got it wrong, it was a cold blooded murder Posted: 15 Oct 2012 12:31 AM PDT FMT LETTER, From Shenaaz Khan, via email The acquittal of four orang asli in the shooting and killing of a Malayan tiger is yet another reflection of how our judiciary lacks the resolve in tackling wildlife crime. It is hard to fathom how the prosecution could have failed to prove a prima facie case despite having evidence to the contrary. The poor tiger’s body was riddled with bullets, two of which were embedded in its eyes. It was pierced with blowpipe arrows, its paw was viciously snared and it was left to die a cruel and horrific death . Bullets and the snare were found at the scene of the crime, with the snare still attached to the tigers leg. There was even an admission of guilt from one of the accused. This was a cold blooded murder. Yet these murderers have come out victorious and are now free to roam our jungles and savagely kill our precious wildlife. While we boast about our conservation mandate being embodied in our legislation, it is appalling that the charges proffered against the four were merely under Section 64A of the Protection of Wildlife Act 1972, when they should have additionally been charged under Section 76, for the setting and possession of a snare, Section 92 for cruelty to wildlife and further charges for firearm possession. The fatal flaw of our judicial system is in not recognising the grave criminality of  hunting, trapping, torturing and killing wildlife. The law is the most vital protection yet it is being repeatedly violated to the detriment of our wildlife. Our Malayan tiger is already in such great peril with its wild population numbers dwindling by the day. Yet our system brazenly allows armed criminals to recklessly, intentionally and barbarically hunt and kill these treasured creatures with no punitive consequence. This is a matter of great public concern and the government has a statutory duty to appeal the judges decision and exert more vigorous criminal prosecutions against wildlife criminals. Shenaaz Khan is the president of Malaysian Animal Welfare Society.

Rice subsidies not working out Posted: 15 Oct 2012 12:29 AM PDT KUALA LUMPUR: The government’s aim to provide rice subsidies for the lower income group has not benefited the target group, the 2011 Auditor-General’s report stated today. The report stated that the programme, managed by the Agriculture and Agro-based Industries Ministry and the National Rice Company (Bernas), did not ensure a proper mechanism was in place to ensure the target group had benefited. The rice subsidy programme of 15% broken rice, implemented on Sept 1, 2008, was to ensure a controlled supply and price of the rice to the low income group. The objectives of the programme are to supply Super Tempatan ST15% rice in the Peninsular Malaysia and S15% rice in Sabah and Sarawak to meet rising consumer demand and maintain controlled subsidised rice price at RM1.65 to RM1.80 per kg by zone and cover losses incurred by subsidised rice manufacturers. “Audit findings revealed that the objectives of the programme were not fully achieved where there was no proper mechanism to ensure that the target group benefited from this programme,” said the report. The report also pointed to several other weaknesses in the implementation of the programme. It said data of the targeted group/consumer in Peninsular Malaysia for the scheme was not attainable while allocation to pay subsidy claims was insufficient. There were unclear guidelines and delay in signing the contract between the ministry and Beranas. It also said that there were contracts signed only after the contract had expired. The report also highlighted the insufficient number of officers to monitor the effectiveness of the programme. It said the government should re-evaluate the existing rice subsidy regime and improve its data management so that the targeted groups would benefit from the programme. It also noted the ministry’s weak enforcement against wholesalers found breaching agreements as one of the reasons behind the scheme’s ineffectiveness and urged the government to produce a clear guideline to ensure the programme’s success.

PAC chief cuts off deputy over MRT issue Posted: 15 Oct 2012 12:26 AM PDT KUALA LUMPUR:  Public Accounts Committe (PAC) chairman Azmi Khalid is forced to intervene to stop his deputy from divulging details on the audit department monitoring the Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) project. Flanked by Azmi and Auditor-General Ambrin Buang, PAC deputy chairman Tan Seng Giaw told a press conference in Parliament that the scrutiny was needed as the MRT contract was the biggest project in the country. "So we want to know how it’s progressing from the beginning. Why was there a direct negotiation for it?" he added. At this point, Azmi cut in, saying: "I think we are confining ourselves to the AG report. This is too elaborate." Ambrin later said that they had already appointed an auditor to monitor the MRT project on an on-going basis. The AG report was released earlier today, after being delayed for nearly two weeks to allow MPs to debate Budget 2013 first. Tan said the AG report had pointed out several discrepancies, among them, the Kluang Hospital project which was delayed by more than a year. "The RM380 million hospital project also did not follow the specifications given by the government. "And it was awarded using direct negotiation process. Why do you need to give direct tender for a hospital project? There is lack of transparency here," he said. Same problems persist Sharing his views, Azmi said the AG report showed that many government departments had improved on financial planning. "Over 100 government departments received four star ratings this time around," he added. However, he admitted that the usual problems involving government procurement, contracts and maintenance of public infrastructure still persisted in the new report. Azmi said the PAC would investigate the major cases reported. However, he refused to name specific cases. "As for the minor ones, we will summon the respective government agencies to explain. However, we must also look at the improvements made by the government agencies," he said. Meanwhile, Ambrin said the people must accept the fact that government officers might make some mistakes in the course of planning and implementing a project. He also said it was due to the involvement of many government officers, such as projects that involve state officers and federal officers. "They may not be thorough in their scrutiny. So the thrust of the report is to monitor their work," he said, adding that people must read the report first before coming to a conclusion. "Let’s be fair. After reading it, then you can form your opinion," he said. When pointed out that the same procurement problem was persisting, Ambrin said: "That’s why government heads of department must take lessons from previous reports. So they won’t repeat the same mistakes in the future." Also read: AG report: Govt agencies improved in 2011

Asian markets mostly down, China growth data eyed Posted: 14 Oct 2012 11:55 PM PDT HONG KONG: Most Asian markets fell today following a soft lead from Wall Street, while better-than-expected Chinese trade data failed to lift spirits as dealers await growth figures from Beijing. With the corporate earnings season under way there is also nervousness in global bourses, with many investors opting to stay away for now. Sydney closed flat, dipping 3.2 points to 4,483.4 and Seoul fell 0.40%, or 7.67 points, to 1,925.59. In the afternoon Hong Kong was flat and Shanghai was 0.33% lower. But Tokyo ended 0.51% higher, adding 43.81 points to 8,577.93 as bargain-hunting in auto shares offset a big fall in telecom giant Softbank. China said on Saturday that exports rose 9.9% year-on-year in September to a record monthly high, a welcome bounce from the recent sharp slowdown in the country’s key economic driver. The national customs bureau also said the trade surplus, a source of friction with trading partners, widened to US$27.7 billion for the month, from US$26.7 billion in August. The increase beat predictions of a 5.0% rise in exports, but there are still concerns over the future because of weakness in China’s main markets in the United States and Europe. Today, another batch of figures showed inflation at 1.9% last month, slightly softer than 2.0% in August but in line with expectations. But the main focus is on Thursday’s release of gross domestic product data for the three months to the end of September, which will give a better idea of the state of the world’s number two economy and main regional growth driver. “These days there seems to be a lot of attention (paid) to one bad number and not a lot of attention (paid) to one good number,” said Joe Bracken, head of macro strategies at BT Investment Management in Sydney. But he told Dow Jones Newswires traders “are very reluctant to commit to anything unless they see a series of good numbers”. Wall Street ended last week on a subdued note as traders fretted about the corporate outlook. The Dow ended flat, the broad-based S&P 500 lost 0.30% and the Nasdaq added 0.17%. On currency markets the eurozone debt crisis continued to weigh on the single currency. The euro bought US$1.2910 and 101.41 yen in afternoon trade, compared with US$1.2958 and 101.60 yen in New York late Friday. The dollar was at 78.55 yen against 78.39 yen in US trade. In Hong Kong telecoms equipment maker ZTE Corp slumped 16% after warning of a net loss in the third quarter that would wipe out its profit for the first half of the year. The warning also comes after a US congressional probe said the firm and another Chinese company Huawei pose a security threat to the country and should be barred from US contracts and acquisitions. In Tokyo, mobile carrier Softbank closed 5.3% lower on reports it could imminently announce a deal to buy US competitor Sprint Nextel for US$20 billion, which would be one of Japan’s biggest-ever overseas acquisitions. However, the loss was overshadowed by buying in auto firms, which have suffered recent big falls on strained relations between China and Japan over a territorial dispute. Oil prices fell, with New York’s main contract, light sweet crude for delivery in November, shedding 79 US cents to US$91.07 a barrel and Brent North Sea crude for November losing 76 US cents to US$113.86 in afternoon trade. Gold was at US$1,745.80 at 0600 GMT compared with US$1,767.80 late on Friday. In other markets, Taipei fell 0.24%, or 18.14 points, to 7,418.90. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co was up 0.12% at Tw$86.4 while leading smartphone maker HTC was 0.79% lower at Tw$250.0. Wellington rose 0.51%, or 19.71 points, to 3,916.37. Telecom was up 2.37% at NZ$2.38, Fletcher Building rose 1.52% to NZ$7.36 and Contact Energy was down 0.37% at NZ$5.36. - AFP

AG report: Top marks to Pakatan states Posted: 14 Oct 2012 11:31 PM PDT KUALA LUMPUR: The 2011 Auditor-General’s report indicates good fiscal management by all four Pakatan Rakyat-controlled states with revenues improving. DAP-held Penang led the way in terms of revenue collection, recording a RM192.19 million or 46.8% increase compared with the RM410.70 million made in 2010 while Selangor, Malaysia’s richest state, increased by RM62.50 million or 4% for the same period. Kedah, on the other hand, saw its surplus drop when it recorded an increase in operating expenditures despite boosting its revenue, but the report noted that the PAS-led state government had more or less maintained a “satisfactory” balance sheet. But the rice-bowl state, considered as one of the country’s poorest, is still far from achieving its debt target, said the report. “The state government’s commitment to the remaining public debt now stands at RM2.60 billion compared with RM2.61 billion in 2010; it is still high,” it read, adding that Kedah must do more to improve its revenue collection. Oil-rich Kelantan, too, was rated satisfactory due to the increase in its consolidated fund by RM86.17 million or 58.1% to RM234.47 million as compared with the RM148.30 million recorded in 2010. The PAS-conrolled-state also saw investments in 2011 increase by RM95 million from RM16.33 million in 2010 to RM111.33 million in 2011. The state’s overall financial performance statement, whereby revenue as compared to total management and development expenditures for 2011, recorded an increase from total deficit of RM171.70 million in 2010 to RM141.53 million in 2011. But the AG report highlighted poor debt management by Kelantan. “Public debts increased by RM27.85 million from RM1.11 billion in 2010 to RM1.14 billion in 2011. The arrears of debts repayment to the federal government also increased from RM121.57 million in 2010 to RM179.81 million in 2011″. Meanwhile, the report noted marked improvements in the performance of state agencies with most rated “excellent” compared to 2010, although it recommended Kelantan and Kedah to provide more training for its officers to improve. Selangor and Penang were praised for their initiatives to bolster their financial management performance. Also read: AG report: Govt agencies improved in 2011 Nazri praises Pakatan led states

S’gor temui kaedah rawatan air lebih murah Posted: 14 Oct 2012 11:18 PM PDT SHAH ALAM: Menteri Besar Selangor Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim berkata kerajaan negeri menemui kaedah rawatan air alternatif yang lebih murah dari membina loji rawatan air Langat 2. Menurut beliau, perbelanjaan untuk menyediakan air terawat ini tidak lebih dari RM800 juta berbanding projek Langat 2 yang dianggarkan menelan kos setinggi RM3 bilion. Katanya, perkara itu akan dibawa dalam perbincangan dengan Perdana Menteri Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak dan timbalannya, Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin dalam masa terdekat. “Kita diberi taklimat daripada perunding Kanada dan mereka menyatakan bahawa jika menggunakan teknologi membran maka ia dapat meningkatkan kapasiti pengeluaran air di loji sedia ada sebanyak satu juta liter sehari, sama dengan pengeluaran loji Langat 2. “Menurut penilaian yang mereka jalankan, kos untuk menyediakan air terawat ini tidak melebihi RM800 juta berbanding pembinaan loji Langat 2 kos yang menelan belanja di antara RM2 bilion hingga RM3 bilion,” katanya. Beliau berkata demikian pada sidang media selepas merasmikan pelancaran Bulan Bahasa Kebangsaan Peringkat Negeri Selangor 2012 di Bangunan Setiausaha Kerajaan Negeri (SUK) di sini hari ini. Baru-baru ini, Muhyiddin berkata Kerajaan Pusat memutuskan bahawa Langat 2 akan diteruskan walaupun tanpa mendapat persetujuan dan kebenaran kerajaan negeri Selangor. ‘Tak mampu tak perlu beli’ Sementara itu bercakap mengenai desakan oleh segelintir pembeli rumah yang mahu Perbadanan Kemajuan Negeri Selangor (PKNS) melunaskan hutang mereka, beliau menegaskan bahawa kerajaan negeri akan mengambil alih rumah tersebut. Ujar beliau, senarai nama para pembeli rumah terlibat disemak di Jabatan Kebajikan Masyarakat (JKM), Lembaga Zakat Selangor (LZS) dan didapati hanya sebilangan kecil pembeli yang tidak berkemampuan. “Kita akan adakan perjumpaan dan meminta pertolongan LZS dan JKM kerana ianya bukan menjadi tanggungjawab kerajaan negeri tapi ini tanggungjawab bahagian kebajikan. “Bagi yang layak, kalau tiada keupayaan kita boleh ambil rumah mereka (pembeli) dan mereka bayar sewa paling rendah. Jika tak mampu tak perlu beli,” tegasnya. Sebelum ini, lebih 200 penduduk sekitar Shah Alam, Kelana Jaya dan Petaling Jaya mengadakan bantahan beberapa kali di Ibu Pejabat PKNS, Seksyen 13, Shah Alam. Mereka menggesa PKNS melupuskan hutang pembeli hartanahnya yang berjumlah RM50 juta. Mereka berpendapat jika benar PKNS sanggup membantu kerajaan negeri melangsaikan hutang Talam Corporation berjumlah RM392 juta, maka perbadanan itu juga harus membantu mengambil alih hutang penduduk yang berpendapatan rendah di Selangor.

Vettel to join Ferrari in 2014, but Massa stays Posted: 14 Oct 2012 11:16 PM PDT SEOUL: Ferrari will retain Felipe Massa next season in what is planned to be a stop-gap deal before the arrival of Sebastian Vettel in 2014. Sources inside Ferrari say they have signed a contract with Vettel, which is thought to be an option to join in 2014 depending on their results. BBC Sports reports the contract is likely to define a position Ferrari must occupy in the title race at a point in 2013. Ferrari have decided to keep Massa as Fernando Alonso’s team-mate until then. "He’s [been] doing an excellent job since a couple of races, so this is really very promising for the end of the season" The Brazilian’s future had been in doubt during the summer after a shaky start to the year, but Ferrari were determined to retain him if he had a strong performance in the Japanese Grand Prix last weekend to confirm a revival in the second half of the season. Massa followed up a second-place finish in Japan – his first podium for two years – with another strong race in Korea at the weekend, qualifying sixth and finishing fourth – 6.2 seconds behind Alonso. The Brazilian is expected to be confirmed in the Ferrari seat for 2013, his eighth consecutive season with the team, in a matter of days. Team boss Stefano Domenicali said of Massa after the Korean race on Sunday: “Very good, I’m very happy. “He did an excellent race, and an excellent qualifying. But I have to say he’s [been] doing an excellent job since a couple of races, so this is really very promising for the end of the season. “And if I want to anticipate the next question that I’m sure someone will ask, very soon you will know what will be our position in that respect. “For sure he’s understanding now better the car, he’s understanding better the tyres. We believe that he’s a very, very strong driver, there’s no doubt, because otherwise we would already have taken a different decision.” Vettel’s arrival at Ferrari has been sanctioned by Alonso, who has a say in the identity of his team-mate. The Spaniard vetoed the idea of Lewis Hamilton joining the team earlier this year. Should it transpire, the line-up would produce a mouth-watering partnership which would undoubtedly be the strongest in F1 – with potential for huge friction. Vettel and Red Bull have denied the German has any arrangements in place with Ferrari, and the team insist he is under contract until the end of 2014. Vettel’s likely departure would leave Red Bull with a huge hole to fill and no obvious place to turn. The world champion’s team-mate, Mark Webber, is on a one-year deal until the end of 2013 and could well retire at the end of next season ahead of the introduction of new chassis and engine regulations in 2014. Hamilton has recently signed a three-year deal to join Mercedes, Alonso is under contract to Ferrari until the end of 2016 and Jenson Button is under contract to McLaren until the end of 2014. -Agencies

‘PAS dress code doesn’t make sense’ Posted: 14 Oct 2012 11:14 PM PDT PETALING JAYA: MCA claims that it is unreasonable to force non-Muslim models to cover up for advertisements. Kedah MCA chairman Chong Itt Chew said the ruling by the Alor Setar City Council (MBAS) is typical of PAS-led government’s attitude to the non-Muslim minority in the state. MBAS had instructed that non-Muslim female models must be dressed in T-shirt with long sleeves and long pants that cover their legs and that both male and female models must be fully covered even for sports advertisements; otherwise no approval will be given. Mayor Mat Noh Ahmad was quoted as saying that those who flouted the ruling would be fined RM300 and their billboard will be removed. However, the next day the council denied coming up with the ruling and Mat Noh said he was just merely advising the advertisers that the "attire worn by models must not be revealing". Chong said rather than spend time turning enforcement officers into state-sanctioned voyeurs bent on moral policing against "pakaian yang menjolok mata" (revealing clothes), the state administration should spend time on opening up job opportunities and bringing in investments. "If advertisers are compelled to remove existing billboard advertisements which do not conform with the guidelines, this will incur unnecessary costs for them, which they may then pass to consumers," he said. "It is unsettling to the non-Muslim electorate that the latest directive by MBAS emulates the examples of the Kota Baru Municipal Council which had issued summons against a non-Muslim salon owner when her female Muslim employee had donned a shirt with sleeves three quarters in length," said Chong. "Plus the case where the Tengku Anis municipal park stipulates on attire deemed decent to be worn by non-Muslim women if they intend to use the amenities in the park," he added. "What next? Will MBAS also demand its enforcement officers to censor or confiscate newspaper advertisements or prohibit any printed materials altogether that feature models wearing outfits which they consider immodest? "It does not make sense to disapprove of billboard advertisements with models not fully covered up by PAS' standards, but simultaneously allow advertisements in publications where the readers can hold and stare at models wearing short sleeve polo T-shirts, blouses or knee-length skirts," he added.

Hindraf to back Pakatan, provided… Posted: 14 Oct 2012 11:12 PM PDT BATU KAWAN: Hindraf will support Pakatan Rakyat if the bloc agrees to implement the pressure group's blueprint for the wellbeing of Indians in the country, which it will present at an upcoming meeting with PKR. Hindraf deputy chairman W Sambulingam said his organisation was keen to forge an alliance with Pakatan to face the next general election but would not give it or any other political group a free ride. "We are not going to give anyone a free lunch like in 2008," Sambulingam told some 500 supporters at a fund-raising dinner here last night. The blueprint will be tabled during a second round of Hindraf-PKR talks, which could be held at the end of this month or early next month. PKR de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim and Hindraf chairman P Waythamoorthy are expected to attend. The Anwar-Waythamoorthy meet-up was agreed upon last month at a meeting between PKR and Hindraf officials. Neither Anwar nor Waythamoorthy was present at that meeting. Since his return from exile, Waythamoorthy has had meetings with top PAS leaders, including Kelantan Menteri Besar Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat. Sambulingam said Hindraf would prepare a "comprehensive and constructive" blueprint containing recommendations and proposals for "permanent, practical, applicable and effective" solutions to resolve problems faced by the Indian community, including those unresolved since colonial days. Hindraf has written to both BN and Pakatan to propose talks on the blueprint. Unlike PKR and PAS, BN has yet to respond. Sambulingam said he regarded BN's silence as a "rejection of Hindraf's olive branch". He said Hindraf would call on Indians to support Pakatan only if the bloc agreed to implement the blueprint. Issues regarding education, land, and settlement areas for Indians are expected to feature heavily in the blueprint. Sambulingam said these were not commercial issues, but were matters that bore heavily on fundamental principles of human rights. "The government of the day is duty bound to fulfil these rights for rightful citizens, not to illegal immigrants," he said at last night's dinner.

Debt crisis tops agenda at Asia-Europe finance talks Posted: 14 Oct 2012 11:03 PM PDT BANGKOK: Senior finance officials from Asia and Europe met today for talks on the global economy in the face of growing nervousness about the worldwide fallout of the eurozone debt crisis. The meeting in Bangkok comes as Asia’s economies – for years seen as a bright spot in a gloomy world economy – show increasing strains from Europe’s financial turbulence. “With the ongoing economic difficulties of some countries in the eurozone, I believe that our cooperation is even more crucial than ever,” Thai Finance Minister Kittiratt Na-Ranong said in opening remarks. “Because Asia and Europe are closely knitted in terms of international trade and investment, one spark of crisis could cause turmoil in the other side of the world,” he added. With Europe gearing up for a crunch summit on Thursday, many finance ministers sent their deputies to attend the biennial meeting in Bangkok, which sets the scene for an Asia-Europe (ASEM) summit in Laos next month. Hopes that Asia’s economies would largely shrug off the West’s economic troubles have been doused by a slew of weaker-than-economic data in recent weeks. Experts say that Asia’s trade-dependent economies are vulnerable to any further turmoil in the West. “A sudden and rapid deterioration of the global economy would hit Asia hard,” analysts at the London-based research firm Capital Economics warned in a research note. But while Asia will not be immune to the eurozone crisis and weak global demand, “healthy fundamentals and plenty of scope for policy easing mean growth should hold up relatively well over the next couple of years”, they added. As powerhouses China and India slow more than many had expected, the Asian Development Bank and International Monetary Fund both recently lowered their growth estimates for the region’s emerging economies. The IMF said last week that growth for developing Asia would come in at 6.7% this year and 7.2% in 2013, compared with July’s estimate of 7.1% and 7.5%. - AFP

Pakistani child campaigner sent to Britain for treatment Posted: 14 Oct 2012 10:47 PM PDT ISLAMABAD: A Pakistani schoolgirl shot in the head by the Taliban because she campaigned for the right to education was on Monday sent to Britain for medical treatment, the military said. “Pakistan has arranged with the UAE for a specially equipped air ambulance to transfer Malala to the UK”, it said in a statement after the United Arab Emirates had told Pakistan it was ready to send a plane to evacuate her. The shooting of 14-year-old Malala Yousafzai has been denounced worldwide and by the Pakistani authorities, who have offered a reward of more than US$100,000 for the capture of her attackers. She was treated at the country’s top military hospital in Rawalpindi, the twin city of the capital Islamabad, where doctors on Sunday removed her ventilator for a “successful” short trial. “The medical team treating Malala have been reviewing her progress at regular intervals and consulting with international experts”, the statement said. It added,”the acute phase has been managed in accordance with international standards and the medical team is pleased with her present condition which has been described as optimal”. - AFP

World’s biggest school has 45,000 kids Posted: 14 Oct 2012 10:41 PM PDT LUCKNOW, (India): The first day in class for any new pupil can be an overwhelming experience, so imagine arriving for lessons as one of 40,000 pupils on the roll-call of the world’s biggest school. The latest edition of Guinness World Records awards the title to the City Montessori School in the Indian city of Lucknow with 39,437 registered pupils in the 2010-2011 academic year. The school says that enrollment numbers have already risen above 45,000, with 2,500 teachers, 3,700 computers, 1,000 classrooms – and one of the hardest first eleven cricket teams to break into. CMS, as it is known, was opened by Jagdish Gandhi and his wife Bharti in 1959 with a loan of 300 rupees (US$6 at current rates) and just five pupils. Today it sprawls over 20 sites in Lucknow, the capital of Uttar Pradesh state, and is as famous for its exam results and international exchange programmes as for its scale. “The phenomenal growth of our school is a reflection of our efforts to please our parents with our service to their children,” said Gandhi, who is still involved in the school’s management at the age of 75. “Our students have exceptional academic results each year and outstanding global exposure. Getting this Guinness record is heartening but it’s not just about size,” he told AFP. The pupils, who are aged between three and 17, all wear uniform and each class has about 45 members, but the whole school never gathers for assembly as there is nowhere big enough to hold them. CMS, which receives no government funding, charges 1,000 rupees a month in fees for younger pupils, rising to 2,500 a month for seniors. “In such a large school, there are many advantages, one being you get to make a lot of friends across the many sites that we have,” Ritika Ghosh, 14, who has been at CMS for two years, told AFP. “But as the school is so huge it takes a lot of effort to get noticed. Otherwise you are just one of the thousands that study. “There are certainly more challenges and competitions, which in the end prepares us for real life.” Fellow pupil Tanmay Tiwari, 16, credits the large size of the school for making him more outgoing. “I used to be very shy but the school has given me that confidence,” he told AFP. “Now I am in the college team, debating in national competitions.” The school’s size is matched only by its idealistic ambitions, with pupils taught a philosophy of universal peace and globalism under the motto “Jai Jagat” (Victory be to the World). With pupils under fierce pressure to get good exam results, sport is not always a top priority, but cricket coach Raju Singh Chauhan says selecting a team is still tricky. “To fish out sports talent in the 45,000-plus students can be a huge problem,” he said. “For this reason we hold inter-branch competitions to dig out the best children and then eventually we get the bigger picture and our best eleven for the team.” CMS first held the title of the world’s biggest school in 2005, when it had 29,212 pupils, beating the previous record holder, the Rizal High School in Manila, Philippines, which had 19,738 pupils. Alumni include Ushhan Gundevia, an executive banker at Goldman Sachs, and Prakash Gupta, a senior United Nations diplomat in New York, as well as Harvard scholars and several leading surgeons and scientists. “The school is an inspiration not only to the pupils, but also to anyone, anywhere who wants to make a positive difference,” Craig Glenday, editor-in-chief of Guinness World Records, told AFP from London. “The school understands that teaching is the most sacred of professions, and from humble origins to being the largest and one of the most respected educational establishment in the world, it is a truly awe-inspiring story.” - AFP

Kenali artis: Prema Yin Posted: 14 Oct 2012 10:39 PM PDT Prema Yin, satu nama anak seni "multilingual" yang pernah mencatatkan kontroversi bersama pelakon Shahz Jaszle  pada 2010 dalam video klip "panas", Marilah arahan Gambit Saifullah. Kontroversi yang hebat melanda itu tidak mematahkan semangat Prema Yin untuk teruskan bidang nyanyian yang sangat diminatinya. Prema Yin mengorak langkah dalam bidang seni sejak 2004 iaitu apabila dia dinobatkan sebagai juara dalam Pertandingan Nyanyian peringkat kebangsaan Who Will Win Malaysian Topstar yang dianjurkan oleh NTV7. Sehingga sekarang, dia sudahpun mempunyai 4 singles iaitu "Marilah" (2010), "Addicted" (2011), "Fight feat Reefa Theme song for Project O&O" (2011) dan Superstar Theme song for Share The Love Movement for Julie's Biscuit (2011). Sejak 2009, nama dia banyak disenarai pendekkan di dalam Voize Independent Music Awards (VIMA) untuk Best Overall Female Act, Best Female Vocalist Overall, Best Rock Vocalist, Best Rock Song, Best Pop Song dan Best Music Video. Prema turut disenarai pendekkan pada Anugerah Industri Muzik 17 (AIM 17), Asian Voize Independent Music Awards (AVIMA) dan juga Hollywood Music in Media Awards(HMMA) 2011. Sepanjang penglibatan, Prema Yin memenangi Bronze Award untuk Best Rock Vocalist pada VIMA 2009, Gold Award untuk Best Pop Song "Eyo Eyo" pada VIMA 2010, Asian Anthem of The Year for "Eyo Eyo" pada AVIMA 2010, Best Pop Song in a Movie(Eyo Eyo) 2011 dan Best Female Vocalist Overall. Sememangnya lagu Eyo Eyo banyak menaik-tarafkan populariti Prema Yin. [This content is provided by FMT content partner galaxtar.com, hiburan informasi terkini dan sensasi]

Suaram didakwa pernah gugat kestabilan Indonesia Posted: 14 Oct 2012 10:33 PM PDT PETALING JAYA: Bekas Pengerusi Parti Kesejahteraan Insan Tanah Air (KITA) Kedah Zamil Ibrahim mendakwa Suara Rakyat Malaysia (Suaram) pernah menggugat kestabilan negara jiran, Indonesia apabila campur tangan dalam isu Timor Timur (kini Timor Leste). Menurut beliau, pada lewat 90-an badan bukan kerajaan (NGO) itu pernah mengatur beberapa program, bengkel dan mesyuarat meminta campur tangan dunia luar terutama dari Barat dalam isu Timor Timur ini. “Campur tangan Suaram tentang isu Timor Timur dalam Wilayah Indonesia telah menyebabkan Indonesia kehilangan wilayah tersebut dan kini telah wujud sebuah Negara Kristian – Timor Leste. “Jangan pandang remeh keupayaan Suaram dalam apa-apa isu yang melibatkan keselamatan negara ini. Pemerintah wajar tegas,” katanya dalam satu kenyataan semalam. Zamil turut mendakwa, pada ketika itu Setiausaha Pemuda Umno Datuk Saifuddin Nasution Ismail (kini Setiausaha Agung PKR) bersama beberapa Exco Pemuda Umno pernah ceroboh masuk dalam satu program isu Timor Timur anjuran Suaram di sebuah hotel di Kuala Lumpur. Katanya, tindakan itu dibuat kerana marahkan Suaram yang cuba menggugat hubungan baik Malaysia-Indonesia, namun Saifuddin ditangkap kerana menceroboh. “Individu yang ada dalam program kacau Indonesia ketika itu kini ada dalam Parlimen Malaysia dan ada di Dewan Negeri terutama di Selangor dan ada yang pegang jawatan dalam PKR. “Mereka ini ada dalam parti yang di pimpin oleh (Ketua Pembangkang Datuk Seri) Anwar Ibrahim yang sebahagian kecil rakyat Indonesia puja ini. “Hairan dalam isu ini sebab penderitaan umat Islam di Mindanau (Filipina), Rohingya (Myanmar),  Selatan Thailand dan di Gaza (Palestin) tidak pulak ada dalam agenda Suaram,” katanya. Sehubungan itu, beliau mencabar Saifuddin supaya menafikan dakwaan ini. Beliau berkata, beliau tidak terkejut jika fail-fail yang pemerintah inginkan dari Suaram kini boleh berada di Timor Leste.

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