FMT News |  |
- Presidential race remains effectively tied
- Al Qaeda’s Zawahri calls for kidnap of Westerners
- Indonesia foils plot to attack US missions: Police
- Fleeing Muslims seek food, shelter after Myanmar sectarian chaos
- Italy’s Berlusconi says plans to stay in politics
- Over 80 dead in Myanmar communal strife
- Capture of Libyan town smacks of revenge, not reconciliation
- US officials pull Pakistani politician off plane
- Tens of thousands protest against austerity in Rome
- Syria bombards major cities, weakening truce: Activists
- Liu shows proof it was all BN’s work
- Umno bakal dibunuh MCA, rakyat
- Tindakan tegas DBKL jika sewakan gerai kepada peniaga asing
- Local councils a law unto themselves
- MACC report against Palani’s aide
- Cancel Batu Caves condo project, says Kula
- Apakah itu manifesto?
- DAP’s ‘gesture of goodwill’ to SAPP
- Sharapova embarrassed by her Gangnam style
- United must cut out mistakes, warns Giggs
- Kong vows probe on KKIA incident
- Spain’s Xavi, Casillas, get prince’s prize
- Sekolah daif bukan alasan
- Azarenka seals year-end top spot, faces Sharapova
- 5 foods that help you live longer
- Manchester City will bounce back – Mancini
- Vettel rejects suggestion of Red Bull duel
- QPR’s Ferdinand expected to continue racism snub
- Sharapova avoids Serena in semi-final shake-up
- Lampard blow for Chelsea
- Serena already has eyes on more Slams
- Hamilton confident despite slow start
- Kavitha’s Curry House
- When dinner comes from the dump
- Playing the religion game
- What’s the matter with our judges?
- Beware! A Christian conspiracy. Really?
- KKIA fiasco spotlights need for Labuan bridge
- DAP: Do away the death sentences
| Presidential race remains effectively tied Posted: 27 Oct 2012 10:21 AM PDT
Obama leads Romney among likely voters by 47 percent to 46 percent, well within the online survey’s credibility interval. Neither candidate has held a clear lead since shortly after their first presidential debate on October 3. Some 18 percent of those surveyed already have cast their ballots, as early voting in some form has started in all 50 states and the District of Columbia, the poll found. The survey of 1,237 likely voters, drawn from a pool of 1,610 registered voters, was conducted between Monday and Friday. The accuracy of Reuters/Ipsos polls is measured using a credibility interval. For this survey, the credibility interval is 3.2 percentage points for likely voters. - Reuters |
| Al Qaeda’s Zawahri calls for kidnap of Westerners Posted: 27 Oct 2012 10:20 AM PDT
The Egypt-born cleric, who became al Qaeda leader last year after the death of Osama bin Laden, spoke in a message that lasted more than two hours. “We are seeking, by the help of Allah, to capture others and to incite Muslims to capture the citizens of the countries that are fighting Muslims in order to release our captives,” he said, praising the kidnapping of Warren Weinstein, a 71-year-old American aid worker in Pakistan last year. Zawahri’s message was first released on Wednesday, SITE said, just two weeks after the cleric issued a filmed statement calling for more protests against the United States over a California-made film mocking the Prophet Mohammad. In his new message, he called on Muslims to ensure Egypt’s revolution continued until sharia law was implemented and urged fellow Muslims to join the uprising against President Bashar al-Assad in Syria. The release of his message had been delayed, he said, because of the “conditions of the fierce war” in Afghanistan and Pakistan where he said US-led forces had intensified a bombing campaign. US President Barack Obama, whom Zawahri described as a “liar” and “one of the biggest supporters of Israel”, has stepped up the use of unmanned drones to target militants in both countries as well as in Yemen. A licence to kill In a further attack on Western governments and international institutions, Zawahri accused world powers of giving Syrian President Assad “a license to kill” his opponents. “The UN, Kofi Annan and the Arab League give the al-Assad regime one opportunity after another to end the rising of jihadi, popular resistance against his oppression, injustice, corruption and spoiling,” SITE reported Zawahri as saying. Syria’s anti-government rebels include Islamist groups that draw on foreign fighters. “I incite Muslims everywhere, especially in the countries that are contiguous to Syria, to rise up to support their brothers in Syria with all what they can and not to spare anything that they can offer,” he said. Zawahri, who led the Egyptian Islamic Jihad movement before joining al Qaeda, called on President Mohamed Mursi, the country’s new Islamist leader, to explain his policies on Israel, Egyptian Christians and sharia law. Islamist militants want Egypt to introduce sharia and to tear up a 1979 peace treaty with Israel and were dismayed when Mursi said he would appoint a Coptic Christian vice president. “The battle in Egypt is very clear. It is a battle between the secular minority that is allied with the church and that is leaning on the support of the army, who are made up by (former President Hosni) Mubarak and the Americans … and the Muslim ummah (nation) in Egypt that is seeking to implement sharia,” he said. - Reuters |
| Indonesia foils plot to attack US missions: Police Posted: 27 Oct 2012 10:17 AM PDT  JAKARTA: Indonesian police yesterday arrested 11 members of an Islamic group allegedly planning attacks on American diplomatic missions, a spokesman said, in the latest terror alert to hit the country.The group had planned to hit the US embassy and a US consulate, as well as a building near the Australian embassy in the capital Jakarta that houses the office of American mining giant Freeport-McMoran, police said. Police said they were from a new outfit called HASMI, the Sunni Movement for Indonesian Society, and explosives and a bomb-making manual were found when members were arrested in locations across the main island of Java. “The group’s objectives were to attack the US embassy in Jakarta and consulate-general in the eastern Javanese city of Surabaya,” national police spokesman Suhardi Alius told reporters. Indonesia has waged a long battle against terrorism since the 2002 Bali bombings that killed 202 people, mostly foreign tourists. The resort island held commemorations this month to mark 10 years since the attack. Indonesia has not seen a major attack since 2009, when suicide bombers killed nine people in attacks on two five-star hotels in the capital. Alius said that those arrested Saturday were “suspected terrorists” who were “part of a new network known as HASMI”. They are from the Sunni branch of Islam, which is the predominant one in Indonesia. Previous deadly attacks, including the Bali bombings, have been blamed on the Al-Qaeda-linked Jemaah Islamiyah (JI), but authorities say the group has been severely weakened by the crackdown on terrorism. However, smaller Islamist groups seeking to create an Islamist caliphate through violent means have emerged. Anti-terror police made Saturday’s arrests in four cities across Java: four in Jakarta, two in Madiun, three in Solo and two in Bogor. Explosive materials were found in Solo and in Bogor, which is on the outskirts of the capital. “We also confiscated an explosive device from a home in the town of Madiun in eastern Java, as well as explosive materials and a bomb-making manual,” Alius said. He said one device consisted of a cylinder packed with explosives. The bomb-making manual was in English and the Indonesian language and was likely downloaded from the Internet, he added. Alius added that police were looking into the group but added that “if they can already build bombs, we can assume they’ve been around for some time”. Saturday’s arrests came after two policemen were found murdered this month while investigating an alleged terrorist training camp in central Sulawesi’s Poso district. Police said they had been investigating an alleged camp linked to Jemaah Anshorut Tauhid (JAT), declared a terrorist organisation by the United States in February. And before this month’s ceremony to commemorate the Bali bombings, Indonesia declared its top security alert citing “credible information” of a threat to the event, which was attended by Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard. Freeport-McMoran’s Indonesian subsidiary runs the world’s biggest gold and second-biggest copper mine in the restive Papua region, employing more than 20,000 people. - AFP |
| Fleeing Muslims seek food, shelter after Myanmar sectarian chaos Posted: 27 Oct 2012 10:15 AM PDT
Dozens of rickety wooden vessels packed with the stateless Rohingya Muslims who fled clashes with Buddhists in western Rakhine state had reached land by Saturday after two days at sea, but nine boats were still unaccounted for, according to several Rohingya refugee sources reached by telephone. New York-based Human Rights Watch called on Myanmar’s reformist government to protect Muslims from “vicious” attacks, and released satellite images of the “near total destruction” of a once-thriving coastal community reduced to ashes around Kyaukpyu, an industrial zone important to Chinese energy interests. The United Nations has warned that Myanmar’s fledgling democracy could be “irreparably damaged” by a week of communal violence which has come five months after machete and arson attacks killed more than 80 people and displaced at least 75,000 in the same region. No new clashes were reported on Saturday, a day after the Home Minister said the government was prepared to declare martial law and emergency rule in the region if violence escalated. A committee of lawmakers led by Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi called on Friday for security reinforcements and swift legal action against those behind fighting in which at least 67 people were killed. The chaos suggests the quasi-civilian government is struggling to contain historic ethnic and religious tensions between Rohingyas and ethnic Rakhines that were suppressed during five decades of military rule that ended last year. Few Rohingyas were able to reach overstretched refugee camps, and some said boats were turned back by security forces when they tried to join other Rohingyas, said by a government official to be receiving food and water in the relative safety of the state capital Sittwe. Myanmar’s estimated 800,000 Rohingyas are officially stateless, and regarded by the government of the majority Buddhist country as illegal immigrants from Bangladesh, rather than one of its 135 official ethnic groups, as a result of which it denies them citizenship. Bangladesh does not recognise them either, and the United Nations has referred to them as “virtually friendless”. A Rakhine government spokesman put the death toll at 112 as of Friday, but within hours, state media revised it to 67 killed, 95 wounded and nearly 3,000 houses destroyed from October 21 to 25. Death toll ‘underestimated’ That toll could be far higher, said Human Rights Watch, citing “allegations from witnesses fleeing scenes of carnage and the government’s well-documented history of underestimating figures that might lead to criticism of the state.” Buddhists searched on Saturday for bodies of ethnic Rakhines killed in the clashes and some villages in Paukthaw, where both Muslims and Buddhists had lived, were left abandoned. Soldiers stood guard close to the burned-out homes that bore the scars of the latest chaos in a region where tensions between the groups have simmered for years. “The bodies of 16 Rakhines were found in the sea. They had died during the attacks on Thursday. We’re looking for more bodies,” said Tun Mein Thein of the Wan Lark foundation, an organisation assisting Buddhist refugees. The information could not be independently verified. Rohingyas refugee sources said many of those on boats had resisted efforts by security forces to move them to A-Ngu-Maw island, fearing retribution by Rakhine Buddhists. Human Rights Watch said more than 811 buildings and houseboats were razed in Kyaukpyu, about 120 km south of Sittwe. Kyaukpyu is crucial to China’s most strategic investment in Myanmar: twin pipelines that will carry oil and natural gas through the town on the Bay of Bengal to China’s energy-hungry western provinces. A boat carrying 120 Muslims from Kyaukpyu was on Thursday intercepted by Rakhines, who killed the men and raped the women, the advocacy group Burmese Rohingya Organisation UK said in a statement, describing the attacks as “ethnic cleansing”. This claim could not be verified. “We have confirmed reports that hundreds of people have been killed and the government must be aware of that,” said Tun Khin, the group’s president. Many of those expelled from Kyaukpyu are not Rohingya but Muslims from the officially recognized Kaman minority, said Chris Lewa, director of the Rohingya advocacy group, Arakan Project. “It’s not just anti-Rohingya violence anymore, it’s anti-Muslim,” she said. It was unclear what set off the latest arson and killing that started on Sunday. In June, tension flared after the rape and murder of a Buddhist woman that was blamed on Muslims, but there was no obvious trigger this time. - Reuters |
| Italy’s Berlusconi says plans to stay in politics Posted: 27 Oct 2012 10:12 AM PDT
Berlusconi’s surprise decision to remain in politics comes just three days after the four-time prime minister said he would not seek the premiership again. “There doubtless will be consequences,” Berlusconi told an Italian television interviewer, referring to the conviction, which, however, will not be enforced until all appeals are exhausted – a process that could take years. “I feel obliged to stay in the field to reform the justice system so that what happened to me does not happen to other citizens,” he told Italy’s Channel Five television, part of Mediaset. Berlusconi was convicted of inflating the price paid for TV rights via offshore companies controlled by Berlusconi and skimming off part of the money to create illegal slush funds. The comments by Berlusconi – who has gone back and forth many times in the past on what his political future held – were met with derision by his foes and joy by some of his most fervent allies. “Today’s statement is different from yesterday’s. We are waiting to see what tomorrow’s will be like,” said Gianfranco Fini, speaker of the lower house of parliament, who broke with Berlusconi after a bitter row that split the center-right. But it was not clear if Berlusconi, now a member of the lower house of parliament, meant he would run for high office again or just stay on as an unelected political force of the center-right. “I am happy that he has decided to stay in order to wave high the flag that guarantees freedom,” said Daniela Santanche, a hardcore Berlusconi loyalist from the right-wing of his PDL party. Berlusconi was due to hold a news conference to explain himself later on Saturday. The move came as a surprise because last Wednesday Berlusconi said he would not run in next year’s elections as the leader of his People of Freedom (PDL) party, ending almost 19 years as the dominant politician of the center-right. The court sentence included a five-year ban on running for political office but since the sentence does not become executive until all appeals are exhausted, Berlusconi can run for parliament in the next national elections in April. The 76-year-old billionaire media magnate, who was convicted three times during the 1990s in the first degree before being cleared by higher courts, has the right to appeal the ruling two more times before the sentence becomes definitive. Berlusconi has often accused magistrates of waging a political war against him and insisted that Friday’s sentence was no different. He accused the judge who handed down the sentence, Edoardo D’Avossa, of “having it in for me”. D’Avossa’s ruling said that between 2000 and 2003 there had been “a very significant amount of tax evasion” and “an incredible mechanism of fraud” in place around the buying and selling of broadcast rights by Mediaset. Berlusconi, whose “bunga bunga” parties with aspiring starlets won worldwide notoriety, has taken a largely backseat role in politics since he was forced to step down, but he remains the dominant figure within the PDL. His standing with the general public has fallen sharply after an array of sexual and political scandals and an opinion poll last month gave him just 18 percent support, well behind Angelino Alfano, the PDL’s 42-year-old secretary. - Reuters |
| Over 80 dead in Myanmar communal strife Posted: 27 Oct 2012 10:11 AM PDT  SITTWE (Myanmar): The toll from a wave of unrest in western Myanmar has reached 82, a government official said yesterday, after fierce fighting that has seen whole districts torched and forced thousands to flee.Violence that broke out this week between Buddhists and Muslims in Rakhine state has killed 36 women and 46 men, according to a government official who asked to remain anonymous. “Altogether 82 people died and 129 people were injured,” he told AFP. The new fighting, which began on October 21, has prompted international warnings that the nation’s reforms could be under threat. Tens of thousands of mainly Muslim Rohingya are already crammed into squalid camps around the state capital Sittwe after deadly violence in June and Rakhine state officials said the latest bloodshed had caused an influx of boats carrying around 6,000 people to the city. - AFP |
| Capture of Libyan town smacks of revenge, not reconciliation Posted: 27 Oct 2012 10:05 AM PDT
Fighters yelling “Allahu akbar (God is greatest) and “Today Bani Walid is finished” sought to make their mark with gunfire and rocket-propelled grenades on a town they say still provides a refuge to many of the overthrown Libyan leader’s followers. The chaotic, vengeful scenes demonstrated the weakness of the new government’s authority over former rebel militias which owe it allegiance but essentially do what they like. A sign on a bank building that bore the Gaddafi-era name for Libya, “The Great Arab Socialist People’s Republic”, was scarred with bullet holes. The central streets were empty except for the fighters who filled them with their violent celebration. “The Gaddafi fighters are out of Bani Walid, they have gone,” said Ali Mahmoud, a Misrata fighter in a pickup truck at a central Bani Walid roundabout, patriotic music blaring. “Some people here still wanted Gaddafi, we have to show them that he is finished.” After days of shelling that sent thousands of families fleeing from the hilltop town in scenes reminiscent of last year’s war, militias aligned with the defense ministry, a grouping known as Libya Shield, seized Bani Walid on Wednesday. The latest fighting, in which dozens of people were killed and hundreds wounded, erupted over a government demand that Bani Walid hand over those who had kidnapped and tortured Omar Shaaban, the former rebel fighter who had caught Gaddafi hiding in a drain in his hometown of Sirte last year. Shaaban, from Misrata, a city that underwent a harsh siege by Gaddafi’s forces, died in a Paris hospital last month from injuries inflicted during two months of captivity in Bani Walid. The United Nations had called for restraint as militias gathered menacingly around Bani Walid, whose residents had baulked at turning over the wanted men to unruly armed groups, while Libya’s justice system remains in disarray. “There are some wanted people in Bani Walid, and we do want to hand them over but they also have rights,” said Murad Mohammed, a student and Warfala tribe member living in Benghazi. “So do you expect us to give them to militias who do not have legitimacy?” Many people in Bani Walid belong to the powerful Warfala tribe, which was mostly loyal to Gaddafi. The town and its now-displaced inhabitants, long isolated from the rest of Libya, fear retribution and wonder what fate awaits them in the post-Gaddafi era. A disquieting example is offered by Sirte, whose residents feel neglected by Libya’s new rulers, saying they are paying the price for being the last bastion of Gaddafi, who was killed there on October 20, 2011. His death has yet to be investigated. Days later, Sirte residents were blaming vindictive rebels for some of the destruction visited on their city. While the government has set up committees to tackle security, services and the return of refugees to Bani Walid, militia commanders say they will stay to keep the town “secure”. “Such groups have a background and a certain vision of what Libya should be and it doesn’t always necessarily match that of the elected officials at the (ruling) General National Congress,” said Claudia Gazzini of the International Crisis Group. “This risks pushing back the reconciliation attempts that could have been fostered better in a peaceful manner between Bani Walid and the rest of Libya.” Kidnapped city Bani Walid’s predicament underlines the challenge Libya’s new rulers face in reconciling groups with long-running grievances and embracing those who chose not to back the revolt – whether out of fear, or because they supported Gaddafi, or because they were benefiting in some way from his rule. The government knows it must now strike the right balance and not risk storing up trouble for the future. With 70,000 people, Bani Walid, some 170 km south of Tripoli, was one of the last towns to surrender to rebels last year. Gaddafi’s now-captured son Saif al-Islam staged a last stand there before fleeing into the Sahara. In January, the town grabbed headlines when fighters threw Tripoli’s men out of the city, installing its own local council. In July, fighters from Misrata threatened to attack it after two journalists from their city were detained. While Misrata fighters have complained at what they call Bani Walid’s continued defiance and its alleged harboring of former Gaddafi loyalists, townsfolk there say they have been unfairly tarred with the “pro-Gaddafi” brush. “Bani Walid became a centre for those who were wanted for justice to escape,” government spokesman Nasser El-Manee told a news conference. “We can say that they kidnapped the city.” Rights groups have voiced concern over the conditions of some detention centers run by militias, especially in Misrata. Some have said this month’s assault amounted to revenge by Misrata, whose fighters have been quick to retaliate, sometimes brutally, against towns that have been seen as loyalist. Many of the militias attacking Bani Walid were from Misrata. “The other problem here is that we have a military action to free men who were arbitrarily detained by Bani Walid, but at the same time we have the same situation in other cities, Misrata first of all,” Gazzini said. “I feel that the congress has sort of followed this intense lobbying attack by the Misratans and by groups of Bani Walid revolutionaries who were kicked out of Bani Walid,” she said. “Now what we are hearing from these spokesmen that they want to take the glory for this inglorious operation.” Acts of revenge Army officials said they had freed several detainees in Bani Walid and captured some fighters who used to belong to a brigade commanded by Gaddafi’s son Khamis. Human rights groups have urged the authorities to make clear that looting, beatings and destruction will be prosecuted. “The government and forces under its command should protect residents in Bani Walid and reject acts of revenge,” said Fred Abrahams, special adviser at Human Rights Watch. “There is an urgent need to stop destruction of the town and begin reconstruction, as well as to prosecute those who broke the law,” he said in a statement. Residents fleeing Bani Walid spoke of no water or power and little food and medicine in the town. There were unconfirmed reports of militiamen entering suburbs with bulldozers. As in Sirte, many in Bani Walid may feel resentment, believing they have been the victims of collective punishment. “Where is the international community?” Bani Walid tribal elder Mohammed al-Shetawi said by phone after leaving the town. “Where is the United Nations and the European Union and the other people in the world, why have they forgotten us?” Benghazi congress member Saleh Gaouda said the priority of the authorities was to give Bani Walid residents the security to be able to return to their homes. “It is important to make people inside Bani Walid believe in February 17th,” he said, referring to the name given to the 2011 rebellion against Gaddafi. “This can be done through the media, talking, giving them a chance to be part of society.” - Reuters |
| US officials pull Pakistani politician off plane Posted: 27 Oct 2012 10:02 AM PDT
Khan told his followers on Twitter on Friday that he was detained and interrogated about his views on drones. A State Department official confirmed Khan had been briefly detained, but said the Pakistani politician was later released to travel the United States. “The issue was resolved and Mr. Khan is welcome in the United States,” said the official. The State Department provided no details about why Khan was detained, and officials with the US Customs and Border Patrol were not immediately available for comment. Khan, who led a protest march to northern Pakistan earlier this month to protest US drone strikes, sent a message about the incident on Twitter on Friday, vowing to continue opposing the deadly attacks. “Nothing will change my stance,” he said. “I was taken off from plane and interrogated by US Immigration in Canada on my views on drones. My stance is known. Drone attacks must stop,” Khan tweeted on Friday afternoon. Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party said the politician arrived safely in New York on Friday, the first day of the Muslim Eid-al-Adha holiday, after the delay at the Toronto airport and went directly to a fundraising lunch. Pakistani authorities earlier this month stopped a protest led by Khan from entering the troubled region of South Waziristan, a tribal area frequently hit by drone strikes. Khan blames the Pakistan government for allowing the United States to operate in the country, and has said he will order the Pakistani air force to shoot the unmanned planes down if he wins next year’s elections in Pakistan. Earlier this month, Khan led a march to northern Pakistan to protest the drone strikes, which have killed between 2,600 and 3,400 Pakistanis, according to the independent London-based Bureau of Investigative Journalism. Some Pakistanis say Khan is fanning anti-American sentiment to bolster his political career and criticize him for refusing to condemn atrocities by the Taliban or Pakistani army. Others praise him for reaching out to Pakistan’s northern tribal areas and say he is standing up for a war-ravaged population ignored by mainstream politicians. The United States says the strikes have killed top Taliban and al-Qaeda commanders and that civilian casualties are minimal. But it has not said how targets are selected or how the military determines whether the dead were fighters or civilians. - Reuters |
| Tens of thousands protest against austerity in Rome Posted: 27 Oct 2012 09:58 AM PDT
Appointed in November when Italy risked being sucked into the euro zone debt crisis, Monti has pushed through painful austerity measures to cut the country’s massive debt, including tax hikes, spending cuts and a pension overhaul. “We are here against Monti and his politics, the same politics as all over Europe, that brought Greece to its knees and that are destroying half of Europe, public schools, health care,” said demonstrator Giorgio Cremaschi. Police were on alert for possible infiltration by extremists who turned past demonstrations violent. But while protesters threw eggs at bank windows and set off firecrackers, no major incidents were reported. “United with a Europe that is rebelling. Let’s get rid of the Monti government,” read one of the banners held at the demonstration. Unemployment in Italy has risen to its highest since monthly records began in 2004 and unions are locked in growing disputes with companies over plant closures and layoffs. “It’s been years that there have been no investments, instead it’s all outsourced and privatized, we are here to say enough and we hope this voice will grow,” said another demonstrator, Caterina Fida. Monti has defended the austerity measures, saying he believes his technocrat government will be remembered for having helped Italy pull itself out of a deep economic crisis without needing to resort to external aid. In another demonstration in northern Italy, a small group of protesters scuffled with police near where Monti was addressing a rally on the theme of family values. - Reuters |
| Syria bombards major cities, weakening truce: Activists Posted: 27 Oct 2012 09:53 AM PDT
The bombardment came on the second day of the truce called by international peace envoy Lakhdar Brahimi, who had hoped to use it to build broader momentum to end the 19-month-old conflict which has killed an estimated 32,000 people. “The army began firing mortars at 7 a.m. I have counted 15 explosions in one hour and we already have two civilians killed,” said Mohammed Doumany, an activist from the Damascus suburb of Douma, where pockets of rebels are based. “I can’t see any difference from before the truce and now,” he said. Heavy machine gunfire and the sound of mortar bombs could be heard for the second consecutive day along the Turkey-Syria border near the Syrian town of Haram, a Reuters witness said. Activists in the eastern city of Deir al-Zor and in Aleppo, where rebels control roughly half of Syria’s most populous city, said that mortar bombs were being fired into residential areas. Residents in Damascus aired footage of fighter jets which they said were bombing the suburbs of Erbin and Harasta. The Syrian army said it had responded to attacks by insurgents on its positions on Friday, in line with its earlier announcement that it would cease military activity during the holiday while reserving the right to react to rebel actions. A statement from the General Command of the Armed Forces detailed several ceasefire violations in which it said “terrorists” had fired on checkpoints and bombed a military police patrol in Aleppo. More than 150 people were killed on Friday, said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a British-based opposition organisation with a network of sources within Syria. Most were shot by sniper fire or in clashes, the Observatory said, highlighting a temporary drop-off in the civil war’s intensity in which Assad’s forces have been conducting daily airstrikes and heavy artillery raids in most cities. Forty-three soldiers were killed in ambushes and during clashes, it said, while state TV reported a powerful car bomb which had killed five people in Damascus. Truce breaches Violence had initially appeared to wane in some areas on Friday but truce breaches by both sides swiftly marred Syrians’ hopes of celebrating Eid al-Adha, the climax of the Haj pilgrimage to Mecca, in peace. Brahimi’s ceasefire appeal had won widespread international support, including from Russia, China and Iran, President Assad’s main foreign allies. But there are few signs that either side in the conflict has respected the truce. A Reuters cameraman in the Turkish border village of Besaslan in southern Hatay province said he could hear the sound of a helicopter circling on the Syrian side of the border. Turkish ambulances were ferrying wounded people from an unofficial border crossing for treatment in Turkey. The war in Syria pits mainly Sunni Muslim rebels against Assad, who is from the minority Alawite sect which is distantly related to Shi’ite Islam. Brahimi has warned that the conflict could suck in Sunni and Shi’ite powers across the Middle East. Brahimi’s predecessor, former UN chief Kofi Annan, declared a ceasefire in Syria on April 12, but it soon fell flat, along with the rest of his six-point peace plan. Divided international powers have been unable to stop the violence with the West condemning Assad but blaming Russia, Iran and China for supporting Damascus. Russia’s deputy foreign minister Gennady Gatilov tweeted on Saturday that “Westerners” in the United Nations Security Council had prevented the body from condemning a bomb attack in Damascus on Friday, which the Syrian government blames on rebels it labels as “terrorists.” “(The Syria opposition’s) course for continuation of violence is self-evident,” Gatilov said. - Reuters |
| Liu shows proof it was all BN’s work Posted: 27 Oct 2012 03:45 AM PDT
Ronnie Liu, the Selangor executive councillor (exco) for local government today showed planning approvals issued on Nov 30, 2007 that details the height, size and type of the development slated on the land. “The approval, signed by the then Selayang Municipal Council president, Zainal Abidin Azim, was done with the full knowledge of the then BN councillors,” he said. "The planning approvals state clearly that the whole development consists of two blocks of 29-storey service apartment, and another 25-storey apartment, with shophouses fronting it. "Hence, no one, including the Batu Caves temple committee chairman, should put the blame on the Pakatan government," said Liu at the site of the proposed development. Liu's revelation comes a day after a protest by about 300 people against the project, calling Pakatan state government to scrap the project. Deputy Foreign Minister, A Kohilan Pillay, who was a MPS councillor at that time, said that BN was only responsible for the issuance of the preliminary planning approval. He blamed Pakatan for the subsequent building approval and marketing proposals, paving the way for the project to take shape. Debunking the claims today, Liu said the state government could not do anything after a planning approval is issued. "Planning approval means an overall greenlight. Kohilan is trying to bullshit everyone by saying that we can give planning approval but not execution approval," he said. He explained that the building approval, which was issued in March 2008, was the work of the BN councillors. He said this was because the Pakatan Rakyat councillors were only sworn in, in July 2008, though they took over the state leadership in March after the general election. Not bothered by legal threat
"It has nothing to do with us. Nothing has been done by Pakatan to support the project," he said. Meanwhile, Liu also announced that the Selangor government is bringing the matter up to the State Planning Committee for a total review. He said it would take a month or so for the report to be released. He added that he is not bothered by the legal threat by Batu Caves temple committee chairman R Nadarajah to press the government to resolve the matter within a month. "We have already issued a stop work order, which would stay in effect until the matter is resolved. If he wants to sue, then he should be suing the previous government," he said. The Pandamaran assemblyman also pointed out that the Mineral and Geoscience Department, a federal agency, gave consent for the project against standard guidelines. According to Liu, the guidelines stipulate that any ‘overhang’ hill must have a buffer zone which is three times the height of the hill. The hill fronting the project was classified as an overhang hill.
He said the State Planning Committee will look into how the approvals were issued to determine if they will compensate the developer in the event that the project is scrapped. "If the approval was done properly, then there is a need compensate them. If there were fraudulence and irregularities, then we can choose not to compensate," he said. Also at Liu’s press conference were Bukit Bintang MP Fong Kui Lun, Cheras MP Tan Kok Wai, Kota Alam Shah assemblyman M Manoharan and Sungkai assemblyman A Sivanesan. Cancel Batu Caves condo project, says Kula Only 300 turn up for Bt Caves protest |
| Umno bakal dibunuh MCA, rakyat Posted: 27 Oct 2012 01:14 AM PDT
Dalam keadaan terdesak pemimpin-pemimpin BN mengeluarkan kata-kata yang memilukan kita semua dan tidak pula mereka menyedari yang dari kata-kata itu ia menampakkan keterdesakan mereka. Akhirnya mereka sendiri membuatkan rakyat merasa bosan terhadap mereka. Belum pun hilang dengungan kata-kata Chua Soi Lek yang menghina hudud dan bercakap di dalam perhimpunan agung parti itu, tiba- tiba Mahathir pula berkata orang Melayu sedang merempat di dalam negerinya sendiri. Dr Mahathir telah melawak bodoh dengan mengajak rakyat menyokong Umno yang bertanggungjawab menjadikan orang Melayu merempat. Beliau seolah-olah menuduh yang Pakatan Rakyat yang menyebabkan Melayu merempat sedangkan Pakatan belum lagi memerintah kerajaan negara ini. Pakatan akan hanya memerintah buat pertama kalinya selepas pilihanraya yang akan datang ini, jika mendapat keizinan Tuhan. Dr Mahathir seolah-olah sudah lupa yang Melayu kini merempat kerana kerajaan Barisan Nasional (BN) selama ini tidak berkemampuan untuk membangunkan orang Melayu yang kini merempat dari sudut pandangan Dr M. BNlah yang bertanggungjawab menjadikan Melayu merempat di negara mereka sendiri. Seruan Dr Mahathir supaya rakyat menyokong Umno untuk tidak merempat ini merupakan lawak jenaka terbaik bagi abad ke-21 ini. Bagi Mahathir penyelesaian dalam isu Melayu merempat ini ialah dengan menyokong Umno yang bertanggungjawab merempatkan orang Melayu selama ini. Najib bacul Serangan secara rasmi Chua Soi Lek terhadap Islam dalam perhimpunan yang juga dihadiri oleh Presiden Umno, Najib Tun Razak, menunjukkan kebaculannya dan melambangkan beliau seorang yang tidak mempunyai 'dignity' sebagai pemimpin negara ini. Beliau mengiakan kata-kata dan serangan Soi Lek itu dengan berdiam diri mendengar kata-kata pemimpin Cina yang chauvinistic ini. Najib tidak memberikan reaksi untuk mempertahankan agamanya dan ini tentulah oleh kerana hendak menjaga politik kepartian dan kepentingan dirinya sendiri. Rupa-rupanya kepada Najib parti itu (MCA) lebih tinggi dan ditakuti oleh Najib. Beliau lebih takut kepada Chua Soi Lek yang terlibat dengan lakonan seks di sebuah Hotel di Batu Pahat, Johor beberapa tahun dahulu daripada takut kepada Tuhannya. Soi Lek lebih mulia dari agama dan undang-undang Tuhan. Jika kita tidak mahu melaksanakan hudud itu jangan kita menafikan yang hudud itu adalah satu undang-undang yang terbaik yang datang dari Tuhan. Kalau kita tidak mahu melaksanakannya kita mesti mengakui yang kita telah engkar terhadap seruan Tuhan tetapi jangan sampai menidakkan undang-undang dari Tuhan itu. Jangan sekali-kali kita mengharamkan yang halal dan menghalalkan perkara yang haram. Najib sepatutnya tidak terikut-ikut dengan lagak Dr Mahathir yang suatu ketika dahulu mengejek-ngejek hudud sebagai undang-undang zalim dan tidak praktikal untuk dilaksanakan. Bila Najib berdiam diri dan tidak mempertahankan serangan terhadap hudud oleh rakan kongsinya MCA, beliau boleh dicap sebagai petualang terhadap agamanya. Kepada semua rakyat tanpa mengira parti dan agama wajar memberikan Najib dan sekutunya pengajaran dengan mengalihkan kedudukan mereka daripada menjadi peneraju kerajaan kepada pembangkang. MCA kurang ajar Sikap kurang ajar MCA itu jangan dipandang enteng kerana ia melibatkan Tuhan semesta Alam yang Maha Suci dan Maha Agong itu. Kita tidak perlu membunuh dan bertindak kasar tetapi sebaliknya kita bertindak dengan baik dan lembut. Apa yang perlu kita lakukan hanyalah pergi ke peti undi dan jangan kita memangkah lambang BN dan memberikan undi kita kepada parti-parti yang mempertahankan kesucian agamanya. Sepatutnya MCA bertindak dengan menghormati agama kami seperti yang ditunjukkan oleh DAP. DAP secara rasminya mengambil sikap menghormati agama Islam seperti mana Islam menghormati agama lain seperti yang dituntut oleh Islam itu sendiri. Kita rakyat Malaysia wajar memberikan sokongan kepada siapa yang menghormati kita, kerana kita menghormati penganut agama lain dan ingin duduk di dalam sebuah negara yang bersatu padu di antara semua kaum tanpa menyerang undang-undang agama yang kita anuti. Umno sesungguhnya tidak bertanggungjawab kerana tidak menegur sikap angkuh Presiden MCA itu kepada agama dan Tuhan Maha Suci itu. Bukan sahaja pemimpin utama Umno berdiri tetapi keseluruhan pimpinan parti kerajaan itu berdiam diri termasuk penyokong- penyokongnya sendiri. Jika begini keadaannya maka amat kita khuatiri jika BN terus memerintah maka Umno akan diperkudakan oleh MCA dan ini akan membuatkan agama kita dan undang-undangnya diserang setiap masa. Kita khuatir jika BN memerintah lagi MCA akan menguasai kita termasuk agama kita sekali dan ia amat merbahaya kepada keutuhan hidup rakyat berbilang kaum selama ini. Parti ‘chauvinistic’ BN yang selama ini menuduh dan memfitnah DAP sebagai anti Islam sudah jelas hanya satu cara untuk memecahkan permuafakatan di antara kaum yang sedang terjalin melalui Pakatan Rakyat. Sekarang kita nampak dan boleh membuat pendirian yang 'conclusive' bahawa MCAlah yang paling 'chauvinistic' dan bukannya DAP. Umno bisu dan kelu kerana ingin mangambil hati kaum Cina melalui MCA. Elok kita bertanya kepada pemimpin Umno khususnya Najib dan Muhyiddin. Bagaimana Umno dan BN hendak mendapatkan sokongan kaum Cina melalui MCA? Bagaimana? Kita bertanya kerana MCA itu sendiri tidak mendapat sokongan orang Cina. Jadi bagaimana Umno hendak menggunakan MCA sebagai saluran untuk mendapatkan undi dan sokongan? Bukankah bodoh namanya itu. Dalam keadaan sekarang Umno akan mengalami apa yang disebut oleh perbilangan, 'yang dikejar tidak dapat yang dijinjing berciciran'. Maknanya saki baki sokongan orang Melayu terhadap Umno itu akan berkurangan kerana cemuhan terhadap agama Islam oleh MCA itu. Sokongan orang Cina pun tidak diperolehi. Oleh Najib yang tidak mahu menerima hakikat yang kaum Cina tidak menghormati kepimpinan beliau. Kaum Cina telah sepakat untuk memberikan sokongan kepada DAP yang jelas lebih telus dan boleh diharap untuk membela semua kaum. Kaum Cina telah bersatu untuk melihat sebuah kerajaan yang lebih bersih dan telus dan menepati kehendak rakyat untuk mencapai matlamat yang satu, iaitu perpaduan nasional yang sejati dan berkekalan. Kalau diintai dan diselidik secara terperinci Umno sedang tersepit dan tidak bergerak lagi. Umno tidak dapat menunjukkan kehadiran di tengah masyarakat kerana parti itu dari segi teknikalnya telah mati di peringkat cawangan-cawangan. Di cawangan-cawangan Umno hanya wujud di atas kertas tetapi tidak bergerak dengan mengadakan program-program yang selalu kita lihat tiga dekad dahulu. Yang bekerja dalam Umno hanyalah Najib dan Muhyiddin sahaja. Percayalah Umno sudah mati di peringkat 'grass-root'. Urat-urat di bawah tidak lagi memberikan kesegaran kepada pucuk Umno itu. Kalau urat sudah mati maka secara beransur-ansur tubuh akan mati akhirnya. Penyokong-penyokong Umno tidak payah menghentam saya kerana komen saya ini. Saya telah bergiat di dalamnya sudah lama. Saya bergiat dalamnya sebelum mereka yang garang-garang dan mencarut ini belum lahir ke dunia ini lagi. Umno sesungguhnya sedang dalam keadaan nazak dan sedang mengalami 'brain death'. Kalau tidak benar cakap saya ini takkanlah Umno sekarang menggunakan Dr Mahathir yang sekarang ini pun bercakap tidak tentu arahnya lagi. Umno benar-benar tidak ada prospek lagi sebagai parti yang relevan selepas pilihanraya ini. Umno sudah lama terabai oleh pimpinannya kerana pimpinannya sibuk dengan 'glamour' dan menggunakan masa sepenuhnya untuk mencuri dan berniaga dan mereka ini menggunakan ahli-ahli biasa dalam Umno itu sebagai tangga mereka untuk memanjat sahaja. Seperti beruk panjat kelapa Pemimpin Umno hanya menggunakan ahli yang ramai seperti beruk belaan yang digunakan untuk mengambil upah memanjat kelapa sahaja. Apabila beruk-beruk belaan mereka sudah menjatuhkan buah-buah kelapa beruk-beruk itu akan ditambat dan diberi makan di dalam tempurung sahaja. Begitulah sikap pimpinan Umno hari ini…baik Mahathir, Najib dan Muhyiddin. Semuanya sama sahaja. Kepada saki baki penyokong Umno, janganlah mempertahankan Umno itu dengan bertindak kasar kerana ia akan menambah kebencian masyarakat terhadap parti itu. Buka minda seluas-luasnya dan berfikir selalu kenapa Umno itu dipersepsikan sebagai parti yang hodoh dan tidak beretika dan tidak lagi berkelayakan untuk dihormati. Jika kita hendak menggunakan kata-kata kesat sedikit. Chua Soi Lek ini 'celaka' orangnya. Dia menggunakan apa sahaja cara untuk kekal relevan, sedangkan beliau tidak menyedari yang beliau telah lama tidak relevan. Jika Najib membubarkan Parlimen dan memanggil pilihanraya tahun lepas, pada saat itu juga MCA akan terbukti tidak relevan. Jika pilihanraya diadakan esok, esok jugalah MCA tidak akan menjadi relevan lagi. Dalam masa yang tidak berapa lama lagi MCA akan menjadi sebuah parti yang 'orphanage'. Parti itu akan jatuh dan akan memakan puluhan tahun untuk dibangunkan kembali. Kepada Umno dan MCA elok kita nasihatkan supaya lebih beradap dan jangan memaksa-maksa orang untuk menyokong mereka. Tunjukkanlah tauladan yang baik. Jangan menjadi perongos seperti Dr M dan Najib yang bercakap sombong dengan hidung yang tinggi. Rakyat bukan bodoh lagi kerana rakyat sudah berpendidikan. Seperti diri saya ini, saya pun pergi juga ke sekolah sikit-sikit. Saya dan ramai lagi tidak buta huruf lagi. Kami boleh membaca sikit-sikit sekarang ini. Setakat hendak membaca dan menyelam air di dalam tunggak itu bolehlah sikit-sikit. Kami ini pandainya tak seberapa, tetapi cukup untuk membaca langkah orang seperti Dr M dan Najib itu. Rakyat yang lebih pandai tentunya boleh membaca apa yang tersedik di dalam hati pemimpin-pemimpin Umno yang 'desperate' itu. Jika Umno mati kali ini, ia bukannya kejadian ganjil kerana Umno pernah dibunuh oleh pemimpin mereka sendiri. Bezanya kali ini Umno akan dibunuh oleh rakyat. - http://aspanaliasnet.blogspot.com |
| Tindakan tegas DBKL jika sewakan gerai kepada peniaga asing Posted: 27 Oct 2012 12:44 AM PDT
Datuk Bandar Kuala Lumpur Datuk Ahmad Phesal Talib berkata ini kerana masalah itu berpunca daripada sikap peniaga tempatan sendiri yang mahu meraih pendapatan mudah dengan mengenakan kadar sewa tinggi kepada warga asing. “Mereka tahu warga asing akan tetap bayar biarpun mahal. Ini menunjukkan sikap tidak bertanggungjawab penjaja tempatan terhadap lesen yang kita berikan,” katanya kepada pemberita selepas merasmikan majlis ibadah korban Masjid Negara, di sini hari ini. Untuk itu, Ahmad Phesal berkata DBKL dengan kerjasama polis dan imigresen akan bertindak lebih agresif mengesan peniaga asing di sekitar ibu kota khususnya di Pasar Jalan Raja Bot di Chow Kit. DBKL akan membatalkan lesen peniaga tempatan terbabit serta menyita lot gerai berkenaan jika didapati disewakan kepada warga asing, katanya. Ahmad Phesal turut menegaskan projek pembangunan semula Pasar Jalan Raja Bot tidak menjanjikan penyelesaian kepada isu peniaga asing selagi orang tempatan terus membuka peluang kepada warga asing untuk berniaga. Mula beroperasi pada 1955, pasar itu menempatkan lebih 1,500 peniaga yang menjual pelbagai barangan keperluan harian seperti sayur, buah-buahan, pelbagai jenis daging selain menjual pakaian dan makanan. Dalam pada itu, Ahmad Phesal berkata 2,000 unit gerai pelbagai kategori akan Pelannya dimuktamadkan baru-baru ini dan pembinaan dijangka bermula awal tahun depan serta siap pada 2017. Pada majlis itu beliau turut melepaskan konvoi 10 kenderaan membawa daging korban untuk diagih ke rumah kebajikan dan perkampungan Orang Asli sekitar Selangor. Konvoi turut membawa lembu untuk majlis korban di lokasi berkenaan. - Bernama |
| Local councils a law unto themselves Posted: 27 Oct 2012 12:19 AM PDT
He said the two 29-storey project, slated to be built adjacent to the Hindu temple showed that the over 50 years of BN federal rule had made local councils a lord unto themselves. He took the Selayang Municipal Council to task for approving the Dolomite Park Avenue condominium project on Sept 26, 2007 despite the federal declaration’s of the 272ha Batu Caves Reserve as a national heritage site that same year. He hit out at the council for approving the project without an environmental impact study and called for a review and reevaluation of the project altogether. The beauty of the area was in the caves, hill structures, and the many varieties of unique and inimitable flora and fauna. He said that in 1930, the Batu Caves Hill was reserved as a site for public recreation (Federated Malay States Government Gazette Notification (GN) No 4712-30, part-revoked by GN 652-54; and the Selangor State Government Gazette GN 312-59), while in 1980 the state government agreed to stop quarrying at Batu Caves to protect the hills and caves. "The federal declaration affirmed the status of Batu Caves as a unique site of national interest. Yet the MPS approved the project," said Ramakrishnan. He said current Selangor Menteri Besar Khalid Ibrahim had called for local councils to be reformed. Local councils must be made accountable - However, Ramakrishnan said the dominant federal ruling party, Umno, had lost the moral authority and leadership to reform them. He called for a change of government to initiate reforms and accountability of local councils to rate payers. "Local councils must be made accountable for their decisions," he said. The Senator also commended the Malaysian Nature Society (MNS) for monitoring and protecting the dark caves and lime stone structures within the Batu Caves. He recalled MNS had alerted the pubic in 2010 on the proposed plans to convert part of Batu Caves for a high-density housing development. He said the Hindu temple management committee should work with MNS, which was responsible for bring the contentious issue into open. The temple management, he said should capitalise on the public outcry and sentiment to protect the temple, caves and limestone hill structures. "Every crisis provides an opportunity. The committee must make use of the current uproar and safeguard the hills and temple," said Ramakrishnan. Tags: Batu Caves temple, Condo project, Selayang Municipal Council, Malaysian Nature Society, Khalid Ibrahim |
| MACC report against Palani’s aide Posted: 26 Oct 2012 09:59 PM PDT
The report is over alleged corrupt practices involved in the handing out of cooking oil packing contracts overseen by Palanivel in his capacity as the lead minister of Indian Affairs in the Prime Minister’s Department. The report accused Dr S Vijendran, who until last week was the political secretary of Palanivel but has since been redesignated as private secretary to the minister, of manipulating the cooking oil packing contracts to favour one particular contractor. “We are frustrated with Dr Vijendran’s involvement in the cooking oil packing contract which is supposed to be open for all deserving Indian entrepreneurs,” said one of the complainants who wished to be unnamed for now. He said that the MACC should take immediate steps to look into the alleged corrupt practices as it was hampering the growth of genuine Indian entrepreneurs. The report was made yesterday despite it being a public holiday. "If there is no action taken soon, we will hold a rally against Palanivel for still relying on Vijendran on matters involving the Indian business community," he said. The distribution of the contract was handled by Suria Cooperative Society which is chaired by Palanivel, who had then left it in the hands of Vijendran to pick the deserving Indian businessmen to service the contract. Originally seven Indian companies had been identified for the contract but five of them were rejected for not holding a Domestic Trade, Cooperatives and Consumerism Ministry (KPDNKK) licence. And from the two qualified companies, Vijendran allegedly decided to pick only one as the other did not apparently meet the requirements set by Suria Cooperative Society. At the same time, Vijendran also had allegedly turned away other companies who had obtained the KPDNKK licence. He is also accused of asking these new companies to become sub-contractors to one particular company. “Why is he giving special privilege to the particular company when the contract is meant to help the Indian business community? Why is Palanivel keeping quiet over this matter?" asked the complainant. He wants the MACC to investigate this. He also claimed that Vijendran’s action had only resulted in the sole contract winner of making hefty profits. “By having more Indian companies on board, more people would enjoy the benefits instead of one or two connected individuals," he said. The complainants also questioned the huge power and authority wielded by Vijendran in Suria Cooperative Society although he does not hold any position in the cooperative which was set up to help the Indian business community. “We want the MACC to investigate who is behind Vijendran and the special privileges given to a particular company,” he said. Vijendran, popularly known as Dr Vijay, is widely known as Palanivel’s most trusted aide, who on most occassions performs tasks on behalf of the minister. He is also said to be involved in seat negotiations and candidate selections for MIC, on behalf of the party president. However in recent weeks he had come under a huge spotlight over his status as a bankrupt. According to documents seen by FMT, the Department of Insolvency had declared Vijendran a bankrupt on March 1, 2011. Arising from this, some quarters have questioned his position as Palanivel’s political secretary – a position he could not assume as a bankrupt. Following this, he had clarified that he was only a private secretary to Palanivel despite his name cards stating his position as a political secretary. He has also denied that he was a bankrupt. Palanivel himself had not issued any statement on this matter but FMT learnt that Vijendran was redesignated as a private secretary early this week, with his salary being paid by Palanivel himself. FMT has been unable to obtain a clarification from Vijendran. |
| Cancel Batu Caves condo project, says Kula Posted: 26 Oct 2012 09:43 PM PDT
In a statement today, he said that both the Barisan Nasional (BN) leaders and Pakatan Rakyat leaders agree that the project should be relocated to a different site. "The temple committee and the public are okay with this. Even the Malaysian Nature Society pointed out that it was unsafe to build high rise buildings in the area," said the Ipoh Barat MP. About 300 people protested at the Sri Subramaniar Temple in Batu Caves yesterday, calling for the state government to scrap the proposed 29-storey condominium project. The project, slated to be built on a piece of the land adjacent to the temple, was approved by the Selayang Municipal Council (MPS) in 2007, when the state government was under BN. "We must know who sat in the council meetings at that time. Who approved the project?" asked the temple committee chairman R Nadarajah yesterday. He said the same approach must also be used to determine the "culprit" who issued another building plan approval in June, 2008. Kulasegaran urged the state government to offer another strategic piece of land to the developer in order to compensate them. BN must apologise Training his guns against MIC, the DAP veteran challenged MIC to reveal names of its party members who were holding councillor’s positions at MPS, when the project was approved. "Instead of blaming the Pakatan state government, the MIC and BN as a whole must apologise for their councillors’ silly mistake," said Kulasegaran. In related matter, Malaysian Indian Voice chairman, V Pappa Raidu, hit out at Nadarajah, saying that the Pakatan government only appointed its first batch of councillors in July 1, 2008. "None of the Pakatan councillors were involved in the approval given in June that year," said Pappa, who was among the first batch of councillors appointed by Pakatan. He served at the Shah Alam City Council (MBSA) from July 2008 till June 2010. Pappa, who is also the Kota Raja DAP chairman, pointed out that new councillors have no power to undo the approval given by the previous council, without incurring a financial setback. "If councillors needed to withdraw an approval given by previous office bearers, we must pay the affected party compensation,” he said. Also read: Only 300 turn up for Bt Caves protest Stop work order for Bt Caves condo project |
| Posted: 26 Oct 2012 09:34 PM PDT
KUALA LUMPUR: Manifesto adalah perkara yang mesti ada dalam mana-mana pilihan raya. Selain calon yang dipilih untuk bertanding, Semakin Malaysia menghampiri pilihan raya umum ke-13, semakin kerap perkataan ‘manifesto’ menjadi topik perbincangan di media massa dan perbualan rakyat serta sembang politik di kedai kopi. Menjelang pilihan raya umum yang boleh diadakan pada bila-bila masa, masyarakat kebelakangan ini juga didedahkan dengan pelbagai penjelasan mengenai manifesto politik khususnya berhubung pencapaian, janji-janji yang dikotakan dan tidak kurang juga janji-janji yang tidak tertunai. Apakah itu manifesto? Menurut kamus Oxford, manifesto ditakrifkan sebagai satu pernyataan, janji atau deklarasi secara bertulis yang digunakan seseorang atau sebuah parti politik semasa kempen pilihan raya bagi mendapat perhatian, simpati dan sokongan pengundi. Pensyarah Sains Politik Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM) Dungun, Terengganu Che Hamdan Che Mohd Razali berpendapat manifesto yang baik adalah manifesto yang dapat membangkitkan rasa keinginan di kalangan pengundi untuk memilih sesebuah parti politik dan wakil rakyat mereka. “Memang benar faktor calon itu memainkan peranan yang penting, tetapi pengundi juga mahu tahu apakah manifesto atau deklarasi yang boleh ditawarkan kepada mereka,” katanya ketika dihubungi Bernama baru-baru ini. Janji pilihan raya Setakat manakah janji-janji berkenaan mampu diingati semua pengundi? Che Hamdan berkata satu kajian, yang dijalankan pada 2009 terhadap sekumpulan belia berumur antara 21 hingga 40 tahun, mendapati kebanyakan orang telah lupa dengan apa yang ditawarkan kepada mereka semasa kempen pilihan raya umum 2008. “Pada masa itu (kempen pilihan raya), pengundi amat ghairah dengan apa yang ditawarkan dalam manifesto sesebuah parti itu, namun lama-kelamaan, mereka sendiri lupa sehinggalah nak dekat pilihan raya, baru mereka ingat kembali selepas hal berkaitan dibangkitkan beberapa pihak,” katanya. Menjelang pilihan raya umum yang semakin hangat diperkatakan, Che Hamdan, yang juga penganalisis politik, berkata selain calon yang dipilih untuk bertanding, kebijaksanaan dalam menawarkan manifesto yang menarik akan menjadi antara faktor penentu kemenangan atau kekalahan sesebuah parti. “Memberitahu apa yang telah dilaksanakan kepada rakyat sebenarnya amat memberi kesan kepada mereka. Mereka akan tahu apa yang telah dilaksanakan dan apa yang belum. “Barisan Nasional (BN) pada saya perlu memperbanyakkan lagi penjelasan mengenai apa yang telah dilaksanakan kepada rakyat,” katanya merujuk kepada program Jelajah Janji Ditepati yang memberi ruang kepada rakyat mendapat maklumat terkini tentang apa yang dilaksanakan kerajaan untuk membantu rakyat. Bagi pensyarah Pusat Pengajian Sains Kemasyarakatan Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) Prof Dr Ahmad Atory Hussein, manifesto, katanya, memberi makna perakuan atau janji dan perlu dikemukakan dalam mana-mana pilihan raya. “Mengikut ilmu sains politik, di dalam pilihan raya terdapat beberapa unsur seperti kempen dan manifesto. Manifesto ini adalah satu unsur utama dalam mana-mana pilihan raya,” katanya. Pengaruh manifesto Beliau berkata manifesto mempunyai pengaruh cukup kuat dalam menentukan kelangsungan sebuah parti mahu pun individu. Manifesto yang menepati kehendak rakyat setempat lazimnya akan mempengaruhi pola pengundian, kata beliau. “Contohnya pada pilihan raya umum 2008, pembangkang mempunyai manifesto yang mampu menarik perhatian rakyat dan ini telah memberi kemenangan kepada mereka di beberapa buah negeri,” katanya. Bagaimanapun, banyak janji-janji pembangkang sehingga kini gagal dilaksanakan dan kini ditagih rakyat sehingga ada pihak yang sanggup menuntut dan membawa kes ke mahkamah. Kerajaan Selangor pimpinan Parti Keadilan Rakyat kini berhadapan dengan tindakan sebilangan pengguna di Selangor yang memfailkan tuntutan terhadap kerajaan PKR Selangor di mahkamah bagi mendapatkan tunggakan subsidi air di bawah skim air percuma seperti dijanjikan dalam manifesto pembangkang pada pilihan raya umum ke-12. Ahmad Atory berkata melalui manifesto juga, pengundi akan menilai kemampuan wakil rakyat yang dipilih mereka sama ada mampu atau tidak memenuhi apa yang telah dijanjikan. - Bernama |
| DAP’s ‘gesture of goodwill’ to SAPP Posted: 26 Oct 2012 09:21 PM PDT
A senior DAP official speaking on condition of anonymity said the party had agreed to open the door to the Sabah Progressive Party (SAPP) to contest in three state seats, all within the Kota Kinabalu parliamentary constituency as a “gesture of cooperation and goodwill”. "But that is about it," he said yesterday. He was commenting on DAP Sabah chief, Jimmy Wong's announcement last Sunday that the DAP would be contesting in three parliamentary seats and seven state seats in the general election. According to the official, DAP would make way for SAPP in Api Api as they had heard that SAPP president Yong Teck Lee would be its candidate there, although there have been indications from the party that he might contest in his previous constituency of Likas. Political observers say the clash between Yong and his archrival, BN’s Dr Yee Moh Chai, who is the incumbent state assemblyman for Api-Api, would be more worthy and satisfying for the former chief minister. Yee is a Deputy Chief Minister representing the Chinese community under a peculiar system in the state’s Umno-led BN coalition government that breaks up existing power structures so as to prevent smaller power groups from linking up against Umno. He is also the state’s Resource Development and Information Technology Minister and a deputy president of Parti Bersatu Sabah (PBS), a party that observers say has lost the goodwill of the Chinese community. If Yong were to contest in Likas, he would be taking over from his close aide Liew Teck Chan and be open to being accused of practicing nepotism by his critics. As for Luyang and Likas which also come under Kota Kinabalu, the senior DAP official said it was only fair that SAPP be given the chance to defend the seats as they were the incumbents. The DAP will defend its Kota Kinabalu parliamentary seat through incumbent MP Hiew King Cheu, an engineer, as well as field candidates in Sandakan and Penampang. "We are still wary about SAPP as they refuse to officially join Pakatan Rakyat and as such it would be a big risk to us if they were to be allowed to contest more seats," said the senior official, explaining the rationale in giving way to SAPP in three constituencies only. ‘SAPP’s strength is in Kota Kinabalu’ The opposition coalition which is made up of peninsular-controlled parities is also standing its ground on not giving way to the local party in Sandakan as the incumbents are now in Gerakan, also a peninsular-controlled party. “Look, SAPP cannot even hold on to what they have and if they are given more and they win, we would never know until it’s too late if they would cross over again,” said the official. "It is better to be safe. Furthermore, SAPP does not have calibre candidates for the Sandakan seats, so it's no point contesting there. Their strength is in Kota Kinabalu so it is best they focus all their resources here." SAPP has claimed it has bases throughout the state and is capable of fielding candidates in a majority of the 60 state and 25 parliamentary constituencies. DAP wants to field veterinarian Dr Edwin Bosi in the Kadazandusun-majority district of Penampang where PKR's Darrel Leiking is also among the contenders. DAP is also eyeing the neighbouring constituency of Kepayan. The party’s point man in the state, Jimmy Wong, who is the Sri Tanjong State Assembly told delegates at a DAP’s convention here last week that they had been allocated 10 seats in the state. Wong said that initially they had sought 10 parliamentary seats and 20 state seats but after discussions with the other PR partners, they had agreed that the power equation had changed with the recent defection of BN MPs, Wilfred Bumburing and Lajim Ukin. "We wish to make it clear to our delegates that DAP's struggle is not about competing for seats, nor for personal interests or becoming election candidates. That is for opportunists. Our struggle is for the people's best interest," he said. Heading off criticism by some within the party for not gaining more seats for local candidates, Wong stressed that DAP leaders must understand that in order to secure seats, they must first contribute to the party and prove they deserve to be nominated. Noting the wealth and power of the ruling BN coalition and the difficulty in unseating it in the general election, Wong said the opposition could draw strength from the dissatisfaction of Sabahans in what they see as a pusillanimous state government taking orders from Kuala Lumpur. "We are no longer focusing on the weaknesses and flaws of the BN. We have come out with our alternative State Budget 2013. Everyone is now talking about change, regardless of whether they are land-grab victims, unemployed youth or university graduates with low pay, underprivileged old folk, the homeless, or parents who are struggling to put food on the table and those who have problem to finance their children's education," Wong added. He stressed that to ensure a better future for the people, DAP is determined to give Sabahans a viable choice that they never had in previous elections. |
| Sharapova embarrassed by her Gangnam style Posted: 26 Oct 2012 09:10 PM PDT  ISTANBUL: Maria Sharapova admitted yesterday that she felt embarrassed by her contribution to a tennis-style Gangnam video and revealed the Asian dance craze had completely passed her by.Teenage players, Britain’s Laura Robson and Genie Bouchard of Canada, decided the women players should not to be outdone by Novak Djokovic’s Gangnam performance in Beijing, and created a video of their own. They persuaded Sharapova to introduce it, which she duly did with a saucy wink, something she might not have done had she actually known what she was introducing. “Yeah, it was really fun until — well, when I found out what Gangnam was and what Gangnam Style was,” Sharapova admitted. “So I did it and I sound ridiculous. I sound like I don’t know what I’m talking about. Obviously and I’m very embarrassed about it. “I was driving my car and I hear this ridiculous song and I’m like, what is this? And I look at my radio and it says Gangnam Style.” Gangnam is the music and dance pioneered by rapper Psy, who has become the first South Korean pop star to become a global phenomenon. His video featuring a manic horse-riding dance is said to have become YouTube’s most liked of all time. Sharapova didn’t know that but she did, however, know that the best course was to gently satirise herself. She did that after explaining that Robson approached her after one of her matches in Beijing, asking if she would do a quick introduction to her video, Gangnam Style. “I’m like, what?” is how Sharapova characterised her response. “She’s like, Gangnam Style. I’m like, I’ll do it if you tell me how to pronounce it right,” Sharapova went on. “She’s like, What do you mean you don’t know how to pronounce it? I’m like, I’ve never heard of this. What is it?” “I didn’t even know what it was. Now maybe I can, you know, attempt it (to dance). But before I needed to know how to pronounce it!” Sharapova concluded: “Oh, my goodness. I’m 25. I’m not that old. I’m still into it. So I didn’t know what I was doing, but it came out great. It was funny.” - AFP |
| United must cut out mistakes, warns Giggs Posted: 26 Oct 2012 09:08 PM PDT  LONDON: Ryan Giggs insists Manchester United cannot afford to keep playing catch-up if they want to regain the Premier League title.Alex Ferguson’s second placed side head to leaders Chelsea for Sunday’s summit meeting having managed just three clean sheets in 12 matches this season. Although United have won 10 of the last 11 games in all competitions, they have conceded four times in the last two after gifting their opponents head starts. Stoke were allowed to go 1-0 up at Old Trafford last Saturday before losing 4-2, while Portuguese side Braga sailed into a 2-0 lead in Manchester on Tuesday before losing 3-2 in the Champions League. While United escaped with victories from those two matches, Giggs knows a team of Chelsea’s quality are far more likely to take advantage of such sloppy play. “That’s probably the biggest disappointment from this season, the number of times we’ve gone behind,” United midfielder Giggs said. “On the plus side, though, we’ve managed to come back in the majority of those games and win them. “Obviously we can’t go throughout the season like we have been doing. “But we know that if we get clean sheets and we start getting zeros against our name then we’ll create chances at the other end and win more games than we lose.” Giggs is pushing for a return to the starting line-up as United look to reduce Chelsea’s four-point lead at the top. The former Wales international, who turns 39 next month, made an 11-minute substitute appearance against Braga but is desperate to start against Chelsea after setting his sights on a 13th Premier League title medal. “I’m in good shape,” said Giggs, who has been used sparingly by Ferguson this season. “I was at the Olympics so I missed the majority of the pre-season training we do. “That meant I was perhaps a little bit behind in relation to other players. But I’ve managed to get that back in order over the last few weeks, working with the coaches. I feel good at the moment.” Shinji Kagawa will miss the Chelsea game after the Japanese midfielder was ruled out for up to a month with a knee injury. Goalkeeper Anders Lindegaard is out with a thumb injury while long-term absentees Nemanja Vidic (knee), Phil Jones (knee) and Chris Smalling (metatarsal fracture) remain sidelined. Chelsea’s flying start to the season was shattered by the midweek Champions League defeat at Shakhtar Donetsk, but their outstanding Premier League form ensures they face United with no shortage of confidence. A return of seven wins and a draw from their opening eight games means Roberto Di Matteo’s side will remain top whatever happens on Sunday, but a victory over the closest rivals would clearly be a major boost to their title challenge. Di Matteo admits his side were affected by the defeat in Donetsk, but the Italian believes United’s defensive frailties ensure the European champions go into the game with plenty of belief they can bounce straight back. “I always pay attention to the mood in the camp and certainly after the defeat in Shakhtar it is not the best in the dressing room, but we can show and prove we are strong team,” Di Matteo said. “United are conceding a few goals and we have a big threat as well, we will try to exploit those weaknesses, but it is still early for this game to be decisive in the title race.” Chelsea will again be without John Terry who will sit out the second game of his four-match ban imposed for racially abusing QPR’s Anton Ferdinand. Frank Lampard will also be missing after aggravating the calf injury that forced him out of the Shakhtar clash after just 15 minutes. “He is going to be out for a few weeks,” said Di Matteo. “He’s got a calf problem, so we will miss him and it’s a big loss for us.” - AFP |
| Kong vows probe on KKIA incident Posted: 26 Oct 2012 09:06 PM PDT
In a statement today, Transport Minister Kong Cho Ha said that his ministry would investigate the matter as the incident had affected many who had planned their trip during the Hajj festival. "If our probe finds elements of sabotage, we will lodge a police report," said Kong. He added that the airport operator should prepare an Emergency Response Plans (ERP) so that such incident does not occur again. On Oct 25, about 30 flights in and out of KKIA were delayed or cancelled, after its runway was plunged into darkness.
Among the airline operators affected by the blackout were AirAsia and Malaysia Airlines. The airport resumed operations the following day. Malaysia Airports Holdings Berhad (MAHB ) were tight-lipped about the blackout but several airport officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, suspected the power supply to the runway lights may have been affected by on-going work on the runway. However, they were unable to either identify or locate the cause of the problem. KKIA fiasco spotlights need for Labuan bridge KKIA: Flights resume this morning, runway lights still out |
| Spain’s Xavi, Casillas, get prince’s prize Posted: 26 Oct 2012 09:05 PM PDT  MADRID: Real Madrid captain Iker Casillas and Barcelona midfielder Xavi Hernandez received one of Spain’s top civil awards, the Prince of Asturias Prize, from the heir to the Spanish throne Prince Felipe on Friday.Felipe handed diplomas at his annual prize-giving in the northern city of Oviedo to the two, who are friends off the pitch and played together in Spain’s Euro 2012 winning team. The prize jury praised them for good sportsmanship, saying they “symbolise the values of friendship beyond the great rivalry of their respective teams”. Casillas paid tribute to his Real Madrid and Spain team mates, saying that he and Xavi “are the visible head of a generation that will remain for posterity”, in comments published on his club’s website. As well as the sport award won by the players, Felipe’s Prince of Asturias Foundation gives its prizes in seven other areas including literature and science. - AFP |
| Posted: 26 Oct 2012 09:04 PM PDT
Menteri Pembangunan Infrastruktur dan Perhubungan, Dato Sri Michael Manyin Jawong berkata, kekurangan itu harus dijadikan sebagai motivasi kepada guru-guru dan pihak sekolah dalam mendidik murid-muridnya. “Memang tidak dapat dinafikan, kemudahan fizikal sekolah di bandar jauh lebih bagus berbanding di luar bandar seperti kemudahan meja, kerusi, peralatan sekolah dan sebagainya. “Tetapi yang penting ialah kesungguhan seorang guru itu untuk memastikan murid-murid di bawah tanggungjawabnya itu berjaya bukan sahaja dalam akademik malah dalam kokurikulum,” katanya. Beliau berkata demikian semasa menghadiri Majlis Anugerah Insentif Pelajar dan Sekolah Cemerlang Kali Ke-16 Peringkat Sekolah Rendah Daerah Serian 2012. Kata Manyin, guru-guru diberi pendedahan dan latihan yang mencukupi untuk mendidik dan membimbing murid-murid bawah tanggungjawabnya dan tugas itu mesti dilaksanakan dengan sebaik mungkin. Ahli Undangan Negeri (Adun) Tebedu itu bagaimanapun berkata, terdapat lima faktor yang mempengaruhi kejayaan dan kegagalan dalam pendidikan iaitu guru atau tenaga pengajar, murid, persekitaran sekolah, ibu bapa dan kemudahan sekolah. Menurutnya, daripada lima faktor itu, guru dan murid merupakan dua faktor yang boleh dikawal berbanding tiga faktor lain. “Jika anda (murid) suka belajar, tumpukan sepenuh perhatian dalam pelajaran kerana kecerdasan intelek manusia tidak sama,” katanya sambil memberitahu dengan menggunakan teknik pelajaran yang betul dan dipancu oleh motivasi diri tinggi, murid itu dapat menguasai subjek yang dipelajari. Tambahnya, zaman telah berubah dan jika masyarakat Serian tidak bergerak seiring dengan kawasan bandar lain, Serian akan menjadi mangsa kemajuan dan pembangunan. Manyin turut mengumumkan peruntukan dana sebanyak RM20,000 untuk program pembangunan pendidikan kepada Majlis Guru Besar Daerah Serian. Hadir sama, Adun Kedup, Martin Ben, Pegawai Pelajaran Daerah Serian, Haji Abang Mat Ali Abang Masagus dan Yang Dipertua Majlis Guru Besar Daerah Serian, Marcos Nyandang. |
| Azarenka seals year-end top spot, faces Sharapova Posted: 26 Oct 2012 09:03 PM PDT  ISTANBUL: Victoria Azarenka at last made sure of the year-end world number one ranking, just two matches from the finish of the 2012 season, when she overcame Li Na to reach the WTA Championships semi-finals Friday.The Australian Open champion from Belarus claimed a 7-6 (7/4), 6-3 win over the Chinese star to set-up a last-four clash on Saturday against Maria Sharapova, the French Open champion. The other semi-final will see Olympic, Wimbledon and US Open winner Serena Williams facing Agnieszka Radwanska who needed three hours and 29 minutes, the longest match in the history of the 40-year-old championships, to claim a 6-7 (6/8) 7-5, 6-4 win over Italy’s Sara Errani. “It feels great, a dream come true,” said Azarenka, who was also US Open runner-up in 2012 and put together a 26-match winning streak earlier this year. “I want to play my last matches here and then enjoy being the world number one. I want to focus on this competition, there are still lots of challeges ahead.” Azarenka’s achievement had looked in doubt for much of an unpredictable 68-minute first set, during which 2011 French Open champion Li hit hard, flat, and ambitiously and the favourite sometimes struggled. After dropping her opening service game, Azarenka trailed 0-2, 1-3, and 2-4, and although she too hit some spanking ground strokes and restored parity at 4-4, she promptly dropped serve again, partly the outcome of a fourth double fault. Li was then very unlucky not to reach set point at 5-4, 40-30, which would really have increased Azarenka’s stress levels. The Chinese player appeared to have struck a great forehand cross court winner, only for the rally to be replayed because of a line judge’s incorrect call on a previous shot. Li then lost that vital game with a double fault on break point. The set was eventually decided by a tie-break which hinged on two points Azarenka won against the Li serve from 4-5, both from slightly over-ambitious Li over-hits. Azarenka responded to those with a one-arm salute as triumphant as if she had actually won the match. It had certainly taken her a fair distance towards doing so, for thereafter she played with a little more freedom advancing rapidly to 5-1. Then tension struck again. Two games evaporated in a rush of mis-timing. When Azarenka then stood at 30-love down in the eighth game, a crisis was approaching. She responded by hurling her racket, by threatening several times to swipe it on the court, and by picking it up and screamingly winning four points in a row. In the end Azarenka conquered herself as well as her opponent. Her progress ended Sharapova’s outside hopes of becoming year-end world number one but could not prevent the Russian from advancing her hopes of a triumphant finish to a self-defining year. Sharapova completed a career Grand Slam during 2012, and now she produced a table-topping third win in the White Group with an emphatic 6-0, 6-3 over 2011 US Open champion Samantha Stosur, an out-of-sorts late substitute for the unwell Petra Kvitova. It earned a chance to avenge her Australian Open final defeat and three other losses to Azarenka this year. “I didn’t want to play as long a match as in the previous round,” Sharapova said, referring to her three-hour match with Radwanska on Wednesday. “I wanted to do a few things better and I think I did.” She may also feel that she has a less difficult task against Azarenka than she might have had facing against Williams, who has so far justified her tag as the unofficial favourite. Indeed things are looking particularly good for the American. Not only did the schedule enable her to conclude her third, table-topping win in the Red Group on Thursday, but she enjoyed a day’s rest Friday while her prospective semi-final opponents were tearing themselves apart. It was the Radwanska’s second three-hour match in three days. “I am exhausted,” said the Pole, who lost to Williams in July’s Wimbledon final. “I have never played so many hours in three days. Now for sure it’s going to be hard. No rest day. “But I will do everything in my power to go on court tomorrow in one piece.” - AFP |
| 5 foods that help you live longer Posted: 26 Oct 2012 09:03 PM PDT
Brightly coloured fruit and vegetables Dark chocolate Oily fish Green tea Olive oil LINKS |
| Manchester City will bounce back – Mancini Posted: 26 Oct 2012 09:02 PM PDT  MANCHESTER: Manchester City will bounce back from their poor Champions League form and become stronger as they chase more domestic honours, Roberto Mancini insisted on Friday.The City boss has admitted it will require a miracle for his expensively-assembled side to reach the Champions League knockout stage after losing to Ajax in midweek. Their 3-1 defeat by in Amsterdam leaves the reigning Premier League champions with only one point from three games, a point most observers could reasonably put down to outrageous good fortune as they somehow got a draw against Borussia Dortmund after losing to Real Madrid in the Bernabeu. But City will leapfrog second-placed Manchester United, who are away to leaders Chelsea on Sunday, if they make it four domestic wins in a row on Saturday against a Swansea side which has tasted victory once in six league games. And Mancini is urging his side not to let their European misery disrupt their defence of the league title. “When you play an important game and you lose you are disappointed, and I’m disappointed like all my players,” said the Italian. “Maybe now it’s difficult to go through but we have an important season and if we are like this after one defeat, then we’re really weak. “But I don’t think this. It is the second season we have played Champions League. We need to improve but the games are the same. I think we’re strong enough (to bounce back).” City must win their remaining three group games at home to Ajax (November 6), Real Madrid (November 21) and away to Borusssia Dortmund (Dec 4) to stand any chance of going through to the last 16 of the Champions League. Defender Micah Richards questioned the tactics against Ajax but Mancini responded: “We work every day on tactical situations. “All the players know this system. We conceded a third goal because we did a stupid mistake – not because we changed the system. “Yes (good players should be able to play in any system).” On mid-table Swansea, Mancini said: “They are a good team. Last year did a fantastic season, they played very well. “This year they change the system and play with a different system but continue to play very well. It will be a difficult game, like all the games we play here.” Midfielders David Silva (hamstring), Jack Rodwell (hamstring), Javier Garcia (thigh) are all absent. Defender Maicon (foot) is also out along with Pablo Zabaleta (hamstring). - AFP |
| Vettel rejects suggestion of Red Bull duel Posted: 26 Oct 2012 09:00 PM PDT  NEW DELHI: Defending champion Sebastian Vettel rejected all suggestions that the Indian Grand Prix will be a private duel between him and his Red Bull team-mate Mark Webber after the pair dominated practice yesterday.The two drivers were six-tenths of a second clear of the field after both sessions with Webber close enough to justify his defence of his right to fight his German team-mate for victory in his own bid to win the world championship. The Australian may lie fifth in the standings, 63 points behind Vettel, but, with 100 points still up for grabs in the remaining four races, he retains a chance of wrecking Vettel’s dream of delivering a hat trick of titles. “This weekend if I have the chance to win the Grand Prix, I’ll go for it,” said Webber. “Mathematically I have a chance [to be champion]. So, if I’m in the lead, I’m not pulling over for anyone.” Knowing this, and aware of the heat of their intra-team rivalry, Vettel was deliberately circumspect in his comments after dominating in practice yesterday. He was 0.118sec faster than Webber in second practice but focused his thoughts on the bigger picture and his other championship rivals. “It’s not between Mark and myself, I think it’s between all of us,” said Vettel. “I think Friday is always difficult on a day like this and on a circuit like that because when you are out doing your new tyre run, track improvement is quite big. “I wouldn’t be surprised if tomorrow looks a little bit different, but we’ve had worse Fridays so I’m quite happy.” He added: “I think we can be quite happy that we didn’t have any major issues. We were able to test a few things and now we need to see whether we made progress and hope we make more tomorrow.” Lap times dropped significantly as the track conditions improved and Vettel said that meant the timing of a driver’s fast lap was often more important than the time itself. “The track improvement is massive, at least that’s what we found,” he said. “I don’t know how the others did because I usually switch off the timing screens on a Friday, but the circuit kept improving and there was quite a lot of grip at the end as the circuit just got better. “I was quite surprised on the long run and I think it was the same for everyone as lap times just kept getting better.” - AFP |
| QPR’s Ferdinand expected to continue racism snub Posted: 26 Oct 2012 08:57 PM PDT  LONDON: Anton Ferdinand is expected to snub the Kick It Out anti-racism campaign once again ahead of Queen’s Park Rangers’ Premier League fixture at Arsenal on Saturday, manager Mark Hughes confirmed yesterday.Ferdinand was one of several top players who refused to wear the Kick It Out T-shirt before Premier League games last weekend as they feel the equality group haven’t done enough to push for stronger punishment for incidents of racist abuse. Chelsea’s John Terry was given a four-match ban by the Football Association for racially abusing Ferdinand during a match last year, while Liverpool’s Luis Suarez was hit with an eight-match suspension for the same offence last season. Anton and his brother Rio Ferdinand, the Manchester United defender, released a statement on Wednesday drawing a line under the row, but Hughes is not certain Ferdinand will wear the T-shirt at the Emirates Stadium this weekend. “I’ve not discussed it with him this week. Obviously he didn’t last weekend and nothing’s changed to any great extent. Statements have been made,” Hughes said. “I’m not sure if Anton or any of the other guys who felt that they didn’t want to wear the T-shirt will wear it this weekend. “He made his feelings known in that regard, and there hasn’t been that much more water under the bridge since he made the decision not to wear it against Everton, so probably he won’t wear it again. “I don’t know. Maybe with the statement he’s brought out he’ll feel he’ll want to support it. “I think Anton and his brother just made it clear that the PFA and FA and the Kick it Out campaign have done great work in the past and will do great work in the future. “I think the point was made that we’re at a point in time now when people feel they need to discuss things possibly in greater detail and air their grievances.” - AFP |
| Sharapova avoids Serena in semi-final shake-up Posted: 26 Oct 2012 08:55 PM PDT  ISTANBUL: Maria Sharapova advanced her hopes of a triumphant end to a self-defining year by delivering a table-topping third win at the WTA Championships yesterday.French Open champion Sharapova completed an improbable career Grand Slam during 2012, and now an emphatic victory over former US Open champion Samantha Stosur guaranteed that she gets the less difficult of the two semi-finals on Saturday. That’s because the Russian’s 6-0, 6-3 win over the Australian enabled her to avoid Serena Williams, the unofficial favourite for the season-ending title. Williams completed her third win on Thursday to finish top of the other group. “Especially after my injury I’ve got a lot better at accepting losses as well as wins,” Sharapova said, referring to the badly damaged shoulder which has required a four-year rebuilding of her career. Few thought then that she could win another Grand Slam title, as she did in Paris in June. Few thought either that she would recover from a set and 2-4 down as she did during a three-hour struggle on Wednesday against Agniezka Radwanska, the Wimbledon finalist from Poland. So though Sharapova may be more inured to defeats, she remains one of the toughest resisters of them, and on Friday showed herself better than she has ever been at making opportunities count. Sharapova imposed that on the unfortunate Stosur, a slightly off-the-pace late substitute for the unwell titleholder Petra Kvitova, who was overwhelmed in a first set lasting only 20 minutes. During that time Stosur won a mere five points, and although she played better in the second set, there were only a couple of games where she seemed capable of delaying the outcome significantly. These happened at 2-2 when Stosur reached break point, only for Sharapova to launch a danger-averting first delivery, and in the following game when Stosur fought hard and well to hold serve and keep her nose in front. But Sharapova increasingly showed that her ground strokes these days produce more disguise, better angles and cleverer combinations than in her pre-injury days. When she broke serve to love in the seventh game, she accelerated to an energy-conserving result. “After a really long match in my previous round, I was just trying to be really aggressive today and not spend as much time as I did the other day,” Sharapova said. “I knew coming in I was already going to be in the semis, but I didn’t want to lose. I wanted to do the right things today and I did them.” Sharapova was made to wait to learn who she plays in Saturday’s semi-finals with her opponent due to be the winner of a match in the other group between Victoria Azarenka, the world number one from Belarus, and Li Na, the former French Open champion from China. - AFP |
| Posted: 26 Oct 2012 08:53 PM PDT  LONDON: Chelsea suffered a further blow after their Champions League defeat by Shakhtar Donetsk as Frank Lampard will be out for at least two weeks with a calf injury picked up in the match.Lampard, 34, was taken off midway through the first half as the European champions lost 2-1 in Ukraine and Chelsea manager Roberto Di Matteo on Friday confirmed Lampard would be out for at least a couple of weeks. That means he will miss the back-to-back games against Manchester United, starting with Sunday’s Barclays Premier League clash at Stamford Bridge. - AFP |
| Serena already has eyes on more Slams Posted: 26 Oct 2012 08:49 PM PDT
The Olympic, Wimbledon and US Open champion has finished top of her group without ever achieving her best, but aims to do that in tomorrow’s (Saturday’s) semi-finals. Even if she can’t, she says, she reckons she can next year. Hence Williams already seems to have lateral vision of an increasing opportunity to add another Grand Slam title to her total of 15, at Melbourne starting in little more than two months time. “I can’t wait to get to Australia,” she said of the country where she has won five of her Grand Slam titles. “I wish it started next month.” She won’t take a vacation, she says, during the off-season which starts on Monday – another sign that better form and more big titles is the highest priority. “I’ve actually expected to play better,” Williams said of the three comprehensive straight sets victories which put her top of her round robin group. “If I could just play the way I have in practice it would have been more comprehensive in the matches. “So hopefully as the tournament goes on I can get better. If not, I hope to do better next time.” These words create a sense that Williams may have reached a conclusion about the mysterious Tweet she posted last month. “I have come to my crossroads of destiny,” it said. “Choose wisely.” Her choice seems to be that, despite her 31 years, she still has enough potential to try for yet further major ambitions. Williams has already confounded those who thought her best days must be over, following a year out of the game with a blood clot which threatened her life. This week both her words and her deeds have hinted that she has not given up hope of equalling the 18 Grand Slam singles titles achieved by Martina Navratilova and Chris Evert, her American compatriots, and perhaps even of trying to get closer to the open era record of 22 won by Steffi Graf, the German. Meanwhile Williams is enjoying a well-timed rest day with some light practice, while her next opponent will have to battle it out to earn the privilege of getting to the semi-finals. It is most likely to be Agnieszka Radwanska, the Wimbledon finalist from Poland, who was playing her last group match today against Sara Errani, the French Open finalist from Italy. Later the top-seeded Victoria Azarenka needed to beat Li Na, the former French Open champion from China, to join Williams in the last four. If the Belarussian does that, she will also make sure of the year-end number one ranking. - AFP |
| Hamilton confident despite slow start Posted: 26 Oct 2012 08:45 PM PDT
The Briton was fastest in his McLaren for much of the opening morning session but drifted away in the afternoon when defending champion German Sebastain Vettel of Red Bull dominated. But Hamilton, who finished sixth, said: “Today has been pretty good — we are struggling a little bit in trying to switch the tyres on, on low fuel, but that is a lot to do with the out-lap and tyre pressures and things and we can fix that. “Long-run pace is looking good, relatively strong and I think if we had been in the race there now we would have been keeping up with the Red Bulls and the Lotuses. “I am hoping that the Red Bulls are maybe trying to improve their qualifying pace and were running lower fuel, if not then we are in trouble. “We should gain a little bit of time then on fuel, but not enough — but I am sure if I go over the data tonight I will find something!” He added that a one-stop strategy for the race was probable because the Pirelli tyres were lasting well. “The soft tyres are lasting pretty well. We did 22 or 25 laps altogether and my tyres were looking pretty good so maybe a one stop race could be possible.” - AFP |
| Posted: 26 Oct 2012 08:44 PM PDT
Until now, whenever I eat there, it brings back’ a flood of memories of many a happy siesta. The food was and still is pretty darn good. The place, is Kavithas. Recently, I had another one of my infamous curry craves. So I drove on over to the sleepy suburb of Taman Petaling and ordered enough for four people (there were only the two of us).
The fried chicken today was especially good. We were a little surprised, however, that they chopped up the chicken into smaller pieces – tearing into a big piece of chicken is infinitely more fun. We also had something called “mutton adhe”, which was basically a mutton masala. It was the spicy kick the meal needed, though a touch boney. The rest of the accoutrements were also quite excellent. Standard but delicious offerings of vegetable dishes like cucumber & yoghurt and bean sprouts that would please any vegetarian.
We ended our meal sipping teh tarik, whiling the time away talking about memories and love, the past and the future.
And just like all those days back in high school, I’ll keep coming back. Pros : Crispy ikan bulus and cosy neighbourhood atmosphere Cons: Hygiene a little suspect Add: No. 274, Road 5/51, Petaling Garden, 46000 Petaling Jaya Tel: 03 7783 8441 Opening Hours: 6.30am – 12.30am. [This content is provided by FMT content partner www.friedchillies.com, "Solving your makan problems since 1997"] |
| When dinner comes from the dump Posted: 26 Oct 2012 08:38 PM PDT
Lost your appetite? Yet there are thousands of people all over the world who eat the cast-offs of others as long as the food they pick up is still good for consumption. A matter of principle Since Freegans are dedicated to minimising the wasting of resources, they try to buy as little as possible and to only use what they truly need. So it's not uncommon to see Freegans in groups of two or more foraging in dumpsters outside big supermarkets for food that can still be consumed. An earth-friendly lifestyle Dedicated to leaving as small a carbon footprint as possible on the world, Freegans are also prone to using fuel-friendly modes of transportation such as cycling, public transportation, car-pooling and of course walking. Unacceptable to society He said that besides the obvious association of a dustbin with dirt and germs, food is a big part of people's lives and has ties to religion and culture. As such, how food is procured is an important factor. Ted Labuza, a professor of food science and engineering at the University of Minnesota cautions that eating food from dumpsters is "absolutely dangerous" especially if it's been sitting there under hot temperatures. Despite this, Freegans insist they thoroughly wash all the food they pick up before cooking it and ensure that if a loaf of bread is mouldy or a carton of milk gone sour, it is discarded. So too if meat is rotting. Making a political point This does bring to mind a video I once watched that dealt with the sad effects of consumerism. Shot in the Philippines, the video opened with two teens eating at a fast-food joint. After only sampling their food, they leave to spend the afternoon shopping. Their leftovers are dumped out back. Later that evening, a man forages for food in the dumpster and carts home his 'treasure'. Living in a dilapidated home, his family awaits him, clapping their hands and smiling from ear to ear, happy that dad brought home dinner. They happily feast on the leftovers from the fast-food outlet's dumpster, even sharing their meal with their puppy. Maybe no one reading this will be moved enough to become a Freegan but hopefully we can more mindful of how we live and make the conscious effort to be less wasteful. LINK |
| Posted: 26 Oct 2012 08:10 PM PDT
This is the scenario. Chua has certainly overdone it in regards to wooing the Chinese. He has insulted Islam in the recent MCA annual general assembly held on Oct 20 and 21 by defending the claim of a MCA Wanita deputy minister who had said that PAS condones the rape of non-Muslim women who do not conform to the Islamic dress code. By this crazy bone-headed move, Chua has certainly alienated the Malay voters. And to top it all, PM Najib who has all along proclaimed that Umno champions Islam and Malays had the cheek to keep quiet at the assembly. The prime minister must have thought that as BN controls the mainstream media, Chua’s antics would not reach the ears of the rural Malays. There is the power of the internet. And that is the reason why there is a lack of internet coverage in the rural areas. Nevertheless, the rural folks’ children who are studying in the city have access to the internet and therefore news from the websites would also reach the rural folks when their children go back home during the national or festive holidays. Readers can be sure that Najib will be going all out to do damage control in the forthcoming Umno annual general assembly scheduled to be held from Nov 27 to Dec 1 by whipping up fervour in regards to ‘Ketuanan Melayu’ or ‘Malay Supremacy’. The failure of Najib to control Chua’s illogical rantings is obvious to many of the urban Malays and this gives the lie to Umno’s claims as the defender of Islam. Chua only bothers about the survival of MCA. Therefore he goes all out for the kill in a kamikaze manner. It is Najib who is foolish for allowing Chua to dance ‘Gangnam style’ on his head. The urban Malays and those who are fence-sitters have now seen clearly Najib’s cowardice. Kuala Krai MP, Hatta Ramli who is the PAS election director has raised the issue that more and more foreign-sounding names are appearing in the electoral roll. He has voiced out his anger and disappointment at the Election Commission (EC) for not doing anything to clean up the electoral roll. “The EC and the prime minister himself are not concerned at all about the dirty electoral roll and out of this dirty roll a dirty government will be elected,” remarked Hatta. Back to the antics of MCA’s Chua and PM Najib. After Chua’s senseless attack on Islam, there is no way Najib can win the 13th general election in a fair fight. He had sat on the stage of the MCA general assembly keeping quiet when Chua was blazing away with the insults. Najib had allowed Chua to do so as he is desperate to obtain the Chinese votes. This is a very clear indication that Najib is still in a denial mode where Chinese votes is concerned because everyone knows that 80% of the Chinese have rejected his leadership. Chua may be dumb to insult Islam but Najib is dumber still for allowing it! From a recent ground survey conducted by this columnist who interviewed ten apolitical fence-sitters, all of them share the same view that Najib is lacking direction in his plans. It can be seen that his solutions are only piecemeal efforts and one-off measures and the fence-sitters opined that perhaps it is time that he is “one-offed on polling day”. The fact that he lacked the courage to reprimand Chua has earned him widespread chastisement on Facebook. Therefore, Najib now tries to target the Indian voters. Making the Indians happy DAP’s Teluk Intan MP, M Manogaran has informed this columnist he had heard news that Deepavali will be celebrated on a very grand scale to make the Indian community happy. Najib will go all out to woo the Indians as Indian votes play a big role in many seats in Kedah, Perak and Selangor. It is evident that BN always woo the Indians with goodies nearing elections and the Indians must wise-up to BN’s tactics in order not to be fooled time and time again. After all, Deepavali is to celebrate the triumph of good over evil, light over darkness. To sum up, Chua’s and Najib’s games are simple. Chua uses PAS to frighten the Chinese by saying that PAS wants to have absolute control over Malaysia while Najib uses DAP to scare the Malays by saying that DAP wants to do the same. Their all-out methods are obvious for all to see. They do not care what people think because they are now going for broke in trying to woo their respective race groups. However, Chua is the more gung-ho of the two as Najib dares not debate with Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim whereas Chua has debated with Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng. Selena Tay is a FMT columnist. |
| What’s the matter with our judges? Posted: 26 Oct 2012 08:00 PM PDT
First we saw how it is OK to rape a 13-year-old girl if you’re a star when Court of Appeal president Raus Sharif led the three-man panel in ruling that the jail term for national bowler Noor Afizal Azizan be substituted with a bound over sentence for good behavior for five years. Now, two brothers are sent to the gallows for killing a burglar. Indonesian brothers Frans Hiu, 22, and Dharry Hiu, 20, were found guilty of murder for defending themselves against a violent robber. The High Court in Shah Alam sentenced them to death on Oct 18. The brothers (photo) were jointly charged with having a common intention in the murder of 26-year-old R Khartic at a shophouse in Sepang on Dec 3, 2010. They were caretakers of the premises. In her brief judgment, Justice Nurchaya Arshad ruled that the prosecution had successfully proven the case beyond reasonable doubt and sentenced the men to death. What does “in her brief judgment” mean? How brief is brief? Two human beings are being deprived of their lives. Wouldn't we require the court to give more substantial consideration than just a brief judgment? Here are the facts of the case: three guys were inside their room. A burglar tries to break in first through the front door, then through the back door, and finally he climbs through the ceiling and falls into the room. There is so much determination and premeditation on the burglar's part – he seriously wants to break in. He then violently attacks the three occupants of the room. One of the occupants runs away. The other two defend themselves, there is a desperate life and death struggle and in the process the robber dies. Now the robbery victims are ironically sentenced to death. Why not charge them with assault which carries a lesser sentence instead of murder? Criminal intent (Mens Rea) is a vital ingredient in all murder charges. How could the two brothers have entertained such an intention when in fact it is the burglar who had broken into their room and then attacked them? He must have startled the brothers when he crashed through the ceiling and started attacking them. In self defence, the brothers fought back with their bare hands. They did not have any weapons in their bedroom. The Malaysian Bar Council has weighed in on the issue and said that people should not take the law into their own hands. Should the brothers not have defended themselves when attacked? The incident involved a robber who had gained illegal entry into a building and was motivated by a predetermined criminal intent. In such cases, isn't it instinctive and normal for the occupants to react spontaneously to restrain an intruder who may pose a danger to their lives? It would be interesting to know which officer in the Attorney-General's Chambers sanctioned the murder charge, knowing full well that the brothers were acting in self-defence. Don't the people have a right to self defence in life-threatening situations? This is a seriously worrying question. Why didn't the court assign counsel for the defendants for a charge as serious as murder and for which a death sentence was a distinct possibility? The brothers were the only ones who testified in their own defence. Doesn't this case and the subsequent the charge reek of a serious defect in our legal system? There have been many similar cases where victims of crime have been penalised but for the sake of this article we will remain focused on this case alone. Rightfully, several groups are calling for a judicial review into the death sentence imposed on the two Indonesian brothers, with National Crime Prevention Foundation vice-chairman Lee Lam Thye saying that the sentence was too extreme and would have implications on the way people react to situations that involved their own personal safety and security. MARAH has also started a forum on the subject. There must be consistency and fairness in how sentences are meted out. What were the brothers supposed to do? Wait for the robber to kill them first? What are we the public supposed to do when someone breaks into our home? What kind of signal is the court giving? Given the current crime free for all spree in Malaysia, should we all simply give in to the inevitable and just wear t-shirts with a bright red target painted on it? Dave Avran is the founder of MARAH (Malaysians Against Rape, Assault & snatcH). |
| Beware! A Christian conspiracy. Really? Posted: 26 Oct 2012 07:06 PM PDT
Zulkifli Noordin (IND-Kulim Bandar Baharu) has urged Putrajaya to investigate the matter, saying the Malay community, as the country's dominant ethnic group, have compromised too much over the years. Zulkifli also said he was in possession of photographic proof of a thanksgiving held in Penang last year, after the Sarawak state election on April 16, where DAP leaders and a group of local and foreign clergymen had prayed to install a Christian Prime Minister and turn the country into a Christian state. PAS's Nasharuddin Mat Isa too has indisputable proof of such a gathering held in Sarawak. Even the Home Ministry has attested that there is some truth in the controversy. A visibly shakened Perkasa has even made a police report in protest against the perceived Christianisation threat, and to date some politicians remains jittery, totally alarmed with this dangerous threat that may annihilate everyone in this country. Yes, you can see the pale stern faces of some of our most revered and respected politicians and you will realise how honestly shocked and desperate they have become. Even NGO Pembela, has called on the police to investigate this threat. Malaysians should not laugh it off! Yet, most Malaysians choose to ignore this severe threat, laughing and treating it as mere hocus-pocus instead of heeding the concerned politicians who risked their sanity to warn us of this impending threat. The spotlight against the Christian community has taken centre stage. Letting our guards down will be the downfall of this country. Some politicians are scared to death that Christians will overrun the country converting everyone in the blink of an eye. Even the Buddhists and Hindus or the Sikhs will not be spared. These concerned politicians have warned that the 60 percent majority Muslims are still weak, and incapable to ward of a sudden invasion from the staggering 9 percent Christians. The conspiracy horror Even George Soros cannot be counted out in this equation. Foreign churches are willing to channel funds to help the opposition's political struggle here! And if the opposition wins the election, Malaysia is doomed to become a Christian country. When that happens, it won't take too long before everything is Chrisitianised. Ridhuan Tee, a prominent scholar also warned of a similar threat affecting Indonesia as well. Not only Muslims, but Buddhists, Taoists, Hindus, Sikhs and Atheists must be on high alert. Once you are converted, you will be baptised immediately and you will not be allowed to return to your own religion. If you leave Christianity, you might risk death by diehard Christian fanatics or a long stint in a counselling cell. There will be Christian moral squads around who will encourage the Christians to participate in everything that may be deemed forbidden like consuming liquor, gambling and encouraged to patronize discos, pubs, and coffee-houses or watch live entertainment like Filipino bands and dance performances with women in skimpy clothes. Moral values will tumble and x-rated movies may make a comeback. Imagine the horror, if Malaysia should become a Christian country with a Christian prime minister. It will be a dictatorship. BN as the opposition will not stand a chance. There will be massive election fraud and rampant vote rigging. ISA would be used to deter political enemies. It would also be a pain to watch the prime minister crossing his heart, and hope to die every time he makes a public speech. The Christians would form a master race. Any Malaysian who refuses to convert to Christianity will be downgraded to second class citizens. A new form of NEP will emerge to ensure that the Christian-putras hog the economic bandwagon. New banking licenses would be given to the Christians and Christians would be given choice places in institutes of higher learning and scholarships. Meritocracy would die a natural death and non Christians would have to study hard to fight for dwindling places in universities nationwide, while new mission schools and universities would be built for Christians only. There will be rampant corruption, and cronyism that has been stamped out by the BN government, which will once again return to enrich the Christian warlords. The non Christians will be left to fend for themselves, and will go into business to stem the increasing inequality. A Christian government will implement the GST, which the BN government has tried hard to put off for 50years. Car prices and highway toll would soar. Everyone would have to pay in full for PTPTN loans. Electricity and water would double along with petrol prices. There will be no funds for welfare and for the upgrade of the women community. Open tenders will be discontinued, while capital flight may increase to RM5 million a year. There will be uncontrolled spending on mega-projects, skyscrapers, crooked bridges, rare earth and petroleum refineries or nuclear plants. The Christian Democrats will continue to spend on more submarines, fighter jets, littoral combat ships and RIV vehicles to combat a perceived threat from our hostile neighbours. Malaysia will also lose its high prestigious ranking in the corruption-free index as well as our commendable human rights record if the Christians take over. Drastic changes to social, religious rights Everyone would have to learn a useless language like English, while sacrificing international languages like Malay, Chinese and Indian for the common good. Yoga and poco poco dance will rear its ugly head again, as more people will take this freedom to indulge in such unfruitful pastimes. Manchester United fans will start wearing MU football jerseys again and play football in shorts. Bikinis will start to be a trend at public swimming pools. A Christian government may also try to group everyone as Malaysian citizens instead of by race. They will try to delete race from our IC's, passports and other personal documents. These will lead to a loss of pride for our beloved culture and bumiputera-ship. It would also sound the death knell for raced based politics and for the race agenda. In short, there will be no more a Malay Agenda. A Chinese or an Indian Agenda for that matter! How disappointing. Strict laws would be enacted to prosecute racists and religious bigots. They would be encouraged to look for safe havens in Australia instead. Another fear is that; Malaysians will drop their religious guard and racial sensitivities to mix with each other, embrace national unity and become close friends. That would be disastrous for the ppposition (BN) who has tried so hard to keep the different races apart for their own safety. Women would demand for equal status, salaries, standards and equal rights. Men would lose their status as the stronger sex. More women may buy cars and drive, embark on a career instead of staying at home to start a family. They would be emboldened to sue their male counterparts for sexual harassment if they feel victimised. Even our lands will be taken away in the name of the Acquisition Act to build factories and refineries in the name of development. The Orang Asli's too would not be spared as a Christian government continues to build billion dollar mega-dams to guard against a future water crisis that may happen 200 years from now. A deteriorating democracy Over-sensitive Christians will enact laws to guard against attempts to insult the Christian religion. English translations may not be allowed for Buddhist and Hindu holy books, so as not to confuse the Christians. Yes, a Christian government may play up the racism and religious card to ensure that Malaysians remain united. Crude propaganda like the 6.3 percent minority Hindus trying to take over the country and install a Hindu government would be magnified to scare citizens. Even sex videos would not be discounted to try and discredit credible Muslim opposition leaders. It will be difficult to get permission to build places of worship, as new mosques and temples would need to conform to a Christian architectural building code. Instead we may see more demolitions of places of worship. Somehow, the DAP has been identified as the chief culprit in this conspiracy, even though there is nothing very Christian about the DAP. None of the top Pakatan Rakyat leaders are known to be Christians either. But who know?! Like the LGBT community, there may be many leaders who are closet Christians. So folks, we must be vigilant and not allow such a thing to happen to our beloved country. When you go to the polls, remember it is not forbidden to vote for the MCA or MIC. Sometimes, it pays to take heed, the advice of a pondok cleric from the Terengganu hinterlands. Moreover, unlike the Christians, the other races do not subscribe to world domination, and neither do they harbour thoughts of enslaving their own kind politically. Look at third world Christian countries like Switzerland, Sweden, USA and Australia who can't be bothered to enact Christian Laws and still insists on secular laws? No wonder there is so much rampant corruption and crime in happening there. Malaysians must choose wisely to retain the current government, who promises that our lives would be the same, yesterday, today and forever. Already, life is so good in this country, why bother to change the status quo? A tour guide, trained pilot and naturalist, Iskandar Dzulkarnain has been writing a few years now, especially enjoying political satirical pieces like this one. |
| KKIA fiasco spotlights need for Labuan bridge Posted: 26 Oct 2012 05:28 PM PDT
The Sabah Progressive Party (SAPP) said a second international airport link within driving distance from the state capital such as in the international tax haven would raise the economic profile of both destinations. Besides this, with the construction of a bridge linking Labuan and the mainland, the journey to the state capital would be shortened. Party president Yong Teck Lee made the proposal when commenting on the embarrassing closure of the KKIA on Thursday due to malfunctioning runway lights. Thousands of passengers were stranded when the runway lights at the KKIA suddenly went out at 6.20pm causing all incoming flights to be diverted to the Labuan airport. Among those passengers affected were Plantation Industries and Commodity Minister Bernard Dompok, who was forced to make an unscheduled stop in Labuan, while Sabah Youth and Sports Minister Peter Pang had to abandon his plan to fly to Sandakan. Yong questioned how such a serious malfunction could take place at such an important facility without any back-up in place and who would compensate those affected by the foul-up. He said the disruption highlighted the absence of essential infrastructure in the state. “If the two facilities were in place, the massive damages and inconvenience of this nine-hour shutdown of Kota Kinabalu International Airport could have been alleviated. “Passengers (of flights) that were diverted to Labuan could have driven back to KK and other mainland destinations,” Yong said in a statement issued here today. Yong had been a proponent for a Labuan Bridge which he said would have a huge economic and social impact for Labuan and Sabah but this was rejected by Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin in 2010. Meanwhile, the state government has ordered a full investigation and explanation for the cause of the flight disruptions on the eve of Hari Raya Aidiladha holiday. State Tourism, Culture and Environment minister Masidi Manjun said he expected Malaysia Airports Berhad and the Civil Aviation Department to explain the incident to the state cabinet at its next meeting. “There is still no certainty if the runway lights problem will be solved and this is an issue of great concern to Sabah. This should nudge those in authority like the Transport Ministry and MAB to immediately take action and ensure it does not happen again. “KKIA is the busiest airport after Kuala Lumpur International Airport and it is quite unthinkable that its operations could be knocked out by runway light problem with no apparent back up contingency plan,” he told the media. About 40 flights were disrupted on Thursday affecting about 5,000 passengers. |
| DAP: Do away the death sentences Posted: 26 Oct 2012 05:19 PM PDT
Karpal even went a step further calling on the government to hold a plebiscite to obtain a nationwide public opinion on the contentious issue. "It's important to have a strong public opinion on the issue by holding a general election typed referendum," he stressed. While Jagdeep described death sentence as "inhumane", Karpal said it was time the government to save the judges from his agony having to "kill" a person for a crime. As a human, Karpal said it has always been extremely difficult for a judge to alone pass a death sentence on a fellow human. "I can understand the judge predicament," he said. Although he is against mandatory death sentence, Karpal however, conceded the rights and justice for the victims and their families must also be considered in any decision-making process to abolish it. He said for instance victims and their families would cry for the blood of offenders in child molesting or rape cases. But then, he argued medical evidence could be produced to prove such offenders were in unstable mental state when committing the crime. He said he would prefer life sentences than death penalties. Both father and son favoured an abolishment, concurring that "death penalties have never proven to be a deterrent factor against crime." Both argued the drug trafficking cases were always on the rise despite death penalty, which was introduced for the offence in 1983. Rehabilitating the offender Amnesty International has called on the Malaysian government to go one step further on its moratorium on the death penalty for drug pushers, by getting rid of the hangman's noose altogether. The human rights group's Southeast Asia campaigner Hazel Galang has called on the Putrajaya administration to review all crimes that imposed mandatory death penalty. Jagdeep said many developed countries had done away with death penalties due to rapid development in crime sciences like the DNA tests. He said recent studies in these countries had discovered wrong decisions in some of the past "death penalty" cases. In some cases, he said person convicted and sentenced to death for a crime was later found "wrongly convicted." "We can't reverse the judgment. We can't bring back the person alive," he said, adding that the local legal profession had always fought to end the "eye for an eye" punishment. He said the real intention of sentences was to rehabilitate a person not severely punish him. "Of course a crime offender must pay. But is it right for another person to kill the offender?" he said. Instead of having death penalties, he said the government should be more pro-active in its efforts to educate the public against committing crimes. Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Nazri Abdul Aziz has said recently that the Attorney-General's Chambers was studying the removal of the death penalty for drug crimes. He has said that he would notify Cabinet of a moratorium of all those convicted of drug-trafficking offences in Malaysia. According to Nazri, about 86 Indonesians and nearly 900 Malaysians were on death row here; many of whom were connected with drugs. |
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