February, 2012:

Bangkai ayam di pintu pagar pusat khidmat Anwar

Bangkai seekor ayam ditemui digantung di pintu pagar pusat khidmat Ahli Parlimen Permatang Pauh, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim di Jalan Tenggiri, Seberang Jaya di Butterworth hari ini.

Petugas pusat khidmat itu, Fathilullail Jaafar Sidek berkata beliau menemui bangkai berkenaan pada jam 10 pagi ini ketika baru sampai di pejabat.

“Bangkai ayam itu ada kesan darah dan sebelah kakinya dipotong,” katanya kepada pemberita di Butterworth hari ini.

Fathilullail berkata bangkai ayam itu dipercayai diletakkan di situ antara jam 3 pagi dan 10 pagi ini kerana beliau berada dalam pusat khidmat sehingga pukul 3 pagi tadi.

Beliau telah membuat laporan di Ibupejabat Polis Seberang Perai Tengah.

- Bernama

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We visited the wrong shopping mall, admits PKR

PKR strategy director Rafizi Ramli has apologised for naming the wrong location in Singapore for a premier supermarket that the family of Women, Family and Community Development Minister Shahrizat Abdul Jalil is said to be developing.

Contacted today, he said the shopping mall – where the supermarket will be an anchor tenant – is Rochester Mall located in Rochester Drive and not Star Vista Mall, as he had claimed yesterday.

NONERafizi explained that the two malls are next to each other, causing his staff, who had gone to view the site, to make the mistake.

“Our men who went to recce made a mistake. They went to the wrong shopping mall. We have checked again. They found the location of supermarket in another shopping mall – Rochester Mall,” he said.

In a statement issued later, Rafizi said a fresh check this morning with Malaysians living in Singapore had confirmed the correct shopping mall.

However he defended other allegations made at a press conference yesterday, during which he had revealed his suspicion that Shahrizat’s family members had misused the RM250 million government soft loan given to the National Feedlot Corporation (NFC), to open the supermarket in their personal names.

‘No denial from NFC’

Farmhouse Supermarkets Pte Ltd, owned by Shahrizat’s husband and two children, has rented 28 units on the second floor of the mall. The project, developed by UE One-North Developments Pte Ltd, consists of Rochester Mall and luxurious condominiums.

NONEThe website of Rochester Mall lists Farmhouse Supermarket as its biggest tenant on the second floor.

“I’m of the view that, since Rochester Mall is just next to Star Vista, the estimated rental made by me yesterday based on the report of the Competition Commission of Singapore should not differ much,” Rafizi said.

He cited a report published by English daily The Malay Mail today, in which NFC chairperson Mohamad Salleh Ismail did not deny the existence of the supermarket project.

“I openly apologise to (the owner of Star Vista Mall) CapitalMall and NFC for the factual mistake, but it does not dismiss the various questions arising from the involvement of NFC in operating a luxury supermarket in Singapore,” Rafizi added.

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Perkasa threatens boycott , Star suspends two

The youth section of right-wing Malay NGO Perkasa will organise a boycott of MCA-owned English-daily The Star if the Home Ministry does not take stern action against the newspaper for insulting Islam.

“If there is no stern action from the ministry, we shall stage a nationwide roadshow to boycott The Star,” Wira Perkasa chief Irwan Fahmy Ideris told reporters in Putrajaya today.

He said this after handing over a memorandum to a senior representative from the ministry’s administration division, in which Wira Perkasa calls for strict action against The Star or a suspension of its printing licence.

“The Home Ministry should suspend The Star‘s printing permit or take stern action to ensure that this does not happen again,” Irwan said.

In another development, a senior editor and a senior journalist from the English daily were suspended today in connection with the use of an offending picture, according to sources.

No other detail was immediately available, but the suspension period is believed to be for two weeks.

star pork photo report 110811 01Perkasa is part of the chorus lambasting the daily for publsihing a picture of American soul singer Erykah Badu sporting a body art of the Arabic character representing the name of Allah.

“They don’t seem to respect the sensitivities of Malays and Muslims, who are the majority in the country.

“If they are like this, they shouldn’t be in the business. We, at Wira Perkasa, will no longer compromise with The Star, which is a racist paper,” Irwan lashed out.

He reiterated that this was the second time that the MCA-owned daily had committed such a blunder, pointing out that the newspaper had put a pork dish on its pages promoting food during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan last year.

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‘I was assaulted by Umno, Perkasa members’

A victim of the disruption at Sunday’s anti-Lynas rally in Penang, Abbey Ong, says she and her boyfriend were attacked by a hostile group before Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng arrived at the scene.

The rally was held at the Speakers Square in Esplanade and attended by more than 500 people, in solidarity with the Himpunan Hijau 2.0 gathering in Kuantan opposing the Australian-owned Lynas Advanced Materials Plant in Gebeng, Kuantan.

NONEOng, 28, said she was helping to carry some boxes at the rally vanue when a few men “roughly shoved” her from the back and pushed her.

“My boyfriend, who was nearby tried, to protect me but was hit by the men and injured his fingernail and head,” she told a press conference held by Lim in his office today.

Ong said the incident occured before Lim arrived to give his speech at the rally, contrary to Umno’s assertion that chaos erupted after the CM provoked the group.

Ong, a personal assistant to state executive councillor Law Heng Kiang, said she believes the men who assaulted her are members of Umno and the Malay rights group Perkasa.

She was not able to say how many men assaulted her as the situation was “extremely chaotic at that point in time”.

At the press event, a video clip of how Ong was attacked was shown to the press.

Lim complains to IGP

Meanwhile, Lim said he has written a letter to Inspectopr-General of Police Ismail Omar about the incident during which his speech on the Lynas issue was disrupted and two journalists from the Chinese press were injured by pro-Lynas supporters.

He accused Umno and Perkasa for rioting and disturbing him during the event.

“I understand that before I arrived, the group had already been harassing the protesters to stop their rally and return home,” he told reporters.

“Many were pushed and beaten until they fell, including women. It is fortunate that the victims did not retaliate,” he added.

NONELim also related how the pro-Lynas supporters hurled racist and vulgar statements at him and the anti-Lynas protesters.

In his letter to the IGP, he said, he stated that the reporters – Adam Chew and Lee Hong Chun of Kwong Wah Jit Poh – were injured and sent to the Penang Hospital for treatment.

He reminded Ismail that two reporters from the Chinese media were also injured last year, during a rally at Komtar, where Umno and Perkasa members were also involved.

“This is the second time reporters have been hurt and police did not take action against the attackers,” Lim said.

“The rioters also hit and tried to stop my car and spat on the vehicle (as I was leaving the protest venue).

“The attack happened in public and arbitrarily, even in front of the police who were standing nearby, but the police did not do anything to control the situation,” he added.

‘Video shows police just stood watch’

He claimed that from the video evidence, the police also stood watch and did not try to protect him from those who assaulted his vehicle.

He added that he was invited to the event , organised by local human rights NGO Suaram, as the chief minister of the state.

He said he has lodged a police report and the evidence gathered has been submitted to the police.

“We cannot accept the behaviour of the police who did not do anything to control the situation,” Lim said.

“We hope stern action will be taken against those involved so that a similar incident does not happen again.”

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Stop political violence, Bersih tells Najib

Electoral reform coalition Bersih 2.0 has urged Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak to act against the serial political violence inflicted on opposition politicians and civil society activists by thugs reportedly related to Umno and Perkasa.

Should such impunity on political violence continues, it will leaves no room for clean elections in Malaysia, Bersih 2.0 warned.

“If political activists are met with physical assaults even before elections, could the safety of opposition leaders and campaigners be guaranteed come the next election?” said its steering committee in a statement today.

The committee, co-chaired by former Bar Council president Ambiga Sreenevasan and national laureate A Samad Said, demanded that Najib order immediate investigations and prosecution of those responsible for the two latest incidents of political assault on Feb 26.

penang himpunan hijau 260212On that day, a group of thugs identified to be Umno Youth and Perkasa members allegedly attacked the anti-Lynas protesters in Penang, in which two reporters were injured.

“Most shockingly, the police personnel looked on and did not do anything. Later, the Chief Police Officer (CPO) of Penang, Ayub Yaakob, blamed it on the organisers for not informing the police of their event,” said the coalition.

NONEOn the same day, PKR MP for Lembah Pantai Nurul Izzah Anwar was allegedly assaulted by Asrullah Affendi Abdullah, an assistant of Umno Lepar state assemblyperson Mohd Shohaimi Jusoh, at  Felda Lepar Hilir 1, Gambang, Pahang.

“These two are not isolated cases. Forums by student activists and the Anything But Umno (ABU) movement had experienced similar attacks and no one has yet been charged in court,” read the statement.

However, both Umno and Perkasa had denied that their members had used violence in the two incidents.

The election watchdog warned that if Najib refuses to take action to end such political violence, to have the assailants prosecuted and to punish those police personnel who shirked their responsibility, Malaysia may be pushed to the edge of chaos and unrest by electoral violence.

“In this alarming development, Bersih 2.0 calls upon Malaysians and the international community to establish an election observation mission to mitigate such a threat,” it added.

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Dead chicken at Anwar’s service centre a ‘provocation’

Penang PKR members were shocked today to find a dead chicken hanging outside Anwar Ibrahim’s service centre in Seberang Jaya, leading its Youth wing to lodge a police report on the matter.

The wing wants the police to probe elements of provocation by certain quarters in the symbolic act.

State PKR Youth chief Amir Md Ghazali said he was informed about the dead chicken about 10.40am by one of the service centre’s staff members.

NONEAmir (right) said he was attending a meeting at the Seberang Perai Municipal Council when he received the information by SMS.

Upon receiving the message, he rushed to the centre, located at Seberang Jaya.

Amir described the incident as a “provocation by certain quarters” aimed at disrupting Pakatan Rakyat’s programmes for the people, especially those carried out by the Youth wing in Permatang Pauh.

Anwar, who is PKR adviser, is also Permatang Pauh MP.

“We believe this act was done to weaken the resolve of the party’s Youth wing, especially in our efforts to organise a debate on abolishing highway tolls,” Amir said.

“However, we are not threatened by the provocation and will continue with the programme, which will be held in Sungai Dua tonight,” he added.

Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng is expected to speak at the event.

Nor Mohamed invited to debate

An invitation has also been sent to Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Nor Mohamed Yakcob to debate the issue with Lim.

Nor Mohamed, who is Tasek Gelugor MP, has not responded to the invitation.

NONEAnwar’s service centre staff member, Fathilullail Jaafar Sidek, who spotted the dead chicken, said she was not aware of the carcass until she looked at the office gate.

“It was hung quite out of view and I did not realise it at first,” Fathilullail told reporters in the presence of Amir and other members of state PKR Youth wing.

“After parking my motorcycle, I realised that the thing was hanging there, with blood still oozing out, with the chicken’s right leg dismembered,” she added.

Fathilullail said she believes the chicken may have been put there between 3am and 10am this morning, as she did not notice anything suspicious when she left the office at 3am.

‘Does Dr M want probe to cover Abdullah, too?’

Hours after former premier Dr Mahathir Mohamad insisted that any investigation into financial scandals during his tenure should cover ‘all Tuns’, DAP parliamentary leader Lim Kit Siang has questions if Abdullah Ahmad Badawi should be probed as well.

azlanIn a statement, Lim described Mahathir’s statement as a ‘positive’ response to his proposal for a full audit into the loss of public funds due to financial scandals during Mahathir’s 22 years in office.

“I will endorse Mahathir’s further defining the scope and extent of the investigation into the RM100 billion losses caused by the financial scandals when he was prime minister.

“The other Tun I can think of is Tun Daim Zainuddin, who was Mahathir’s finance minister twice and played a key role in many of the financial scandals in the Mahathir era.

“Are there any other Tuns who should be investigated in the full audit and accounting into the losses caused by the financial scandals in Mahathir’s era?” Lim asked.

At an event this morning, Mahathir responded to Lim’s call by saying that “all the Tuns and their sons and grandsons” should be audited.

mahathir abdullah ahmad badawi pak lah raising tensions“From media reports, it would appear that one other Tun who Mahathir is referring to (and) who should be investigated is his successor, Abdullah,” said Lim.

“It is for Mahathir to make clear whether he also wants a full audit and accounting into financial losses which occurred during Abdullah’s five-year premiership.”

The Ipoh Timor MP pointed out that if a royal commission of inquiry into the matter is set up, it could seek the truth behind former Malaysia Airlines executive chairman Tajudin Ramli’s affidavit, that he was directed by Mahathir and Daim in 1994 to buy a controlling stake in the national carrier to bail out the government.

Tajudin had claimed that it was ‘national service’ to bail out Bank Negara after the central bank suffered massive foreign exchange losses due partly to speculation in foreign currency markets with an “overriding agreement” to indemnify him against any losses suffered.

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Khairy’s PUNB post ‘will not benefit bumis’

Umno Youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin’s reported appointment as chairperson of Perbadanan Usahawan Nasional Bhd (PUNB) will only take the bumiputera community a step backward, says Selangor Mentri Besar Khalid Ibrahim.

azlanThis is because, once again, political affiliation has become the basis of an appointment to a professional post, Khalid said in a statement today.

Khalid (left), a founder of PUNB, said the federal government-owned company mandated to develop bumiputera entrepreneurs in strategic and high potential businesses has been led by professionals who are free of political interest.

“While there have been politicians at the policy-making level, they did not interfere with the operations of the company,” claimed Khalid, who had helmed many government-owned companies before venturing into politics.

“Even the boards of directors are made up of experienced professionals who have no conflict of interest in either being part of political parties or politically-affiliated groups.”

Khalid was the CEO of government-controlled fund management firm Pemodalan Nasional Berhad (PNB), under which PUNB was formed in 1991.

He later became the CEO of Kumpulan Guthrie Bhd, from 1995 to 2003.

Current PUNB chairperson Abu Bakar Mohd Noor – who has held the post since 1998 – is a technocrat who began his career as a government servant, before moving into the corporate world.

‘Najib has failed Malaysia’

This group of professional bumiputeras has worked hard to take PUNB to where it is today, noted Khalid.

For this reason, he said, Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak should not demean their efforts by appointing Khairy, who has not shown that he has the capability or experience in running a successful corporate body.

“Najib has yet again failed Malaysia by prioritising political links instead of professionalism. What he is doing does not augur well for the future of the bumiputera community and Malaysia.

“In building the nation, our leaders have to look beyond political affiliation, which Najib has not done in this appointment.”

azlanTo date, both Khairy (right) – who won the Rembau parliamentary seat in the 2008 general election – and PUNB have yet to confirm the appointment, which has been reported by the media.

If true, then it will be Khairy’s first appointment to a government-related entity since he won the Umno Youth chief’s post in 2009. Although this post often comes with a ministerial post, Khairy was not selected for one.

His deputy, Razali Ibrahim and competitor in the party polls, Mukhriz Mahathir, have both been appointed deputy ministers.

Double standards in PKR?

Double standards in PKR?

KUALA LUMPUR: The Selangor economic advisor’s post held by Opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim is not an official postion thus he was not asked to go on leave while facing a sexual crime charge in court and following the sex-video scandal.

 

Parti Keadilan Rakyat Wanita chief Zuraida Kamaruddin told The Mole Anwar’s post as economic advisor does not exist under the official state administration hierarchy.

 

“Anwar’s post is not an official post compared to Badrulamin (Bahron) and Elizabeth Wong. Both Badrulamin and Elizabeth worked directly under the Mentri Besar’s office and while Anwar is merely an advisor,” she added.

 

Zuraida dismissed claims that Pakatan Rakyat and PKR practised double standards in dealing with alleged khalwat (close proximity) case of Badrulamin who is Selangor government information chief.

 

Badrulamin was asked to take a month leave from his post in the state government until his name is cleared from the allegation.

 

statement from Selangor Mentri Besar office also stated that in his absence the duties of the Information chief will be handled by the Mentri Besar’s press secretariat. 

 

Elizabeth Wong who is PKR Bukit Lanjan assemblywoman was also on a long leave following her nude pictures scandal in 2009.

 

Bayan Baru MP Datuk Seri Zahrain Mohamed Hashim had recently questioned the Selangor government’s alleged double standards in such instances as Anwar was not asked to take leave pending the disposal of his sex crime case.

 

In his blog post Zahrain said, “I do not understand the double standards by opposition in Dr Badrulamin’s issue. Why wasn’t Anwar asked to take leave until the investigation of his sex-video scandal is complete?”

 

Zahrain said the sex video scandal with a foreign woman was more embarrassing than Badrulamin’s khalwat case.

 

Selangor Pas deputy commissioner and Shah Alam MP Khalid Samad shared Zuraida’s views.

 

“Anwar had denied his involvement in the sex-video scandal while in Badrulamin’s case he confirmed he was involved in the allegation.”

 

“If there was legal action and enough evidence against Anwar, I believe you can make these two issues parallel. But there was none. You cannot ask people to take leave simply based on unproven cases,” he added.

 

Asked about Anwar’s sodomy trial where the Opposition leader was called to defend himself, Khalid said Pakatan Rakyat leaders have dismissed the sodomy charge as a political cospiracy and that Anwar was the victim.

 

When told that Badrulamin has also denied the khalwat allegation, Khalid reiterated that Badrulamin’s case was not the same as Anwar’s sodomy charge or the sex video scandal.

 


Source: MOLE

UM’s new election system runs into flak

A month ahead of elections in all public universities, Universiti Malaya (UM) has introduced a system that delineates the single campus-wide nine-member constituency into five separate zones.

Prof Rohana Yusof, the deputy vice-chancellor in charge of student affair and alumni, announced the changes at a briefing on Monday.

The pro-Mahasiswa (ProM) group has denounced the new system, claiming this to be an underhanded tactic that will help rivals Pro-Aspirasi (ProA) to capture a key battle-field.

This could also lead to the impression that the students are supportive of the government, as it is generally viewed that the outcome of campus elections would mirror that of a general election.

UM, the nation’s oldest university, had a two-tier election system which allowed students to vote for nine contestants across campus. Those studying at each of the 17 faculties could also elect two representatives.

Under the new system, students can only vote for one of two representatives in their respective zones. The two-member faculty-level seats remain unchanged.

NONEStudent representative council treasurer Kelvin Tee (right in photo), who was at the briefing, said the change that will have the greatest impact will be the division of the campus into five zones, each covering several faculties.

If compared to the national election system, a campus zone is equivalent to a parliamentary seat, while a faculty-level zone is equivalent to a state seat.

In a statement issued yesterday, ProM said the nine campus-level student representatives would be degraded to faculty-level representatives under the new system, and will be deprived of their status in representing the entire student body.

More importantly, the group claimed that the new system is a form of gerrymandering to reduce its influence.

ProM has won at least eight out of the nine campus-level seats in the last three polls, with a clean sweep in last year’s election in UM.

It also recaptured the 43-member student representatives council last year, defeating ProA by a majority of seven seats.

The new system will merge two strongholds of ProM – the Academy of Islamic Studies and Academy of Malay Studies – which has contributed at least 2,000 votes to its nine candidates in previous polls. Under the new system, these faculties will be turned into a two-candidate zone.

“This will definitely reduce our chances in defending (seats in) the student representatives council,” ProM said in the statement.

Impact on campaign, too

Doing away with the campus-level constituency will also change the way the candidates conduct their election campaign, said ProM.

NONEThey will be forced to focus on ‘minor’ faculty issues like infrastructure and allocations for activities, instead of being able to raise national issues such as amendments to the Universities and University Colleges Act.

ProM said the university authorities did not consult the student representatives council about the changes, prior to these being announced.

Although the system was introduced in the name of equal representation, ProM pointed out that the authorities have not disclosed the number of voters and their ethnic composition in each zone.

The group has pledged mobilise students to oppose the system, which it described as ‘unfair’.

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