Islam Under Attack? What about Christians?

By
Emmanuel Joseph

Those who claim Islam in Malaysia is under threat should really spend a day trying to live as a Christian here. It is baseless, callous, slanderous, stupid statements such as these that are tearing this country apart far more than dinners for pastors or celebrating Deepa-Raya, or doing the poco-poco.

No religion encourages slander.Yet in this country, a newspaper that claims to be defending race and religion is allowed to slander politicians, political organizations, and now, even entire religious communities. In this country, organizations such as Perkasa are allowed to make sweeping racist statements with no merit, basis nor ounce of truth, and they are heralded as heaven-sent revelations, yet works to foster inter-racial harmony on the other side of the political spectrum are doubted, mocked, ridiculed and worse, outright denied. The low levels that some people sink to for political survival is sometimes surprising, but almost always sickening. Whatever happened to the burden of proof lying with the accuser?

There have been claims by apparently clueless quarters that 200,000 Muslims have converted out of Islam into Christianity, that this number was a pessimistic estimate and this somehow have escaped the eye of our 14 state religious departments and enforcement agencies nationwide. We are talking about agencies so vigilant, not even adventurous senior citizens who sneak around in hotel rooms’ escape their watchful gaze. And reportedly, some of these couples aren’t even Muslim, but that’s beyond the point.We are talking about agencies with advanced SMS alert systems to warn you if a piece of beef jerky you are about to place in your mouth was certified halal by foreign certifying bodies and somehow less halal than the ones certified here.

Some may recall a few poor Indian kids from Sibilin who got treated to a really memorable First Holy Communion after they were faced with protesters who thought they were protesting a mass baptism of ex-Muslims, no thanks to an SMS.Thinking back, I can only recall three well documented converts out of Islam, and two are not even in the country anymore .All three passed through the syariah court system, which must have somehow missed the other 199,997 cases.

While all this was going on, some even more overzealous people decided that crosses should be removed from our schools, because, really, all the Christians did was buy the land, build the schools, fill out the libraries, equip the labs and teach there for about thirty years, but they’re gone now, so we should remove the crosses lest we add on to the 200,000 converts. And with the many schools, orphanages and hospitals they’ve built, they must have some nefarious agenda, right? And they also want to print their Bibles in BM. Never mind the fact they’ve been doing it for 600 years, the fact that they’re doing it represents some intagible, but catchy-sounding form of threat, and as a bonus, political opportunity.We can always classify it as national security and blame them for being unpatriotic if they question it later.

For good measure, lets also ensure the new generation of Christians worship out of shop lots and industrial plots of lands next to fuming factories, away from society’s curious eye. And do remember to keep the crosses small.  Just as the Christians thought it was safe to come out, we have people in charge of schools that require you to fill out forms if you wish to wear ‘mini’ crosses around your neck.At this rate, it is surprising, no one has suggested barcoded ‘Kafir’ nametags yet.

Islam’s position as official religion in Malaysia is enshrined by the Constitution. Four large political parties, two of which are the largest parties in Malaysia,are there to defend it. The majority of 60% of Malaysians who profess the religion protect it.But yes, sir you are right-Islam is under attack. It is under attack by those hell-bent on stoking racial tensions and religious unease, and in the process give a good religion a bad name.It is under attack, by you. And in all this, a more relevant question that arises, sir, if you believe Muslims is under attack in Malaysia, what of the Christians?

                This entry was posted on Monday, 9 May 2011, 10:29 am and is filed under
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LKS, Get Well Soon

By
Wong Ho Leng

Because of the Sarawak election, he delayed his cataract operation…

That fateful morning, we were put up at Kingwood Hotel, Kuching. I wasn’t surprised that LKS had called at 7 something in the morning. He does that quite often to me, to exchange political views. But this was an exceptional morning. He said something was wrong, and he wanted to meet me at the cafeteria of the hotel. 15 minutes later, he called again, and asked me to be in his room. I saw LGE, in his pyjamas, with his dad. LKS had a serious eye infection. We earnestly looked for a specialist. It was too early, and it was a Sunday. Anyway, we managed to get one. CSC would be coming to fetch, and I accompanied LKS to his breakfast. We shared about his fear. From outside, he was cool as a cucumber. He obliged when hotel guests requested photo shoots with him. None of them knew that one of LKS’s eyes had suffered a serious vision impairment from a rare infection. To me, it was a long breakfast. As Siew Chiang’s car drove him off, I offered a silent prayer for LKS.

LKS is a workaholic. Despite his eye operation, he still worked with his iPAD, and, we still communicated over the phone. Each time, before we delved into politics, I asked him about his condition, and he would give me the most elaborate detail. He must have gone through unthinkable pain, and, reading the text of LGE’s statement, I can understand LGE’s feelings towards his dad…

Sdr LKS, our prayers are with you. Do Get Well soon.

伤在父身，痛在儿心

为了砂州大选，我展延了到国家心脏中心的年度体检，而我的父亲林吉祥也将预定的眼角膜切除手术延后。

选战结束后，砂州12支火箭升空，我的体检报告也出炉，一切还好，连医生也没兴趣跟我汇报医药报告的内容，想当然必是没什么坏消息了。

父亲也在战后（砂州选战后）进行切割眼角膜手术。手术一切正常，只不过他这个工作狂，手术后的一天就忍不住频频开iPad及黑霉手机看资料，搞到我母亲成天碎碎念。

4天后，我和父亲就飞往砂州赴宴及谢票，并在周六入住古晋的Kingswood Inn酒店。隔天清早7点从浴室出来时，我发现手机有父亲的未接来电，感觉“有点不妙”。

用酒店内线电话找老爸时，他告诉我：“冠英，这次大灾难啦！我睡醒揉了眼睛一下，什么都看不到了……”

不清楚电话是否有盖好，也不理身上是否还穿着睡衣，我就这样奔到同层的父亲房了解情况。

往古晋看眼科医生的途中，我一直联络不上当医生的弟弟，只因他正在参加骑脚车运动。古晋的专科医生以抗生素先给吉祥撑着，试试看能否有效。虽然当天是公共假期，但医生和医院皆不愿收费。

古晋专科医生和我弟弟皆同时表示，动眼膜手术发生眼内炎的案例只有0.1%，而且很大可能是发生在名人身上，这是医学的数据，果然“很巧“。

周日回槟后，在另一个专科医生的劝告下，父亲以打针对抗细菌方法治疗无效后，隔天就需立刻动手术。不巧那天也是槟州立法议会的口头问答环节，我先奔到医院探望老爸，然后赶回州议会回答问题，休会期间、父亲手术前，又赶到医院给爸爸加油。

手术前，我们全家守在病床前，面对种种未知数，场面肃静得可怕。这时我竟然双眼泛红，说不出一句话，只能握住爸爸的双手，真希望躺在床上的是我，而不是他。

父亲动手术期间，我在手术房外批文，以度过那难熬的时光。手术成功了，医生告诉我们，他最大的压力不是来自首长，也不是吉祥，而是他那两个不到二十岁的儿子，因为林吉祥是他们的偶像。

社会需要有正义感的政治人物来治社会的病，但是却更需要医生来医病、救人。纳闷的是，砂州大选败下阵的人联党沈桂贤心脏专科医生竟然说败选后失业。要是砂州容不下他，我真的要把他请来槟城，救救我们的命。

吉祥在手术后，一样面对太太的“监视”。一看到我母亲走进病房探病，握在手中的iPad就会在一秒半内被藏到床单下，担心会被“充公”。可是主治医生第二天说，手术后进展不错，眼睛需要多多运动，多看iPad也无妨，结果老爸就以医生的“圣旨”说服老妈让他继续看iPad工作，弄得老妈无话可说，但老爸却比中彩票更开心。

老爸在康复中，我在此代表我的家人，向所有为吉祥祈福的民众说声谢谢。

                This entry was posted on Monday, 9 May 2011, 9:52 am and is filed under
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‘MACC officers were instructed to lie’

Teoh El Sen

Free Malaysia Today

May 9, 2011

KUALA LUMPUR: A senior Selangor Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) officer had pleaded to her superior to order his subordinates not to give false statements in the Teoh Beng Hock case.

Senior investigating officer Azian Umar, 31, said this today when questioned by Bar Council’s Cheow Wee at the Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) investigating Teoh’s death.

Cheow read out a SMS text message sent by Azian to Selangor MACC investigation department chief Hairul Ilham Hamzah in which she said “this is a big case, it involves a person’s life, if (we) lie once, then we need to lie many times more to support the lie”.

In the SMS, in which she expressed sadness at what had happened in Teoh’s case, she also said the incident with Teoh may be God’s “divine retribution” to MACC.

“Kita terlalu mengejar material, kita abaikan perintahnya…. (we were chasing after materials, we had neglected His commandments),” she wrote in the message.

Azian, who was one of the first MACC officers called during the early stages of the RCI in February, was this afternoon recalled for the Bar Council to question her on several “important issues”.

When questioned on the reasons she sent the SMS on July 17 at 7pm, a day after Teoh’s death, Azian confessed that there were meetings where officers were instructed to “lie”.

On April 27, assistant superintendent Azeem Hafeez Jamaluddin shocked the RCI by confessing to being instructed to cover up the role of the then Selangor MACC deputy director, Hishamuddin Hashim.

“The operation (against Selangor exco Ean Yong Hian Wah) was led by Hishamuddin, but in the discussion, Hishamuddin asked that it be said the operation was ordered by Hairul (Ilham Hamzah),” Azeem had said.

Second meeting

Azeem had also testified that there was also a meeting chaired by then MACC investigations director Mohd Shukri Abdull to discuss how to testify at the coroner’s inquest into Teoh’s death.

Today, Azian testified to the same.

Cheow: You were not directly involved in the operation, so I ask for your assistance to tell the truth. When (Teoh’s) body was found, was there any conversation, discussion or meeting in MACC on how to answer in the inquest?

Azian: Yes

Cheow: Can you tell us who is the one who ordered this meeting? Who called for the meeting?

Azian: Hishamuddin was the one who chaired the meeting.

Azian said the others present included Hairul Ilham and the then investigating officer for the case, Mohd Anuar Ismail.

She also confirmed that a second meeting with Mohd Shukri took place and officers were told how to answer questions at the inquest.

She said that DPP Kevin Morais and Hishamuddin were also present and had also given their views on the same matter.

She added that she was aware that there were a few other meetings to discuss the same issue, but was unsure how many.

Down and dispirited

Azian said she felt “down and dispirited” when she got to know of Teoh’s death, adding that it was “because we worked morning to night and suddenly something like that happened. I felt as if I don’t want to work anymore”.

When asked by both Cheow and MACC lawyer Muhammad Shafee Abdullah if the only instruction given to officers was asking them to lie about

Hishamuddin’s involvement, Azian repeatedly replied in the affirmative.

She also denied Cheow’s suggestion that Hairul Ilham was the one instructing his men to lie, saying she sent the SMS to him because she was closer to him.

Azian said that she did not disclose this earlier in her testimony because she was not asked, but admitted that she regretted for not telling it to the RCI.

She said that Hishamuddin was the “boss” of the Seri Kembangan operation but denied that he was physically involved.

She also admitted that she was “tremendously disturbed” that meetings were carried out and prayer times often ignored.

Azian also confessed that MACC’s head of prosecution, senior federal counsel Abdul Razak Musa, had previously alerted her to the incriminating SMS.

Cheow alleged that Azian had already expected the question, to which Azian agreed.

Cheow: Who had referred you to this SMS? You had expected me to ask you this question.

Azian: The SFC.

Cheow: What’s that? KFC, I know lah.

Azian: Abdul Razak Musa… the senior federal counsel.

She said she was called up by him and met him before she gave her first testimony in court.

This prompted RCI chairman James Foong to accuse Azian of being coached and Azian admitted that Abdul Razak told her to only answer questions that are asked.

Foong then asked Shafee if he was aware, but the latter denied it.

Foong: Are you sure you do not know anything about this? I am concerned about SFC practically coaching witnesses, telling them what to do… don’t you think this is very unethical and very  immoral?

Shafee: I don’t want to say it amounts to coaching yet. It is very normal for counsel to speak to their witnesses. But in this case, I think he just wanted to know what the SMS was all about.

Foong: He was at the inquest; why does he need to call up this woman (Azian)?

Shafee: He is still a person in charge of legal matters, his deputy is Kevin Morais. They are both involved in matters involving the law in MACC. I would not conclude it is a dishonest act.

Foong: Things were so bad at the inquest that we need to have this inquiry. Why does Abdul Razak want to get involved again?

However, the question went unanswered.

Later, Azian also testified that she sent another SMS expressing her worry of “repercussions of their actions”.

She said that she was worried because she felt that the officers were “not safe”.

She added that the investigations in Selangor continued despite Teoh’s death and there have been officers who were followed by unknown men.

When asked of Hishamuddin’s character, Azian said: “He is a workaholic. The men are afraid of him, very fierce.”

However, when asked if she would lie for him, she said: “I don’t know for the others, but for me, no.”

                This entry was posted on Monday, 9 May 2011, 10:19 pm and is filed under
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Malaysia in the Era of Globalization #64

By
M. Bakri Musa

Chapter 8: Culture, Institutions, and Leadership

Economic Culture of Malays

The aspect of Malay culture that is pertinent here is the subset termed “economic culture,” that is, the beliefs, attitudes, and values that bear on the economic activities of individuals, organizations, and other institutions (Porter’s definition). I will analyze these on whether they are productivity enhancing or productivity eroding, that is, whether they add to or take away economic value from society.

            I will concentrate on the three factors that, as previously alluded to, lead to progress or advancement of society. These are the cultural attitudes toward work, savings and frugality, and learning. First I will dispose of some stereotypes, indeed caricatures of Malays: we are lazy, do not save, and have no passion for knowledge. At the 2001 UMNO General Assembly, Mahathir introduced yet a fourth stereotype: Malays are an ungrateful and forgetful bunch. I simply dismiss this latest caricature because these traits (ungratefulness and forgetfulness) do not have any bearing on economic activity.

            Anyone who has seen rice farmers slogging under the blazing Malaysian sun or fishermen bracing the fierce seas to haul in their catch would have to be simply rude and unbelievably insensitive to label them as being lazy. I challenge anyone to undertake those harsh physical labors. I have done my share of rice planting and rubber taping in my youth, and none of my subsequent jobs compare in any way with my earlier hard labor. Village life is tough and you would not survive if you were lazy.

            The difference between a Malay farmer and his American counterpart is not that the former is lazy or not hard working rather the latter is so much more productive. American farmers use modern equipment and tools, and their government is enlightened enough to provide them with various subsidies and farm support programs, its commitment to capitalism and free trade notwithstanding. The average American farmer has a degree from the local A & M (Agricultural & Mechanical) University; his Malaysian counterpart barely finishes primary school. It is not hard work that made the difference, rather smart work.

            Similarly, when I was teaching medical students at the National University in Malaysia, I had to force them to take time out from their studies; they were such bookworms. These students were not lazy; indeed they studied twice as hard as their American counterpart and have not much to show for their effort as they were duplicating it. They had to read books in English and then translate them into Malay. I effectively halved their workload by making them present in English, dispensing with the translations. That is, I made them study in a smarter and more efficient way.

            I escaped village life not by working hard but by working more effectively. My fellow classmates and villagers were even more hard working, but they were concerned with more grandiose goals like saving their race, culture, and language. Knowing my limitations, I focused on myself. Unfortunately many young Malays today are repeating the same mistakes of my earlier compatriots. I see today’s young busy trying to bring reform and justice to the nation – busy trying to save it. They will be no more successful than my village friends of yore. If I can give today’s young some unsolicited advice, it is this: Have a more modest goal and concentrate instead on bringing justice and reform to yourself and your family. You are then more likely to succeed, and as you succeed, so would the country.

            The challenge for Malaysian policy makers is not to endlessly castigate Malays for not working hard, rather how to channel their capacity for hard work more productively so they can see the rewards and be stimulated to work even harder. Nothing discourages a person more than to see his hard work not producing results. Equally bad is to see someone not working hard and being rewarded for their laziness. Special privileges, by guaranteeing quotas and requiring a certain number of Malays be appointed company directors for example, encourage exactly this type of unproductive rent-seeking behaviors. Worse, these are bad examples for our young.

            Instead of forever lamenting that Malay farmers do not work hard, I would instead make sure that they are equipped with the necessary modern machinery and tools. Make tractors readily available to them, either to buy or rent. China manufactures small tractors at a fraction of the price of American brands. Import these machines and subsidize their costs. Better still, Malaysia has “national” car and “national” motorcycle projects, why not a “national” tractor project? Many Western countries subsidize energy, research, transportation, and other costs for farmers. Their commitment to free enterprise notwithstanding, these countries have extensive farm support programs. If rice is tripled in price, many would take up rice farming and the fallowed fields would quickly be put to productive use. During the Korean War when the price of rubber skyrocketed, the government could not find enough recruits for its army and police force as young village men took to tapping rubber.

            Contrary to their leaders’ thinking, Malays do respond to economic forces and incentives.

            In the 1970’s I came upon a program to help Malaysian fishermen outfit their fishing boats with diesel engines and icemakers to improve their productivity. The appropriate feasibility studies were, I was sure, done with great care and the necessary funding secured. But in the end the plan failed miserably. The authorities, as usual, reverted to pat pattern and blamed the “lazy” and un-enterprising fishermen.

            The truth was far different. For one, the plan was poorly executed. The government, through its Agricultural Bank, simply gave the money to the fishermen to buy the engines and machines. The suppliers, aware that the government was funding the project, immediately jacked up their prices, and the poor farmers ended up paying considerably more. Additionally, the dealers began charging for other supplies like hoses and clamps that should have been included in the base price. The end result was that what was once a viable business proposition now became expensive and a money-losing venture. The fishermen were unable to afford to service their equipment and within a year the whole project collapsed.

            When I suggested to the officer in charge that he should have negotiated with the suppliers for a preset price to include installations and a year of servicing or better still, training the fishermen to maintain those machines, he was taken aback. He had never thought about it. With the bank’s clout, he could have bargained a hefty discount and passed on the savings onto the fishermen. With a reduced capital expense, the whole project could have been very viable.

            When the project failed, I am sure the final official report would be replete with references to our fishermen being ignorant and unable or unwilling to adapt to modern ways! In truth it was our officials who were ignorant. That bank officer was interested merely in dispensing the loans that the government had mandated; he did not consider that it was his job to help the fishermen. Had he done more along the lines I suggested, not only would the fishermen (and their families) be better off, so would the bank. For one, its loans would have been repaid and two, the now well-off fishermen would ask for more loans to upgrade their fleet. As it was, the bank ended up repossessing rusted and broken down motors and icemakers. Sadly, I can multiply such episodes many times over. In the end it is the poor fisherman or farmer who gets the blame.

Next:   Our Purported Lack of Learning And Savings

                This entry was posted on Monday, 9 May 2011, 9:49 am and is filed under
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No call to pray for Christian state, say pastors

By
Susan Loone

May 9, 11 4:26pm | Malaysiakini

The Christian Federation of Malaysia has refuted allegations that Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng or the DAP ever asked its pastors to pray for Malaysia to be established as a Christian state or to have a Christian Prime Minister.

Following a 90-minute meeting between Lim and the federation in Komtar today, both parties issued a joint statement saying Christian churches and pastors have always prayed for blessings for the nation.

“We have also prayed for peace, unity and harmony among the races and for a leadership that is honest and just,” said Lim, who read out the statement in the presence of about 50 representatives of the federation.

“Christian pastors and churches are aggrieved that such outright lies can be published in the mass media,” he said.

Lim said this in response to the allegations made in two pro-Umno blog postings, which were subsequently featured on the front page of Utusan Malaysia last Friday.

The postings accused DAP of colluding with Christian pastors to make Christianity the country’s official religion, so that a Christian could become prime minister.

Jelutong MP Jeff Ooi was named in the blog postings as the DAP leader who attended the meeting and joined the prayer session with the pastors.

Ooi has since denied the allegations and on Sunday lodged a police report against the Malay daily and the two bloggers.

Malay rights pressure group Perkasa has also lodged police reports nationwide, urging the authorities to probe the allegations and take appropriate action.

Meanwhile, the federation strongly urged the prime minister and the home minister to take action against Utusan Malaysia for “printing and spreading such dangerous lies”.

These lies, it said, have disturbed the multi-religious harmony of society, and created fear and uneasiness among Malaysians, especially Christians.

‘Utusan making Christians the object of hate’

“We expressed grave concern that Utusan Malaysia is spreading dangerous lies that make Christians the object of hate and incites hatred against believers, which may lead to undesirable consequences,” it said.

Lim said as chief minister, he would continue to meet with Christian leaders, bishops or pastors just as he meets with Muslim clerics, Buddhist monks or Hindu priests.

He said he checked with all the pastors and had found that no one had made the alleged declaration.

“Ooi is not even a Christian… I do not know how he became the subject of the Utusan headline,” he said.

“I did not even attend the meeting, but became involved in the matter as well,” he added.

After Lim read out the statement, Catholic Bishop Anthony Selvanayagam led a prayer on the matter.

The federation was represented by members from the Roman Catholic Church, Council of Churches of Malaysia and National Evangelical Christian Fellowship of Malaysia.

                This entry was posted on Monday, 9 May 2011, 5:28 pm and is filed under
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PAS leaders put down right wing paper’s latest fire

Harakahdaily

KUALA LUMPUR, May 9: PAS leaders have come together to slam right-wing group Perkasa’s mouthpiece Utusan Malaysia in its latest claim against DAP of a ‘Christian conspiracy’ to make Islam the religion of the Federation.

PAS president Tuan Guru Abdul Hadi Awang condemned the paper for being irresponsible in playing up communal issues to fan sentiments especially among the Malays Muslims.

Hadi reiterated that PAS, PKR and DAP have long agreed to defend the Federal constitution, among which makes Islam the official religion while ensuring freedom for other religions to be practised.

“This commitment is enshrined in Pakatan Rakyat’s common policy. Hence, the ploy played by certain media aiming to rouse the people’s sentiments especially among Malays Muslims that Malaysia would become a Christian state smacks of irresponsbile reporting,” Hadi told Harakahdaily.

Earlier, the UMNO-owned Utusan Malaysia’s headline on Saturday screamed “Christianity as Official Religion?”, basing its report on pro-UMNO bloggers. Referring to a meeting between various religious leaders with DAP at a hotel in Penang, the paper accused the party everything from wanting to make Christianity the official religion to ensuring the next prime minister would be from the Christian faith.

The paper said as such, the position of Islam in the country was being undermined.

However, Hadi said it was UMNO leaders who caused the religion to be weak and even its position being doubted.

“UMNO not only fails to strengthen Islam’s status as the religion of the federation but also failed to educate people on the real meaning of Islam. It has weakened Malay Muslims and left them confused and embroiled in social ills,” he added.

Vice president Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man rubbished the report as baseless and dismissed the allegations.

“With all of DAP’s might, it cannot do what it is being accused of … even if it is under Pakatan Rakyat’s name.

“DAP will not propose such an illogical plan,” he said, urging authorities to act against those behind the allegation.

“Pakatan Rakyat at its earliest stages has openly declared that we will uphold the federal constitution, especially Islam as the official religion of this country,” he explained, adding that the allegation could not hold water not only due to its “baseless” claim but also judging by parliamentary realities.

Inaction on paper

Tuan Ibrahim said publication of such reports would have immediately brought an end to a newspaper.

“Just imagine if Harakah or Rocket does that, they will be punished and have their permits revoked. Such a double standard is why the media owned by the ruling party are getting more uncouth and daring to do a variety of things from broadcasing pornographic clips to publishing racist articles,” he said.

PAS Youth chief Nasrudin Hasan Tantawi meanwhile warned that Utusan’s could tense relationship between followers of different religions in the country.

He echoed other PAS leaders, saying that had UMNO been successful in abiding by Islamic tenets, such a speculation would not have been thought of.

“At the same time, other religions beside Islam will be at peace and be comfortable to practise their respective religions,” he said, adding that the latest issue only revealed UMNO was incapable of ensuring the country’s stability.

                This entry was posted on Monday, 9 May 2011, 1:21 pm and is filed under
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Putrajaya permitting Utusan provocation, says Bar Council

By
Debra Chong

The Malaysian Insider

May 09, 2011

KUALA LUMPUR, May 9 — Malaysian Bar president Lim Chee Wee accused Putrajaya today of giving free rein to Utusan Malaysia to publish and promote what he called lies dressed up as news reports and continuing to stir up religious fear and unrest.

The lawyer joined a growing choir in urging the authorities to get their priorities in order and immediately investigate reporters and editors in the Umno-owned daily for repeatedly pushing provocative religious rhetoric rather than hauling up Christian leaders over unproven claims.

The Christian Federation of Malaysia (CFM), which represents over 90 per cent of churches nationwide, have also demanded Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak act immediately against Utusan for false reporting and spreading dangerous lies.

“Instead of questioning Utusan Malaysia’s journalistic conduct and ethics, the immediate responses from the ministers in charge of home affairs and communications were to order investigations into the alleged incidents themselves,” Lim said in a statement.

“In this way, the authorities are gullibly assisting those who seek to play up lies and falsehoods in order to artificially create religious conflict,” he added.

Because of that, Lim said, the authorities have shown themselves to be biased in favour of irresponsible parties and allowed them to get away with “wantonly [instilling] fear and religious disharmony in the country”.

He slammed the ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) federal government and its agencies for making a mockery of the basic principle of justice — innocent until proven guilty — which he said “is clearly a dangerous erosion of the fundamental liberties enshrined in our Federal Constitution, and must be stopped”.

Lim said that any independent observer would conclude that “Utusan Malaysia is beyond the reach of the law”.

“The Malaysian Bar is concerned that no action has been taken against Utusan Malaysia although it has persistently published intemperate and wild accusations, written in inflammatory language, which threaten Malaysia’s social fabric,” he said.

“Utusan Malaysia continues to act with impunity, and thus appears to enjoy a status that is above the law,” he added.

The Malay daily carried a front-page article on Saturday claiming the DAP was conspiring with Christian leaders to take over Putrajaya and abolish Islam as the country’s official religion.

The report, based entirely on blog postings by several pro-Umno bloggers, charged the DAP with sedition for allegedly trying to change the country’s laws to allow a Christian prime minister, pointing to a grainy photograph showing what they described as a secret pact between the opposition party and pastors at a hotel in Penang last Wednesday.

                This entry was posted on Monday, 9 May 2011, 9:26 pm and is filed under
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Sugar price up RM0.20

Malaysiakini

May 9, 11

Beginning tomorrow, sugar will cost RM2.30 per kilo, up RM0.20, announced the Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Ministry today.

This is the fourth time sugar prices had increased since Jan 1 last year when it was priced at RM1.65 per kilo.

Prior to that, sugar prices were maintained at RM1.45 for a long period. This marks a 58.6 percent increase in less than one-and-a-half years.

According to the Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Ministry, by increasing the price of sugar by RM0.20 tomorrow, the government stands to make a saving of RM116.6 million.

Ministry: Still cheapest in the region

Meanwhile, ministry secretary-general Mohd Zain Mohd Dom said that the RM0.20 increase was decided by the National Economic Action Council today.

He said that the government would review sugar prices every six months, adding that this was the first time the sugar price was increased this year. Sugar prices were increased by RM0.20 on Dec 4 last year.

Mohd Zain stressed that sugar prices will still be cheaper than regional neighbours such as Indonesia (RM3.80), Singapore (RM3.61), Thailand (RM2.31) and Phillipines (RM4.50).

He said that despite the savings, the government will still fork out RM283.4 million in sugar subsidies.

Petrol prices recently increased

This follows an increase an increase in RON97 grade petrol to RM2.90 per litre – a record high – just four days ago.

RON95 grade petrol, which was introduced in September 2009, is the most commonly used. Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak promised RON95 would be maintained at RM1.90 per litre for now.

Last year, the government has announced that it plans to embark on a “subsidy rationalisation” exercise to reduce a burgeoning subsidy bill.

However, critics argue that such an exercise would only burden consumers and increase inflation while the government refuse to go on an austerity drive.

Critics said that the government has still failed to plug leakages in government-linked businesses and also failed to stamp out graft.

                This entry was posted on Monday, 9 May 2011, 10:51 pm and is filed under
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Teoh’s fiancée breaks down in court

By
Teoh El Sen
 | May 9, 2011

Free Malaysia Today

KUALA LUMPUR: The Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) investigating the death of Teoh Beng Hock today saw an emotional Soh Cher Wei, Teoh’s fiancée, give a tearful testimony on the man’s character.

Soh, a 30-year-old teacher from Johor, sobbed when she told the court that Teoh’s hobby was cooking and struggled to control her emotions when commissioner forensic psychiatrist Dr Mohd Hatta Shaharom asked her: “Your relationship with Teoh is considered love. What is the meaning of love to you?”

“It’s that the person will be with me until the very end. That’s my answer,” said Soh, who sobbed in-between her words and wiped her tears away with a tissue.

Hatta: What do you like about Teoh?

Soh: He is a person who is good. He loves me and his family.

Hatta: What do you not like about Teoh?

Soh: He can be very noisy sometimes (laughs).

Hatta: What makes him happy?

Soh: Maybe when he gets to cook together with me.

Hatta: What makes him angry?

Soh: I’m not sure. I don’t think there’s anything. He is not easily angered.

Hatta: What makes him sad? Or cry?

Soh: I have never seen him cry or sad.

Hatta: If you were not pregnant, would he have proposed to you?

Soh: Yes.

Hatta: Why?

Soh: I know, I just feel it.

Earlier, Soh, who is appearing for the first time in open court, said she had known Teoh for five years and had been his housemate when he was a reporter at a rented house in Kajang in 2005.

“When I just knew him. I think that he is a person who loved his family very much and he would call his mother almost every day. And he would return home to Malacca every week,” she said.

Soh said that she became his girlfriend since 2007.

Teoh had shifted to Puchong when he become the political secretary to Seri Kembangan state assemblyman Ean Yong Hian Wah in 2009.

She said that he first suggested marriage in January 2009, but she added that she was still thinking about it then. Later when she was pregnant, they planned to get married on Oct 3 of that year.

Soh said that when they found out she was pregnant around June 2009, Teoh was not worried but was very happy.

She said that Teoh’s family was also very happy to hear about it.

“I told him not to tell them first… but he had already told his father,” she said.

Soh, who gave birth to Teoh’s son in February last year, said Teoh had plans to return to his hometown in Malacca after the wedding, and perhaps to start his own business or work with another politician.

She said that Teoh had never complained about his work and felt that he was happy at his job.

She added that Teoh loved to cook and his cooking was better than hers.

She said she seldom got angry at Teoh but when she did, he would stay silent.

She said she was not aware of the investigations of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) on Pakatan Rakyat representatives and she did not know that Teoh had gone to Plaza Masalam. He seldom told her about politics or work, she said.

She last saw him the weekend prior to his death, and his family visited hers in Johor to discuss wedding plans.

Soh said Teoh and her were supposed to have taken their wedding photos the Saturday after he died. They had already booked a restaurant and had already paid for 25 tables.

Soh also said that Teoh was not the type who was afraid or concerned about what people thought of him.

It was widely reported that Teoh had planned to register his marriage with Soh, then 28, the day he died. But Soh today said that the date for registration of their marriage had not been planned.

Soh married Teoh posthumously in a Chinese ceremony on Aug 15, 2009 and gave birth to a son, Teoh Er Jia, who is now 15 months old. Outside the court, she was seen carrying and playing with the baby together with Teoh’s family.

                This entry was posted on Monday, 9 May 2011, 3:35 pm and is filed under
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Under fire, sister insists mystery note not by Teoh

By
Boo Su-Lyn

The Malaysian Insider

May 09, 2011

KUALA LUMPUR, May 9 — Despite being pressured by a Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) lawyer on the contents of a mystery note, Teoh Beng Hock’s sister Lee Lan insisted before a royal panel today that her brother did not write it even as she broke down in tears at one point in her testimony.

Datuk Seri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah bombarded her with a series of questions on the mystery note and whether she could recognise her brother’s handwriting, until she said: “I want to know the correct and the exact truth (behind Beng Hock’s death). This is the reason we requested for this commission.”

“During the inquest, when they showed such a note, immediately we discussed and said this note does not belong to Teoh Beng Hock,” said Lee Lan at the inquiry today, as the RCI nears the conclusion of its testimony collection.

“This could not be written by Teoh Beng Hock because (there was) no need for him to write such notes,” she added.

The mystery note stirred a controversy when it surfaced after the Attorney-General’s Chambers tendered it as evidence last August — some 10 months after the start of the coroner’s inquest into Beng Hock’s death.

The accuracy of the note’s court translation was also disputed after official interpreter Ting Chin Kin admitted to using free online service Google Translate to do the job.

Beng Hock was found dead on July 16, 2009 on the fifth-floor corridor of Plaza Masalam in Shah Alam after he was questioned overnight by MACC officers at their then-Selangor headquarters on the 14th floor.

Beng Hock, 30, was the political secretary to Selangor executive councillor Ean Yong Hian Wah, who is also the Seri Kembangan assemblyman from the DAP, at the time of his death.

The graftbusters were investigating a claim that his boss was abusing state funds.

Lee Lan, who was a year younger than Beng Hock and is the youngest in the family, wept when she talked about her brother’s text message to her telling her that he was getting married.

“‘Congratulations’,” she began as she related the text message, before breaking down.

“‘You are becoming an auntie’,” she continued, with a tissue in her hand.

Beng Hock’s fiancée, Soh Cher Wei, testified at the RCI today that they had planned to wed in October 2009, after she discovered early July 2009 that she was pregnant.

Lee Lan, 31, also said she could not recognise the Chinese handwriting on the mystery note when she was shown the original at the inquiry today.

“It doesn’t look like my elder brother’s,” she said, but added that she has not seen many samples of her brother’s handwriting.

“Can you recognise Beng Hock’s handwriting in Chinese? Why are we going round and round?” Shafee asked.

“I could not recognise precisely if (it) belongs to Teoh Beng Hock,” answered Lee Lan.

Lee Lan also pointed out that her other brother Meng Kee could not recognise the handwriting on the mystery note when their lawyer Gobind Singh Deo showed it to them at the coroner’s inquest.

“(He said) it appears it is not similar (to Teoh’s handwriting),” she said.

Government handwriting expert Wong Kong Yong has testified that Beng Hock’s initials in the mystery note found in his bag had important differences with the initials in his statement to the MACC.

Wong said he discovered differences in the first and end strokes of the “BH” initials, which he said indicated one’s handwriting style, that were found in both documents.

Lee Lan, dressed in a black striped blouse, also said today that her brother did not suffer any illnesses.

“My elder brother is a very healthy person. He was never admitted to a hospital,” she said.

The young woman said Beng Hock was a very caring person.

“He’s carefree and optimistic,” said Lee Lan, adding that nothing annoyed him.

Lee Lan was the 69th witness to testify at the inquiry today that is expected to wrap up its witness testimonies tomorrow with psychiatrists on the witness stand.

The psychiatrists had interviewed Beng Hock’s family members to determine the DAP political aide’s personality and state of mind.

Beng Hock’s family pulled out of the RCI proceedings when they first started last February after the royal panel decided to continue the inquiry, despite a proposed judicial review over the appointment of deputy public prosecutors (DPPs) as conducting officers.

The family believed that the Attorney-General was seeking to revise the coroner’s “open verdict” to one of suicide and claimed that this would lead to bias by the DPPs.

The coroner’s inquest had ruled out both suicide and homicide in Teoh’s fatal plunge.

The RCI is to submit its report to the King by June 25 after it was granted an extension of its original April 25 deadline.

“You and your family are looking forward to the result of the commission’s findings?” asked Shafee today.

“We do not know what happened previously; then straight away jump to conclusion. It’s not fair to us,” said Lee Lan.

                This entry was posted on Monday, 9 May 2011, 10:30 pm and is filed under
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Where have we gone wrong?

By
David Martin
 May 09, 2011

The Malaysian Insider

The past couple of days had not been pleasant ones when I received a number of text messages and emails from my Muslims friends who have been alarmed by the infamous headline on Utusan Malaysia trumpeting the alleged plot by Christians to ensure that Christianity would be the official religion of the Federation in the near future.

Most were asking me if it was true, to which I sent a standardised text in response.

“When pigs fly bro/sis . . . When pigs fly . . .”

Seriously, can anyone of you see that happen? I mean Christianity replacing Islam as the religion of the Federation, of course, not the one on flying porcine.

My first reaction when I received the first of the text messages at around 8am on Saturday was; “What the f**k?”

Brushing my teeth in record time, I splashed some water on my face before picking up the newspaper that the delivery man deposited into the mailbox. I quickly scanned the pages of the English daily but read nothing of the alleged plot.

Thus I decided to fire up the computer and went to the bookmarked Malaysian Insider site where the news was breaking. And within 10 minutes of waking up to a new day I uttered my second profanity of the day when I said to myself out loud; “F**king hell”.

As the day progressed, I saw all kinds of reactions from different quarters in the country. The first few to jump on the bandwagon that’s criticising and condemning Christians are the usual suspects. Ibrahim Ali, Hishamuddin Hussein, Zahid Hamidi and the DPM himself no less, to name a few.

Ibrahim Ali as usual was spewing all kinds of b******t as he basked in the limelight. He spoke of at least 10 police reports lodged in different states in the primetime news on Saturday as he urged the authorities to clamp down on the supposed “trouble-makers”.

Hishamuddin Hussein, the Home Minister no less, put on his serious face as he claimed that the actions of the followers of one religion would cause the follower of another religion to react. I’m hedging my bet that the statement was a veiled threat to the Christian community to not stir the hornet’s nest that is the Muslims in the country.

Heck, for all we know he’d be up to his old shenanigans again and unsheathe the keris that’s probably collecting dust somewhere. Instead of focusing on the unsubstantiated accusation levelled at the Christian community by two anonymous bloggers, his guns are pointed at the accused.

My response to his statement is simply this. Mr Home Minister, it works both ways. I believe that the Christian community has been so accommodating up until recently as one controversy after another that’s reinforcing the notion that the community is systematically persecuted by the Malaysian Government. Maybe it’s time we stand up, speak out and fight for our rights once and for all as guaranteed by the Constitution of the Federation for all Malaysians.

Judging however by the past records of the Home Ministry where the Christian community is concerned, I guess that I’m expecting that when the issue is proven to be baseless accusations, it would be swept under the proverbial carpet. Just look at what happened to the Herald Weekly as well as the Al-Islam covert operations in St Anthony’s Church Pudu a couple of years ago.

Another text that left me bemused was one that accused DAP as the purveyor of all things evil in the country and is currently s**t-stirring to cause a fracture in the inter-racial and inter-religious relations in the country for political gains. He even went so far as describing DAP as a communist party. What made it more amusing was because it was sent to me by a fellow Catholic brother.

I opined that if the government of the day is unable to guarantee our rights to freedom of professing our faith, then it’s high time to remove a government that can best be described as incompetent. When you defend your “rights” at the expense of others, then where does that put you, conscience wise?

If his response was anything to go by, obviously he wasn’t as bemused as I was when receiving his text message — “Whatever lah . . .”

Another issue that left me somewhat dumbstruck was the fact that Utusan Malaysia, a “respected” newspaper, had actually abandoned the basic principles of responsible journalism and instead taking on a sheen that’s looking more and more like a sensational tabloid daily. Gutter journalism has no place in the society that is as diverse as Malaysia, no matter what the justification.

In view of the recent issues that are probably orchestrated by some hidden hands, it’s time for all Christians to stand up in one voice and say once and for all that we will not take such oppression any longer. We have to stand as one to ensure that our rights as enshrined in the Constitution are not trampled upon for the sake of political expediency.

Faith is a personal matter between a mortal and the Almighty, at least where Christians are concerned. It’s not meant to be convenient always as we journey on this road of life.  It’s when faith is under fire that the depth of our faith is revealed by our actions. It’s high time that we stand up for that faith as Paul did when persecuted by the authorities of his time.

It’s high time that we reiterate our allegiance to the Constitution that is the building blocks of this nation and not be swayed by the rumour mongers and s**t-stirrers that’s actively pursuing their agenda of squashing our rights to religious freedom. A leader of a political party even went so far as describing that the actions of Christians constituted treason.

Where have we gone wrong, Malaysia?

I feel a shudder of fear within as I write this. I fear for both the repercussions of my writing as well as the effect the recent events will bring on Christianity in Malaysia.

For now, I surrender fully to the Lord My God that His will be done.

*
David Martin treated mum to an ice cream cake in conjunction with Mother’s Day. Mum was horrified when she heard that he was going to put his thoughts into words on cyber space but he does it anyway. He has faith that Malaysia would return to the olden days of yore when racial and religious lines in the society are blurred by the respect and unity of Malaysians.

                This entry was posted on Monday, 9 May 2011, 3:40 pm and is filed under
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‘Christian Malaysia’ a distraction from BN policy failures, says Lim

By
Shazwan Mustafa Kamal

May 10, 2011

The Malaysian Insider

KUALA LUMPUR, May 10 — Utusan Malaysia’s conspiracy of Christian groups plotting a takeover bid of the country is a “desperate” attempt by Umno to distract attention away from Barisan Nasional’s (BN) policy failures and economic mismanagement, Lim Guan Eng has said.

The DAP secretary-general charged that the latest conspiracy theory perpetrated by Umno was a way to shield the effect of the BN government’s announcements on a rise in petrol and sugar prices.

“The BN government’s announcement today that the price of sugar will be increased by 20 sen to RM2.30 a kilo has exposed the real malicious motive for Umno-owned Utusan Malaysia’s dangerous lies of a so-called conspiracy by DAP and Christian pastors to set up a Christian state and a Christian Malaysian Prime Minister.

“Such lies could be printed on the front page of Utusan Malaysia even though no Malaysian Christian had ever sought to be Malaysian Prime Minister,” said Lim in a statement today.

He said the establishment of a Christian state was unlikely as Christians only represent nine per cent of the country’s population.

The Federal Constitution does not expressly specify race or religious requirements for the position of prime minister.

Article 43(2)(a) of the constitution states only that the Yang di-Pertuan Agong shall appoint as PM a member of parliament who in his judgment is likely to command the confidence of the majority of the Dewan Rakyat.

Article 3(1) of the Federal Constitution does not position Islam as the official religion of the country.

It only states that “Islam is the religion of the Federation; but other religions may be practised in peace and harmony in any part of the Federation.”

The price increase of the said items, according to the DAP politician, was part and parcel of the government’s concerted subsidy cuts first announced on July 16 last year, when prices went up by five sen per litre for petrol and diesel, 10 sen per kg for LPG and 20 sen per kg for sugar. It also comes after the price of RON97 petrol was increased by 20 sen last week.
“BN claims that despite the latest price increase in sugar, the government would save only RM116.6 million for development projects and still have to fork out RM283.4 million in subsidising sugar yearly. DAP rejects such arguments as not proven to be beneficial to the people,” he said.

The Penang Chief Minister said there was no point in saving RM116.6 million when corruption was still rampant and projects were not awarded on an open tender basis.

“Last week, the United Nations released a survey projecting a moderate slide in economic growth for Malaysia this year due to lack of political will in carrying out real reforms, rising food and fuel prices.

“Further, why be concerned about a mere savings of RM116.6 million when the BN government can save RM19 billion by ending gas subsidies to independent power producers (IPPs)?” Lim stressed and added that the only way to maximise saving taxpayers’ money was through ending gas subsidies for Independent Power Producers (IPPs).

“Instead of trying to save a miserable RM116.6 million, the BN government can save 163 times more, by as much as RM19 billion, by ending gas subsidies for IPPs. In the 2009 financial year, Petronas’s gas subsidy bill reached RM19 billion, while in the first half the 2010 financial year, the amount stood at RM10.2 billion.

“Cumulative subsidies borne by Petronas up till November 2010 since the gas price was fixed to the power sector in 1997 and the non-power sector in 2002 amounted to RM126.6 billion,” he said.

Lim accused Umno of taking the “easy way out” from explaining the price rises with a “dangerous lie” in which the Christian community is the scapegoat.

“By failing to punish and stop the Umno-owned Utusan Malaysia from continuing this campaign of lies that Islam is under threat, the BN government is making Christians an object of hate and inciting Muslims against the minority Christian community,” he added.

Utusan carried out a front-page article on Saturday claiming that the DAP was conspiring with Christian leaders to take over Putrajaya and abolish Islam as the country’s official religion.

The report, based on unsubstantiated blog postings by several pro-Umno bloggers, had charged the DAP with sedition for allegedly trying to change the country’s laws to allow a Christian prime minister, pointing to a grainy photograph showing what they described as a secret pact between the opposition party and pastors at a hotel in Penang on Wednesday.

The National Evangelical Christian Fellowship (NECF), together with partners Global Day of Prayer, Marketplace Penang and Penang Pastors Fellowship, said the claims against their community were lies, and has refuted the bloggers’ allegations.

Similarly, DAP leaders have denied the report and have accused Utusan of lying. They have also lodged police reports over the matter.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak has called for calm and asked for the matter to be investigated first before drawing any conclusions.

                This entry was posted on Tuesday, 10 May 2011, 11:31 am and is filed under
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‘Malays don’t need Umno’

By
Mohd Ariff Sabri Aziz
 | sakmongkolak47

May 10, 2011

Free Malaysia Today

A former Umno state assemblyman cites two areas which received ‘least attention’ to explain why Chinese will not vote for Barisan Nasional

Why would the Chinese give up their freedom to pursue their self-interest for ‘interferences’? The great advances achieved by the Chinese as a whole happened when there was least ‘interference’ from the government and its little and not so Little Napoleons.

Let me give you some examples. Every town and city in Malaysia displays the same characteristics. I am most familiar with my hometown, Kuantan and Kuala Lumpur. In Kuantan you have a section of town dominated by Chinese (Ayer Puteh) and in Kuala Lumpur you have (Old Klang Road).

In my schooldays, these two areas were and are still dominated by the Chinese.  Both these areas enjoyed least attention from the government in the past.

If you visit Ayer Puteh in Kuantan today, you will be almost convinced that it’s a city in itself. Ayer Puteh developed on its own, on account of the vibrancy of the people pursing their economic interests with the least interference and meddling from government. It has achieved this status with lesser interference from government.

In Kuala Lumpur, the Old Klang Road area has developed into a commercial behemoth that it’s almost fair to say, it has developed a parallel economy rivaling what the official government can do. And

Old Klang Road has achieved that without the excessive interference of government.

In other words, it’s absolutely hogwash to say, we depend on the government for our livelihood.

Cocky Umno

Now lets look at the Malays. We have millions of Malays in rural areas who can do better if they have what? They can do better if they have capital, accessibility, education and technical skills. Now this is truth.

Malays need capital (capitalism), they need accessibility (freedom) they need education (self-interest). None of these are in any way synonymous with Umno.

Let me repeat this statement. The Malays need capital (yes), they need freedom (yes) and they need to pursue their self-interests?  Now tell me, if I were to purse this extreme logic, do the Malays need Umno?

They don’t because their advancement is not absolutely dependent on whether it’s Umno that provides capital, freedom and creates the environment that enable them each to purse their self-interests.

So when former Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad says the Malays need help, where does it say in the world, that that HELP comes in the form of Umno?

So before Umno goes to the polls, I hope they get rid of this cockiness and self-conceit that the people need us. They don’t.

                This entry was posted on Tuesday, 10 May 2011, 2:16 pm and is filed under
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1 Malaysia Email Advertorial: Truth or Lies?

By
Tony Pua

May 08, 2011

I had taken the opportunity to read every word in the advertorial placed by Pemandu to explain and justify the “1 Malaysia Email Project” controversy across all major newspapers and even news portals yesterday.

I also read with interest the repeated assertions with regards to “misrepresentations spewed by the vocal minority”. Datuk Idris Jala had clarified that “the reason why Pemandu is clarifying this situation is to make sure that the general public is not misinformed by people who distort the truth” and that “Pemandu believes in integrity and transparency.”

I am not sure if I’m included in this exclusive circle of “vocal minority” who is “bent on distorting the truth”, and I shall not be so bold as to think that the criticisms are directed at me. However, after reading the “comprehensive” reply, I’m felt compelled to compile my own list of “frequently asked questions” (FAQs) on “truths and lies about MyEmail”

Q1: Is the “1 Malaysia Email Project” a Government initiative or a private initiative?

Fact #1
: Tricubes issued a statement on Bursa Malaysia on 4 April 2011 “The Board of Directors of Tricubes wishes to announce that the Company has on 4 April 2011 accepted the appointment by the Government of Malaysia represented by Malaysian Administrative Modernisation and Management Planning Unit (“Mampu”) vide Mampu’s letter of award dated 29 March 2011 to implement the 1 Malaysia Email Project. Tricubes will enter into a definitive agreement with Government of Malaysia to finalise the detailed terms and conditions of the appointment in due course.”

Fact #2
: The original text description of the project on Pemandu website read “The 1 Malaysia Email project is a government initiative in providing a unique and official email account and ID for the citizens of Malaysia”.  After the initial public outcry, the description was, however, changed to “The 1 Malaysia Email project which features the domain name of ‘myemail.my’ is a private sector initiative led by Tricubes Berhad to provide a unique and official email account and user ID for interested citizens of Malaysia.”

Fact #3
: Datuk Idris Jala now reclarifies that “it was always seen as a Government initiative, funded by the private sector”. The Advertorial also added that “a competitive selection process was undertaken [by Mampu and GITN] to ensure high technical standards and the right business model are adopted at the lowest cost and highest quality.  The evaluation team [from Mampu and GITN] selected Tricubes Berhad based on these criteria.”

Truth or lie?

The “facts” above issued by Pemandu and Tricubes are riddled with contradictions which are self-explanatory. What is the truth and which is the lie?

Q2: Is there a “concession” or not in the 1 Malaysia Email award?

Fact #4
: Pemandu says “MyEmail is neither a concession nor a long-term commitment which binds the Government to use it for all its correspondences to the public … If there is any company that can come up with a better, cheaper and even more secure email service, the Government and public agencies are completely at liberty to use their services instead of Tricubes.

Fact #5
: Pemandu claimed “the selection process is merely an assessment to find out which company would likely succeed in rolling out the email service based on its capabilities. It does not mean that other companies cannot offer their own version of the service.

Fact #6
: Pemandu also stated that “however, overlapping projects could lead to waste of resources and that is why the evaluation team only selected one company.”

Truth or lie?

The Government claims absolutely anyone can offer the “email” services. At the same time, it went through a “competitive selection process” and argued that “overlapping projects could lead to waste of resources” (Fact #3). Tricubes has announced that it’ll be signing a “definitive agreement” with the Government of Malaysia (Fact #1).

So what type of agreement will that be? A “definitive non-binding agreement”? Or certain preferences or advantages will be granted to Tricubes which will not be available to any other companies?  What is the truth and which is the lie?

Q3: Will the Government pay nothing for the services?

Fact #7
: Pemandu says “there are a small group of detractors who keep asserting without basis that this project is a waste of public funds. How can this be a waste of public money when not a single sen of public money is or will be spent, while a lot of public money can be potentially saved?”

FACT #8
: Pemandu added that “… Tricubes can generate revenue through service charges to the Government, its agencies and private sector clients as well as users of their value-added services … While the Government will spend money for the services rendered by Tricubes similar to other services it uses, the amount spent will be significantly less than what it is current(ly) spending.”

Truth or Lie?

So will the Government pay or will the Government not pay? What is the truth and which is the lie?

Pemandu is perhaps misdirected in its response, intentionally or otherwise. The people are asking why 50 sen should be paid for every email sent? That is “a waste of public funds”.  Pemandu is arguing that the Government doesn’t have to pay for the project, just as the BN Government has argued that the Government need not fork out a single sen to build the various “private” highways.  You only pay for it later via toll, as you use the highway, or government compensation.

Q4: Will the Government save RM200 million?

FACT #9
: Pemandu says “the Government benefits because … it can save about 50 per cent of the current cost of sending correspondences. In 10 years, the project can save the four agencies used in the simulations at least RM200 million.”

FACT #10
: According to Pemandu, “Government agencies pay up to RM1 per mail and even RM2 for each returned hardcopy correspondence … when you use the MyEmail platform … (it) cost(s) up to 50 sen per email.”

FACT #11
: By outsourcing it, the Government will avoid having to invest RM50 million and avoid spending money operating the email system … It is more cost efficient and effective to use best-in-practice platforms offered by specialised private entities.”

Truth or Lie?

Based on the simulation figures cited by Pemandu, these four agencies alone will issue 400 million emails over 10 years, in order to save at least RM200 million based on RM1 per physical correspondence and 50 sen payable to Tricubes for each email.

Tricubes will hence be investing the assumed RM50 million and gets back RM200 million over 10 years, a 300 per cent return. And if more than four Government agencies use the system, then the return will be even higher. Is this ‘outsourcing’ mechanism more cost efficient and effective?  Should the Government to trying to save RM200 million or RM350 million, if the so-called MyEmail project is indeed so effective?

Q5: Is 50 sen per email reasonable?

FACT #12
: Pemandu says “the cost saving is derived from the free email delivery. The remaining cost of 50 sen goes towards extracting the information required from the database and presenting them in the respective formats.  Most agencies do not possess this system, also known as the digital bill presentment solution.”

FACT #13
: Pemandu says “by investing up to RM50 million in a secure and efficient email system and value-added services over five years, Tricubes can generate revenue through service charges to the Government, its agencies and private sector clients as well as users of their value-added services. The plain email service is free.”

Truth or Lie?

Pemandu or Tricubes should perhaps come out in the open to say for certain, if the 50 sen per email charge is based on emails delivered to accounts in Tricubes’ database, or is the 50 sen inclusive of setting up the entire hardware and software infrastructure to deliver government bills and notices to an electronic format, or the so-called “digital bill presentment solution”.

They are two completely different types of project. The email portion just takes the “output” from the “digital bill presentment solution” and delivers them electronically via email to the account holders. The second involves restructuring and reengineering the billing systems of the Government agencies.

Citibank and Maybank also have “digital bill presentment solutions”, but they can still deliver their statements and bills to account holders via free email accounts like Gmail or Yahoo! Mail.  Is Tricubes also responsible for the implementation of “digital bill presentment solutions” in these Government agencies? This is of a vastly different scope from what has been presented about the “1 Malaysia Email project” so far.

I can go on raising questions on the points raised in the Pemandu advertorial. But the above five questions alone will give you points to ponder.  Am I among the “small minority that has already made up their minds” that “even after [Pemandu] publish these facts, this small group will continue to reject the facts and find ways and means to distort the truth”, that Datuk Idris Jala is referring to?

I’ve presented the statements made by the Government, Pemandu and Tricubes itself. Malaysians can decide for themselves, what are the truths and which are the lies. It is unfortunate that I will not be able to spend taxpayers’ monies to publish the above in all major newspapers and portals.

                This entry was posted on Tuesday, 10 May 2011, 10:54 am and is filed under
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1Malaysia. 1Melayu

                This entry was posted on Tuesday, 10 May 2011, 3:41 pm and is filed under
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Anwar’s driver claims murder attempt on boss

By
Clara Chooi
 | May 10, 2011

The Malaysian Insider

PETALING JAYA, May 10 — PKR de facto leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s driver today alleged a sinister murder attempt on his boss after discovering that the brakes of the Mercedes Benz he was driving had been tampered with last month.

Abdullah Sani Said, the 51-year-old driver who has worked with Anwar for 28 years since the latter was still the deputy prime minister, lodged a police report on the incident at the Tropicana police station outside the party’s national headquarters here this evening.

Abdullah Sani said he made the discovery on April 19 following an incident on his journey back to Kuala Lumpur from Perak in the Mercedes Benz S350 with the number plate KCD 77 which, he said, was on loan to Anwar from a close friend.

At the time, said Abdullah Sani, he and another aide, Mohd Nurol Sayah, had just ferried Anwar’s wife Datin Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail and Faekah Husin, the political secretary to the Selangor mentri besar, to a PKR programme in Chemor, just outside Ipoh.

“On our journey back to KL via the North-South Expressway at about 1pm, before the exit to Sungkai near the 353km, a lorry suddenly cut into the right lane and forced me to jam on my brakes,” he said in the report.

He said the moment he applied the brakes, the Mercedes S350 began to vibrate violently.

“I heard the sound of something shattering at the back.

“Suddenly, the back tyres of the car felt like they were locked. This forced me to try my best to navigate the car towards the road shoulder,” he said.

He said he saw swerve marks and broken pieces of the car’s brake disc on the road.

He said he called for a tow truck and the vehicle was taken to the RCY Benz workshop in Glenmarie, Shah Alam for inspection.

At the workshop, Abdullah Sani said he was told by the mechanic that the back brake disc of the car was missing a “pin bolt” that is used to support the “brake caliper”.

“I was also told that it was impossible for the bolt to be detached without being tampered with,” he said.

He said that based on the mechanic’s explanation, it was clear that “certain parties” had deliberately tampered with Anwar’s car with the intention to “hurt or murder” the opposition leader or his family members.

“And on advice from the mechanic, this shows that there were elements of sabotage here, seeing as this vehicle is often used by Anwar,” he said.

He said he feared for his safety and that of his boss, adding that he hoped the police would initiate investigations immediately.

Abdullah Sani’s report was also accompanied by a signed diagnosis of the incident by Azman Hassan, the mechanic from the workshop.

In his declaration, Azman confirmed that it was “impossible” for the “pin bolt” to detach on its own without being tampered with.

“I found that the source of the incident was because of the one missing pin bolt which attaches the brake caliper.

“For your information, there should be two pin bolts. It was because of this missing one that caused the entire back right braking system of the car to be destroyed.

“In my experience as a mechanic for the past 10 years and specialising in repairs on Mercedes Benzes for the past seven years, it is impossible for the pin bolt to detach on its own,” he said.

Outside the police station later, lawyer Murni Hidayah Anuar, who accompanied Abdullah Sani, told reporters that the report was lodged nearly one month after the incident as they were awaiting the result of the mechanic’s investigation.

Abdullah Sani also said he last checked the car’s brakes last October and had not discovered any faults with the vehicle.

He noted that during the function in Chemor, Anwar’s car had been surrounded by many people but doubted if they could have so quickly tampered with the brakes.

                This entry was posted on Tuesday, 10 May 2011, 6:30 pm and is filed under
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Anwar’s driver claims sabotage plot with car

By
Regina Lee
 | May 10, 11

Malaysiakini

Opposition leader and PKR de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim’s driver has claimed a plot to sabotage the former’s car.

Alleging that the car frequently used by Anwar has been tampered with, driver Abdullah Sani Said, 51, said that there could be a more sinister motive against Anwar.

Anwar’s driver of 28 years, Abdullah Sani said he was driving the former’s wife and party president Wan Azizah, together with the Selangor Menteri Besar’s political secretary Faekah Husin, from a party function in Chemor, Perak in the middle of the night on April 19 when something went awry with the car.

Traveling in a Mercedes Benz S350, they were on the North-South highway when a lorry overtaking them forced him to jam his brakes.

However, the car shook suddenly followed by an explosion sound coming from the back.

He said he barely managed to steer the car to the side of the highway despite the very stiff rear tyre on the right.

Lodging a police report at the Tropicana police station, a short walk from the PKR headquarters in Petaling Jaya, Abdullah Sani said he found broken pieces of the brake disc all over the highway, rendering the car completely immobile by then.

Plot to harm Anwar

However, according to his police report, the bigger shock came back when his regular mechanic told him that a caliper guide bolt pin to support the disc brake had been removed.

“I was told that it is impossible for the bolt to come off without someone removing it,” Abdullah Sani said in his report.

“The car was in good condition when we started driving it and since it is also impossible for the bolt to come off without someone removing it, I believe that someone did this deliberately to hurt or kill Anwar Ibrahim.

“Based on what the mechanic told me, there are also elements of sabotage, considering that the vehicle is regularly used by Anwar,” he said.

Attaching a testimony by the mechanic with his police report, Abdullah Sani said: “I am worried for my safety, as well as that of Anwar’s family, if this were to happen again.”

                This entry was posted on Tuesday, 10 May 2011, 4:40 pm and is filed under
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Avoid lies, Umno

The Malaysian Insider

MAY 9 — It’s rich for Umno secretary-general Datuk Seri Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor to advise Malaysians not to be influenced by hearsay over Utusan Malaysia’s Christian Malaysia reports.

“Like what the prime minister has stressed, we should not be quick to react. We do not know what has been said. We didn’t hear… If someone begins by saying apple, then eventually the apple will turn into something else.

“I recommend that [Malaysians be] calm and hear what actually transpired,” Tengku Adnan said today.

Where was he on May 7 when Utusan Malaysia came out with its baseless report?

Where was he when pro-Umno bloggers spun the story last week? Where is he now when Utusan and the other Bahasa paper, Berita Harian, report the story like it is factual.

Fact is, Utusan and the bloggers are still out there, putting out stories based on lies. And Umno is keeping silent about.

Fact is, people like Tengu Adnan have only sweet words which have no substance against the reality. And Umno is good at it.

They are powerless to act against the likes of Utusan, Perkasa, Pembela and the host of bloggers who have decided to okay to malign other races in the country.

Tengku Adnan can give fatherly advice and ask Malayians to stay calm and avoid hearsay — which is what the Christians have done. And for that matter, DAP politicians who have also been dragged into a presumed plot to usurp Islam’s position in the country.

But all this only came after Datuk Seri Najib Razak asked for calm. What if he had kept his silence and let the issue fester and bubble all week?

Fact is, there is nothing to substantiate what Utusan and the bloggers have published and given a life to.

“I don’t know where Utusan get their reports from. Besides I cannot comment much but like what I have said earlier is for everybody to be calm and I believe towards the end, we will know what actually transpired in the meeting in the end,” Tengku Adnan said.

There is no hearsay here. Just a simple plain lie repeated enough times to smear DAP and its allies.

That much Tengku Adnan should know. He should get Umno sycophants to stop the lies. Forever.

                This entry was posted on Tuesday, 10 May 2011, 1:57 pm and is filed under
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Beng Hock not suicidal, psychiatrist tells RCI

By
Boo Su-Lyn

The Malaysian Insider

KUALA LUMPUR, May 10 — Teoh Beng Hock was in the lowest risk group for suicide when he entered the custody of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC), a forensic psychiatrist said in his report to a royal panel investigating the DAP political aide’s death today.

Dr Paul Mullen also said in his report to the royal commission of inquiry (RCI) investigating Teoh’s death that there was no reason for Teoh to conclude that he had shamed himself or betrayed his colleagues when he was questioned by the MACC.

“In brief, it is my opinion that Teoh Beng Hock was firmly in the lowest risk group for suicide when he was taken into MACC custody,” said Dr Mullen in his report, which was provided to the press today.

“His statement (to the MACC)… does not seem to clearly implicate him, or anyone else, in offences… this is not a context which, in my experience, leads to suicide in custody… there is nothing of which I have been made aware to explain panic and distress sufficient to drive him to conclude his honour had been irreparably tarnished,” added the Australian doctor.

Dr Mullen’s report came as the RCI concluded hearing testimony from 70 witnesses today in its bid to unravel the mysterious circumstances behind Teoh’s death.

Dr Mullen was not called to give oral testimony at the inquiry.

Teoh was found dead on July 16, 2009 on the fifth-floor corridor of Plaza Masalam in Shah Alam after he was questioned overnight by MACC officers at their then-Selangor headquarters on the 14th floor.

Teoh, 30, had been the political secretary to Selangor executive councillor Ean Yong Hian Wah, who is also the Seri Kembangan assemblyman from the DAP.

The graftbusters were investigating a claim that his boss was abusing state funds.

Dr Mullen, who has been a forensic psychiatrist for three decades, said his findings were based on several documents as well as joint interviews with local government psychiatrists Dr Badi’ah Yahya and Dr Nor Hayati Ali, Teoh’s fiancée, family members, friends, boss and colleagues.

Dr Mullen’s report as well as Dr Badi’ah’s and Dr Nor Hayati’s joint report were the first psychiatric evidence about Teoh’s mysterious plunge as no psychiatrists had previously testified at the coroner’s inquest into Teoh’s death that ruled out both suicide and homicide.

MACC lawyer Datuk Seri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah suggested recently that Teoh had committed “honour suicide” to protect his boss and the DAP from being exposed as corrupt.

But Ean Yong has dismissed Shafee’s suggestion, pointing out that the MACC had cleared him of abusing state funds.

MACC headquarters investigating officer (IO) Ahmad Shafik Abdul Rahman testified recently that Ean Yong was innocent of abusing state funds as all projects in his constituency were completed in 2008.

Ahmad Shafik said he could not conduct further investigations against Ean Yong as Teoh’s testimony was crucial, adding that the public prosecutor ordered investigations to be dropped due to lack of evidence.

Dr Mullen said Teoh was in the lowest risk group for suicide when he entered MACC custody. — Picture by Boo Su-LynDr Mullen, a professor at Monash University in Australia, said suicide rates were higher among those in custody, but pointed out that Teoh was a witness who was not charged with any offence.

“There is to my knowledge no evidence about, or even reported cases of, people who have killed themselves when having witness statements taken by authorities,” said the 66-year-old expert.

“If the Commission were also to accept the claims that Teoh Beng Hock was co-operative, not showing obvious distress, and willingly chose to remain in the MACC office, this, in my opinion, would virtually exclude the chances of Teoh Beng Hock having taken his own life,” he added.

He said the statements from MACC officers painted a picture of a co-operative witness who “was so relaxed about his presence in the offices that when told he could leave, he preferred to settle down for a sleep on a sofa.”

The forensic psychiatrist also highlighted various factors that slashed Teoh’s risk of suicide.

Dr Mullen said Teoh did not have previous suicide attempts or self-harm, or a family history of suicide.

He also pointed out that Teoh was employed, had plans to get married soon, enjoyed close family ties, had a range of friends and colleagues, had not suffered a recent bereavement and had no financial or gambling problems.

“Suicide is very uncommon among those with robust social networks in the form of close family ties, a range of friends, and positive relationships at work,” said Dr Mullen.

“Teoh Beng Hock showed no evidence for a lowered mood, let alone depression, prior to being taken into custody. In fact, he appears to have been more elated than usual because of the prospect of marriage and fatherhood,” the psychiatrist added.

Teoh’s fiancée Soh Cher Wei testified yesterday that they had planned to wed in October 2009 after she discovered early July 2009 that she was pregnant.

The white-haired Dr Mullen, who obtained his PhD when he was just 22 years old, also said Teoh’s personality did not suggest any increased risk of suicide.

“Enquiries made of those interviewed suggested that Teoh Beng Hock was a well-organised, tidy man with a tendency to be perfectionalistic,” he said.

“No evidence was found, however, for dysfunctional obsessional traits, or unusual rigidity… suicide is more common among rigid, obsessional individuals when they are placed under particular forms of stress, such as being arrested and charged with serious crimes,” he added.

He did not make a conclusion on a mystery note found in Teoh’s bag, saying that it was up to the commission to decide if the document allegedly written by Teoh was indeed a suicide note.

“If the commission does not give credence to the note being a suicide note, in my opinion, this greatly reduces the probability that Teoh Beng Hock killed himself,” said the psychiatric expert.

Teoh’s sister Lee Lan insisted yesterday that her brother did not write the note.

The mystery note stirred a controversy when it surfaced after the Attorney-General’s Chambers tendered it as evidence last August — some 10 months after the start of the coroner’s inquest into Teoh’s death.

The accuracy of the note’s court translation was also disputed after official interpreter Ting Chin Kin admitted to using free online service Google Translate to do the job.

Dr Badi’ah and Dr Nor Hayati concluded in their joint report, which was provided to the press, that Teoh had “both risk factors favouring him for suicide and protective factors that reduce his likely risk for suicide.”

They said Teoh appeared to be in a “fear-inducing situation” when MACC officers searched Ean Yong’s office, but pointed out that Teoh did not have a history of depression, suicide attempts or a family history of suicide.

Dr Badi’ah has been a forensic psychiatrist since 2002, while Dr Nor Hayati is the principal investigator of the National Suicide Registry and has been a psychiatrist for 11 years.

“In my opinion, prior to entering custody, Teoh Beng Hock was in a low risk group for suicide,” said Dr Mullen.

“If he did kill himself, in my opinion, things are likely to have occurred both to undermine his psychological stability and to frighten him literally to death,” he added.

RCI chairman Tan Sri James Foong said today that all parties were to hand in their submissions by May 25.

He added that the commission has to submit its report to the Yang di-Pertuan Agong by June 24 as the June 25 deadline falls on a Saturday.

The commission, which enlisted the help of Hong Kong’s Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) former chief investigator Michael Leslie Squires, had heard testimonies from forensic pathologists, chemists, MACC and police officers, MACC witnesses, Teoh’s fiancée, family members, friends, boss and colleagues.

The RCI was tasked to uncover the circumstances behind Teoh’s fatal plunge and to determine if there was any impropriety in MACC’s investigation against Ean Yong.

Among the testimonies at the RCI, which were not heard at the inquest, were by two MACC officers who said they were instructed to cover up the role of then-Selangor MACC deputy director Hishamuddin Hashim in the probe against Ean Yong.

MACC assistant superintendent Azeem Hafeez Jamaluddin had said Hishamuddin had ordered him to testify that the operation was led by Selangor MACC investigation unit head Hairul Ilham Hamzah instead.

                This entry was posted on Tuesday, 10 May 2011, 7:06 pm and is filed under
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Bishop decries fixation over Christian PM issue

By
Terence Netto

May 10, 11

Malaysiakini

Catholic Bishop Dr Paul Tan Chee Ing said an obsession with the racial and religious leanings of a prime minister, or for that matter, of any other holder of high office in Malaysia is “fundamentally disorienting”.

In comments to Malaysiakini on the latest twist to the debate on an alleged Christian move to dethrone Islam as the official religion of the country, the bishop of the Melaka-Johor diocese, said:

“Allowing the debate over which race or religion wielded precedence in the matter of who is qualified to become a holder of high office in the country is fundamentally disorienting.

“We should not allow the debate to revolve obsessively around these parochial considerations.

“I’m not saying these are not important considerations; only that after a half century of our independence, if we are going to be fixated on them, we would divert from what is more important at this stage – a person’s intellectual and moral fiber for high office.”

A national debate has been triggered by the claims aired last week in some blogs allied to Umno, and taken up by the Malay daily Utusan Malaysia, that a group of Christians pastors, supposedly aided and abetted by the DAP, were plotting to replace Islam with Christianity as the official religion of Malaysia.

The same groups were also alleged to be praying for the appointment of a Christian prime minister.

In a response to these speculations, BN cabinet minister Bernard Dompok, a Catholic from Sabah, offered the view that there was nothing in the constitution of the country to disbar a non-Muslim from being PM.

These considerations leave Bishop Paul Tan, who is also president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Malaysia, somewhat cold.

“I would think the intellectual and moral qualifications of an aspirant for high office should precede all other considerations,” he commented.

“It is a sign of mediocrity in people when they allow their intellectual and moral stature to be subsumed under identity politics.”

Genuine dialogue please

The Jesuit-trained prelate felt that much of the moral squalor prevalent in Malaysia, which he said was behind the high incidence of corruption and ineptitude, was due to the obsession over race and religion in determining who is qualified to lead.

“We must loosen the hold these shackles have on Malaysian society and free national discourse from their disorienting effects. We must emancipate our society.”

Bishop Paul Tan proposed a method by which government and civil society can navigate the shoals in which both presently find themselves.

“The most important step to take is to find out the truth of what goes on; then, if there is a need for dialogue, we should enter into it. However, the dialogue must end up in concrete action to be taken to solve the problem,” he expatiated.

“Often, in the past, our dialogues with the government have ended up in smoke and frustration. If this were to happen, then the dialogue would be of no use.

“God gave us intelligence and rationality. Let us not leave them frozen in cold storage. Defrost them and use them to find out the truth and take action.

“Only in this way, can we prove ourselves to be rational human beings and not creatures of mere instinct.

“We want our leaders to be rational thinking beings of quality not animal-like beings that follow their feelings and instincts.”

                This entry was posted on Tuesday, 10 May 2011, 2:44 pm and is filed under
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Blogger behind Christian Malaysia report deletes posts?

Syed Jaymal Zahiid | May 10, 2011

Free Malaysia Today

A check by FMT showed all posts on the issue have been removed or deleted from the pro-Umno blog.

KUALA LUMPUR: The blogger responsible for Utusan Malaysia’s Malaysian Christian conspiracy report, marahku.blogspot.com, appeared to have deleted all posts related to the allegation amid escalating racial tension between the country’s Christian and conservative Muslim communities.

A check by FMT showed all posts on the issue have been removed or deleted from the pro-Umno blog just as Home Minister Hishammuddin Hussein revealed that nine police reports had been lodged against Utusan and those behind the allegation.

The removal of the postings has triggered questions over the veracity of its allegations as seen on the ongoing debate on the microblogging site Twitter.

Pro-Umno Twitter users were also seen questioning the reasons behind the removal:

“@daxmuhammad: Strange. Tarik handbrake? RT @BroJinggo: Knp http://marahku.blogspot.com delete semua artikel dlm blog dia? Dh buat silap ke? Kesian ko BD!”

(Strange. Pulled the handbrake? @BroJinggo: Why (did the blog, address above) deleted all its articles on his blog? Has he made a mistake?)

The posting that accused predominantly Chinese opposition party, the DAP, of masterminding a conspiracy with Christian leaders to “baptise” Malaysia and paved the way for a Christian prime minister, was picked up by Utusan and published as front page news last Saturday.

Dangerous lies

In his blog posting headlined, “Agong under threat? DAP wants to make Christianity the official religion of Malaysia?”, the writer accused the DAP of trying to amend the Federal Constitution to allow a Christian to become prime minister.

“The whole point of changing the official religion is to allow a Christian to become prime minister of this country,” said the blogger.

Both DAP and Christian leaders had dismissed the report, and accused Utusan of spreading dangerous lies with a political motive.

They also said the continued attacks by Umno-owned Utusan on the Christian community have rendered Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak’s effort to unite a racially divided Malaysia under his 1Malaysia hollow.

This is made worse when right-wing groups like Perkasa and Pembela, known Umno sympathisers, are calling for investigation on the matter and used the report to back their allegations that the position of Islam and the Malays are under non-Muslim threat.

Najib and other Umno leaders have called for calm while some said the Utusan report is unsubstantiated.

The disconnect between Najib’s plural agenda and Utusan’s hawkish attacks suggests a split between Umno’s top echelons and its grassroots which has openly call for maintaining Malay hegemony.

                This entry was posted on Tuesday, 10 May 2011, 6:53 pm and is filed under
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Christian state: PAS demands apology from Hisham

By
Regina Lee

May 10, 11

Malaysiakini

PAS has taken Hishammuddin Hussein to task for his remarks on a media report that Christian groups are plotting to turn Malaysia into a Christian state.

Party vice-president Mahfuz Omar demanded that Hishammuddin apologises for his statement, which Mahfuz claimed had made the Christian-Muslim relations in the country even more tense.

“It was a completely inappropriate response,” said Mahfuz, who is also the Pokok Sena MP.

Umno-owned daily Utusan Malaysia last Saturday front-paged a report about a pro-Umno blog that said there was secret pact and agenda to make Christianity the official religion of the country.

The daily also reported that a meeting between Christian pastors and DAP in Penang plotted the appointment of a Christian prime minister.

Hishammuddin responded to the news by warning against such a move without checking the veracity of the reports.

“Similarly with racial issues. If a particular race were to carry an issue too vigorously, it will provoke reactions from other races,” he told reporters in Kuala Terengganu on Saturday, without naming anyone in his comments.

[More to follow]

                This entry was posted on Tuesday, 10 May 2011, 2:07 pm and is filed under
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Defeated PAP leader: Party must transform

Malaysiakini

Former Singapore Foreign Minister George Yeo reiterated that the People’s Action Party (PAP) must transform to respond to the significant developments in Singapore’s political landscape, stressing it would determine the island-nation’s fate in the 21st century.

In a statement today following his remarkable defeat on home turf Aljunied Group Representation Constituency (GRC), which he has held since 1988, Yeo (right) admitted that he had felt the need to voice the ruling party’s need to transform, well before the campaign for the 2011 Singapore general election began.

“It was not something I felt I could say when the campaign started.

“As we ended our campaign on May 5, I talked about the importance of transforming the PAP. This is a belief I’ve held for some time,” said the two-decade politician.

Yeo said as campaigning progressed, it became evident that the issue was a major one among the electorate.

“Like it or not, we are entering a new phase in Singapore’s political development. How we respond to it will decide Singapore’s destiny in the 21st century.”

On the eve of polling day on May 7, Yeo made ‘transformation’ his battle cry to defend his GRC against an unprecedented assault from the Workers Party (WP) team, which eventually unseated the minister.

According to news reports, Yeo had urged his constituents to give his team, comprising then Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office Lim Hwee Hua, Zainul Abidin Rasheed, Cynthia Phua and Ong Ye Kung, the mandate to lead the change in the PAP.

His opponents, dubbed the WP’s ‘Dream Team’, led by secretary-general Low Thia Khiang and comprising WP chairman Sylvia Lim, Chen Show Mao, Pritam Singh and Faisal Abdul Manap, eventually unseated Yeo, chalking a milestone as Singapore’s first opposition party to win a GRC.

Yeo quitting politics?

Yeo in his parting statement commented on Low’s remark that WP had won not because the PAP team did not do a good job, but because the electorate wanted a new voice to represent them.

“Mr Low’s analysis is fair and I agree with him. This desire for a strong WP voice in Parliament was a political tide which came in through Aljunied, which we were unable to withstand despite our very best efforts.

“Right from the start, the Workers Party made Aljunied a national battleground,” said Yeo.

He added that he would not be contesting Aljunied in the next GE, preferring to leave the task to someone younger.

“Many of my supporters asked me to stay on to win back Aljunied in five years time. I wanted to level with them and told them last night that it is better for a younger person to take on this important task.

“I’m already 57 years old and would be 62 by then. Naturally I would help to ensure a smooth handover,” Yeo added.

                This entry was posted on Tuesday, 10 May 2011, 4:39 pm and is filed under
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Existing systems better, cheaper than myemail service

By
Koh Teng Gee
 | May 10, 2011

The Malaysian Insider

I refer to Idris Jala’s advertisement “Truth and Lies About myemail.”

I believe people at Pemandu are not aware that a practical and secured system is already in place which is also cost-effective. All that the government agencies need to do is to implement it.

Many GLC’s and Government Agencies already have their portals in place. Many had already made arrangement with banks for online payment. Currently, these agencies send billing statements by post to customers. Payment can be made online at their portals, via online banking bill payment, at one-stop payment centres or their office counter. To go paperless, what they need to do is to inform their customers when the eBilling statement is available at their portals.

This can be done by sending an email notification from the provider or via SMS. The amount to be paid could be stated in the SMS or email and to know the details, their customers would login to their portals for payment or print the eBilling statement. Their customers could make payments online using their bank account or credit card. They can even login to their bank portal to make a payment. If they wish to make a payment at a one-stop payment centre, all they would need to do would be to print out the eBilling statement from the portal and take it to the one-stop payment centre to make payment.

The myemail project by Tricubes Berhad had planned to charge government agencies for their service at 50 sen per email. They proposed the introduction of biometric authentication for security. Its success depends on customers’ willingness to register at the National Registration Department or to purchase a USB device. The test simulation using four government agencies are based on an ideal situation where internet access is readily available, people have a habit of checking their emails daily and most households have a computer at home with internet access.

First and foremost, the available infrastructure for internet usage is costly and relatively slow compared to Singapore. Next, people don’t have the habit of checking their email because they are busy with their work and family. Computer ownership and usage of the internet are still lacking in rural areas and their ICT literacy is still unsatisfactory.

As in most Government mega projects, the failure is in the implementation. Projects are envisaged based on ideal situations and not reality. Feasibility studies of myemail, if carried out, are done in favourable situations where there is high ICT literacy and where most households have a computer with internet access. Feasibility studies should be done across different socio-economic backgrounds for a truer picture.

What sort of security is required for billing statements when they are posted by ordinary mail by government agencies? How do these agencies know the billing statements posted have reached the correct customers? Similarly, why do these agencies need to use myemail for security when their current practices do not ensure billing statements reach the correct customers?

They might as well use the free emails that are readily available from Streamyx, Gmail, Hotmail or Yahoo!. Why pay 50 sen per email?

The myemail service, if implemented, will not receive public support because it is not well conceived, and a duplication of what is already available. Pemandu didn’t take into account existing secured and cost-effective systems that are already in place.

                This entry was posted on Tuesday, 10 May 2011, 3:46 pm and is filed under
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