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Fill half with Sabahans: DAP

Daily Express
Published on: Sunday, September 19, 2010

Kota Kinabalu: The Federal Government should seriously implement the 20-Point Agreement on Borneonisation by setting a target to fill at least half the 59 Federal departments in Sabah with Sabahans as heads before the next Malaysia Day celebration on September 16, 2011, said DAP Adviser Lim Kit Siang.

“(Prime Minister Datuk Seri) Najib should table this target at the Cabinet meeting next Wednesday to demonstrate that his administration is serious in wanting to address the 47-year grievances, frustrations and discontent of Sabahans and Sarawakians – making the first Malaysia Day as a national public holiday really worthwhile and meaningful,” he said.

He said Sabahans are disappointed that Najib came to Sabah completely empty-handed for the first Malaysia Day national public holiday in 47 years.

Speaking at the Malam Pakatan Rakyat gathering cum dinner held in Beaufort, Thursday, Lim further contended that if not for People’s Power as represented by the emergence of Pakatan Rakyat, Malaysia Day on September 16 would not have been declared a national public holiday by the Prime Minister even after 47 years.

He said that this was why the people of Sabah and Sarawak do not want to see the declaration of Malaysia Day as a national public holiday as a mere political ploy. Continue reading “Fill half with Sabahans: DAP”

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Call for RCI into why no action had been taken on earlier police reports as far back as 2005 against the lawyer brothers linked to the mass murders of Sosilawati and 3 others

The Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, Tan Sri Dr. Koh Tsu Koon said yesterday that “All quarters should work together in making the 1 Malaysia concept and the Government Transformation Programme (GTP) a success instead of creating controversial issues which will not do any good to the country’s development”. (Malaysian Insider)

He said what was more important now was for all quarters to pay attention to improve the country’s economy and offer better service to the people, both in the urban and rural areas.

“If there are views or criticisms, the criticisms should be something constructive and positive and not something that could create disharmony among the parties.

As example he cited: “For example, a crime should not be linked to a racial issue because it will not do any good to anybody.”

The Umno newspaper, Utusan Malaysia has been most guilty of being negative, destructive and even downright irresponsible, mischievous and malicious in its campaign to undermine national unity and harmony in the country.

It is most deplorable that Utusan Malaysia had tried to politicise and racialise the heinous, gruesome and despicable mass murders of Datuk Sosilawai Lawiya and three others in Banting for its ignoble objectives, publishing the defamatory insinuation and double lies on Sept. 16 that DAP was siding with the mass murderers and had been silent on the mass murders either because the “Datuk” killer was DAP member or DAP “fights for the rights of a certain race only”.

In actual fact, DAP had come out with an unreserved condemnation of the mass murders of Datuk Sosilawati and three others when such terrible crimes came to light on Sept. 12, and in my first press conference in Kota Kinabalu on Sept. 15 on my return to Malaysia from the Shanghai World Expo, I had also denounced in the strongest possible terms the heinous, gruesome crimes of the mass murders of Sosilawati and three others.

What is the use of Tsu Koon preaching about 1Malaysia when he dared not denounce the gutter journalism practised by Utusan Malaysia? Continue reading “Call for RCI into why no action had been taken on earlier police reports as far back as 2005 against the lawyer brothers linked to the mass murders of Sosilawati and 3 others”

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Najib’s failure to stand up and be counted to condemn extremism and extremists especially from his own camp will be the undoing of his 1Malaysia concept

Malaysians are witnessing the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak, performing one of his biggest flip-flops in his 18 months at the helm of the country’s administration.

Najib’s attempt to distance or disentangle Umno from Perkasa did not last more than a week from the announcement of the Umno Secretary-General that Perkasa was eroding non-Malay support for Barisan Nasional to Najib’s Malaysia Day message expressing sadness at the rise of extremism in his 18 months as Prime Minister.

Most ironically, Najib chose the Yayasan 1Malaysia seminar themed “Living In a Multi-Ethnic Society” in Kuala Lumpur after the Malaysia Day celebrations in Sabah to perform the flip-flop – refusing to name Perkasa as the worst culprit responsible for the rise of extremism and scaring away foreign investors.

This is now followed by Tengku Adnan’s flip-flop today denying that the Barisan Nasional parties had agreed to keep a distance from Perkasa.

If Barisan Nasional parties had never agreed top keep a distance from Perkasa, are MCA and Gerakan national leaders to “eat their words” for publicly welcoming such a decision? Continue reading “Najib’s failure to stand up and be counted to condemn extremism and extremists especially from his own camp will be the undoing of his 1Malaysia concept”

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Sosilawati murders – incompetence or corruption?

Letters
by Charles Tojo
Malaysiakini
Sep 17, 10

I refer to the horrific murders of Malaysia ‘s cosmetic queen, Sosilawati Lawiya and three of her colleagues in a not so remote farm outside Banting.
These murders could have been avoided if our police force had been more professional. Clearly the police took a tidak apa attitude or were ‘in it’ in all previous deaths/disappearances. The number of ‘missing persons’ reports all linked to these lawyers emerging all of a sudden out of the blue is testimony to this.

Do you know where this lawyer’s office? Its right across the police station’s reception counter, hardly 50 meters away. And do you know where he stays? In Taman Cempaka, also right across the police station. That their ‘farm’ at Taman Endah was conveniently located only a stone throw’s away from the Hindu disposition site for the cremated ashes of the dead could explain why some of the dead have disappeared without a trace. How very convenient. Kill the victims, cremate them and throw the ashes together with the rest of the Hindu dead at Morib’s established beach site location. A slick morbid operation indeed, if everything is proven true.

It is inconceivable that the police were oblivious to all their wrongdoings, especially since we now have at least two complainants coming forward, a wife of a Chennai businessman who disappeared after meeting the lawyers a year ago, and a local mechanic who had his wife slashed to death at Taman Cempaka itself with the mechanic himself ending up in the lock-up instead of both the lawyers being thrown in the slammer after a financial deal had gone wrong. This scenario looks more like a 1 Corrupted Malaysia Boleh story. Continue reading “Sosilawati murders – incompetence or corruption?”

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Ku Nan now denies BN leaders snubbed Perkasa

The Malaysian Insider
By Boo Su-Lyn
September 19, 2010

Kuala Lumpur – Tengku Adnan denies that his BN counterparts have agreed to distance the ruling coalition from Perkasa. – file picKUALA LUMPUR, Sept 19 — Umno secretary-general Datuk Seri Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor has now denied that his Barisan Nasional (BN) colleagues agreed to keep the ruling coalition from Perkasa as it was eroding their support.

His denial came shortly after Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s statement yesterday that Umno did not want to stir conflict with any non-governmental organisation (NGO), despite the recent move by Umno leaders, including himself, to rebuff the Malay rights group.

“When we had a meeting with BN secretaries-general, we never talked even a little bit that we wanted to distance ourselves from anybody,” Tengku Adnan told The Malaysian Insider today.

“Our policy is to be close with everybody. We should even go and approach opposition members and explain what our policies are because they are misguided,” the BN secretary-general added.

Earlier, Tengku Adnan reportedly said his BN counterparts had agreed that distancing the ruling coalition from Perkasa was the best way forward to halt the erosion of non-Malay support for BN.

He had also told them that Umno would not back the strident Malay rights group or Ibrahim in the next general election.

Tengku Adnan however denied stating that BN had to distance itself from Perkasa. He pointed out that he merely said the Malay group has tried to undermine the coalition’s chances in the next general election by sabotaging the racial harmony between BN component parties.

“I never said we have to distance ourselves from Perkasa. I just said Perkasa is trying to jeopardise BN’s position for the next general election by destroying the racial harmonious position between my component parties,” said Tengku Adnan.

The Umno secretary-general went a step further and said that he had never asked party members to sever ties with Perkasa, accusing its president Datuk Ibrahim Ali of blowing the issue out of proportion.

“I didn’t even ask members of Umno to relinquish their relationship with Perkasa. It was totally blown out of proportion by Ibrahim Ali,” said Tengku Adnan.

Perkasa claims to have a membership base of 300,000, of whom 80 per cent are said to be Umno members.

He however, was quick to deny that his statement today was a reversal of his earlier stand against Perkasa. Continue reading “Ku Nan now denies BN leaders snubbed Perkasa”

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Malaysia’s religious problems: The way forward

by Pak Sako
Centre for Policy Initiatives
Saturday, 18 September 2010 15:06

“You are my brother and I love you. I love you worshipping in your church, kneeling in your temple, and praying in your mosque. You and I and all are children of one religion, for the varied paths of religion are but the fingers of the loving hand of the Supreme Being, extended to all, offering completeness of spirit to all, anxious to receive all.

“I love you for your Truth, derived from your knowledge; that Truth which I cannot see because of my ignorance. But I respect it as a divine thing, for it is the deed of the spirit. Your Truth shall meet my Truth in the coming world and blend together like the fragrance of flowers and becoming one whole and eternal Truth, perpetuating and living in the eternity of Love and Beauty.”

— Kahlil Gibran, A Tear And A Smile (1914)

Religious pluralism is a cornerstone for achieving harmony in societies with people of varied faiths. Yet in multi-religious Malaysia politicians shy away from discussing religious pluralism. It is difficult to get straight answers about their stand on or commitment to it.

Take for example the recently concluded panel discussion on ‘National Unity through Religion, Law and Shared Values’ at UCSI University in KL. It is unclear whether religious pluralism or religious bigotry were fruitfully discussed. The contents of the discussion are not made public enough. It can be gleaned from news reports that there were barely satisfactory answers to barely satisfactory questions.

What is conspicuous is that there is an excruciating lack of focus on the heart of the issue.

Here I refocus attention on what really matters. Continue reading “Malaysia’s religious problems: The way forward”