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July 9: Umno Youth to march as well

By Wong Teck Chi
Jun 16, 11 | MalaysiaKini

Umno Youth today resolved to hold a major street rally that will coincide with the Bersih 2.0 movement’s rally on July 9.

Like the Bersih 2.0 movement, Umno Youth seeks to march to the Istana Negara.

But while Bersih 2.0 said it is rallying to call for electoral reforms, the Umno Youth rally seeks to support the current electoral system.

“We are supporting the present electoral system and want to work with the (Election Commission) to improve it further,” Umno Youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin Abu Bakar said told Malaysiakini. Continue reading “July 9: Umno Youth to march as well”

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Umno ‘welcomed’ to sue Penang on mosque polls

By Susan Loone
Jun 17, 11 | MalaysiaKini

Penang state executive councillor for religious affairs Abdul Malik Abul Kassim has challenged groups protesting the elections to mosque committees in the state to sue the government.

Abdul Malik said the election would go on despite the fierce protests from Umno as the procedure was in compliance with Section 22(4) of the Penang Islamic Religious Council (MAIPP) enactment.

“So if anybody wants to challenge this, you are welcome,” said Abdul Malik, the assemblyperson for Batu Maung.

“Those who cannot accept improvements that benefit the people and the Muslim community surely cannot accept this change,” he added. Continue reading “Umno ‘welcomed’ to sue Penang on mosque polls”

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What’s so “dirty” about Bersih 2.0 rally?

By Mustafa K. Anuar
June 17, 2011 | The Malaysian Insider

JUNE 17 — We’ve heard it all. Dire warnings issued, threats yelled out, police reports filed, scathing commentaries published in incredulous and incredible news sheets. And all this prior to the planned Bersih 2.0 rally on July 9, 2011 in Kuala Lumpur.

If these “noises” were to be believed, our collective mind would be filled to the brim with mental pictures of Bersih participants, in the worrying words of Perkasa boss Ibrahim Ali, throwing stones and burning cars!

Why, these people might even go the whole hog and work themselves into a frenzy on the streets of Kuala Lumpur, wildly throwing Molotov cocktails into the tourist spots of, say, Bukit Bintang, storming the Parliament building, running amok and attacking whoever dare come their way. Continue reading “What’s so “dirty” about Bersih 2.0 rally?”

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Twitter Power – Helen Clark comes to detainees’ rescue

by MICHAEL FIELD
stuff.co.nz

Former Prime Minister Helen Clark has played a crucial role in winning the release of three jailed Bahraini activists and it is partly due to her passion for Twitter.

Now Secretary General of the United Nations Development Programme, she appears to have followed the arrest of the three women who were Twittering through it all, and then used the power of the social network and her office to win their freedom.

The three women were arrested as they tried to stage a sit-in at a United Nations office in the capital Manama.
Zainab Alkhawaja, Asma Darwish and Sawsan Jawad, who are all closely related to men who were detained during the recent protests, were finally released at about midnight local time.

According to the New York Times, throughout their seven hours in captivity, they managed to hold onto their phones and called on their followers on the social network to apply pressure on Bahrain’s government and on the United Nations.

Clark, who Twitters regularly, then used the UNDP handle to tell the women – and the world – “we’re looking into the situation and establish the facts with a sense of urgency. We’ll give an update asap”. Continue reading “Twitter Power – Helen Clark comes to detainees’ rescue”

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Sarbaini continues to haunt Parliament

Tarani Palani | June 16, 2011
Free Malaysia Today

The government maintains its stand that by law, an inquest needs to be established before a RCI. But Lim Kit Siang says the argument is flawed.

KUALA LUMPUR: The death of Selangor Customs Department assistant director Ahmad Sarbaini Mohamed continues to haunt Parliament despite a motion to disclose the deceased’s assets being rejected earlier this week.

The government has insisted that a Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) cannot be established to investigate the death because an inquest must be carried out first, according to the law.

Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Liew Vui Keong reiterated the government’s stand on this issue in Parliament today. Continue reading “Sarbaini continues to haunt Parliament”

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Yen Yen blames DAP for Facebook ‘distortion’

By Shazwan Mustafa Kamal
The Malaysian Insider
Jun 16, 2011

KUALA LUMPUR, June 16 — Datuk Seri Ng Yen Yen blamed DAP for “distorting” facts on the tourism ministry’s RM1.8 million expenditure to develop six Facebook pages, insisting today she did not contradict a detailed account of the costs.

Her deputy, James Dawos Mamit, had told Parliament that each Facebook page had cost RM293,072.

“My deputy minister had answered it very clearly… Facebook is free.

“The cost is for the integrated social media campaign, the DAP has taken the campaign and distorted it… I accuse him (Anthony Loke) of distortion,” she told reporters today.

The tourism minister said that so far RM250,000 had been spent on the campaign. Continue reading “Yen Yen blames DAP for Facebook ‘distortion’”

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Despite counter protest, Bersih gathers pace on Facebook

By Shannon Teoh
The Malaysian Insider
Jun 16, 2011

KUALA LUMPUR, June 16 – Support for the Bersih 2.0 rally on July 9 appears to be unaffected by the threat of clashes with the anti-Bersih counter protest in the streets of the capital city.

The Pakatan Rakyat-backed (PR) demonstration calling for free and fair elections has faced loud opposition from the right-wing Malay ground led by Perkasa, which has said that it is “ready for any eventuality.”

But as at 5pm today, the official Bersih Facebook group has over 14,300 likes, growing by more than a thousand in the last 24 hours, with nearly 300 more people confirming they will attend the march, which has close to 2,200 confirmed participants on its Facebook page.

In contrast, the anti-Bersih page now has 368 likes, 150 more than yesterday. Continue reading “Despite counter protest, Bersih gathers pace on Facebook”