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Let’s band together against the extremists in 2015

Zan Azlee
The Malaysian Insider
2 January 2015

Another new year has arrived and we are now in 2015. I have never declared or committed myself to any new year resolution because I think it’s all crap. You change when you want to change.

But this time, I’m going to commit to a resolution. It is simple. I will continue to use every platform that I have to promote moderation, open-mindedness, multiculturalism and religious pluralism.

I have done it for years and will continue doing it with even stronger force this year because 2014, to me, was the year of overbearing racial and religious extremism.

Groups like Isma and Perkasa, and individuals like Ridhuan Tee Abdullah, have been so loud throughout last year that my ears are still aching and ringing into the new year. They definitely do not speak for me. Continue reading “Let’s band together against the extremists in 2015”

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Writing to Najib on three proposals: Defer GST, Double up RM500 million to RM1 billion allocation with interest-free loans to all victims to re-start business and declare state of emergency to deal worsening floods in Pahang and to enable flood victims to start life anew

Yesterday DAP sent multiple flood relief teams to flood-stricken areas in Kelantan and Pahang, comprising:

(i) Three containers of essential supplies to flood victims, two from Penang and one from Johore for Kuala Krai as part of the “Save Kuala Krai Convoy Mission”.

(ii) Some 250 “great Malaysian sons and daughters” from Penang, Selangor, Kuala Lumpur, Negri Sembilan and Johor who took part in the multiple flood relief mission of New Year’s Day 2015, comprising:

(a) over 20 FWDs from Penang (flagged off by Penang Chief Minister and DAP Secretary-General Lim Guan Eng in Penang on New Year’s Day at 1.30 a.m.) driving 15 hours from Penang to Kuala Krai ferrying over 2,000 cartons of essential supplies from two containers and over 20 FWDs.

(b) Over 20 FWDs of supplies from Selangor, Kuala Lumpur and Negri Sembilan to Kuala Krai (this is the third relief mission to Kuala Krai led DAP National Organising Secretary Anthony Loke in five days).

(c) Three containers (one for Kuala Krai, one for Kota Bharu and another for Mentakab) together with 11 FWDs of emergency supplies from Johor DAP, led by 2MPs and 7 SAs. Continue reading “Writing to Najib on three proposals: Defer GST, Double up RM500 million to RM1 billion allocation with interest-free loans to all victims to re-start business and declare state of emergency to deal worsening floods in Pahang and to enable flood victims to start life anew”

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Weather Worries Remain in Hunt for AirAsia Plane

By EILEEN NG and ROBIN McDOWELL Associated Press
ABC News
Jan 1, 2015

SURABAYA, Indonesia —

More ships arrived Friday with sensitive equipment to search for the fuselage of AirAsia Flight 8501 and the more than 150 people still missing since it crashed five days ago.

Rear Marshal Henry Bambang Soelistyo, head of Indonesia’s National Search and Rescue Agency, said the search would be stepped up as long as the weather allowed.

“We will focus on underwater detection,” said Soelistyo, adding ships from Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and the U.S. had been on the scene from before dawn Friday to try to pinpoint the wreckage and the all-important black boxes? the flight data and cockpit voice recorders.

The Airbus A320 crashed into the Java Sea on Sunday with 162 people on board. Nine bodies have been recovered so far.

Nine planes, many with metal detectors, were also scouring a 13,500 square kilometer (8,380 square mile) area off Pangkalan Bun, the closest town on Borneo island to the search area. Two Japanese ships with three helicopters are on their way to the area, Soelistyo said. Continue reading “Weather Worries Remain in Hunt for AirAsia Plane”

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Tweets on “Save Kuala Krai Convoy Mission” (1.1.2015)

1.Visit to Kuala Krai today (1.1.2015), esp desolate town with Kuala Krai MP Dr. Mohd Hatta after ravages of flood catastrophe, unforgettable.

2. Woes grievances unhappiness of people of Kuala Krai (from “horse’s mouth” so to say) over flood catastrophe eloquent/moving – being totally abandoned!

3. Met flood victims – every Malay Chinese Indian in Kuala Krai – from all races who have one common universal grouse: they need help and urgently.

4. Today full mobilisation by DAP States MPs SAs activists for relief of Kuala Krai and other flood-ravaged areas like Mentakab Gua Musang Kota Bharu.

5. Three containers of over 3,000 cartons of essential supplies distributed in Kuala Krai – 2 from Penang 1 from Johor. Also some 60 FWDs of reliefs Continue reading “Tweets on “Save Kuala Krai Convoy Mission” (1.1.2015)”

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The search for AirAsia Flight QZ8501: Where things stand

By Jethro Mullen, CNN
January 1, 2015

(CNN) — Searchers looking for more bodies and wreckage from AirAsia Flight QZ8501 in the Java Sea faced fresh difficulties with bad weather Thursday.

Ships, planes and helicopters are being used to find victims of the disaster. Most of the people on board the flight remain missing, and officials are yet to confirm that they’ve found the plane’s fuselage.

Here’s key information about where things stand:

The flight

What we know: Flight QZ8501 took off early Sunday from Surabaya, Indonesia, bound for Singapore. Roughly 35 minutes into the flight, the pilot asked air traffic control for permission to turn left and climb to a higher altitude to avoid bad weather. Minutes later, the plane disappeared from air traffic control’s radar.

What we don’t know: What happened on board after contact with the plane was lost. No distress call was received. Indonesian aviation authorities have suggested that the plane ascended despite permission being denied because of traffic.

Some experts have speculated that the aircraft might have experienced an aerodynamic stall because of a lack of speed or from flying at too sharp an angle to get enough lift. Analysts have also suggested that the pilots might not have been getting information from onboard systems about the plane’s position, or that rain or hail from thunderstorms in the area could have damaged the engines.

Until the main wreckage of the plane is found, along with the flight recorders, experts have little evidence to support their theories. Continue reading “The search for AirAsia Flight QZ8501: Where things stand”