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Incensed Guan Eng castigates pro-Umno blogs

Malaysiakini | Oct 18

Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng is incensed that pro-Umno bloggers are trying to finish off his political career by wrecking the life of his teenage son with “morally despicable and barbaric” lies.

In a statement, Lim demanded that Umno acts against those who are guilty of this, to prove that the party does not employ “desperate, dangerous and dirty tactics” to cling own to power at any cost.

He condemned several Umno leaders for highlighting “this shameful episode” in their blogs, namely, Bukit Gelugor Umno division vice-chief Dr Novandri Hasan Basri and Umno Youth chief Khairy Jamaludin.

Khairy (right), the Rembau MP, had tweeted earlier @PapaGomo Mungkin dia roboh Kampung Buah Pala sebab nak ganti dengan Kampung Buah Dada (Perhaps he demolished Buah Pala village to replace it with ‘Boobs village’).
Continue reading “Incensed Guan Eng castigates pro-Umno blogs”

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Guan Eng slams pro-Umno ‘beasts’ for targetting son in ‘barbaric lies’

By Clara Chooi | October 18, 2011
The Malaysian Insider (Updated)

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 18 — Lim Guan Eng said today he was furious with the “barbaric lies” made about his young son by “pro-Umno ferocious beasts” and singled out Khairy Jamaluddin and other party leaders for perpetrating the allegations with snide comments on blogs and on social media.

“My family and I deplore these lies and fabrications against my young son as morally despicable and barbaric. Umno should act against those trying to wreck the life of my young son with cruel and barbaric lies just to finish me off politically,” Lim (picture) said in a strongly-worded statement today.

The Penang chief minister pointed to the allegations highlighted in Bukit Gelugor Umno division chairman Dr Novandri Hasan Basri’s blog and a subsequent comment posted by Khairy on his Twitter account.
Continue reading “Guan Eng slams pro-Umno ‘beasts’ for targetting son in ‘barbaric lies’”

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Lim Guan Eng on alleged criminal wrongdoing involving his son

Press Statement By Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng In Kuala Lumpur On 18.10.2011.
 
UMNO Should Act Against Those Trying To Wreck The Life Of My Young Son With Cruel And Barbaric Lies Just To Finish Me Off Politically To Prove That UMNO Is Not A 3D Party That Employs Desperate Dangerous And Dirty Tactics

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak had declared during the Gerakan National Delegates Conference two days ago that BN had not given up on Penang and will go all out to recapture the state from Pakatan Rakyat. Following those Najib’s declaration of intent, we see pro-UMNO blogs and some UMNO leaders carrying out a serial campaign in the internet to systematically not only character assasinate me but also cruelly dragging in my young 16 year old son with their lies.
 
My wife and I are furious that pro-UMNO blogs and some UMNO leaders have made or perpetuated false allegations against my young son of criminal wrongdoing. My family and I deplore these lies and fabrications against my young son as morally despicable and barbaric. UMNO should act against those trying to wreck the life of my young son with cruel and barbaric lies just to finish me off politically to prove that UMNO is not a 3D party that employs desperate, dangerous and dirty tactics just to cling on and retain power at any cost.
 
My son had transferred to St Xavier Institution in Penang from Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Cina Heng Yee because I had promised him that he could transfer to the school of his choice if he scored at least 6As in his PMR. When he achieved that, he was transferred at the beginning of the school term this year in January 2011. My son wanted to go to St Xavier because he did not want to have his hair crew-cut as is required for Heng Yee students but wanted to keep his hair longer. Continue reading “Lim Guan Eng on alleged criminal wrongdoing involving his son”

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Guan Eng pohon ampun, Umno bila pula?

— by Aspan Alias
The Malaysian Insider
Sep 30, 2011

30 SEPT — Saya ingin mengucapkan sekalung tahniah kepada Ketua Menteri Pulau Pinang, Lim Guan Eng kerana bertindak untuk memohon ampun kepada Sultan Johor kerana isu kenyataan beliau di Singapura baru-baru ini. Kenyataan beliau itu telah di isukan sebagai kenyataan yang memburuk-burukan negeri Johor serta Sultan yang menaungi negeri itu.

Guan Eng telah memohon ampun dan maaf kepada Raja yang menaungi rakyat dan negeri Johor. Beliau memohon ampun jika kenyataan yang belum tentu kesahihannya itu menyinggung perasaan kebawah Duli Tuanku Johor.

Tindakan Guan Eng ini melambangkan sifat gentleman beliau dan memahami yang negara kita mempunyai Raja-Raja Melayu yang rakyat patut menzahirkan ketaat setiaan kepada Raja-Raja Melayu sentiasa. Tindakan memohon ampun ini adalah satu sifat kepimpinan yang tinggi dan merendah diri yang ada kepada pemimpin muda ini.

Sekarang saya ingin pula menunggu bila pula Umno untuk memohon ampun dan maaf kepada Raja-Raja Melayu kerana menghina Raja-Raja Melayu semasa krisis Perlembagaan pada tahun 1993 dahulu. Sehingga sekarang Umno belum lagi memohon ampun kepada Kebawah Duli Raja-Raja Melayu kerana menelanjangkan kewibawaan Raja-Raja Melayu semasa krisis perlembagaan itu. Continue reading “Guan Eng pohon ampun, Umno bila pula?”

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Kedah-Kelantan pipeline carrot for Umno men, claims US cable

By Clara Chooi
The Malaysian Insider
Sep 29, 2011

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 29 — A leaked US diplomatic cable issued in 2007 said that Malaysia’s RM21 billion trans-peninsula oil pipeline was likely launched as a means to reward Umno loyalists with lucrative contracts if Kelantan’s PAS government fell in Election 2008.

The cable pointed out that no Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) reports were prepared nor economic viability studies conducted for the project as ecological risks were not a major concern to the then Abdullah administration.

“Domestic politics may be a bigger driver for the project than the potential economic payoff,” said the cable, leaked by whistleblower site WikiLeaks and published by the Malaysia Today news portal today.

It said the government viewed the pipeline, which was to run from Kedah to Kelantan, as an opportunity to reward Umno supporters “regardless of whether or not the project makes long-term sense”.

“The refinery and pipeline in Bachok would be seen as a potential Umno deliverable and might just tip the balance in a PAS-controlled state shortly before the election,” the cable said.

It added that such order of business for major projects in Malaysia was “typical”. Continue reading “Kedah-Kelantan pipeline carrot for Umno men, claims US cable”

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Anything But Umno

— Ali Kadir
The Malaysian Insider
Sep 10, 2011

SEPT 10 — Raja Petra Kamarudin (RPK), the blogger, is right. We don’t know if Pakatan Rakyat will be able to govern our beloved country responsibly or walk the talk.

But we do know that they will not be worse than the plundering and blundering hordes of Umno. I say Umno and not BN because in reality the BN component parties such as the MCA, MIC, etc are subsidiaries of Umno. They may have a different flag, motto and even president but their mission statement is to be subservient to Umno.

The elections are around the corner. How do we know that? Simple, the clamour for allocations and funds is getting louder in Umno. Soon, we will be asked to make a choice and by my reckoning the choice is clear: Anything But Umno.

Just let us examine what these Umno types have done to our country. I have no doubt that the likes of Tunku Abdul Rahman, Tun Dr Ismail, Hussein Onn, Tan Siew Sin were men of integrity and served the rakyat. Continue reading “Anything But Umno”

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The haze and the malaise

Ethnic politics makes Malaysia’s transition to a contested democracy fraught and ugly

Sep 10th 2011
Banyan | The Economist

SKYSCRAPERS and lampposts in Kuala Lumpur are still festooned with flags left over from independence day festivities at the end of August. Fittingly, this week they were shrouded in the annual “haze” of smog from forest fires on the Indonesian island of Sumatra. Malaysia’s politicians are not in the mood to celebrate nationhood and unity. Rather, with an election in the offing, everything is a chance for political point-scoring.

That includes independence itself. One huge banner in the centre of the capital shows the country’s six prime ministers since the British left in 1957, with the incumbent, Najib Razak, in the foreground, gazing into a visionary future. All six hailed from the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO), which has led the “Barisan Nasional” (BN) coalition government ever since 1957. Some opposition politicians now complain that the official narrative of Malaysia’s history ignores the role of non-UMNO freedom fighters. Since the most recent general election, in March 2008, the opposition has had a real chance of winning power. For the first time since independence in 1957, the BN lost its two-thirds majority in Parliament that allowed it to amend the constitution on its own. No longer a one-coalition state, the opposition argues, Malaysia has to rethink its own history.
Continue reading “The haze and the malaise”

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The making of a hero out of our own stupidity

By Mohd Arshad Raji
September 5, 2011

I received this distressing email from a colleague regarding the death of Bernama’s cameraman Noramfaizul Mohd Nor who was shot while on UMNO Putra’s humanitarian mission in famine stricken Somalia. For those Malaysian soldiers that had served Somalia during the troubled period of the early 90’s would know the dangers fronting them, and UMNO Putra’s humanitarian mission in that god forsaken failed state is to my mind a total waste of time and effort. Noramfaizul’s death was in vain and there is no denying this, and to declare Noramfaizul’s a hero now is the making of UMNO Putra’s own stupidity. Continue reading “The making of a hero out of our own stupidity”

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Recognising history would make Umno irrelevant

By Mohd Ariff Sabri Aziz | September 5, 2011
Free Malaysia Today

Former premier Dr Mahathir Mohamad said Umno hasn’t got leadership. My take on that statement is that it is the damnest indictment on Prime Minsiter Najib Tun Razak’s leadership.

Umno is now reduced to the stature of a beggar – scrounging at the supposed faux pas committed by PAS deputy president Mat Sabu.

What has Mat Sabu actually said that caused so much consternation?

Mat Sabu mentioned the name of Mat Indera, the Batu Pahat Malay born in Peserai who led the attack on the police barrack at Bukit Kepong.
Continue reading “Recognising history would make Umno irrelevant”

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NGO responsible for Bernama man’s death, says kin

By Boo Su-Lyn
The Malaysian Insider
Sep 04, 2011

SUBANG, Sept 4 — As Malaysians mourn the killing of a local journalist in Somalia, Noramfaizul Mohd Nor’s relatives want the non-governmental By Boo Su-LynPutera 1 Malaysia Club to be held responsible for his death.

The club — which is headed by Umno supreme council member Datuk Abdul Azeez Rahim — organised a humanitarian mission to the war-torn country that led to the Bernama TV cameraman’s death last Friday.

“They (Putera 1 Malaysia Club) are the ones who organised (the mission). They cannot lepas tangan (evade responsibility),” Noramfaizul’s uncle Abu Bakar Md Yasin told The Malaysian Insider at the Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF) base here today.

“They should have done prior intelligence. Don’t just barge in. This is a foreign country,” added the 64-year-old retired civil servant from the Defence Ministry. Continue reading “NGO responsible for Bernama man’s death, says kin”

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Somali mission survivors say no bulletproof vests, training

By Boo Su-Lyn
September 04, 2011 | The Malaysian Insider

SUBANG, Sept 4 — Young journalists who covered a non-governmental organisation’s fatal humanitarian mission to Somalia said they were not given full training or bulletproof vests in Africa’s deadliest country for media personnel.

Bernama TV cameraman Noramfaizul Mohd Nor was killed in the Somali capital of Mogadishu last Friday when African Union peacekeepers allegedly shot at a four-wheel drive in which six mission members, including the 39-year-old, were travelling.

Astro Awani reporter Tan Su Lin, who was in the same truck with Noramfaizul during the shooting, said she was not trained on how to cover hostile zones. Continue reading “Somali mission survivors say no bulletproof vests, training”

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Journalists’ safety in war zones

– Centre for Independent Journalism Malaysia
The Malaysian Insider
September 03, 2011

SEPT 3 – The Centre for Independent Journalism (CIJ) Malaysia mourns the death of BERNAMA TV cameraperson Noramfaizul Mohd Nor, 41, who was killed in Mogadishu, Somalia, while travelling with a group on an aid mission for the famine-struck nation. Our heartfelt condolences go to the family and friends of the late Noramfaizul.

We welcome the Somali government’s assurance that the circumstances of his death will be investigated and conveyed to the Malaysian public, and hope that justice will be meted out to those responsible.

On their part, Malaysian authorities and organisers of such missions to conflict areas must clarify the protection measures undertaken for accompanying journalists. This would include providing journalists with a thorough safety briefing and training, as well as protective gear that should also differentiate them as journalists or neutral observers. Continue reading “Journalists’ safety in war zones”

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UMNO’s Somalia medical mission: genuine or publicity stunt?

By BLACKHAWK

By the time this article is published, the body of 39-year-old Noramfaizul Mohd Nor, Bernama’s late cameraman, who had apparently followed UMNO Putra club’s humanitarian mission to Somalia would have arrived in Malaysia. It is tragic, that apart from the hundreds of lives lost during the Raya period on Malaysian roads due to the balik kampong mayhem, Faizul should meet his death in war torn Mogadishu, Somalia.

Was this just an accident? Could it have been avoided? Did UMNO rush to Somalia to genuinely help Somalians? Or did UMNO throw caution to the wind and rush callously on the eve of Raya to Somalia just for a publicity stunt? If it was for a publicity stunt, then Faizul would have died in vain and this wouldn’t have been the first time when our personnel, both medical and non-medical would have risked not only their lives but more importantly the people around them who may be completely oblivious to the dangers of this sort of missions. Continue reading “UMNO’s Somalia medical mission: genuine or publicity stunt?”

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Rakyat Merdeka: Tidak mahu lagi dijajah oleh sentimen perkauman

– Aspan Alias
The Malaysian Insider
Sep 02, 2011

2 SEPT — Hari ini hari ketiga syawal dan umat Islam di seluruh negara masih di dalan mood lebaran. Hari Raya tahun ini merupakan perayaan berkembar dengan hari kemerdekaan negara yang jatuh pada hari semalam, iaitu hari rakyat negara kita memulakan pentadbiran negara oleh rakyat kita sendiri. Tarikh yang menjadi hari sambutan kemerdekaan ini ialah 31 Ogos.

Usaha mencapai kemerdekaan ini bermula jauh sebelum penubuhan Umno pada tahun 1946 dahulu tetapi pertubuhan-pertubuhan yang bergerak itu merupakan pergerakan individu oleh puluhan pertubuhan yang semuanya mengarah kepada pencapaian kemerdekaan negara.

Badan-badan atau pertubuhan yang bergerak itu tidak bersatu di antara satu dengan yang lain kerana semasa itu kita belum ada negara yang bernama Persekutuan Tanah Melayu.(PTM). PTM hanya wujud pada 2 Februari 1948. Sebelumnya itu negeri-negeri yang kini berada di dalam sebuah negara Persekutuan, adalah negeri-negeri yang di tadbir oleh kerajaan beraja masing-masing. Continue reading “Rakyat Merdeka: Tidak mahu lagi dijajah oleh sentimen perkauman”

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Umno turning right leads BN downhill

— Ooi Kee Beng
The Malaysian Insider
Sep 02, 2011

SEPT 2 — On July 9, the streets of Kuala Lumpur played host to animated engagements between demonstrators and the police. Bersih 2.0, which started out as a simple and hesitant attempt to revive public interest in electoral reforms, became a huge demonstration that captured the imagination of many young Malaysians.

It seized their imagination more strongly than anyone expected, leaving little doubt that Malaysia is in transition.

But what needs studying is what it is transiting away from, and what it is transiting to. The two are, of course, strongly related but what is this widespread eagerness for change a part of, which now pervades the country?

The situation is complicated no doubt but we do not need to go very far back in time to find an answer. Continue reading “Umno turning right leads BN downhill”

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Merdeka! Are we truly free?

Jeswan Kaur
Free Malaysia Today
August 31, 2011

Corruption, nepotism, cronyism and the abuse of the judiciary and legislation have marred the significance of Aug 31.

COMMENT

Aug 31 is a day of reflection, of taking cognisance of the fact that the country’s independence or Merdeka can no longer be taken for granted, that too by the “keepers” of this nation.

Regrettably, it is the “powers that be” that have marred the meaning of Merdeka. Corruption, nepotism, cronyism and the abuse of the judiciary and legislation have marred the significance of Merdeka, especially for the younger generation.

Instead of imparting profound meaning to Malaysians, Aug 31 had been reduced from the sublime to the ridiculous by the power-hungry and “self-first” politicians-leaders of this country.

The fact is Malaysia is “independent” but only in name, not in act. The existence of draconian laws that are continuously abused by the “powers that be” to safeguard its position have turned the understanding of Merdeka into a laughing stock. Continue reading “Merdeka! Are we truly free?”

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Penyakit Umno: Penyakit dalaman

— Aspan Alias
The Malaysian Insider
Aug 26, 2011

26 OGOS — Jika kita timbang-timbang saudara harus percaya bahawa Najib Razak merupakan Perdana Menteri dan Pengerusi Barisan Nasional yang paling banyak masalah yang kian hari kian bertambah tanpa sedikit pun tanda-tanda ia akan berkurangan.

Oleh kerana terlalu banyak masalah yang di hadapinya tanpa sebarang penyelesaiannya maka Najib tiada pilihan selain dari mengakui bahawa beliau sedang menghadapi krisis kepimpinan yang amat serius dalam sejarah kepimpinan negara kita sejak merdeka.

Sesungguhnya Najib tidak sepatutnya menghadapi masalah ini kerana beliau mempunyai Ahli Majlis Teringgi Umno yang sepatutnya membantu beliau. Dalam keadaan sekaranglah sepatutnya mereka-mereka yang ada di dalam Majlis Tertinggi Umno serta Ahli-Ahli Jemaah Kabinet mereka bersama-sama memikul tanggungjawab dalam erti kata “tanggungjawab bersama”.

Begitulah masalahnya di dalam Umno kerana hanya Perdana Menteri akan menerima kredit atau bertanggungjawab bersendirian jika masalah melanda. Dalam keadaan sekarang nampaknya tidak ada yang bersama-sama memberikan dukongan kepada Perdana Menteri yang telah melantik beliau ke dalam Kabinet serta menjadi “team” beliau di dalam Majlis Tertinggi parti. Continue reading “Penyakit Umno: Penyakit dalaman”

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Sentimen perkauman membuat BN tidak relevan

— Aspan Alias
The Malaysian Insider
Aug 25, 2011

25 OGOS — Mengenengahkan isu perkauman memang sudah menjadi isu basi bagi generasi yang muda. Generasi muda sudah menganggapnya sebagai isu lapuk yang hanya di gunakan oleh pihak yang desperado untuk terus menunggangi rakyat untuk kepentingan kuasa yang berlandaskan kepada pemikiran sempit setengah pihak.

Sebenarnya jika seseorang itu mempunyai pemikiran yang tenang tanpa di saluti oleh pemikiran sempit politik, isu perkauman amat menjemukan kerana itu bukanlah isu pratikal lagi dalam kehidupan rakyat Malaysia yang cintakan keamanan.

Oleh itu telah mula kita nampak jelas tanda-tanda yang menunjukan yang rakyat sudah tidak mahu lagi menerima pihak-pihak yang menggendangkan isu perkauman kerana isu itu hanya akan membuatkan mereka tidak tenang untuk hidup dalam masyarakat majmuk yang merupakan realiti kehidupan di Malaysia ini.

Rakyat sudah mula menggorak langkah untuk menghindarkan dari isu perkauman ini menjadi lebih menebal di kalangan berbagai kaum di negara ini. Dalam masa yang terdekat ini sudah ada kecenderungan yang orang Melayu untuk menyertai DAP yang sekarang ini di dominasi oleh kaum Cina dan PAS yang bukan sebuah parti perkauman. Continue reading “Sentimen perkauman membuat BN tidak relevan”

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Mat Zain: Dropping Tajuddin suits raises doubt over Umno funds

By Shannon Teoh
The Malaysian Insider
Aug 18, 2011

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 18 — A former senior police investigator has questioned Putrajaya’s directive for all GLCs to drop civil suits worth billions of ringgit against Tan Sri Tajuddin Ramli, stating that the move raises the question of whether hundreds of millions of ringgit were being held by Umno nominees.

Datuk Mat Zain Ibrahim wrote in an article sent to The Malaysian Insider that the former MAS chairman held RM70 million in trust for Tun Daim Zainuddin who was finance minister during Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s administration.

“The question of whether the money belonged to Tun Daim, or was shared with someone else or if it belonged to Umno will become an issue. In short, the public has the right to raise 1,001 questions on this issue,” said the former city CID chief. Continue reading “Mat Zain: Dropping Tajuddin suits raises doubt over Umno funds”

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A short rebuke of Ezam Mohd Nor

By Art Harun | August 16, 2011
The Malaysian Insider

AUG 16 — Dear Ezam,

With reference to your manic and almost maniacal spewing of hatred last Friday, I just have this to say to you.

You are an embarrassment.

This is Ramadan. Muslims fast during Ramadan. Good Muslims do not only fast and suffer mere physical pain during the fasting — a six-year-old can do that — but they reflect upon themselves and upon their surroundings and they abstain not only from food and drinks, but also from all things evil and ungodly.

The hunger pangs and thirst which Muslims suffer during the fast are just the surface of something which is deeper and more meaningful. Good Muslims correlate the mere physical abstention to a more meaningful spiritual experience. Without the spiritual experience and realisation of fasting, the act of fasting becomes and is reduced to a mere ritual and yearly routine.
Continue reading “A short rebuke of Ezam Mohd Nor”