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Call for public inquiry as Najib’s denial of Rosmah’s role in media censorship of ntv7 news talk resulting in resignation of senior producer Joshua Wong lacks credibility

The denial of Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak that his wife Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor had a role in the media censorship of ntv7 news talks show “Editor’s Time” resulting in the resignation of senior producer Joshua Wong lacks credibility.

If Najib is convinced that Rosmah is not involved, he should set up a public inquiry to clear Rosmah’s name and convince Malaysians that he is not setting a new precedent where the Prime Minister’s wife is assuming the de facto role of a Super Minister spanning various ministries by openly intervening in public and government affairs.

Does Najib agree that any involvement of the Prime Minister’s wife in the media censorship of ntv7 talk show resulting in the resignation of Joshua Wong is completely unacceptable and undesirable?
Continue reading “Call for public inquiry as Najib’s denial of Rosmah’s role in media censorship of ntv7 news talk resulting in resignation of senior producer Joshua Wong lacks credibility”

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Farce of prosecution and acquittal of two Perak “frogs” has plunged public confidence in MACC to new low and will cause Malaysia’s CPI 2010 to plumb a new depth

The farce of the prosecution and acquittal of the two Perak “frogs” has plunged public confidence in the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) to a new low and will cause Malaysia’s Corruption Perception Index 2010 of Transparency International to plumb to a new depth from the nation’s present worst ranking of No. 56 in 2009.

Even before public confidence in MACC has recovered from the fatal blow of the mysterious death of DAP aide Teoh Beng Hock at the MACC Headquarters falling from 14th to 5th floor on July 16 last year, the MACC has scored another own goal with the farcical prosecution and acquittal of the two “frogs” in Perak.

MACC and the Barisan Nasional should know the outcome if an opinion poll is conducted among Perakians and Malaysians as to whether they believe there was a “package deal” offered to engineer the defection of the two “frogs” and their dastardly betrayal of the people’s mandate to topple the legitimate Pakatan Rakyat Perak state government and Perak Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Nizar Jamaluddin.

The new grievous blow to public confidence in the MACC could not have come at a worse time, when public outrage at the obstacles and pressures put in the way of the renowned Thai pathologist Dr. Pornthip Rojanasunand to prevent her from coming to the country to testify in the inquest into the causes of Teoh Beng Hock’s death has not subsided.
Continue reading “Farce of prosecution and acquittal of two Perak “frogs” has plunged public confidence in MACC to new low and will cause Malaysia’s CPI 2010 to plumb a new depth”

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Eight reasons why the 8,000 MCA members in Hulu Selangor should teach MCA and UMNO leaderships a severe lesson by voting for PR candidate Zaid Ibrahim on Sunday’s by-election

There are only 36 hours of campaigning left before the Hulu Selangor voters go to the polls in the Sunday by-election.

Barisan Nasional has the lead in the Hulu Selangor by-election. The Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak, Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin and former Prime Minister Tun Dr. Mahathir have unleashed a blitzkrieg Umno/Barisan Nasional assault marked by a campaign of falsehoods and character assassination against the Pakatan Rakyat and candidate.

The impact of such intensive Umno/BN campaign, particularly on the Malay voters in the outlying areas without easy access to Pakatan Rakyat information, cannot be underestimated.

I am sounding this alarm alert as I believe it is still possible to overcome this Barisan Nasional lead in the next 36 hours for Datuk Zaid Ibrahim to be elected as the new MP for Hulu Selangor, provided all Pakatan Rakyat leaders and campaigners from PKR, PAS and DAP make a supreme effort to get every possible voter out to the polling stations on Sunday.
Continue reading “Eight reasons why the 8,000 MCA members in Hulu Selangor should teach MCA and UMNO leaderships a severe lesson by voting for PR candidate Zaid Ibrahim on Sunday’s by-election”

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Press censorship of ntv7 talk show involving Prime Minister’s wife Rosmah resulting in resignation of senior producer Joshua Wong must be deplored by all Malaysians as an undesirable and dangerous precedent

The press censorship of popular hour-long ntv7 talk show “Editor’s Time” involving the Prime Minister’s wife Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor resulting in the resignation of senior producer Joshua Wong must be deplored by all Malaysians as an undesirable and dangerous precedent.

Two important issues and principles are involved in this scandal and fiasco.

Firstly, media censorship. When Datuk Seri Najib Razak became Prime Minister a year ago, he promised the country an open, accountable and transparent government as well as a free press.

The press censorship of ntv7 popular talk show is a flagrant violation of Najib’s pledges on his assumption of the sixth premiership in the country.

The media censorship and restrictions on the ntv7 talk show includes:

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Kit sounds alarm bells for Pakatan campaign

By Syed Jaymal Zahiid | The Malaysian Insider

KUALA KUBU BARU, April 23 — Lim Kit Siang urged his Pakatan Rakyat (PR) coalition today to fight for every single vote in the final stretch of the Hulu Selangor by-election campaign, pointing out that Datuk Zaid Ibrahim is now the underdog against Barisan Nasional’s (BN) P. Kamalanathan.

“The red light is on,” Lim told a press conference here this morning, in a tacit admission that PR was now trailing behind BN in the race for votes this Sunday.

Lim (picture) said the campaigning effort in the Malay and Indian majority areas by BN is not to be underestimated.

“According to them, they are in the lead and have more chances to win. This is a critical development.

“I want to set the alarm and urge all leaders to go all out to secure every single vote,” said the Ipoh Timur MP.
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A foregone conclusion

By P Ramakrishnan President of Aliran

The decision to refer Anwar Ibrahim to the Rights and Privileges Committee did not come as a surprise to Malaysians. It was a foregone conclusion. Even before the debate began in Parliament, the outcome was very obvious.

The whole issue had descended into “Get your enemy at all cost – forget about justice and fair play.” In a game of numbers, there is no need to be moral about what you do. Just nail him. You have the numbers to achieve that!

The Rights and Privileges Committee – according to what Malaysians tend to believe – would find Anwar guilty and suspend him. His removal from Parliament would spare them from Anwar’s scathing attacks and more embarrassing revelations that would put them in a spot.
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Malaysia in the Era of Globalization #11

By M Bakri Musa

Chapter 2: Why Some Societies Progress, Others Regress

Culture Matters

Long before the Europeans were sending their sailors to explore the waters of the Orient, the Chinese were already regularly plying the same seas with their elaborate sailing junks. From 1405 and 1431 the Chinese had undertaken several maritime expeditions, venturing as far west as Madagascar, sailing in huge flotillas of about 300 vessels each.

Their ships were not mere junks; each measured in excess of 400 feet long and 160 feet wide, multi-decked, and capable of ferrying hundreds of personnel. They made Columbus’s 85-foot Santa Maria nothing but a lake dinghy by comparison. Those junks had grand staterooms, staggered masks, and tiered sails. They were the original luxury yachts, fit for the representatives of the Son of Heaven and their guests.
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Pakatan accuses BN of exploiting ‘brute majority’

By Asrul Hadi Abdullah Sani | The Malaysian Insider

KUALA LUMPUR, April 22 — Lim Kit Siang attacked Barisan Nasional (BN) today for using what he called its “brute majority” in Parliament to persecute Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.

Together with his Pakatan Rakyat (PR) colleagues, he urged BN lawmakers to look into their conscience when deciding whether to refer the opposition leader to powerful Parliament’s Rights and Privileges Committee.

The DAP parliamentary leader also asked Parliament why Anwar’s claim that 1 Malaysia was linked to One Israel, was so “heinous.”

“This is dark day in Parliament. I am very saddened. What is so heinous about the accusation that 1 Malaysia is a carbon copy of One Israel? What is so big [about it]?

“If I say 1 Malaysia is [a] carbon copy of Malaysian Malaysia, then will I be referred to the committee? This is politically motivated through their brute majority” he said.
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Tweet updates from Parliament

Updated – 2.58pm

In 90 minutes Parlmnt will be scene of brute majority bullying minority – illustration why BN must nvr b allowed 2get back 2/3 parl majority
Thursday, April 22, 2010 8:38 AM

What’s so heinous abt saying 1Malaysia is carbon copy of 1Israel dat parliamentary opp leader shld be referred Cttee Privileges n suspended?
Thursday, April 22, 2010 9:21 AM

BN Ministers/MPs make wildest even harebrained allgtns agnst Opposition R they all 2b hauled b4 Prvlgs Cttee? Then it will have 2meet daily
Thursday, April 22, 2010 9:39 AM

2day Najib Govt n Parliament in dock n not Anwar Case of gross violation of doctrine of separation of powers with Executive dictating 2Parl
Thursday, April 22, 2010 9:43 AM
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Fastest withdrawal of Bill thanks to HS by-election – proposal to increase traffic compound fines from RM300 to RM1,000 pulled back after 48 hrs

It is an adverse reflection on the mediocrity of the Barisan Nasional Cabinet that the Road Transport (Amendment) Bill tabled in Parliament for first reading on Monday will now be withdrawn after 48 hours because of pressures from the Hulu Selangor by-election on Sunday.

When speaking in Batang Kali last night for the Hulu Selangor by-election campaign of the Pakatan Rakyat candidate, Datuk Zaid Ibrahim, I had spoken specifically to censure the Transport Minister and former MCA President, Datuk Seri Ong Tee Keat, other MCA Ministers and the MCA national leadership, as well as the entire Barisan Nasional Cabinet for tabling an amendment Bill to the Road Transport Act to increase compound fines for traffic offences by more than three-fold from RM300 to RM1,000.

I described this as “the act of a Transport Minister and government which are completely unconcerned and unsympathetic about the plight of the ordinary people in these difficult times”.

During the ceramah, the crowd in Batang Kali unanimously asked me to speak on their behalf in Parliament to demand that the proposal to increase compound fines for traffic offences from RM300 to RM1,000 should be withdrawn altogether or this would be one reason why the Barisan Nasional should be taught a lesson on the by-election polling day on Sunday, April 25, 2010.
Continue reading “Fastest withdrawal of Bill thanks to HS by-election – proposal to increase traffic compound fines from RM300 to RM1,000 pulled back after 48 hrs”

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Kit Siang claims beer-bashing is Umno ploy to implicate Najib, Hisham

By Shazwan Mustafa Kamal | The Malaysian Insider

DAP advisor Lim Kit Siang wants Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak to put an end to “dirty politics” in the Hulu Selangor by-election, claiming that the attacks on PKR candidate Datuk Zaid Ibrahim were part of a ploy to implicate the PM as being a drinker.

The veteran politician told reporters in Parliament that there was an “ulterior motive” behind the unwarranted attack on Zaid, who was a former Umno member, in order to “target” top Umno leaders like Najib as well as Home Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein.
“There are layers of conspiracy and power struggles in Umno.”

“I wonder whether those responsible for these dirty politics, making this unwarranted attack on Zaid Ibrahim have ulterior objectives.”
“Their objective is to attack Najib and Hishammuddin because Hishammuddin is now dragged in, Najib also dragged in. The people behind this attack, are they going for a larger target?” quipped Lim.
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Malaysia has degenerated into a “lebih kurang” nation thanks to four decades of Barisan Nasional “lebih kurang” government

In Tokyo yesterday the Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak said Malaysia is no more a focused and high-achieving nation.

He said: “In Bahasa Malaysia, we have lebih kurang or more or less; we should be less lebih kurang but more precise.”

Hu Shih, noted Chinese scholar, philosopher and a leading light of the 1919 May Fourth Movement once wrote an article to pinpoint the ills of China which made China “the sick man of Asia”, entitled “The Story of Mr. Lebih Kurang” to explain why China had become a nation of sloths.

Najib has correctly diagnosed the “Lebih Kurang” disease which has afflicted Malaysia turning the country into a “lebih kurang” nation and why Malaysia had slipped from one of the most advanced nations on achievement of Independence in 1957 – second in Asia after Japan – to be caught in a “middle income trap”, left behind by other nations like Singapore, South Korea, Hong Kong and Japan and now at risk in losing out to even more countries like Thailand, Vietnam and even Indonesia.
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Withdraw or Transport Minister Ong Tee Keat should be censured for tabling a more than three-fold hike in compound fines for traffic offences from RM300 to RM1,000 under Road Transport (Amendment) Bill

Former MCA President and Transport Minister, Datuk Seri Ong Tee Keat should be censured for tabling a more than three-fold hike in compound fines for traffic offences from RM300 to RM1,000 under the Road Transport (Amendment) Bill.

This bill was presented for first reading yesterday (Monday) and meant for passage by Parliament this week.

This is the act of a Transport Minister and government which are completely unconcerned and unsympathetic about the plight of the ordinary people in these difficult times.

This is also the voice of the people of Hulu Selangor and we want to send a clear and unmistakable message to the Transport Minister and the entire Cabinet that this Bill should be withdrawn and dropped altogether or this will be one reason why the Barisan Nasional should be taught a lesson on the by-election polling day on Sunday, April 25, 2010.

What is the position of the other MCA Ministers and the MCA national leadership as they cannot keep quiet at such an oppressive amendment to the Road Transport Act especially as the Transport Minister is from the MCA.
Continue reading “Withdraw or Transport Minister Ong Tee Keat should be censured for tabling a more than three-fold hike in compound fines for traffic offences from RM300 to RM1,000 under Road Transport (Amendment) Bill”

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RPK and Bala not whistleblowers: Deputy minister

The Sun | 21 April 2010, page 6

DEPUTY Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Liew Vui Keong said blogger Raja Petra Kamaruddin and private investigator P. Balasubramaniam are not considered whistleblowers because they have revealed their identities.

Winding up the debate on the Whistleblowers Protection Bill, he told Lim Kit Siang (DAP-Ipoh Timur), who raised the issue, the two individuals can seek protection under the Witness Protection Act instead.

“They have told the whole world who they are. Whistleblower protection is for those who we do not know who have given information to the authorities. We will never know the identity. That is the intention of this act,” Liew said.

“You don’t understand the difference between Whistleblowers Protection Act and Witness Protection Act. There is a lot of difference.”

Lim protested and said the meaning of whistleblower, as universally accepted, is “a person who informs on another or makes public disclosure of corruption or wrongdoing”.
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How Pakatan can beat BN at its own game

By Greg Lopez

In academic circles, Malaysia is categorised as a dysfunctional democracy. In this context, the electoral process is used to legitimate the BN’s authoritarian rule and not as a means to elect a representative government.

Government strictures limit the ability of Malaysians to make an informed decision and opposition parties to compete on equal footing. Despite these limitations, electoral competitions throw surprises as reflected in the third, eighth, tenth and twelfth general elections.

In preparing for the thirteenth general election, it is important to identify the key factors that create these surprising electoral results. The analysis of Malaysia’s history of electoral competition raises several key focal points that Malaysians should be aware.

BN’s 53 year rule has destroyed the concept of “separation of powers”, the hallmark of a health democracy. Hence, Malaysians cannot appeal to an impartial judiciary to interpret the constitution; a police force to impartially enforce the rule of law; a professional civil service that acts in the interest of the nation; or the media to provide a balanced view of the issues.
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Datuk Hee? So ‘Hee-larious’!

By Martin Jalleh

It was an historic occasion for Hee Yit Foong. She was bestowed the honorary title “Datuk” by his Highness the Sultan of Perak, Sultan Azlan Shah, on the occasion of his 82nd birthday.

Hee must have been “hee-elated”. It was the high point of her life after having gone through the depths of great public humiliation and to contend with the hate heaped on her especially by Perakians.

Indeed, she has been hounded and abuses have been hurled on her when she did the hop-step-and-jump political dance. She hopped out of her party, stepped on the people’s will and jumped into the waiting arms of the BN as an “independent”.

During a State Assembly meeting, several DAP lawmakers gave her hell, threw RM1 notes at her and told her to resign as they said she had no honour left for selling her soul and State away!
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Pakatan Rakyat’s policy statement on New Economic Model (Part 5)

PART V: CONCLUSION

In the end, NEM is nothing more than a cocktail of reincarnation of Barisan Nasional’s previously failed economic planning mixed with plagiarised concepts and ideas from Pakatan Rakyat.

If anything, NEM strengthens the belief that Prime Minister YAB Dato’ Seri Najib Tun Razak’s administration is obsessed with public relations so much so that even the most important economic document for the country is littered with public relations stunts – high targets albeit unrealistic, big words, lacking in details and political will.

But no doubt this will be spun by the public relations coordinators in Putrajaya to create some excitement and provide the feeling that the economy is heading in the right direction.

Pakatan Rakyat believes that the proofs provided in this document are sufficient to expose this public relations stunt. If Barisan Nasional is serious about re-making our economy and bringing it to a new era, it must respond to the four acid tests outlined by Pakatan Rakyat in this document.
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Pakatan Rakyat’s policy statement on New Economic Model (Part 4b)

Introduction of minimum wage
NEM sets a rather ambitious target to achieve income per capita of USD17,700 by 2020.

2020 is less than 10 years away and if going by the non-correlation of economic planning and results achievement of the past decade, it is necessary for any economists to take a more prudent view of the country’s economy for the next 10 years.

While NEM has been touted as the a game-changing economic document that will propel the country to the status of developed nation, surprisingly the measures suggested to improve personal income is not at all game-changing.

The same vague and conceptual measures of upgrading the skills, bringing in technology through R&D and going for high value services have been suggested and included as targets since 2000 in 8MP.

Clearly, the measures did not bring results as expected (more so because they were not implemented seriously as there was hardly any reform in important institutions in the country).
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