'Busy training?' - Umno Youth chief trolls minister on 'golfing' pic

Umno Youth chief Asyraf Wajdi Dusuki took a dig at Youth and Sports Minister Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman, who he said was "busy training" in reference to a picture showing the latter seemingly indulging in office golf.

Taking to Facebook, Asyraf also reminded the minister of a promised dialogue session between the two on Malay supremacy which had yet to take place despite Parliament session ending last October.

"Busy training YB (Yang Berhormat) Syed Saddiq? When is the date of our dialogue on Malay supremacy?

"Parliament (session) has long ended. As I once said, you need not worry YB. We do not want to debate to decide who is great as you are known as the world's best debater.

"I am only asking for a dialogue as you said (the issue of) Malay supremacy was irrelevant," Asyraf (photo) said, putting up a photo of the minister "playing golf" in what appears to be his minister's office.

However, the picture in question was actually taken during the shooting of a video on a golf fund-raiser involving Syed Saddiq, who is also the Bersatu Youth chief.

In a statement yesterday, Bersatu Youth stated that the minister has been part of a promotional video shoot for the party wing's charity golf championship, to be held on Jan 26.

"[...] The minister's office at the Youth and Sports Ministry was chosen as the location (for the video) as the minister had a tight schedule and was only able to spare half an hour for the video shoot.

"He (Syed Saddiq) was selected as the model for the video in his capacity as the national Bersatu Youth chief and it was his responsibility to promote the charity golf (event)... we had no money to pay models, actors or renowned golf icons," Bersatu Youth exco Zainal Abidin Sihab said on Facebook yesterday after the photo of the shoot was making its rounds on social media.

Syed Saddiq had in October, last year, accepted Asyraf's invitation to a dialogue on the subject of the Malay agenda in the country.

The minister had tweeted: "Can (have the dialogue). Later, we can set a time and date, when the youth committee meets to deliberate on matters concerning the youth. I will also invite young politicians from other parties."

The invitation came after Syed Saddiq was reported to have said that the era of Malay supremacy had ended and Malaysia would shift towards equity and equitable distribution of wealth across all segments.

Bersatu president Muhyiddin Yassin later clarified the statement, saying that while Bersatu fights for the Malays, but as part of the new ruling coalition, it must also be fair to all other races in the country.

-Mkini

Inland Revenue Board collects record RM137b in taxes

The Inland Revenue Board created history by achieving the highest collection of direct taxes of RM137.035 billion in 2018, Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng announced today.

Lim said the direct tax collection rose 11.13 percent in 2018 from the year before, as well as broke the best-performing direct tax collection record of RM133.70 billion in 2014.

"The increase was contributed by higher collection from the taxpayer components such as companies, individuals, petroleum, cooperatives, stamp duty, and others

"Besides reflecting the effectiveness of clean leadership and efficient administration, and accountability and transparency, the revenue increase also shows that the economic growth was still encouraging in 2018," he said in a statement here today.

Lim noted that revenue from income taxes (other than petroleum) contributed about 85.35 percent of the total tax collection in 2018.

The company component was the largest contributor at 51.11 percent, followed by individual component (26.32 percent), petroleum tax revenue (14.66 percent), stamp duty collection (4.33 percent), share tax collection (2.27 percent), real property gains tax (1.07 percent), co-op tax collection (0.12 percent), and Labuan IOFC and other taxes (0.12 percent).

"The government is committed to reducing revenue leakages and increasing tax compliance rates with the launch of the Special Voluntary Declaration Programme from Nov 3, 2018 and until June 30, 2019, by offering a very low penalty rates of 10 percent and 15 percent (on the amount of tax payable).

"Hence, the government calls on taxpayers who have tax compliance issues to immediately take advantage of this programme to avoid paying a higher penalty of 80 percent to 300 percent when the programme ends," he said.

- Bernama

Khalid concedes 'king of trolls' Najib suited for the opposition

After trading jibes on social media, Federal Territories Minister Khalid Abdul Samad today conceded that former premier Najib Abdul Razak is playing the role of the opposition well through his frequent criticisms towards the government.

According to Astro Awani, Khalid had described Najib's responses to their recent Twitter exchanges – which also drew thousands of comments after being shared on their respective Facebook pages – as "friendly advice" to the government.

"We accept the matter (Najib's criticisms) as 'friendly advice' made in good spirit...

"But I do think he (Najib) is more effective as the opposition in giving such advice," the Amanah communications director said after launching a fun run event in Kuala Lumpur for persons with disabilities.

"He (Najib) mentioned my name, so I mentioned his name. Otherwise, he might feel hurt," he quipped.

With both Najib and Khalid on the campaign trail for the Cameron Highlands by-election on Friday, the former posted a photograph captioned "on my left is the Harapan Cointauke. 

"The other day he was amazed by the MRT. Hopefully, he is not shocked that there are strawberries in Camerons."

The photograph, which showed the duo in conversation with PAS deputy president Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man, was believed to have been taken after Friday prayers at a local mosque in the area.

Khalid then shared a similar photograph on his own account, and zeroed in on Najib's orange baju Melayu – the colour of both Amanah and prison uniforms.

"Is the person wearing an orange shirt keen to join Amanah, or practising wearing clothes for Sungai Buloh (Prison)?

"If it's to join Amanah, I'm sorry... but there's a higher chance of going to Sungai Buloh," he said.

Since leading the BN coalition to its first ever election defeat in six decades, Najib has earned the moniker "king of trolls" for his regular counters and digs against the Pakatan Harapan government on social media. - Mkini

Najib's second 'great' achievement is becoming 'king of trolls'

MP SPEAKS | Najib has achieved two 'greats' in his life – making Malaysia a global kleptocracy, and now the first and only former prime minister to become the “king...of trolls.”

Campaigning for the Cameron Highlands by-election in the BN stronghold Felda Sungai Koyan, Najib boasted of his latest accomplishment on social media: “I have been crowned the 'King of Trolls'.

“What is the reason for this? It is because I fight them (the Pakatan Harapan government) every day with facts, not with lies.”

Yes, Najib does not tell ordinary lies, but only gargantuan ones.

At the 2017 Umno General Assembly, he blatantly and brazenly resorted to gargantuan lies when he accused the DAP of being anti-Malay and anti-Islam.

He said: “DAP yang terang terang anti-Melayu dan Islam, sebagai tercatat dalam perlembagaan DAP, langsung tidak meyebut Islam sebagai Agama Persekutuan. (DAP is clearly anti-Malay and anti-Islam, as its constitution does not mention Islam as the religion of the federation)."

Present at the AGM were the leaders of the other 12 BN components at the time, such as MCA, MIC, Gerakan and the Sabah and Sarawak parties, all of whom also do not state anything about the religion of the federation in their constitutions. 

Did Najib accuse the other 12 component parties, and therefore BN itself, of being anti-Malay and anti-Islam?

Najib resorted to the politics of fear and hatred by drumming baseless fears and hate at the AGM, as when he warned that if Harapan wins the 14th general election, “the Malays will be vagabonds, cursed and despised, until they ‘terbangsat’ (become bastardised) in their own homeland.”

This is indeed a gargantuan lie.

This was why I commented on Najib’s presidential speech, saying:

“Najib should know that if Harapan defeats the Umno-BN coalition in the next general election, the Harapan federal government will be doing its utmost in the next five years to prove that it is better than the Umno-BN government in protecting and promoting the rights and interests of all Malaysians, especially the Malays and Islam, and no one will be ‘terbangsat’ in their own land, or it will lose the mandate to govern and be repudiated in the subsequent general election five years later in 2023.”

I believe Malaysians will not forget the Umno lies in the last general election that I, and not Dr Mahathir Mohamad, would become prime minister if Harapan emerged victorious in GE14.

But Najib’s most gargantuan lies is undoubtedly his denial that there is anything amiss with the 1MDB scandal, although it is the constant subject in international media and has made Malaysia the butt of international jokes for becoming a global kleptocracy.

Najib would have continued with his fantastic denial complex if Goldman Sachs, despite an “exorbitant fee” of some US$600 million, broke ranks and apologised to the people of Malaysia for its role in the 1MDB scandal.

This completely unexpected apology from Goldman had taken Najib by surprise, and caused him to admit for the first time that the although the 1MDB scandal was a national catastrophe, the blame for the 1MDB scandal cannot be pinned on him as it was a systemic failure involving the bank, which had been paid an “exorbitant fee.”

But Najib did not tell the Cameron Highlands voters, although he is leading the by-election campaign, why he should be acquitted of any responsibility for the monstrous and heinous 1MDB scandal, and how parties like Goldman must bear responsibility for the “systemic failure” resulting in Malaysia becoming a global kleptocracy.

It is still not too late for Najib to do a 'tell-all' on the 1MDB scandal as the by-election voting is only on Jan 26. Is he prepared to do so?

I do not think he is capable. Najib is not a victim but the very person responsible for the system resulting in the monstrous and heinous 1MDB scandal, which became the largest kleptocratic scandal handled by the US Department of Justice. The victims were not Najib and his ministers but the 32 million Malaysians.

How can Najib claim innocence and to be a victim of a systemic failure, when in the two years after the DOJ filed its largest kleptocratic litigation to forfeit US$1.7 billion out of US$4.5 billion 1MDB-linked assets in the United States, the United Kingdom and Switzerland, and the criminal proceedings against several bankers in Singapore linked to the international corruption and money-laundering scandal, Najib and his ministers, as well as the political leaders of the 13-party BN, continued to close their eyes, shut their ears and run away from the truth?

I shudder to think what would be position today if Umno-BN had continued to be the government with Najib as the prime minister.

A 'troll' has been defined as a person who starts quarrels or upsets people on the Internet to distract and sow discord by posting inflammatory and digressive, extraneous, or off-topic messages in an online community with the intent of provoking readers into displaying emotional responses, normalising tangential discussion, whether for the troll's amusement or a specific gain.

Media attention in recent years has equated trolling with online harassment. Experienced participants in online forums know that the most effective way to discourage a troll is usually to ignore it, because responding tends to encourage trolls to continue disruptive posts – hence the often-seen warning: "Please do not feed the trolls."

I do not know whether Malaysians should lament and rue that the former prime minister of Malaysia prides himself on becoming the “king of trolls”.

Maybe Najib has finally found his best vocation.

---

LIM KIT SIANG is the MP for Iskandar Puteri. - Mkini

Unfazed by police report, PAS Youth insists DAP is 'anti-Islam'

PAS Youth has persisted in its challenge to have DAP openly state that it formally recognises constitutional safeguards on the status of Islam as the religion of the federation, as well as the special position of the bumiputera and Malay rulers.

The wing's deputy chief Khairil Nizam Khirudin today alleged that DAP has been attempting to compromise related constitutional safeguards over the years with its fight for equal rights.

"We also challenge the DAP to openly declare that the party has done away with the 'Malaysian Malaysia' concept as part of its struggle.

"Will the DAP be brave enough to declare that it has abolished demands for equal rights in all areas, including race and religion, although those (rights) represent existing provisions under the Federal Constitution?

"This (fight for equal rights) was furthered together with Pakatan Harapan parties through attempts to ratify Icerd," he claimed in a statement.

Khairil's call was made less than 24 hours after DAP Youth lodged a police report against PAS Youth chief Muhammad Khalil Abdul Hadi over what it claims was racially and religiously charged campaign by Umno and PAS in the Cameron Highlands by-election.

Specifically, DAP Youth chief Howard Lee cited remarks allegedly made during a joint ceramah by Umno and PAS in Kampung Keledek on Friday night, where the speakers branded the party "anti-Malay and anti-Islam."

Khalil, the son of PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang, had, among others, alleged that DAP wanted to remove Islam as the official religion of the country.

He also charged that the party had "disturbed" Islamic institutions and the monarchy since assuming power. - Mkini

Osman strikes back on alleged trespass with Dr M’s backing

Johor Menteri Besar Osman Sapian said today that he had the right not to inform either Singapore or Putrajaya of his visit to the Johor Straits aboard a Maritime Department vessel.

According to Harian Metro, Osman said this after Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad told the Oxford Union yesterday that the menteri besar had not entered Singapore waters during his visit.

“Well, the menteri besar went without our permission. He thought that it was Johor's waters, that’s why he went there.

“I mean the reaction to his going there (from Singapore) is quite severe, as if you are going to war. I mean, he is going in a ship into neutral waters,” he said.

After a student at the session responded by saying that those were not neutral waters and were not even claimed by Malaysia in its 1979 boundary map – that Singapore does not recognise – Mahathir nevertheless stuck to his position.

"It is not Singapore’s waters either. It is international waters, and the menteri besar can go into international waters without Singapore sending warships to chase him away,” he said, based on a video recording of the event.

Harian Metro also reported Osman as saying that he agrees with Mahathir’s statement, and reiterating that he did not trespass into Singaporean territory.

“On the question of not getting permission, I am the head of state government… those are Johor waters. Although subject to the federal government, I have a right not to inform them because this is my territory.

“Suppose I want to visit a Johor district, do I need to inform the Home Ministry? So in my opinion, there is a contradiction in the statement made by the Foreign Ministry,” he reportedly said.

Osman added that he also had the right not to inform Singapore of his visit.

The Singapore government had accused the menteri besar of intruding into its waters off Tuas on Jan 9 during the menteri besar’s visit aboard the MV Pedoman.

The republic also called off the 14th Joint Ministerial Committee for Iskandar Malaysia (JMCIM) meeting, saying that it is untenable in light of the alleged incursion.

The waters off Tuas are currently a subject of territorial dispute between Malaysia and Singapore.

Unlike other parts of the Johor Straits, the boundary between Malaysia and Singapore near Tuas has yet to be clearly defined, and both countries have made overlapping territorial claims.

Osman had previously denied intruding into Singaporean territory, saying that his visit was not intended to be provocative, but was merely to observe Malaysian security forces at work.

He had also claimed that the Foreign Ministry was aware of his visit. The ministry later clarified, however, that it had immediately and repeatedly tried to contact Osman’s office to advise him not to proceed.

'No federal-state coordination on national interest'

Separately, Umno Youth exco Ikmal Hazlan Ikmal Hisham claimed that the incident revealed how Putrajaya had failed to coordinate with the Johor government on matters concerning national interest.

"The foreign minister should have just mentioned that Wisma Putra did not give permission to Osman to do what he did.

"The need to elaborate was not necessary, even if this was a Malaysia Baru initiative to create awareness on the notion of being completely transparent with the public," he said in a statement.

Ikmal Hazlan further claimed that efforts to defend the nation's sovereignty could fail due to leaders' public difference of opinions on the matter.

It was feared that Osman’s visit could undermine the positive outcome of a meeting between Foreign Minister Saifuddin Abdullah and his Singaporean counterpart Vivian Balakrishnan just a day prior.

Wisma Putra said that when Osman was contacted, he was already onboard the vessel and en route to the Johor Bahru port. - Mkini

Minister: Kelantan gov't wrong on Orang Asli land ownership

The Kelantan government is wrong in arguing that Orang Asli communities do not "own" any land in the state, according to Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department P Waythamoorthy.

In a statement today, Waythamoorthy pointed out that the courts have repeatedly reaffirmed the community's customary land rights due to, among others, the special position of the Orang Asli under Article 8(5)(c) of the Federal Constitution.

"These pre-existing customary rights enjoyed by the Orang Asli as the first people of Peninsular Malaysia continue to exist and cannot be removed by claiming it to be a state land, creation of reserves or, for that matter, the granting of any leases or licences to third party under the pretext of being owned by the state government," said the minister, whose portfolio includes Orang Asli affairs.

Responding to Putrajaya's suit against Kelantan to reclaim Orang Asli's right to land, Deputy Menteri Besar Mohd Amar Nik Abdullah had reportedly said there was no land "owned" by Orang Asli in the state, beyond what was "given" to them by the state government.

In August last year, Kota Bharu MP Takiyuddin Hassan insisted the land being fought for by the Temiar tribe in Gua Musang belongs to the state and was gazetted as a logging area.

Takiyuddin also said there is no legal provision for ancestral land or native customary land in Kelantan, but only for "kawasan rayau" (foraging land) in selected forest areas.

Unwritten law

Urging the Kelantan government to reconsider its position with regard to Orang Asli's right to own land, Waythamoorthy stressed that customary rights are a form of unwritten law.

"It is unreasonable to assume that a custom has no force of law merely because it is not codified in the state.

"Even if that were the case, it does not mean that a customary right does not exist or that common law does not recognise that particular custom," he argued.

On Friday, attorney-general Tommy Thomas said that the federal government is initiating legal proceedings on behalf of the Orang Asli in recognition of its constitutional and legal duty to protect and promote the wellbeing and advancement of the community.

Various Orang Asli groups, as well as local and international rights organisations, laudedPutrajaya’s move as a long-awaited step towards recognition of the community’s rights to land. - Mkini