'Spiteful' MACC drags Rosli Dahlan case on

(Malaysiakini) - The Kuala Lumpur Session Court has fixed Oct 27 to hear the submissions from the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) over the charges against lawyer Rosli Dahlan.

The case was postponed as MACC's counsel said that they were not prepared to submit their case.

Judge Rozilah Salleh, who is presiding over the matter on behalf of Judge Abu Bakar Katar, gave another month for the prosecution to prepare.

Rosli was arrested by the then Anti-Corruption Agency (ACA) and brought to court on the eve of Hari Raya in 2007 and charged with failing to comply with ACA's notice requesting full disclosure of his assets.

According to the charge, Rosli did not disclose his assets in the two-month period stipulated by ACA's notice dated July 17, 2007. The deadline was later extended to Aug 16 that year.

The offence is punishable under Section 32 (2) of the Anti-Corruption Act 1997.

The prominent lawyer was being probed in relation to ACA's investigation into one of his clients, former Commercial Crime Investigation Department (CCID) director Ramli Yusoff.

The MACC has brought the prosecution's case against Rosi to a close with the testimony of its ninth witness thus far.

Mystery over case

It remains a mystery to why the MACC has not withdrawn the case as Rosli's client Ramli has since been acquitted of three corruption charges against him.

Ramli was charged with allegedly abusing his powers as Sabah police chief for personal financial gain when on June 15, 2007, he used a Royal Malaysian Police Cessna Caravan aircraft to take him and Brig-Jen (Rtd) Mohamad Yasin Yahya on an aerial surveillance of two lots in Ulu Tungku, Lahad Datu.

Besides his acquittal in Sabah, the former senior police officer was also acquitted twice in Kuala Lumpur.

Frustrated over the matter being prolonged, Rosli told Malaysiakini that MACC was being "spiteful" and deliberately dragging the case on.

"It's their case and they should have been ready to submit. I had hoped to become a free man before this Hari Raya but when the case was fixed on Sept 10 they (MACC) asked the court to set another date and it was fixed for Sept 30.

"Today they come, but the leading prosecutors were not there and said that they weren't even ready," he lamented.

Rosli added that he had written to the MACC on Aug 30 to withdraw the case as his client Ramli has been acquitted, but there has been no response.

"At first they were of the view that I was arrogant because I didn't write to them sooner to withdraw because I thought they want to fight it all out. Now that I have written in and I have good grounds to do so, they have yet to reply," he said, clearly upset.

"This is a strategy adopted by MACC aimed at frustrating me. It's common human decency to apologise when you have wronged someone," he blasted.

The judge will decide on Oct 27 whether to call Rosli to the stand or to acquit him without calling for his defence

Kedah RM5 mil YB still awaiting MACC action

(Malaysiakini) - Two years have passed and Kulim (PKR) assemblyperson Lim Soo Nee is still waiting for the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission to act on a report that he lodged, alleging that he was offered a RM5 million to jump to the Barisan Nasional.

However, Lim said he will not 'chase' the MACC for action as it is their duty to contact him or act on their findings if their investigations are over.

"I have given them everything in detail and handed over all evidence to the officers in the Commission, so it is up to them to take action now," he said.

He added that he had met several officers from the Commission, from the director to investigation officer, but until now he has yet to hear from them.

Lim declined to reveal the identity of the officers he was in contact with but claimed some had been transferred to other branches after he had lodged his report.

Malaysiakini has yet to get confirmation regarding the matter from the Commission.

Lim also verified as true a posting by Raja Petra Kamarudin his blog Malaysia Today, where he had revealed a set of investigation papers by MACC related to the report that the former had lodged in 2008.

More than cat out of bag

The papers titled 'Initial Investigation Report' (No. 11/2008) was reportedly issued by the Seberang Perai MACC branch, and signed by Senior Assistant Mahani Din on Dec 10, 2008.

The investigation's primary target was purported to be former Kedah Chief Minister Mahazir Khalid and his 'middle man' Tan Yak Siew, according to the report.

On Sept 9, 2008, a meeting was held at the Hotel Sunway, Seberang Jaya, Perai, between Lim and Mahazir, the report said.

It added that Mahazir had allegedly confirmed that he would pay Lim RM5 million (for crossing over to BN) and if the latter asked for more, he would have to discuss the matter with Prime Minister Najib Razak.

Lim, who is currently a state exco in Kedah, was also told that if he joined the BN, he would be offered 'several projects', the report added.

It concluded with Mahani's signature and a remark the MACC headquarters would 'handle the case further'.

Lim, together with several other PKR assemblypersons - Tan Show Kang (Sidam), S Manikumar (Bukit Selambau) - and DAP's Lee Guan Aik (Kota Darulaman), were earlier suspected of waiting to jump ship.

At the height of the controversy, the quartet had to fend off the speculation by pledging their allegiance to Pakatan Rakyat publicly in Kedah.

On Feb 20 last year, Opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim had raised Lim's issue in Parliament, while debating the King's royal address.

In revealing the case of the alleged bribes,Anwar had said that Lim was one of those "who were lured and had been used as bait by the Commission to gather evidence against the agents.

"On April 11, 2008, I received a report that BN agents representing Mahazir had offered Lim RM4 million to defect to BN, and this sum was later raised to RM5 million," he had said.

However, the BN government did not respond to the issue.

Don’t you just hate it when someone says: I told you so?

The Third Force has become a reality in the UK. Who ever thought the LDP would garner 30% of the votes even though they won only 10% of the seats? And none of the two major parties -- Labour and Conservative -- could form the new government without the involvement of the Third Force, LDP.

NO HOLDS BARRED

Raja Petra Kamarudin

I told Zaid Ibrahim a long time ago: don’t join PKR. This was when he was still in Umno and not even made a Cabinet Minister yet. I asked him to lead a Third Force, a ‘balance’ between Barisan Nasional and Pakatan Rakyat.

Zaid said even if we create a Third Force we would still need a political party platform. Fine, I replied, then join DAP and bring a group of Malay professionals, civil society movement and NGO activists, Bloggers, and so on, with him into DAP -- maybe a core group of 30 or so people not yet committed to any political party.

“Why DAP? Why not PKR?” Zaid asked. And I gave him my reasons why DAP and not PKR.

Not long after that Zaid was made a Minister and I thought that that was the end of the story. Then Zaid resigned as a Minister and, again, I broached the subject. This time I proposed that if he does not want to join DAP, and since I do not agree that he joins PKR, then maybe he can form a new party to ‘house’ this Third Force.

Zaid was skeptical about the idea. He said that a lot of time and money would be required to get a new party established. The short cut would be to latch on to an existing party. We told him we did not like that idea but agreed to let the matter rest.

Now, we can tell Zaid: I told you so! We did not think PKR was suitable for him. He is too ‘independent’, does not have the ‘discipline to kowtow’ to what he does not believe in, will not be able to tolerate the nonsense in PKR (and we know there is a lot of nonsense in PKR), and is a ‘loose cannon’, just like the rest of us, and will always shoot at anything that moves -- friend or foe.

My final word to Zaid is this. Get out of PKR. Forget about contesting the party elections. Leave and come help us lead the Third Force. Let the Third Force make an electoral pact with any of the 20 or so political parties from both Barisan Nasional and Pakatan Rakyat that may be prepared to make an electoral pact with us.

And if none are prepared to make an electoral pact with our Third Force then we shall contest the general election in three-corner fights even if we lose or lose our deposit.

Winning or losing the general election is not the issue. The issue is to offer the voters an alternative choice in the event they find both Barisan Nasional as well as Pakatan Rakyat unsuitable choices.

Let us call this Third Force Barisan Rakyat. It is neither Barisan Nasional nor Pakatan Rakyat. It is the alternative to both.

The Third Force has become a reality in the UK. Who ever thought the LDP would garner 30% of the votes even though they won only 10% of the seats? And none of the two major parties -- Labour and Conservative -- could form the new government without the involvement of the Third Force, LDP.

This is not that easy to realise in Malaysia, of course, because, in Malaysia, politics is all about money and the Third Force will not have that kind of money. But do not underestimate the intelligence of the Malaysian voter. If enough Malaysians are committed to a Third Force we might yet be surprised.

This may not happen this coming general election. It may take time to see a Third Force with enough clout to force both Barisan Nasional and Pakatan Rakyat to agree to political reforms, which is going to be the agenda of the Third Force.

Heck, it took a long time for it to happen in the UK. 30 years, in fact, after 17 years of Conservative and 13 years of Labour. But finally it did happen. And, in time, it will happen in Malaysia as well.

But we must be prepared for the long haul. There are going to be no short cuts. We can plant the seed now. But we may not be around to see the fruits of our labour.

So be it!

************************************************

It’s Zaid vs PKR, as criticisms mount

(The Malaysian Insider) - The gulf between PKR deputy presidential hopeful Datuk Zaid Ibrahim and the party leadership appears to be widening, with vice president Lee Boon Chye today rubbishing the former lawyer’s “bewildering” claim that PKR tried to stop him from contesting.

Newcomer Zaid cuts a lonely figure as senior party figures continue to slam the former Umno man for also alleging that underhanded tactics were being used to discredit him following his candidancy announcement.

“No one has prevented Zaid from contesting and campaigning for any post including the presidency,” Lee said in a statement.

In an interview with Mingguan Malaysia on Sunday, Zaid had alleged that he was being prevented from contesting for the deputy president post.

The former de facto law minister said that a party like PKR, which claimed to be democratic, should ensure that those who were qualified to contest were given a chance to do so.

“Even though we may love Azmin or Anwar, it shouldn’t be to the extent where orders are issued not to nominate me,” he had said.

Lee said Zaid’s “unkind insinuations” that other PKR leaders, such as chief strategist Chua Tian Chang and N. Gobalakrishnan, had also been prevented from contesting were equally untrue.

He pointed out that Chua had won the Batu division chief post and Gobalakrishnan was still vying for the same post at Padang Serai.

Lee also questioned Zaid’s motive in choosing to air his grievances publicly to the press — citing his interview with Mingguan Malaysia, the weekend edition of Umno-owned Utusan Malaysia — and urged the PKR Federal Territory chief to go through regular party channels instead.

“He should stop playing the victim to gain sympathy at the expense of the party,” the Gopeng MP said.

Lee added that he was “perplexed” by Zaid’s claim that PKR was blocking his reform agenda as the party was always trying to enhance its reform-based policies, and challenged him to explain the agenda.

“Zaid should also reveal the so called ‘reform agenda’ and proceed to advocate them through the usual decision making process rather than providing sound bites to the press,” he said.

Lee pointedly reminded Zaid to focus on the “real adversary”, Barisan Nasional (BN) and Umno, even in the midst of PKR’s intense party election.

The hotly contested fight for deputy presidency — largely between Zaid and vice president Azmin Ali — has revealed deep divisions within PKR and thrown the party’s commitment to direct elections into sharp focus.

Azmin, who is also Selangor chief, is believed to be PKR de facto leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s preferred choice, while Zaid is said to be popular with East Malaysian and non-Malay members.

The party leadership, however, has warned of “Trojan horses” in PKR — thought to be a veiled reference to Zaid — intent on using the direct election to take over the party.

PKR amended its constitution last year to give one member one vote in direct elections.

Earlier this month, some 400,000 PKR members began voting for divisional leaders and the 25 members of the central leadership council, including president, deputy president and four vice presidents.

The party’s 218 divisions will hold two separate meetings, one for the annual general meeting and election of divisional leaders, and a second to vote for national leaders.

The divisions will vote for national leaders on weekends, from October 29 to November 21.

Taib: I will win Sarawak with comfortable majority

DOUBT THAT TAIB CAN WIN SARAWAK ELECTION THIS TIME. BEST FOR HIM TO GO AND LET A CLEAN LEADER TO LEAD THE BN?

KUCHING (Bernama)— Sarawak Chief Minister Tan Sri Abdul Taib Mahmud is confident that the state Barisan Nasional (BN) will win with a “comfortable majority” in the upcoming state election.

However, when asked by reporters to quantify it, Taib, who is also state BN chairman, said, “Count the Bumiputera-majority seats.

“With the people’s support, I believe we will have quite a comfortable majority, but I will be very sad if we form the next government without strong Chinese representation,” he said at an Aidilfitri celebration, here, today.

More than 3,000 people, largely Chinese, attended the gathering and his address was translated into Mandarin.

The Aidilfitri gathering was held at a hotel in conjunction with the opening of a new RM61.5 million dual carriageway from Stutong to the Sama Jaya Industrial Zone and Kuching International Airport.

When asked by reporters if the Chinese would reject the Sarawak United People’s Party (SUPP), one of the state BN component parties, in the coming state election, Taib said: “I don’t know. It’s up to the Chinese to decide.”

There are 71 seats in the state legislative assembly, out of which 56 are Bumiputera-majority seats and the other 15, Chinese-majority.

In the 2006 state election, Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu (PBB), the backbone of Sarawak BN, contested 35 seats, SUPP 19, Parti Rakyat Sarawak (PRS) nine and Sarawak Progressive Democratic Party (SPDP) eight.

PBB won all 35 seats, SUPP 11, PRS eight and SPDP eight. SUPP failed to retain eight seats, incluing four Chinese-majority seats — Pending, Batu Lintang, Padungan (all in Kuching), and Bukit Assek (Sibu).

The three mixed constituencies it lost were Kota Sentosa (Kuching), Meradong (Bintangor), Kidurong (Bintulu). It also lost the predominantly-Iban seat of Engkilili (Sri Aman).

Taib appealed to the Chinese community to have a strong representation in the government to have a greater say.

He said every race in the state should be represented in the government as the government would always find ways to help the people to progress.

He urged the Chinese to think deeply over what would happen in future if they have no representatives in the government.

“Do you want to be the tormentors of the government or be part of the government?” he said.

Taib also said that his first pledge when he was sworn in as Chief Minister was to be a Chief Minister for all races in the state. — Bernama

PKR takes Zaid to task for his petulant, divisive campaigning

KEADILAN views with bewilderment Zaid Ibrahim’s recent incessant complaints to the press about the party and the ongoing party election, including an exclusive interview with Utusan Malaysia which he had once called a Gestapo paper. Has he forgotten that he was once the subject of Utusan’s dirty smear campaign during the Hulu Selangor by-election? Has he also forgotten Utusan’s relentless and vicious attacks against Pakatan Rakyat which caused Pakatan Rakyat to dismiss the newspaper?

Zaid has also made unkind insinuations that certain leaders including Tian Chua and Gobalakrishnan had been prevented from contesting for divisional posts when they were in fact free to contest and campaign as they like. As a matter of fact, Tian Chua won the divisional chief post of Batu while Gobalakrishnan is contesting for divisional chief post at Padang Serai.

Likewise, no one has prevented Zaid from contesting and campaigning for any post including the Presidency.

We find it astonishing that he has frequently compared KEADILAN to UMNO when there is just no comparison as KEADILAN stands for everything UMNO does not. He should stop playing the victim to gain sympathy at the expense of the party.

Instead of complaining publicly on the election and undermining the party,

he should observe the proper organisational procedure by forwarding the details to the Jawatankuasa Pemilihan Pusat (JPP), rather than making sweeping statements of underhand tactics and conspiracy.

We are also perplexed by Zaid’s assertions that the party is blocking his “reform agenda” when party decisions are always collectively made to enhance the party’s progressive and reform-based policies. Zaid should also reveal the so called “reform agenda” and proceed to advocate them through the usual decision making process rather than providing sound bites to the press.

As the KEADILAN Chief for the Federal Territory and also a member of both the Central Leadership Council and Political Bureau, Zaid is at the apex of the party decision making process. He certainly has more than the usual opportunity to express his views. Zaid should also acknowledge that he is part of the party leadership and he cannot avoid the inherent collective responsibility and must respect the party’s decision making process.

KEADILAN wishes to advise him to relook at what KEADILAN has achieved as an agent for reform in this country including the landmark direct party election which has empowered individual party members with equal voting right, irrespective of their positions in the party – a testimony of our commitment towards reform.

In the midst of intense party election, let us not forget who are our real adversary – UMNO/BN, and we are confident that KEADILAN can only emerge stronger after the landmark party election.

Lee Boon Chye
Vice President Keadilan

College students protest at the concert's cancellation Controversial rapper and film-maker Namewee's scheduled visit to the New Era College in Kajan

College students protest at the concert's cancellation

Controversial rapper and film-maker Namewee's scheduled visit to the New Era College in Kajang tonight has been cancelled as it fears disturbances.

A statement issued by New Era College said it had to cancel the event due to the unhappy events at Namewee's function at the Kuala Lumpur and Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall (KLSCAH) on Tuesday night.

"In order to prevent any untoward incidents and to protect the college's safety and security, Namewee's event, which was supposed to be held at 7.30pm tonight, is cancelled," the statement said.

Students protesting for Namewee

However, about 100 students are protesting on campus (top photo) and demanding the administration revert its decision to cancel the event.

The students, made up of members of the New Era College Students Association and the Media Studies Association, said that the event was jointly organised by the latter association and the Media Studies Faculty.

As such, they should have a say on whether or not it gets cancelled. They claimed that the college did not inform them of their decision before announcing it through a media statement.

It is understood that the students leaders are currently trying to negotiate with college officials.

No reason to cancel

The rapper's manager Fred Chong confirmed with Malaysiakini that the event, the third in the tour, had been cancelled.

"New Era College is afraid of Perkasa. The function is cancelled and Perkasa has succeeded," he said when asked for the reason behind the cancellation.

He added that while demonstrations can be held because it is a democratic country, there was no reason to cancel the function.

Namewee (real name Wee Meng Chee), 27, had kicked off his tour by going to a college in Penang, and this was followed by the event at KLSCAH, with the New Era college function set for tonight.

On Wednesday, about 50 Perkasa demonstrators burnt Namewee's picture, calling him a traitor and a pig.

Perkasa had also declared war on the rapper yesterday, when its youth chief, Arman Azha Abu Hanifah said its members are ready to act as panglima perang and hulubalang Melayu (Malay warriors), and are willing to tail the rapper throughout his upcoming promotional tour.

"We accept news (of his tour) with open arms. If he performs inside (a hall), we will 'perform' outside too," Arman had said.

The controversial rapper announced in his Facebook page, that he had cancelled his promo tour.

Meeting sought

Chong also said Namewee is seeking a meeting with the government in order to resolve the controversy surrounding the rapper's song 'Nah!'.

"Police is still investigating Namewee under the Sedition Act. If they announce the investigation result, at least it's an official answer from the authority."

Namewee had announced on Facebook that the promo tour is cancelled and announced it as a victory for Perkasa.

"I congratulate Perkasa for their success! All my following promo functions have been cancelled. I would like to tell all the organisers that cowed to Perkasa, Perkasa has won, but Malaysia has lost!"

The latest posting sparked shows of support from his fans which led to at least 450 comments within an hour.

However, he said he won't blame Perkasa for the cancellation of his tour, but it is the media's inaccurate reports that had caused this disappointing development.

"The demonstration on Tuesday was ok, and I think everyone has the right to protest. But the media's inaccurately made out that the demonstrating crowd was larger than it actually was," he told Malaysiakini.

However, he said he did not agree with the way Perkasa demonstrated, with a lot of racist remarks and actions.

The blogger had came up with the 'Nah' video where he used obscene language to bitterly criticise a headmistress who is accused of making racial slurs against her ethnic Chinese and Indian students.

Yesterday Information Communication and Culture Minister Rais Yatim, announced the investigation paper on the 'Nah' video had been submitted to the Attorney General Chambers last week.

Special allowance for Kelantan’s Sultan Ismail and consort while Kelantan Sultan strips his younger brother of royal title

KOTA BARU: A special sitting of the Kelantan State Assembly today approved amendments to two enactments to provide a special allowance for Sultan Ismail Petra Almarhum Sultan Yahya Petra and his consort following the proclamation of their eldest son, Sultan Muhammad V, as the new sultan.

The Royal Family Allowances Enactment (Amendment No.2) 2010 and the Royal Allocation for the Raja Perempuan of Kelantan (Amendment) 2010 were unanimously approved with the agreement of all the assemblymen, including the six opposition members.

Mentri Besar Datuk Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat tabled the proposal for the amendments, and was seconded by Deputy Mentri Besar Datuk Ahmad Yakob.

Nik Aziz said the amendments enabled Sultan Ismail Petra and the Raja Perempuan of Kelantan, Tengku Anis Tengku Abdul Hamid, to receive the special allowance following the proclamation of their eldest son, Sultan Muhammad V, as the new sultan on Sept 13.

State Assembly Speaker Datuk Mohd Nassuruddin Daud announced the approval of the amendments after it was agreed to by all the assembly members.

Earlier, the assembly extended its congratulations to Sultan Muhammad V on his proclamation as the new sultan.

Ahmad, when winding up debate, said the state government expressed its undivided loyalty to the sultan and wished for Kelantan to be blessed under his rule.

The assembly also recorded its condolences over the death Galas assemblyman, Che Hashim Sulaima, 46, of PAS, from colon cancer three days ago.

All the assembly members observed a moment's silence and recited the "al-fatihah".

Opposition Leader Datuk Mohd Alwi Che Ahmad, when approached, said all the six opposition assemblymen supported the amendments because they had adhered to the constitutional requirements.

"There is no reason not to support what is for the good, and it is hoped that Kelantan will be blessed under the rule of Tuanku," he said.

The state assembly adjourned to Nov 1.

In another development, the newly proclaimed Sultan of Kelantan Sultan Muhammad V has stripped his youngest brother Tengku Muhammad Fakhry Petra of his royal title “Tengku Temenggong” with immediate effect.

Tengku Muhammad Fakhry was also stripped of his two royal awards bestowed on him by the previous sultan and his father, Tuanku Ismail Petra.

Notice on the removal of the royal title and awards was served on Tengku Fakhry by a member of the state secretariat to an employee of Istana Mahkota in Kubang Kerian around 10am Thursday.

State Secretary Datuk Seri Mohd Aiseri Alias when announcing the matter yesterday said Tengku Muhammad Fakhry had been notified about the revocation of his title earlier through a letter.

He said the Sultan’s had his own reasons for revoking his youngest brother’s royal title and for withdrawing his royal awards.

Tengku Muhammad Fakhry has been embroiled in long-standing bitter rivalry with is eldest brother Tengku Muhammad Faris Petra when the latter was the Kelantan Regeant.

Tengku Muhammad Faris was proclaimed the new Sultan of Kelantan by the State Royal Succession Council on Sept 13 and has assumed the name Sultan Muhammad V.