Umno jadi ‘rakan kecil’ ujian sebenar kerjasama BN-PAS, kata penganalisis

 Hisommudin Bakar berkata kerjasama lebih mudah dicapai di negeri BN dominan tetapi prinsip timbal balik akan benar-benar diuji di kubu PAS.

PRN Melaka menjadi pilihan raya kedua selepas Negeri Sembilan menyaksikan BN-PN mengadakan persefahaman politik.

PETALING JAYA:

Melaka mungkin menjadi contoh pengurusan kerjasama Barisan Nasional (BN) dan Perikatan Nasional (PN) tetapi ujian sebenar apabila Umno perlu menerima kedudukan sebagai ‘rakan kecil’ di negeri dikuasai PAS, kata penganalisis.

Pengarah Eksekutif Ilham Centre, Hisommudin Bakar, berkata formula kerjasama di Melaka tidak semestinya boleh diterjemahkan secara langsung ke negeri lain kerana setiap negeri mempunyai komposisi politik, sejarah persaingan dan keseimbangan kekuatan parti berbeza.

Hisommudin Bakar.

Katanya, Umno mempunyai asas sokongan kuat di Melaka, Johor dan Negeri Sembilan, sekali gus membolehkan BN bertanding lebih banyak kerusi berbanding PAS dan PN.

Namun, Hisommuddin mengingatkan prinsip timbal balik akan benar-benar diuji apabila kedudukan dominan itu bertukar tangan, terutama di negeri yang mempunyai penguasaan PAS lebih besar seperti Kedah, Kelantan dan Terengganu.

Malah, beliau mengingatkan Perak juga mempunyai dinamik lebih kompleks kerana BN dan PN mempunyai asas sokongan serta kepentingan kerusi masing-masing tanpa jurang dominasi seperti di Melaka.

“Adakah Umno bersedia menerima kedudukan sebagai rakan yang lebih kecil dan memberikan ruang dominan kepada PAS sebagaimana PAS memberikan laluan kepada BN di negeri tertentu?

“Di sinilah prinsip timbal balik dan keikhlasan kerjasama akan benar-benar diuji,” katanya kepada FMT.

Beliau mengulas kenyataan Timbalan Ketua Umno Melaka Rais Yasin yang negeri itu boleh menjadi contoh keberkesanan kerjasama BN dan PAS jika parti terbabit berjaya meningkatkan sokongan pengundi serta jumlah kerusi dimenangi pada PRN 14 Nov ini.

Pada PRN kali ini, BN bertanding di 23 daripada 28 DUN, manakala PN meletakkan calon di lima kerusi. Kedua-dua gabungan turut bersetuju menyediakan manifesto pilihan raya bersama.

Presiden PAS Hadi Awang pula dipetik berkata kerjasama BN dan PN mungkin diteruskan selepas PRN Melaka, malah diperluaskan ke PRU16.

Formula penyandang boleh tekan BN

Azmi Hassan.

Sementara itu, Azmi Hassan daripada Akademi Nusantara berkata penggunaan formula penyandang seperti di Melaka boleh meletakkan BN dalam kedudukan kurang menguntungkan jika pendekatan sama dibawa ke negeri lain atau PRU16.

Katanya, PAS berkemungkinan mahu mengekalkan kerusi yang sudah dikuasainya, terutama di negeri yang parti itu mempunyai kedudukan lebih kukuh.

“Kalau formula penyandang digunakan dalam kerjasama PAS dengan Umno, maka Umno akan berada dalam kedudukan yang tidak baik,” katanya.

Azmi berkata, PN mungkin menggunakan pendekatan sama dengan memberi laluan kepada MCA di kerusi sukar dimenangi, merujuk pertambahan kawasan ditandingi parti komponen BN pada PRN Melaka iaitu lima berbanding dua ketika pengumuman calon.

“PAS (di negeri dominannya) mungkin memberi laluan kepada BN di kawasan yang peluang kemenangannya rendah termasuk kerusi majoriti bukan Melayu atau kawasan dikuasai Pakatan Harapan dengan majoriti besar,” katanya. - FMT

Rapid Bus pledges full cooperation in probe into fatal Bayan Baru crash

 A motorcyclist was killed while two others, including the bus driver, were injured in the collision last night.

A Rapid Penang bus operating the Weld Quay Bus Terminal-Balik Pulau route was involved in an accident that killed a man at Jalan Mayang Pasir last night. (Bernama pic)

PETALING JAYA:

Rapid Bus has pledged to cooperate fully with the authorities investigating a collision between a Rapid Penang bus and a motorcycle in Bayan Baru which killed a motorcyclist last night.

The Penang fire and rescue department said a 29-year-old man died at the scene in the 11.33pm accident at Jalan Mayang Pasir.

The bus driver and a female pillion rider were also injured.

Rapid Bus said the driver sustained facial and finger injuries from flying glass shards. There were also eight passengers on the bus at the time of the accident.

“Rapid Bus extends its sympathy and condolences to the victim’s family and will provide its full cooperation to the authorities investigating the incident,” it said in a statement.

The bus, which was operating on the Weld Quay Bus Terminal-Balik Pulau route, was heading towards Jalan Mayang Pasir when the accident occurred. - FMT

No approval for Hyrox event unless beer sponsorship withdrawn, says minister

 Youth and sports minister Dr Taufiq Johari says the application for next month's event is still being considered.

Youth and sports minister Dr Taufiq Johari said the Safe Sport Code prohibits tobacco, electronic cigarette or alcoholic beverage businesses from organising, sponsoring, promoting or advertising sporting activities. (Bernama pic)

PETALING JAYA:

Youth and sports minister Dr Taufiq Johari says the ministry will not approve a Hyrox competition in Kuala Lumpur next month unless an alcoholic beverage company withdraws its sponsorship.

Referring to a poster announcing the company as the event’s “Official Beer Partner”, Taufiq said the application for the event, to run from Dec 10 to 13 at the Malaysia International Trade and Exhibition Centre, was still under consideration.

He said all companies applying for licences to organise sporting events are required to declare their commitment to implementing the Safe Sport Code, which prohibits tobacco, electronic cigarette or alcoholic beverage businesses from organising, sponsoring, promoting or advertising sporting activities.

He also reminded organisers that the Sports Development Act 1997 requires companies involved in sporting activities to be licensed by the sports commissioner. Those found guilty of breaching the provision face a fine of between RM50,000 and RM500,000, imprisonment of up to five years or both.

Taufiq said the regulations apply equally to all organisers and companies involved in tobacco, electronic cigarette and alcoholic beverage businesses, regardless of their brand or target audience.

“The application to organise the event is being processed,” Taufiq said, adding that the ministry has not provided any funding for the competition.

“The ministry’s position on this matter is clear. We will not approve the event unless the alcoholic beverage company fully withdraws its sponsorship.

“This includes the removal of all related logos, trademarks and promotional materials from all official event channels and the competition venue.”

Hyrox, launched in Germany in 2018, is an indoor fitness competition held worldwide that combines running on a treadmill with strength exercises such as lunges and rowing. - FMT

Suhakam to meet Perak govt over monastery demolition dispute

 

Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (Suhakam) commissioner Abdul Kadir Jailani Ismail said they will meet the Perak government over alleged human rights violations linked to a threat to demolish the Sakyamuni Cave Monastery in Gunung Kanthan here for quarrying activities. — STR/ MUHAMMAD ZULSYAMINI SUFIAN SURI

IPOH: The Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (Suhakam) will meet the Perak government over alleged human rights violations linked to a threat to demolish the Sakyamuni Cave Monastery in Gunung Kanthan here for quarrying activities.

Suhakam commissioner Abdul Kadir Jailani Ismail said the move followed a memorandum submitted by the monastery's monks on Aug 27, alleging restricted access and intimidation, including surveillance by drones.

He said the meeting with the state government would take place after Suhakam completed a comprehensive report based on findings and feedback from eight agencies involved in the dispute.

"Suhakam is mandated to provide views and advice to state governments on human rights issues. We also have the authority to conduct monitoring.

"We will examine the problems, the actions taken by the relevant agencies, the underlying causes and possible solutions.

"Following discussions at our monthly meeting, we will determine the main issues and whether there have been actual human rights violations. The next step is to engage with the Perak government," he said after visiting the monastery yesterday.

Also present were the monastery's head monk, Bhante Kusala; its lawyer, Leong Cheok Keng; and Sahabat Alam Malaysia (SAM) field researcher Meor Razak Meor Abdul Rahman.

The dispute involves the approximately 100-year-old Buddhist monastery and a cement company, with issues including land rights, eviction, freedom of religion and environmental conservation.

Abdul Kadir said the visit was intended to give Suhakam a clearer understanding of the situation, particularly the alleged human rights violations outlined in the memorandum.

He said Suhakam, as a commission established under parliament, was responsible for looking into complaints involving human rights and referring relevant matters to the appropriate agencies for further action.

Meanwhile, Kusala alleged that the rights of the monastery's residents and visitors had been violated through restrictions on their movements, including having to register every time they entered or left the premises.

He also claimed their privacy had been compromised by the use of drones to monitor their movements.

Kusala described the restrictions as arbitrary detention, saying they had been imposed before the court had reached a final decision, with an appeal still pending at the Court of Appeal and an application to stay the execution of the court's decision awaiting hearing.

"In June, they placed concrete barriers at the monastery's main entrance, preventing members of the public from entering.

"Our movements are constantly monitored, as though they are trying to pressure us into leaving.

"On the worst days, drones are flown at very low altitudes up to three times a day to monitor and track our movements within the monastery," he said. - NST

Elephant barges into schoolteacher's quarters, leaves storage area in disarray [WATCH]

 

An elephant made an unexpected nighttime visit to a schoolteacher’s quarters, rummaging through a storage area and leaving broken kitchen appliances in its wake. - Pic source from Threads

KUALA LUMPUR: An elephant made an unexpected nighttime visit to a schoolteacher's quarters in Perak, rummaging through a storage area and leaving broken kitchen appliances in its wake.

The incident, captured on video and shared on Threads, drew mixed reactions with some amused by the intrusion while others sympathised with the animal.

The video showed the elephant peering through a window with its trunk before reaching into the storage area, where kitchen appliances and other items were kept.

Speaking to the New Straits Times, the user, who wished to be identified only as Nurafi, said the elephant had wandered into a school in a remote forested area, where it found a packet of sugar.

She said the elephant lingered for about 30 minutes, with the footage recorded by her husband, a teacher at the school.

"My husband and I are in a long-distance relationship. During the incident, he managed to video call me, so I saw the elephant roaming around myself," she said.

She said teachers stayed at the school and returned home weekly.

---

---

"Elephants frequently approached the school and nearby village, but villagers would usually chase them away before they got too close," said Nurafi.

However, this particular elephant managed to enter the school grounds at night.

"The affected building was the staff and teachers' quarters, not a villager's house," she said.

Some Threads users who came across the video saw the funny side of the incident while others cited habitat loss.

"Was it asking for food? If I lived in that village and got attacked, I might as well leave the window open like a canteen and serve it food every day. My heart is too fragile," user eyahalim commented.

Another user thought the animal must have been hungry.

"Poor thing, maybe it's hungry because so much of the forest has been cleared for human use. But whatever it is, this is the big boss of the area," the user wrote.

One user recounted how elephants had repeatedly entered their wooden village house, particularly during bamboo shoot season.

"They come over every year, especially during bamboo shoot season. There are logging activities everywhere," the user said.

Meanwhile, user monsibel quipped, "quite literally, 'addressing the elephant in the room'."

The video has garnered more than 658,000 views since it was posted yesterday. - NST