(Bernama) -- Umno vice- president Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin said PAS president Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang is dreaming when claiming that the Yang di-Pertuan Agong backed the memorandum calling for electoral reforms submitted to Istana Negara during an illegal assembly here on Saturday.

"It wasn't the King who received it, only a palace official. His majesty was not even there when the memorandum was submitted. How could he say that the Agong supports him," he told reporters here today.

Hadi had said the fact that the memorandum was received by Istana Negara showed that the King supported the protest against the country's electoral system.

Muhyiddin said Hadi was indulging in political play-acting in his attempt to mislead the public on what actually transpired on Saturday.

In Kuantan, Pahang Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Adnan Yaakob said he believed that Tuanku Mizan Zainal Abidin would not be easily ensnared by such tactics.

He suggested that the Internal Security Act (ISA) be invoked against participants of illegal assemblies as their action could undermine internal security and public order.

Adnan also claimed that an opposition leader orchestrated the gathering to cover up his own weaknesses.

(Bernama) -- Malaysians must be prepared for the effects of the global trend of rising oil prices, Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Minister Datuk Shafie Apdal said today.

He said hardship caused by rising oil prices was faced by governments and political parties worldwide, including the United States, Japan and Europe.

"Some irresponsible people say oil prices should not be raised. No government or leader in the world can stop oil prices from rising, including President George Bush of the United States and British Prime Minister Gordon Brown," he told reporters at a Deeparaya goodwill gathering here.

To cushion fuel price increase, he said, the government wants the people to be smart consumers by buying only essential goods and cheaper items.

He said short supply of fuel in winter, growing demand from industries in China, India and Europe and wars have contributed to spiralling global oil prices.

Shafie said the trend of rising world oil prices would continue and is expected to hit US$100 per barrel by year-end.

He said findings of a study on the fuel subsidy and distribution, expected to be out in a few months, would consider the people's affordability and the government's capacity to absorb the RM40 billion subsidy bill.

Asked about talk that the government may raise oil prices by 30 to 50 sen next year, he said: "We will study and approach the matter differently.

"Please don't listen to rumours.

"If the global oil prices increases, the government plans to introduce a system that will not burden the people."

He said Malaysians should become smart consumers and not join a boycott campaign as it would stifle the national economy.

Malaysians were urged to wear yellow every Saturday in a protest against the government, after a rally calling for election reform was suppressed with water cannons and tear gas.

The organisers of last Saturday's rally, which despite heavy rain and a government ban drew 40,000 people in the biggest turnout in a decade, selected yellow as the colour of "people power".

"We are asking everyone nationwide to wear yellow on every Saturday. It can be a yellow cap, a yellow shirt, a yellow ribbon ... just anything yellow," said Syed Azman Syed Nawawi from the opposition Islamic party PAS.

The protest movement, a coalition of opposition parties and civil society groups known as Bersih, is pushing for reforms including a clean-up of the electoral roll and an end to postal votes.

They handed a protest memorandum to the king during the rally and said Tuesday they would also meet the country's nine state sultans to press for reforms.

Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, who is expected to call snap polls early next year, has denounced the protesters for involving the king who is highly respected but has a largely ceremonial role and usually stays out of politics.

"We do not want to drag in the king and the sultans but who else can we appeal to," Syed Azman said at a press conference along with other opposition leaders.

"The government and the election commission have turned a deaf ear. So we turn to the king who is the protector of the people and the constitution," he said.

Syed Azman said that four Bersih leaders have been summoned to report to police headquarters on Thursday.

Police have said that 245 people were detained during the protests, although organisers and rights groups say that is an exaggeration and only 36 people were arrested.

Reports said today that the parents of 18 children detained at the rally will be charged with engdangering their children.

"It was an irresponsible act and wrong of the adults to bring children to the rally," police chief Musa Hassan said according to the New Straits Times. - AFP

The Star

Information Minister Datuk Seri Zainuddin Maidin has strongly criticised satellite television station Al Jazeera’s coverage of Saturday’s illegal gathering here.

Describing the coverage as biased, unfair and confusing to people living overseas, he said he would write to the station stating that the Government was aware of what the station was trying to do.

“They also cited a blogger as an independent journalist when the blogger is actually a DAP member,” he said.

Thousands of demonstrators under the Bersih coalition gathered at various parts of Kuala Lumpur on Saturday before marching to Istana Negara to present a memorandum calling for fair and free elections.

Zainuddin said Al Jazeera’s coverage gave the impression that the police were violent when they actually took minimum action to control the crowd.

“The police only used water cannons and tear gas and did not shoot anyone,” he said.

Zainuddin also quoted the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia which commended the police for carrying out a good job in controlling the crowd.

“When faced with demonstrators, the police allowed them to march to the palace,” Zainuddin said.

Zainuddin said Al Jazeera should use its base in Malaysia as an opportunity to strengthen bonds with the West rather than to portray Malaysia as anti-West.

The Star

Children involved in the illegal assembly at Dataran Merdeka last Saturday were exploited by their parents.

Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Musa Hassan said action could be taken against these parents, as it is an offence under the Child Protection Act.

Describing the parents as irresponsible, he said they should know the danger of getting their children involved in the rally.

The IGP also said that action would be taken against the 245 people who were detained and later released.

“They have been released after questioning. We will take action later,” he said after witnessing the handing over of duty from retiring Deputy IGP Tan Sri Mohd Najib Abdul Aziz to his successor Datuk Ismail Omar.

Musa suggested the opposition parties have dialogues instead of getting involved in illegal assemblies.

“Illegal assemblies inconvenience the public,” he said, adding that shops and offices in the area had to close on Saturday due to the illegal assembly.

Musa also said the roadblocks had to be set up for security checks to ensure no one was carrying any weapon and to weed out undesirable elements.

Police are bracing for another illegal assembly being planned by opposition parties in Kuala Terengganu in three weeks time.

“Yes, we will strengthen our security and we will see what they have planned,” Musa added.

By : Alang Bendahara
New Straits Times

The parents of 18 children detained in Saturday's illegal rally will be charged with endangering their children.

The children were allegedly used as shields to prevent police from firing tear gas and water at the demonstrators who refused to disperse.

Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Musa Hassan said he had ordered his men to act against the parents.

"The parents were exploiting the children," Musa said, adding that the investigations were being carried out under the Child Protection Act.

"It was an irresponsible act and wrong of the adults to bring children to the rally.

"They knew the rally was illegal and police would act, yet they placed the children in danger."

Musa said fortunately none of the children, who were taken to the city police headquarters, was hurt.

The IGP also defended his men's actions.

"It was an illegal assembly which went ahead despite our repeated advice against holding it. We urged the demonstrators to disperse but the crowd turned unruly."

He said the protesters disrupted traffic and made a nuisance of themselves.

"That was when we moved in."

On the numerous roadblocks, Musa said they had to screen those entering the city.

"We needed to filter any undesirable elements and check for weapons and arms.

"We had no choice as public safety was paramount."

Traffic came to a standstill across the capital as police cordoned off Dataran Merdeka, closed train stations and restricted or diverted vehicles from the city centre.

He said the parties involved in the rally should have resorted to other means to address their grouses.

"Why not do it through dialogue instead of a rally?"

He advised opposition parties against organising another rally scheduled for later this month.

It was reported yesterday that at least 18 children were detained by police along with their parents for failing to disperse on Saturday.

A 6-year-old was picked up along with her parents. The number of detainees was 245. Their ages were between 6 and 55. They were released after their statements were taken.

They are being investigated for taking part in an illegal assembly and face a jail sentence of not more than one year, and fine of between RM2,000 and RM10,000, upon conviction.

Musa said more arrests are expected in the next few days.

A coalition of opposition parties and non-governmental organisations, calling itself Bersih, had organised the rally estimated by police at 10,000, to deliver an election reform petition to the Yang di-Pertuan Agong.

The king, Tuanku Mizan Zainal Abidin, was away in Terengganu but a palace official accepted the memorandum.

The Star

KUANTAN: Deterrent measures, including enforcing the Internal Security Act, should be taken against those who promote ill will and hostility, said Pahang Umno chief Datuk Seri Adnan Yaakob.

Referring to last Saturday’s illegal gathering in Kuala Lumpur organised by Bersih to demand for “clean and fair” elections, Adnan said national security took precedence over the demands raised by the opposition.

“National security is of utmost importance, more than legality or human rights,” he said.

“I am not prepared to see a society broken. If they have to use the ISA, then do so,” he added.

Adnan, who is the Mentri Besar, said there was a need to put to a stop all the unruly behaviour that only caused hardship to the people.

On the strong protest expected from the international media and opposition if Malaysia were to impose the ISA, he said: “Why must we take into consideration their views? Our own survival is more important.

“We can just ignore what they have to say about us.”

In KUALA LUMPUR, Wanita Umno chief Datuk Seri Rafidah Aziz said the international business communities were neither concerned with nor interested about the street demonstrations held by the opposition.

The International Trade and Industry Minister said the demonstrations had not altered foreign investors’ perception of doing business in Malaysia.

She said that during her many trade trips overseas, the business communities there had never asked about the opposition.

In TANGKAK, Umno information chief Tan Sri Muhammad Muhammad Taib said if elections in the country were not clean, then opposition candidates would not have won any seats.

The senator added that PAS even managed to win over Kelantan and Terengganu to form the state governments.

In Parliament yesterday, opposition leader Lim Kit Siang told a press conference that Malaysians had the right to appeal to the King to intervene in the people’s petition for electoral reforms.

“The Yang di-Pertuan Agong symbolises the fountain of justice in Malaysia and it’s completely within constitutional norms for Malaysians to appeal to the King for intervention,” he said.

Ex-deputy premier displays ability to get PAS and DAP to work together

By Carolyn Hong, Malaysia Bureau Chief
The Straits Times

IT WAS a surreal sight: Bersih protesters in their yellow T-shirts picking up litter in front of the palace after their mass protest for electoral reforms on Saturday.

Especially as Bersih means clean in Malay.

The clean-up was a sure indication that the protest was well-organised. Another sign was the fact that nearly all of the protesters were dressed in yellow - the colour of royalty.

It was clearly not an uprising, so to speak. In that sense, it was very different from the pro-Anwar Ibrahim Reformasi protests that erupted after he was sacked as deputy premier in 1998.

But there were similarities in terms of size. Saturday's protest was huge, whether it involved 10,000 people, according to the police, or 50,000, according to the organisers.

It was easily the largest protest in almost a decade, and it was organised by an opposition-led coalition of political parties and civil society groups called Bersih.

Bersih was formed last year, and its goal is to push for reform of the electoral process, which it says is unfair to the opposition.

On Saturday, protesters handed over a memorandum to the palace demanding reforms, including the abolition of postal votes, ahead of a general election that is widely expected to be called within months.

Observers note that the massive turnout has given a fillip to Datuk Seri Anwar's stature as a leader of the opposition.

Political analyst Khoo Kay Peng believes that Datuk Seri Anwar has, over the last few months, gained some credibility as an opposition force to be reckoned with.

'The rally showed how Anwar's leadership can bring the different opposition forces together,' he said.

The rally was evidently largely organised by the highly effective grassroots network of Parti Islam SeMalaysia (PAS). Supporters organised the crowd, directed traffic and cleaned up after the event.

But it was Datuk Seri Anwar who addressed the rally before handing over the memorandum to the palace.

The top PAS leaders, along with leaders from the Chinese-based Democratic Action Party (DAP), allowed him that highly symbolic role.

Datuk Seri Anwar is an acceptable face to all sides, while PAS is viewed with suspicion by the Chinese, and DAP is mistrusted by the Malays.

He has been striving to be a bridge between the two parties, which are poles apart in their ideologies.

Previous elections have shown that they do not need close collaboration to be effective; they only need to stay out of each other's way.

Right now, there is much euphoria in the opposition camps, although it is hard to say what the massive rally means for a general election.

'It would be wrong to think that it will bring big change in the next election but it would also be wrong to take this as just another political rally,' said Mr Wong Chin Huat, an academic specialising in electoral politics.

He noted that the rally has given a boost to the opposition's morale, but the impact on the governing coalition would depend on its response to the rally.

So far, the government has dismissed it as an opposition gimmick.

KUALA TERENGGANU: Police have warned the people against attending a gathering purportedly to be organised by an opposition party in Batu Buruk on Tuesday.

State police chief Senior Asst Comm Datuk Ayub Yaakob said police had not issued any permit for the gathering and those attending it would be committing an offence.

“After looking into all the aspects, the police find the place unsuitable as a venue for the gathering and ceramah,” he told reporters.

Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Idris Jusoh, in a statement issued here, said the state government had never prevented anybody including PAS representatives from voicing their opinions or holding gatherings in the state.

“We do not want a recurrence of the incident of Sept 8,” he said. – Bernama

New Straits Times

IT was a peculiar question hour yesterday as the house skipped almost half of the questions in the order paper because the MPs who posed them and those who were supposed to provide the answers were absent.

In all, 13 questions were left unanswered. The government and opposition blamed each other for the debacle.

Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Seri Mohd Nazri Aziz said the absent MPs were irresponsible for giving yesterday’s sitting a miss.

“There is no excuse. Their responsibility is towards the house,” he said in the lobby.

In the house earlier, opposition leader Lim Kit Siang charged it was the government which was being irresponsible as some questions were not answered as no one from the respective ministries was around.

He urged speaker Tan Sri Ramli Ngah Talib to admonish the government but the latter advised everyone to play their part.

Ramli said MPs should be present if they wanted their questions answered, with the same rule applying to ministers, deputy ministers and parliamentary secretaries.

Last month, a similar situation arose after many MPs went missing, saying they had to attend the launch of the East Coast Economic Region in Terengganu.

Yesterday, the Sarawak block was empty as most of the MPs from the state stayed back as the prime minister was visiting while members from Sabah, particularly from Parti Bersatu Sabah, appeared to have taken the day off after their party’s congress.

By : Joniston Bangkuai
New Straits Times

KOTA KINABALU: The illegal immigrant problem featured prominently in the Parti Bersatu Sabah and Liberal Democratic Party's annual meetings which ended on Sunday.

The parties want the federal and state governments to find a permanent solution to the problem.

At the PBS congress, party president Datuk Seri Joseph Pairin Kitingan set the tone by urging the federal government to stop issuing and renewing IMM13 documents.

The IMM13 is a temporary pass issued by the Immigration Department to Filipino refugees who fled to Sabah to escape the civil war in southern Philippines in the early 1970s.

"There must be a limit to the refugee status in Sabah," said Pairin, who is also deputy chief minister.

The PBS wants all illegal immigrants to be deported but allowed to return as foreign workers with proper documents.

Pairin said the PBS had never budged on the issue.

"We will continue to speak out without fear or favour on the issue until it is solved," he said to thunderous applause from delegates.

LDP Youth chief Chin Shu Ying said illegal immigrants were largely responsible for crimes in the state.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi had given an assurance during the PBS meeting that the government was committed to resolving the illegal immigrant issue.

The Star

LUMUT: More offshore patrol vessels (OPVs) will be built for the Royal Malaysian Navy after they have taken delivery of the initial six craft by 2009, said Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak.

However, he said the vessels would be built in stages and in accordance with the Government’s financial means.

“We will continue with the programme as many of the navy ships are uzur dan usang (old and rundown),” he told reporters after the launching and naming ceremony of the third patrol vessel at Boustead Naval Shipyard here yesterday.

Najib, who is also the Defence Minister, said the initial plan was to build 27 of such new generation patrol vessels to ensure the navy has an able fleet to carry out its duties.

“When the time comes, the Government will decide on the continuation of the project.”

Boustead Naval Shipyard Sdn Bhd, a subsidiary of Boustead Holdings Bhd, currently has an OPV contract with the Government to design, construct and deliver six vessels to the Navy.

The first two vessels – KD Kedah and KD Pahang – were delivered to the RMN last year. The third vessel was named KD Perak and launched by the Raja Permaisuri Perak Tuanku Bainun yesterday.

The third vessel was the first to be fully constructed at the Lumut naval base using local manpower and expertise.

“The fourth vessel is expected to be ready around the same time as the Langkawi International Maritime and Aerospace (Lima) 2007 exhibition in December while the last two should be ready by the end of 2009,” said Najib.

He said the construction cost for all six vessels was estimated at more than RM6bil.

William Pesek
BLOOMBERG



Those wondering where Malaysia is headed should keep an eye on Tony Fernandes. Perhaps no one personifies the promise of Asia's 10th-biggest economy better than the 43-year-old entrepreneur.

In 2001, he created a budget airline, beating the odds in a place dominated by government-linked companies that tend to abhor competition. AirAsia has been turning heads ever since.

It was another airline magnate, Aristotle Onassis, who said the key to succeeding in business is knowing something others don't.

Fernandes knew that not only were Asians ready for no-frills carriers, but so were investors.

Fernandes is often called Southeast Asia's answer to Richard Branson. It seems highly appropriate, then, that the two men teamed to launch AirAsia X, a long-haul budget carrier that this month made its maiden flight.

Branson's Virgin Group is among its key backers.

For all his success, Fernandes also is a microcosm of why Malaysia's economy isn't on the upward trajectory it could be. Politicians' efforts over the years to protect the turf of Malaysian Airline System backfired, leaving Kuala Lumpur lagging behind in the race for Asia's travel hub. Malaysia has effectively tied one hand behind its back to help out national champions at the expense of the bigger picture.

"I'm asking this for national interest, not MAS's interest or anything else," says Fernandes of his battle to fly from Kuala Lumpur to Singapore. "The consumers have suffered enough."

Politicians continue to dither over another national champion: state- controlled carmaker Proton Holdings. While talks on an alliance with Volkswagen are progressing, the saga is a reminder that Malaysia's leaders are wasting time the nation doesn't have.

In Proton's case, the exercise is about finding a partner to help revive sales and return the 24-year-old company to profit. Yet this, like Fernandes's fight to expand his innovative airline, is emblematic of how politicians often don't grasp that Malaysia's place in Asia is rather tenuous.

The world has lots riding on multi- ethnic Malaysia. It's a place where micro-miniskirts comfortably exist next to women in headscarves. Yet the next 50 years will arguably be even harder than the last. It wasn't one of the original Asian tigers, yet Malaysia became one over the years. Now, amid Asia's boom, the economy has its fair share of blemishes with which to grapple.

"The world is moving ahead at a rapid pace, and it won't wait for Malaysia," says Razlan Mohamed, chief executive of Malaysian Rating Corp. The nation needs to work harder and faster, he added.

Chrisanne Chin, finance faculty head at MIMS Business School, Malaysian Institute of Management & INTI University College, puts it this way: "It's not so much what Malaysia is lacking, but that China, India, Vietnam and even Thailand and Indonesia have improved so much that they are very capable of leapfrogging Malaysia in a short span of another five years because of specific comparative advantages, from low costs to human capital to technology."

Human capital is a particular concern. The government needs to do more to train the leaders of tomorrow and import the talent that firms require to thrive. It also has to win more of the foreign direct investment flowing elsewhere in Asia.

There's much backslapping about how the US$147 billion (HK$1.15 trillion) economy may expand 6 percent this year and 6.5 percent in 2008. The real picture can be found in the World Economic Forum's latest competitiveness survey, in which Malaysia slipped two spots to 21st.

A huge obstacle for Malaysia is something that can barely be discussed: a 37-year-old affirmative-action program favoring the predominant Malay community. It alienates non-Malays, limits foreign investment, stifles competition and keeps the economy from moving toward a meritocracy.

Yet it's a third-rail issue. Most Malaysians won't even discuss it without first looking around to see who is listening.

A sense of political drift doesn't help. Four years in office, Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi has spent more time trying to solidify the influence of his party, the United Malays National Organization, than bringing the economy to the next level.

Investors and entrepreneurs complain that Abdullah, who, oddly, also serves as finance minister, hasn't attacked subsidies on products such as oil, or tackled corruption as promised.

Melissa Goh
Channel News Asia'

Malaysian police have vowed to take action against those who have broken the law in last Saturday's rally, which saw tens of thousands pouring onto the streets, demanding a free and fair election.

Inspector-General of Police Musa Hassan commended his men, whom he said had acted fairly in dispersing the crowd.

It was Malaysia's biggest rally in ten years.

The last was in 1998, sparked by the firing and arrest of former deputy premier, Anwar Ibrahim.

Led by opposition political parties, more than 10,000 people took to the streets, in spite of the heavy rain, tight security and roadblocks across major roads leading into Kuala Lumpur.

At the gates of the national palace, protesters handed over a petition, appealing to the King for a clean and fair election.

Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi has dismissed it as a political ploy by the opposition.

He said: "Their action is an attempt to drag the royal institution into their politics. But I believe the Yang di-Pertuan Agong is wise and will not be taken in by their tactics."

At a century-old mosque near Independence Square, riot police fired tear gas and water cannon to disperse hundreds of demonstrators.

Police chief Musa Hassan stands by the measures taken.

He said: "It's an illegal gathering. We were forced to take action. We did it with maximum restraint and we didn't use violence. We ordered them to disperse, but they were stubborn and refused to disperse so we had to do it. There were some who challenged us – how can you do that?"

245 protesters were arrested, including 18 minors, with the youngest said to be only six years old.

"You don't exploit children. How can anyone exploit children like that? Nobody is above the law. They should follow the law. That's the law of the country," said Mr Musa.

He also explained why police had to set up roadblocks across the capital that resulted in massive traffic jams.

"We are afraid of undesirable elements involved, that's why we checked for arms and all that. In such a volatile situation, people will take the opportunity (to create trouble), so we have to check."

While all the 245 people have been released, the Malaysian police have not ruled out a possible manhunt in the days ahead as investigation intensifies.

The opposition, encouraged by the massive turnout, plans to mount another rally in the coming weeks.

Radio Singapore International

Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi has defended police action to break-up a weekend protest in Kuala Lumpur organized by opposition parties and non-governmental organizations.

The police used tear gas and water cannons to disperse the protesters who were demanding electoral reforms.

The protesters were dressed in yellow and Mr Badawi said they were trying to drag the institution of the monarchy and the King into politics.

The marchers were prevented from entering central Merdeka Square because police said they did not have a permit.

For more on this, Mubin Sa’adat spoke with Liew Chin Tong, Executive Director of the KL based think-tank, Research for Social Advancement.

LCT: Well their key demands were to ask the King to intervene in enshuring a free and fair election. The immediate demands were first, for indelible ink to be used in the election to prevent double voting. They also want free access to mainstream media and the abolition of postal votes which is for police and military personnel which is usually not scrutinized and where there is a lack of transparency. And finally, they are asking for a clean up of the electoral roll. The electoral role is often considered tainted. So these are the four immediate demands of Bersih, but overall, they ask for a free and fair election because there is no level playing field in the election for the opposition and also other city groups. Bersih is a coalition of about 70 groups with five political parties, and these are groups who are mainly opposition parties as well as non-governmental organizations. There were about 50 000 participants at the rally or gathering on Saturday. This is the general consensus. They people on the streets and were from all walks of life.

We understand Mr Anwar Ibrahim was involved in this as well. To what extent was he influential in this protest?

LCT: Well, Anwar was there, the parliamentary opposition leader, Mr Lim Kee Siang was there. The president of PAS, the Islamic Party was also there and many other leading NGO personalities, They are all represented on the Bersih committee. Of course Anwar Ibrahim played an important role in mobilizing his members to join. So there were members of the Islamic Party, members of the NGO’s and members of the Democratic Action party.

Is there a genuine concern among the public over electoral reforms or is this more a case of the opposition drumming up the issue as a political strategy?

LCT: Well I think its common knowledge among most Malaysians that the electoral system is not free. It was Bersih that had mainstreamed the issue and turned into an issue that is concerning most people. I think that is the situation, where most Malaysians are more keen to see a free and fair election.

Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi had just raised concerns over the protest by lawyers. Now, a protest at a larger scale. Should he be more worried?

LCT: I think he should be worried. He should be worried that it is not only a handful of lawyers. One of the ministers called them a small group of people. The government sees them as a small group of elite. This protest where there were at least 50 000 people is I think a bigger worry for the Prime Minister because Malaysians from all walks of life including many from the rural areas which is the heartland for UMNO. I think he should be concerned.

Any chance Prime Minister Abdullah will consider the demands of the protesters?

LCT: I think the election commission has considered some of the demands including the use of indelible in. But whether the government would consider upstaging and cleaning up its electoral role, I think that remains remote at moment.

By BARADAN KUPPUSAMY
Time

Her eyes reddened by tear gas and her clothes soaking wet from a heavy downpour, Hamidah Ibrahim, a 23-year-old undergraduate from the northern city of Ipoh, huddled against a shop wall in Tun Perak Road, a main thoroughfare in Kuala Lumpur that is usually clogged with vehicles but on Saturday was crowded with thousands of protestors. Across the street, red-helmeted officers of Malaysia's Federal Reserve Unit fired several rounds of tear gas at the crowds before a baton charge that sent protesters running helter-skelter. Hamidah wiped her eyes and adjusted her tudung, the Malay headscarf that is obligatory for Muslim women. "This is like being in hell," she says amid the thud of smoke grenade launchers.

Thousands of young people like Hamidah, many bused in from across the country and wearing yellow t-shirts emblazoned with the word Bersih, or "clean" in Malay, joined Saturday's protests in favor of free and fair elections. Bersih, a group of the same name made up of opposition parties and dozens of non-governmental organizations, is protesting what they claim have been rampant irregularities in recent elections, alleging voter fraud, gerrymandering and the use of government spending to sway voters. (The government, in response, denies the fraud allegations and accuses its critics of trying to paint development aid as an election offense.)

Bersih had planned a rally at Kuala Lumpur's Merdeka Square, followed by a three-kilometer march to the Istana Nagara, the palace of the Malaysian king, to hand over a memorandum urging the king to ensure that the next national elections are free and fair. But police, who had refused to grant a permit for the rally, threw a cordon of trucks, barriers and riot troops around the square. By 8am, the center of the city resembled a fortress prepared for an invasion, with armed police in pairs at every street corner. "We will take tough action if they proceed," national police chief Musa Hassan had said on Wednesday, a warning that was repeated almost daily in the days preceding the rally. On Friday, Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi weighed in with his own warning. "They are challenging me and I don't like being challenged," Abdullah told a crowd of 3,500 delegates at a assembly of the ruling United Malays National Organization (UMNO) on Friday, urging the rally be cancelled.

But in the end, about 30,000 protestors managed to get through the police cordon in the biggest display of public anger since the 1998 protests following the sacking and arrest of then-deputy Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim on sodomy and corruption charges. At the palace gate, Anwar, now a leader of the opposition, described the rally as an "unqualified success" as other opposition party leaders handed the memorandum to palace officials through the bars of the gate under the gaze of more than 1,000 armed police.

Analysts say the large turnout is a sign of growing resentment against Abdullah's perceived failure to curb rising crime, corruption and racial and religious divisions since taking over in November 2003. "They came out not just because of election reform but also to highlight a host of other grievances," says James Wong, a political analyst for the Malaysian news website Malaysiakini.com. "Clearly the government is shaken by the turnout." Another observer, a political science lecturer at the National University of Malaysia who declined to be named citing university rules, noted that many of Saturday's protesters appeared to be young, working-class Malays, as opposed to the members of Malaysia's English-educated elite who turned out to support Anwar a decade ago. "It is significant that the urban Malay poor is protesting," he says, noting it could be a sign of dissatisfaction with the New Economic Policy (NEP), the four-decade-old affirmative action program to help ethnic Malays that critics charge now mostly benefits the country's ruling elite.

On Sunday, Malaysian police said that they had detained 245 people in connection with the protest; although all have been released, they could be charged later and face up to a year in prison for taking part in an illegal assembly. With Abdullah likely to call elections before March 2008, experts expect more protests — and tougher police action — as the government hardens its stance in the face of the opposition's demands.

Channel News Asia

Malaysia's opposition and human rights groups on Sunday condemned authorities for attempting to suppress the biggest political rally in a decade with tear gas, water cannons and arrests.

Organisers also said that at least seven people were beaten and kicked by police and that some needed hospital treatment, including one man whose leg was broken.

Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi had vowed to shut down Saturday's rally, held to campaign for electoral reforms as the nation heads for polls expected to be held early next year.

Police locked down the centre of Kuala Lumpur, throwing up roadblocks, searching vehicles and shutting demonstrators out of Independence Square where they had planned to gather.

Despite the tactics and the use of tear gas and water cannons at one of the rallying points, 30,000 protesters marched to the royal palace where they were briefly addressed by dissident former deputy premier Anwar Ibrahim.

"Malaysians have spoken loud and clear," said parliamentary opposition leader Lim Kit Siang, part of an alliance of political parties and civil society groups which mounted the rally.

Lim ridiculed the police chief for claiming that only 4,000 people attended the rally and criticised the government for what he said was an order to the media not to cover the event.

"No newspaper dared to publish photographs of the mammoth peaceful gathering, which was a tribute to Malaysians for their love of peace and commitment to democracy," he said.

Sunday's newspapers instead ran photos of the traffic jams that the roadblocks generated.

"Abdullah should honour his pledge when he became prime minister four years ago to listen to the truth from the people, however unpleasant, and to introduce institutional reforms for justice and democracy," Lim said.

Leading human rights group Suaram said that up to 40 people were arrested, far from the figure of 245 given by police.

"They are trying to portray an image of the gathering being unruly and chaotic and that's why they had to arrest 245 people, which is not true at all," said Suaram executive director Yap Swee Seng.

"Seven people were injured by the police and one suffered a severe injury," he added. "One person said he was handcuffed and had already fallen to the ground when he was kicked in the head."

Protests are rare in Malaysia, and the last major rallies were seen in 1998 during the "Reformasi" or "Reform" movement that erupted when Anwar was sacked and thrown in jail on sodomy and corruption charges.

The sodomy conviction has been overturned but the corruption verdict stands, barring him from standing for public office until April 2008.

The protest coalition is calling for a reform of the electoral process including a review of the electoral roll, curbs on postal voting, which they say is being abused, and equal access to state media for all competing parties.

MAT SALLEH
Asia Sentinel

The battle inside the ruling national coalition is more important than the one on the streets

Now that the biggest demonstrations in 10 years in Malaysia are over and the wounds are being bound up, clearly the big loser is Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, the winners are the opposition parties, and the most astute players in the drama are the country’s nine sultans.

The police put the demonstrators at 10,000, but pictures published by such websites as Malaysia Today showed numbers far in excess of that. The protesters put the figure at closer to 40,000. The protesters, headed by the leaders of the three opposition parties, defied government orders to march to the palace of the Yang di-pertuan Agong, Malaysia’s king, to deliver a petition asking for clean and fair elections.

Abdullah Badawi had denounced the protests and vowed to stop them. He was clearly too weak to do that, raising questions of how strong he is in his own party, the United Malays National Organization, the ethnic Malay party that leads the Barisan Nasional, the ruling national coalition.

“I would think that the opposition has managed to embarrass the prime minister,” says a Kuala Lumpur-based political analyst. “Pak Lah’s (Abdullah Badawi’s) grip on power is not as strong as Mahathir’s but he still has control.” Mahathir Mohamad, Badawi’s predecessor, was prime minister from 1981 to 2003. READ MORE HERE

By TAY TIAN YAN
Sin Chew Daily

Does anyone know the title of the opening speech by part president and Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi to the just ended UMNO General Assembly? Not many people will realise it. Here it is: “Strengthening Confidence – Venturing Into A New Era”.

The most important word is “confidence”.

“Confidence” is the weakness of UMNO. In fact, UMNO has everything, be it power, resources, party members, the vote and so on. However, they are lacking confidence.

Abdullah knows this as a fact. But the majority of the party members, and even the high-level cadres are not aware of it.

They feel insecure because they are lacking confidence. Their tough look is very often used to hide their deep unease.

Therefore, we can see a lot of “terms” in the UMNO General Assembly. The most common terms are “Do not challenge us”, “Our patience is limited”, “We have already sacrificed too much” and so on.

"They feel insecure because they are lacking confidence." These “terms” reflect the collective psyche.

People who feel secure will not use these terms.

You can try to shout to the people at your home or office: “Do not challenge me, my patience is limited, I have been sacrificed too much...”

Nobody would dare to walk close to you even three hours later.

The worst is if you are the head of the family or the head of the company, with this kind of attitude and language, the atmosphere of this family or institution must be very tense. The members would resign or run away.

The family would separate and the company would fall apart.

When the political party is lacking confidence, they will tend to strive for narrow interests and fall into unnecessary struggle, which will then confuse their direction.

At the end of the day, our resources would be wasted without finding a way out.

Logically, a political party which has been formed for more than 60 years, and has ruled for half a century, should not be lacking confidence.

With such a long history and strong political power, logically, they should be a more tolerant and provident political party.

However, UMNO's fighting culture, the ethnic feudal tradition and over-protection has resulted in a lack of self-confidence in itself.

By regaining self-confidence and establishing a sense of security, then only they can seek cooperation, achieve recognition, reach a consensus and open up the future of the country.

Abdullah knows where the problem is, and he would like to bring UMNO back to the right track. Bless him.

New Straits Times

Pas president Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang said yesterday the party would "proceed with appropriate action" if its demand for changes to the electoral system was not met.

Although the veteran opposition leader refused to elaborate on what the action might be, he conceded that the party would not go so far as to boycott the next general election.

"The rally (on Saturday) is a good start in making the rakyat aware of their rights. We walked peacefully and I am happy the representative from Istana Negara accepted our memorandum," he said.

Pas members believe they have the Yang di-Pertuan Agong on their side regarding Saturday's demonstration.

Party central working committee member Anuar Tahir said, with the king accepting the memorandum, it indirectly meant that the Malay rulers, especially the king himself, were sensitive to the plea for "fair and clean elections".

"With the king accepting our memorandum, it signals that the royals are not happy with what is happening with this democracy," he claimed.

The party also slammed the police for their alleged heavy-handedness.

"It is the actions of the police (in setting up roadblocks) that caused traffic jams. We had people coming from Mersing to Kuala Lumpur who had to pass through five roadblocks just to get into the city," Pas vice-president Mohamad Sa- bu said.

He also claimed police acted beyond the confines of their duties by confiscating yellow shirts (which were worn at the protest as a sign of solidarity) and rerouting buses that were coming into the city.

PROTEST IN MALAYSIA
Emboldened protest organisers warn of more mass street rallies to come

By Chow Kum Hor, Malaysia Correspondent
The Straits Times

FRESH from holding a rare massive rally on Saturday, Malaysia's opposition is now emboldened to organise more protests.

Saturday's protest, the largest in a decade, took place despite earlier threats of a government crackdown. It was organised by opposition parties and civil groups.

'Saturday's rally was only the beginning,' Mr Ronnie Liu, a senior leader of the opposition Democratic Action Party (DAP), told The Straits Times.

The demonstrators were trying to march to the palace to hand a petition to the King asking him to press the government for electoral reforms.

Except for a skirmish between riot police who fired tear gas and water cannon at protesters at one of the rally's meeting points, the 10,000strong march was generally peaceful.

Those gathered at other meeting points were not stopped by the police as traffic in the city came to a halt. Hundreds of riot police stood watch in front of the palace gates as protesters filled up the three-lane highway some 50m away.

Such scenes are rare in Malaysia, which has not seen public protests on such a scale since Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim was sacked as deputy prime minister in 1998.

Parti Keadilan Rakyat's treasurer, Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim, told reporters on Saturday that he was satisfied with the turnout and vowed to hold more rallies in the future.

In September, about 1,000 lawyers and activists marched from a court complex in Putrajaya to the nearby Prime Minister's Office demanding a royal inquiry into a video clip showing a prominent lawyer attempting to fix the appointment of top judges.

Since taking over in 2003, Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi has pledged to grant more civil liberties to the people, including easing strict government control on the media.

Commenting on the rally, Datuk Seri Abdullah yesterday expressed regret that the opposition had tried to drag the royalty into politics.

'I believe the King is mature and the royalty will not be trapped in their politics,' he said.

The Malaysian King and nine other hereditary Malay rulers, widely respected by the people, are deemed to be above politics in the country.

While more opposition- backed rallies may be on the cards, the move may not necessarily be good for the opposition, a political analyst says.

'In the past, we have seen how large-scale public protests led to violence. Malaysians are just not ready for violence,' said Professor Mohammad Agus Yusoff, a political scientist with the National University of Malaysia.

Street rallies after Datuk Seri Anwar's sacking saw protesters vandalising public amenities such as telephone booths. Many businesses were shut during the chaos while tourist arrivals dipped.

Prof Mohammad Agus told The Straits Times that the Chinese, who control the business sector in the country, would be worst-hit if public demonstrations spiralled out of control.

'Considering that the Chinese are most unhappy with the government now, the opposition must be careful not to turn away the people who would have otherwise voted for them,' he added.

By MUGUNTAN VANAR and RUBEN SARIO
The Star

Saturday’s street protest in Kuala Lumpur was an attempt to drag the royalty into opposition politics, Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said.

The Prime Minister said the illegal gathering of thousands of people that ended with a memorandum being handed over to an Istana Negara official was an attempt by the opposition to “trap” the Yang di-Pertuan Agong.

“I believe the King is more mature. The royalty understands and will not be trapped by their (the opposition’s) politics,” he said after opening the Parti Bersatu Sabah 22nd congress yesterday.

Abdullah described the illegal gathering that also saw the involvement of five opposition parties as a political gimmick.

“When the opposition thinks the elections will be called soon they do all sorts of activities to win support; that’s normal,” he added.

The gathering was organised by the Coalition for Clean and Fair Elections (Bersih), a group of 60 non-governmental organisations and political parties and it began with thousands gathering at five meeting points in Kuala Lumpur to join in a march to the Istana Negara.

When one group of protesters refused police orders to disperse as they approached the Masjid Jamek area at about 2.30pm, teargas and water cannons were used on them.

Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Musa Hassan said police exercised restraint when controlling the crowd.

Yesterday, the Prime Minister said he was satisfied that police had acted responsibly in handling the situation effectively.

He said many ordinary folk opposed the street protest as it caused them much inconvenience.

“Police have the duty to prevent any untoward incident and they will need to take preventive measures such as putting up road blocks. This causes inconvenience but it is necessary,” he added.

To a question on Sabah’s longstanding illegal immigrant problem, Abdullah said it could only be addressed with the people’s cooperation, by not providing shelter or job opportunities or to immediately report to authorities any such foreigners in their midst.

“Malaysians are always very kind and this becomes a problem sometimes when dealing with these illegals,” he said, adding that there were also those who adopted a “don’t care” attitude towards the problem.

Later, Abdullah attended the Deepavali open house hosted by Sabah MIC at the Likas Sports Complex multi-purpose hall before opening the Liberal Democratic Party congress.

by Charles Ramendran and Pauline Puah
The Sun

Kuala Lumpur police chief DCP Datuk Zul Hasnan Najib Baharuddin said police have released all the 245 people arrested at the Bersih rally on Saturday after recording their statements, and that the police are not aware of anyone being injured and admitted to hospital.

He said the police used minimal force when controlling the crowd although there were occasions when police personnel were pelted with stones and other objects. He said the police did not receive any report of anyone involved in the rally being admitted to hospital.

Parti Keadilan Rakyat’s (PKR) information chief Tian Chua said five people were warded at a hospital for injuries sustained during the rally when they were chased by police.

In Saturday’s gathering organised by the Coalition for Clean and Fair Elections, or Bersih, which represents a grouping of nongovernmental organisations and opposition parties, thousands of people marched from various parts of Kuala Lumpur to Istana Negara to submit a memorandum to the King, calling for electoral reforms.

According to news reports, the police, which did not issue a permit for the gathering, used tear gas and the water cannon on the protesters near the Masjid Jamek area when the police’s order to them to disperse went unheeded. They also set up roadblocks at several main roads leading to the city centre, resulting in a massive traffic jam.

Last Friday, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said the opposition parties should face the Barisan Nasional in the general election instead of organising such a demonstration. At a press conference yesterday, PAS vice-president Mohammad Sabu said:

"We joined the demonstration because we do want to contest in the election. We want to contest in a clean and fair election." Chua also said he and five others, including PAS vice-president Mohammad Sabu, DAP NGO bureau chief Ronnie Liu and PKR vice-president R. Sivarasa, have been summoned by the federal commercial crimes investigation department (CCID) for investigations into the formation of Bersih.

He said the police were investigating whether the coalition was a registered organisation. He said a CCID offi cer had called him a week ago and asked him to turn up at the CCID headquarters in Bukit Perdana for questioning. He said they had yet to decide if they would go.

By C.A. ZULKIFLE
The Star

The Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (Suhakam) has defended the behaviour of police during Saturday's protest march in Kuala Lumpur.

It said no illegal arrests were made and police reacted only when they were challenged physically during the protest.

Human Rights Commissioner Datuk N. Siva Subramaniam said the police only moved to quell the protests when the crowd got rowdy.

“Suhakam monitored the entire protest from morning till evening. I think it was on most accounts a peaceful demonstration and police reacted accordingly,” he said after a human rights dialogue with the people here.

The demonstration, organised by the Coalition for Free and Fair Elections (Bersih) – which called for more transparency in the next general election, caused major traffic jams throughout the Klang Valley.

Subramaniam added that Suhakam would propose to the Government to have a system to allow for peaceful demonstrations in the country as it was part of freedom of expression.

He said that the proposal would be forwarded to the Government in light of unhappiness expressed by certain quarters over their rights to hold demonstrations in the country.

The system calls for peaceful demonstrations to be held in open areas, far from urbanised zones and the organisers have to ensure that the law is not breached.

It also calls for ample notice to be given to the security authorities to ensure there would be no untoward incidents, Subramaniam said.

Suhakam vice-chairman Tan Sri Simon Sipaun said he received complaints that when Barisan Nasional holds a demonstration, no action is taken.

“I think a system to conduct a peaceful sense of demonstration can be looked at. One which does not disrupt the daily lives of residents and far away from urban settings,” he said.

Mentri Besar Datuk Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat, who also attended the dialogue, said human rights was a basic democratic right, so the Government should go ahead and allow peaceful demonstrations and that action should be taken only when the protesters throw stones or injure people.

The Straits Times

PRIME Minister Abdullah Badawi told Malaysians there is no shame in cooperating with Singapore on the development of the Iskandar Development Region (IDR) if it benefits both sides.

Datuk Seri Abdullah said those who feared that the IDR would sell out Malay rights and economic autonomy were wrong.

'We cannot continue to doubt our capabilities to make our (economic development) corridors a success.'

He said: 'We have the knowledge, skills and ability to ensure success. We need not feel unduly worried or ashamed about working with our neighbours for mutual benefit.'

The New Straits Times reported the Malaysian leader as saying that working with Singapore to develop the IDR was advantageous because of Singapore's proximity to Johor.

'We plan to leverage on the proximity to Singapore to create a new global metropolis that Malaysians can truly be proud of. In this regard, some parties have expressed their concerns and reservations. In my mind, these concerns are unfounded.'

Datuk Seri Abdullah added it was shameful 'if we cannot overcome poverty and the backwardness of our own people'.

The Prime Minister said the other development corridors - the Northern Corridor Economic Region (NCER) and the East Coast Economic Region (ECER) - were designed to build on the country's existing economic strengths.

The NCER will emphasise agribusiness, tourism, electrical and electronics manufacturing and design, and logistics, while the ECER would focus on the petrochemicals, automotive and tourism industries.

By : Rosli Zakaria
New Straits Times

Island resorts off the Terengganu coast are closed, and only the bravest fishermen haven't battened down the hatches to remain ashore as strong easterly winds and heavy rains mark the beginning of the wet season.

But for some of the world's best sailors, these are just the conditions they need to pit their skills against each other as they compete in the World Match Race Tour.

This is the third Monsoon Cup season in Terengganu, and for five days from Nov 28, Pulau Duyong and Kuala Terengganu will see an influx of sailing enthusiasts.

"The third Monsoon Cup will be more exciting than the previous two.

"Now, more people understand what the race is all about," said T-Best chairman Datuk Wan Hisham Wan Salleh.

T-Best is the organiser of the event.

"The weather will be the biggest challenge for the sailors, who are more familiar with race conditions in the Americas, Europe and the northern hemisphere."

The 12 competition boats, all moored in the marina of the Heritage Bay Club at Pulau Duyong, are ready for the sailors.

Their skippers will take them out for trials as the date of the event draws near.

"Most of the skippers and crew will arrive a week before the event to acclimatise and familiarise themselves with the circuit.

"Previous experience counts for little, as the monsoon conditions here are unpredictable," Wan Hisham added.

The event has changed Pulau Duyong from a laidback fishing village into the venue for a world-class event and created economic opportunities for the locals.

"Spectators can watch the race from a safe distance in passenger boats at Taman Shahbandar. And petty traders can do business at the exhibition.

"This is also the time handicraft and souvenir makers can sell their products directly to the visitors, and hotels are expected to be heavily booked during this period."

He added that the long school holidays would draw more people to the Monsoon Cup, and youngsters could learn from and be inspired by the achievements of the sailors.

On The Beat
By WONG CHUN WAI
The Star

So when will the general election be held? Not December – for a host of reasons, ranging from Muslims performing the haj to Pak Lah’s commitment to two events abroad.

ONE of the hottest topics on the sidelines of the Umno general assembly last week was the next general election. The consensus among the delegates was that it would be held soon. But how soon is soon is everybody’s guess.

December has suddenly become a popular speculated month for the polls but it is unlikely to happen. It is the haj season, where at least 60,000 Malaysians are expected to head to Mecca to perform their pilgrimage.

The first flight to the Holy Land is on Dec 1 and, for the following two weeks, they will join the millions of other Muslims there before Hari Raya Haji on Dec 20.

It is an important event in the Muslim calendar and it is almost definite that the Government will not call a snap election.

Analysts, including those who work in investment banks, who picked December have obviously not taken into account the haj season.

It will be a busy month for many government officers, especially teachers and village community leaders, even as the private sector winds up for the year.

It’s the monsoon season and all schools and community halls have been put on standby, not for election purposes, but for flood evacuees.

Preparing for floods

The Meteorological Department has already warned that over the next few months, Malaysians, especially those in the east coast states, can expect floods.

Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak announced that 4,565 centres, which can house up to 1.2 million people, have been set up nationwide for the floods.

Kelantan, Pahang, Selangor and Johor would have the most number of relief centres, he said, adding that “normally, there is heavier rainfall in the months of December and January”.

The first week of December is also a busy time. Over 400,000 students will sit for the Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) examination at 3,913 centres from tomorrow until Dec 6.

These schools are often used as polling centres but, with a wet season ahead, even the Malaysian Examination Board has warned candidates to watch out for changes to the schedules of the examination due to possible floods.

There are also two important dates on the diary of Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi – he has to attend the Asean Summit in Singapore from Nov 19 to 21 before he flies to Uganda for the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting between Nov 23 and 25.

The Prime Minister has already confirmed his attendance for these two meetings and there is no indication of any change of mind. For someone who wants to dissolve Parliament, as predicted by some, then he should not be going anywhere, even for a day or two; he would be fighting a big political battle at home.

But preparations for the elections have surely started. Umno Youth deputy chief Khairy Jamaluddin has given his movement until the end of December to open their elections’ operation centres.

Only a few Umno state liaison committees have opened their operations centre, which indicate that there is still some time, thus the lack of urgency.

But Malaysians can expect the tempo to pick up beginning January. It would be difficult to keep the dates further as there would be possible issues beyond the control of the Government.

Global woes

Many Malaysians, long pampered by the subsidies on petrol and diesel, are not aware that the rising cost of living is a global problem and not just confined to Malaysia. The Government had to spend RM35bil on oil and gas subsidies. This is a hefty chunk of the Government’s expenditure.

Even in Singapore, Indonesia and Thailand, the price of petrol keeps changing daily, something which many Malaysian motorists are unaware of. With global oil price heading towards US$100 a barrel, the social and political impact of the rising cost cannot be discounted, particularly possible creeping inflation.

Last week, the Singapore Straits Times reported that the central bank projected inflation to rise by between 2% and 3% next year, saying there had been rising living costs for several months now due to the new GST rate of 7%, which took effect in July, with the food component of the consumer price index for September rising 3.7%.

The New Paper reported that motorists using the Higher Electronic Road Pricing would have to pay more now, besides higher petrol prices and parking rates.

March has continued to be a more practical date for many but the drum beat will get louder in the first few months of 2008, when the polls would likely be held.

by Llew-Ann Phang
The Sun

Do not play with fire when it comes to the various races in the country because once it is lit, it may be hard to put out, warned Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak. Speaking at the National Deepavali Open House organised by the Culture, Arts and Heritage Ministry near KL Sentral yesterday, Najib stressed that unity was a crucial foundation in developing the country and shaping a strong and successful society.

"Whatever the leaders do for the country, whether it is development, or to defend races, or to bring our country to the developed status and achieve Vision 2057, it must all be based on unity between the races. "Nothing is impossible if we have this factor as the backbone in our mission and through it, we can achieve great success and serve as a model of a multicultural country to all other countries," he said.

Our "complex and society of variety" is sometimes seen as a weakness, he said, and echoed the prime minister’s recent statement that each race had its own sensitivities. "We have to change our mindset and see this (multi-cultural society) as our country’s strength," Najib said.

When facing racial or religious issues, he said, the most suitable approach would be discussion and negotiations based on the understanding among the country’s leaders.

Najib also urged the people to observe three main factors in working towards maintaining the peace. These are the values our founding fathers practised and fought for in achieving unity and independence; upholding the Federal Constitution; and practising the principles of the Rukun Negara which was drawn up after the May 13, 1969 tragedy.

"If we can follow these approaches, we will be on our way to building the right foundation, for our strength," he said. On the Coalition for a Clean and Fair Election’s (Bersih) demonstration on Saturday, Najib said: "There is no need for roadside demonstrations. This is not our culture."

He added that if the Opposition could gather 10,000 supporters, the government could gather bigger numbers.

"But what is the point of this? These (acts) will expose the country to possibilities of destruction.

"It will destroy what we have built – which took a long time. It is easier to destroy but it takes a long time to build," he said. Earlier, Culture, Arts and Heritage Minister Datuk Seri Utama Dr Rais Yatim said Malaysians were lucky to live in a multi-cultural society as it enabled them to celebrate the festivities of other races together.

"Even in this drizzle, people have come to join in the event and give respect to the country’s leaders and to each other.

"Some people were advised not to join us and there were SMSes that said there was no need to participate in these programmes. "I congratulate the people who turned up today, as it shows they respect the government and Hindu devotees," Rais said.

Among those present were MIC president Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu and his wife Datin Seri Indrani and Najib’s wife Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor.

The Star

KOTA KINABALU: Sabah Barisan Nasional parties are beginning to jockey for seats for the next general election.

The allocation of seats were among the key issues highlighted by Parti Bersatu Sabah president Datuk Joseph Pairin Kitingan and Liberal Democratic Party president Datuk V.K. Liew during their respective congresses opened by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi yesterday.

“We are confident of retaining the 13 assembly and four parliament seats and are ready to take on more if given,” Pairin said at the 22nd congress, where he also raised the issue of the illegal immigrant problem and called for more opportunities for bumiputras in Sabah.

At the Liberal Democratic Party congress, Liew said his party was keen to keep their three state seats as well as regain the Sandakan parliamentary seat they lost to an independent in the 2004 General Election.

PM’s support: Abdullah raising Liew’s hands while Sabah Chief Minister Datuk Musa Aman (right), former LDP president Tan Sri Chong Kah Kiat (left) and other LDP members look on during the party’s congress in Kota Kinabalu on Sunday.
“We will work hard to ensure that we wrest back our (Sandakan) seat,” said Liew, in urging the Barisan Nasional to maintain the seat-sharing formula adopted during the last elections.

Liew also said he was prepared to contest in the next state elections and that the seat would be decided later.

by Terence Fernandez and Geraldine Choong
The Sun

Two phone calls from his bosses, an empty stomach and poor time management saw the Subang Jaya Municipal Council (MPSJ) president abruptly end a public hearing last Wednesday. Adnan Md. Ikhsan was chairing a meeting to hear public objections on a proposed commercial development in SS15.

Turning up an hour late, he proceeded to vet the attendees, talked about "compromise" and advised them how to conduct themselves. The meeting held on Deepavali eve was scheduled for 10.30am but started at 11.37am. Adnan, who said he had four meetings before that, started the session by trying to get uninvited residents to leave the conference room.

This prompted residents to ask why only 16 of the 31 who submitted forms to be invited to the hearing were allowed in. Quoting the Town and Country Planning Act 1976, Adnan said only those living within 20m of the proposed development could attend. When it was brought to his attention that the council was giving up a community hall without offering an alternative, the council chief spent 20 minutes educating the residents on "giveand- take and the virtues of compromise".

"Before we start the session, there must be trust, honesty and fairness," he said. It was then that his cell-phone rang – a call from Housing and Local Government Ministry secretary-general Datuk Ahmad Fuad Ismail – who was MPSJ’s first president – who had been alerted that residents were kept waiting.

"I am sorry for starting so late. I had four meetings before this. I have not even had a drink!" Adnan said after the call. "I can’t just cancel the previous meetings. I can’t ask them to go home although their time was up," he explained.

He also revealed that he had to cram so many meetings into one day as "I want to finish everything fast before I go on leave next week".

As a resident was presenting his case, Adnan told him to "simplify it because we are running out of time". He caught some by surprise when he appeared unsure of what project was being discussed, asking his officers: "Ada balai raya ke?" He then corrected the residents and explained that balai raya was smaller, while they were referring to a dewan serbaguna (multipurpose hall).

"There is a difference. Dewan is bigger." The meeting ended after Adnan received another phone call – this time from Chief Secretary to the Government Tan Sri Mohd Sidek Hassan. It was after this call that Adnan lost his cool when a resident chided him for his lack of focus and the constant interruptions on his cell phone. "What do you want me to do? That was the KSU and the KSN. Of course when my bosses call, I have to leave the room.

"I am feeling very hot now and I’m not comfortable with this discussion. I propose that we postpone the meeting to a later date. I’m sorry. I am also human. I also have feelings," he said. When those present objected, he said "Is it fair to me? I want to hear from you, but you see it differently.

"I want to move to another room so that only those invited will be let in. I cannot ask those uninvited who are seated to leave. It won’t be appropriate," he said and left at 12.10pm after shaking hands with some residents.

Imran Imtiaz Shah Yacob

Worries over the legal system and electoral irregularities led to a rare call for street protest in Malaysia this weekend. Will the police allow it?

In defiance of an official ban, thousands of Malaysians are expected to march in Kuala Lumpur tomorrow over a wide variety of grievances, including judicial corruption and electoral fraud. They hope to present a petition for redress not to the government but to Malaysia’s usually silent royalty.

The rally, which observers say could draw anywhere from 10,000 to 100,000 protesters, could be the biggest of its kind since the tumultuous 1998 protests that followed the downfall of then-Deputy Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, who was subsequently arrested and jailed after he dared to challenge former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad. Because no permit has been issued for the protest, observers expect arrests and they do not rule out the possibility of violence. Still on the books is a one-time colonial law that bars gatherings of more than five people without a police permit.

Human Rights Watch,the US-based human rights advocacy organization, issued a press release Friday evening condemning the Malaysian police for refusing to grant the permit, saying that "If Malaysia wants to count itself a democracy, it can begin by upholding constitutional guarantees of free speech and assembly."

It is difficult to say what the protest means in terms of Malaysia’s political and economic stability, but it does illustrate growing opposition to the job performance of Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, who took over from former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad in 2003 and has had a tough time of it ever since. National elections are expected perhaps as early as March 2008. READ MORE HERE

HUMAN Rights Watch on Friday called on Malaysian authorities to allow a weekend political rally to proceed after police warned it would be broken up and participants arrested.

With national elections expected to be called early next year, opposition groups have organised a mass rally in Kuala Lumpur's Independence Square Saturday calling for 'clean and fair' polls.

However, police chief Musa Hassan told the state Bernama news agency that there was a risk of rioting and property destruction at the event, which organisers hope could attract tens of thousands of people.

'The police fear that there are irresponsible groups and undesirable elements who will take the opportunity to create disorder through provocations which would eventually lead to street demonstrations and rioting,' he said.

Mr Musa said that about 4,000 police would deploy to disperse the crowd and roadblocks would be set up around the venue.

'Members of the public found in the area to attend the gathering are committing an offence and legal action will be taken against them,' he said.

The New York-based Human Rights Watch condemned the threats and said it made a mockery of Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi's reform ambitions.

'The grounds for refusing the rally are nonsense,' said Brad Adams, Asia director at Human Rights Watch.

Human Rights Watch said that Malaysian elections have been sullied by vote-buying, the use of public resources by the ruling parties and other underhand tactics, as well as accusations of bias against the Election Commission.

'The government should not be afraid to allow Malaysians to raise very basic issues about the fundamental right to vote,' Mr Adams said.

Former deputy premier Anwar Ibrahim will address the rally, in which the three main opposition parties are taking part, along with civil society groups. -- AFP

New Straits Times

Police yesterday issued a final warning against the proposed illegal assembly at Dataran Merdeka tomorrow.

City police chief Datuk Zul Hasnan Najib Baharudin yesterday told a press conference: "We will act if it goes on."

For the past week, police had held three meetings with the organiser of the rally which, according to reports, will attract almost 100,000 demonstrators.

The organiser, Coalition for Free and Fair Elections (Bersih), plans to gather the crowd at Dataran Merdeka at 3pm after which they will make their way to Istana Negara to hand in a memorandum to the king.

They are calling for a "free and clean elections". The demonstrators have been told to wear yellow on that day.

But police are having none of it. They believe the proposed rally will create chaos to the traffic situation in the city.

"We had three meetings with the organisers. But I have yet to receive any positive indication from them that they will call off the rally," Zul Hasnan said.

"We will take whatever action necessary to disperse or arrest those involved in the illegal assembly."

He warned that those charged with taking part in the illegal assembly face fines of between RM2,000 and RM10,000, or jailed not more than a year, or both.

Zul Hasnan said some 4,000 police personnel will be stationed at Dataran Merdeka and other strategic locations in the city. There will also be roadblocks.

He said the organisers had applied for a permit to hold the rally but the application was rejected by the Dang Wangi district police chief ACP Mohd Zulkarnain Abdul Rahman on Nov 6.

"They could have made an appeal to me within 48 hours after the initial rejection, but that was not done," Zul Hasnan said.

Later, in a statement issued to Bernama, Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Musa Hassan said police were doubtful of the intentions of the gathering, even though people claimed it would be a peaceful one.

"This is because they (the organisers) are found to have announced the gathering widely, whether at ceramah functions, forums, via SMSes, websites, through the distribution of handbills and so on. This has been going on for the past few months.

"At the same time, they had also issued tips to members of the public on how to face the police, via the websites.

"It is not impossible for such a massive gathering and procession to become unruly and jeopardise public order.

"The police fear that there are irresponsible groups and undesirable elements who will take the opportunity to create disorder through provocation and this will eventually lead to demonstrations and rioting," said Musa.

By Hazlin Hassan, Malaysia Correspondent
The Straits Times

FORMER deputy premier and opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim yesterday released a further 10 seconds of a scandalous video clip, providing what he called undeniable evidence that Malaysia's recently retired chief justice was implicated in the judicial-fixing controversy which has rocked the country.

The video, initially released publicly by Datuk Seri Anwar in September, has fuelled a debate on corruption and abuse of power in the judiciary.

It purportedly shows a well-connected lawyer speaking on the phone to someone, while boasting about his ability to broker judicial appointments.

Yesterday, the short segment released at a news conference apparently shows the lawyer as he was ending the call.


PART TWO: Ex-DPM Anwar showing journalists 10 more seconds of the video clip. The retired chief justice's name was mentioned in the clip. -- PHOTO: AFP

Shortly after, a person whose face is not shown, who may or may not have been the person video-taping the clip, is overheard asking the lawyer who was the person he was talking to: 'Who is that?'

The lawyer replied: 'Chief judge of Malaya.'

The unidentified person asked again: 'Who?'

The lawyer said: 'Datuk Ahmad Fairuz.'

Malaysia's embattled then-chief justice Tun Ahmad Fairuz Sheikh Abdul Halim's term was not extended last month after the King refused to endorse it.

However, Datuk Seri Anwar urged the authorities to investigate the issue, now that he has released the part of the clip which he claims identifies the former chief justice.

'This proves that the person in conversation with (the lawyer) is none other than Ahmad Fairuz,' he said.

He also added that more of the video will be revealed later.

'Now showing is the second part. You will see the third part very soon. It's coming.'

The emergence of the clip led to the government setting up a three-member panel to probe its authenticity.

When asked when the identity of the whistle-blower would be released, Datuk Seri Anwar said: 'At the right time.'

Opposition parties and the Bar Council have urged the setting up of an independent Royal Commission of Inquiry with powers to subpoena evidence and witnesses for investigation purposes, unlike the panel, which has no such powers.

But Mr Khairy Jamaluddin, deputy Umno Youth chief who addressed the party assembly yesterday, said it was 'not a big deal' and that Datuk Seri Anwar was trying to blow things out of proportion because of the coming elections.

CAROLYN HONG
The Straits Times

UMNO is preparing the ground to accept a possible rise in fuel prices next year, clearly to prevent a repeat of the massive street protests that followed a hike last year.

Several delegates at the Umno assembly yesterday, including Mr Khairy Jamaluddin, the influential son-in-law of Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi, were critical of the mounting cost of fuel subsidies.

Mr Khairy described the subsidies as a 'mega project', saying that the country had paid out RM35 billion (S$15 billion) in subsidies this year, about one-quarter of its revenue. The government provides subsidies for fuel, in agriculture and education, among others.


CALL FOR CHANGE: Mr Khairy Jamaluddin, the son-in-law of Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi, said the subsidy system should be revamped. -- PHOTO: AFP

'We can build two Putrajayas, nine Penang bridges, and 500,000 low-cost houses with this money,' he said.

After the fuel price hike in February last year, the government promised not to raise it again this year. But with crude oil prices hovering near a record high of US$100 (S$150) a barrel, Datuk Seri Abdullah is bracing the party for an imminent rise.

Malaysia maintains among the region's lowest petrol, diesel and gas prices through hefty fuel subsidies. They cost the government more than RM15 billion last year, an amount surpassed in the first eight months of this year when the figure hit RM16 billion.

Last year, about 1,000 people demonstrated on the streets for a few weeks after prices went up sharply. Inflation is fast becoming a serious election issue as Malaysians struggle to cope with higher prices all around.

The government is likely to hold off the price hike until after the election. It can afford to do so. Recently, Second Finance Minister Nor Mohamed Yakcop said that as an oil exporter, Malaysia earns RM250 million more a year with every US$1 increase in crude oil price.

Still, Mr Khairy said the subsidy system needed to be revamped as the wealthy benefited the most from a scheme set up for the poor.

Another delegate, Mr Yahya Hussin from Sabah, said global oil prices were beyond the government's control. 'The subsidies are now going to people who should not be eligible,' he said.

Mr Khairy, in his speech, also took to task Malaysian companies which had delisted from Bursa Malaysia, as well as another company which is spending 'billions to build an entertainment centre overseas'.

He did not name them but the two companies that delisted this year were telecommunications company Maxis and plantation company PBB OilPalms, while Genting is building an integrated resort in Singapore.

'We are sad they don't see opportunities in their own country which has given them concessions for years,' he said.

The Star

Khairy Jamaluddin is turning out to be a “best selling face” for political writer S.H. Alattas.

Like his first book on the Umno Youth deputy chief in 2004, his just published Khairy Jamaluddin Perdana Menteri? is selling like hot cakes.

“He is the most talked-about young leader today and everyone wants to know about him.

“Everyone’s talking about him, whether good or bad. That is why a book on him is a 'sure sell' these days,” said the author, who is also known as Pak Sheikh.

As in previous years when the Umno general assembly is held, the author has set up a stall at the Putra World Trade Centre to sell his latest work to delegates and other Umno members converging there.

His new book sold 200 copies within just a few hours on Wednesday.

His first book on Khairy, titled Anak Omak vs Anak Bapak – Pemuda di Zaman Pak Lah, had sold 10,000 copies.

“He is a good luck charm to me,” said a smiling Pak Sheikh.

The book is selling at RM50 per copy but he entertains those who just pay a token sum.

So, Khairy as prime minister?

“I made many predictions in the past, which got people calling me crazy.

“These included my prediction that (Tun Dr) Mahathir Mohamad would be prime minister when he was sacked from the party, and my prediction when Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim (a former deputy prime minister) was at the height of his popularity, that he would be facing a dark chapter in his life.”

Pak Sheikh said he liked “going against the tide” and since Khairy was often criticised in blogs and Internet forums, he decided to write “the other side of the story or the good stuff” about Khairy.

To a question, he said he was not commissioned by anyone to write the book.

“I don’t need anyone to commission me; I have been writing since the time of Tunku Abdul Rahman (the country's first prime minister).''

They heed leaders' warnings not to inflame passions but maintain their rights

By Carolyn Hong, Malaysia Bureau Chief
The Straits Times

CHARISMATIC Umno Youth information chief Azimi Daim is an accomplished orator, with a rather mischievous and comical streak which makes his speeches very amusing.

But the party's top leadership was not so amused last year. He was one of the party delegates hauled up for a severe warning after their speeches were deemed inflammatory.

Datuk Azimi, a rising star, was reported to have said that 'when tension rises, the blood of Malay warriors will run in our veins'.

So this year, he took care to stay on somewhat safer ground, with his speech on Wednesday.

Datuk Azimi and the other delegates have evidently taken seriously Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi's advice to tone down the Malay rhetoric.

They played safe, for the most part, and kept the atmosphere cooler than last year's.

With a general election on the horizon, the government wants to cool racial tensions that have been heightened in the past few years as the non-Malay communities feel the Malay agenda is being pushed harder.

And last year's unprecedented warning against delegates who used inflammatory language may have served as a caution to this year's speakers.

Also, with a general election so close, it is no secret that the speakers would want to make a good impression. The assembly is being regarded as an audition of sorts.

They hope to be noticed and selected as candidates for the election and extreme rhetoric is unlikely to do them any favours.

Two of those reprimanded last year, including Datuk Azimi, took the stage again this year but without repeating their dramatic performance.

Last year, one of them had reportedly asked when Umno Youth chief Hishammuddin Hussein would use the keris that he had unsheathed.

Another had allegedly proclaimed Umno's willingness 'to risk lives and bathe in blood'.

'If I get one more warning this year, it'll be my second yellow card, and next year I might be banned,' Datuk Azimi said on Wednesday.

He did skate on thin ice once or twice, including when he slammed the pilgrims' board, Tabung Haji, for hiring a non-Malay company to supply the mineral water for the Umno assembly.

But there were no hidden threats of violence.

Still, this year's somewhat tamer debate did not mean the delegates were hiding their resentment over what they saw as the minority races' unacceptable questioning of the position of the Malays and Islam in the country.

There was no hiding their unhappiness. For as much as the non-Malays are angered by the louder demands for Malay rights, the Malays also feel that no-go areas such as their economic privileges and Islam are being questioned.

Mr Musa Sheikh Fadzir, from Penang, drew cheers when he said the other partners of Umno in the ruling Barisan Nasional coalition should not interfere with Umno's affairs.

'Our rights are their rights, while their rights are their rights. Where is justice?' he said.

Mr Puad Zarkashi, a fiery speaker from Johor, took to task a component party, which he did not name, for calling on Umno to replace its call of Hidup Melayu (Long Live the Malays) with Hidup Bangsa Malaysia (Long Live the Malaysian race).

Such sentiments resounded with the delegates.

But then again, these sentiments are also not uncommon at Umno assemblies and are unlikely to cause a furore or upset anyone much.

The efforts to avoid excessive rhetoric did not go unnoticed.

Umno Youth chief Datuk Hishammuddin, who himself strove to take things down a notch even as he again brandished the keris at the assembly, noted that this year's debate was more substantive.

Comment by Zainon Ahmad
The Sun

Clearly it was a speech to rally the party members behind him, to tell the party partners in the Barisan Nasional to stop griping over the contents of the "social contract - they are non-negotiable - and to tell the rest of Malaysians of the achievements and aspirations of the nation.

The ultimate purpose of Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi’s speech at the opening of the Umno general assembly on Wednesday is obvious - the general election. The Umno-led BN coalition is going back to the people for a fresh mandate soon, maybe very soon.

As this is Abdullah’s fourth address to the annual assembly since taking over as prime minister towards the end of 2003, he spoke more confidently, raising his voice sometimes for impact and even pausing at strategic places to acknowledge the applause.

But nowhere was the applause more thunderous than when he spoke almost in defence of the few who expressed sentiments which touched on communal sensitivities at the last assembly -- the few who were scolded by the party after demonstration of unhappiness by the other BN parties.

It was a strategic turn-around. He blamed it on the live-telecast which allowed those outside the assembly to view the Malay political rhetoric and said that even so, only a few touched on communal sensitivities.

The Dewan Merdeka almost came down and there were shouts of "hidup Pak Lah" when he said: "I believe that similar extremist sentiments are voiced by members of political parties that represent other communities."

Similar response met his remarks about the keris. "The act of unsheathing and kissing the keris is part of our cultural heritage, but its meaning has been twisted to spread fear among the non-Malays."

He said the New Economic Policy (NEP) was being continued to help develop professional classes among the Malays and eradicate poverty among Malaysians, regardless of race, and it was never intended to make the Malays rich by seizing the wealth of the non-Malays.

By speaking out on these issues -- the keris, Malay rights, the strengthening of Islam and the extension of the NEP, issues that were critically debated after last year’s assembly by the non-malays including leaders of BN component parties -- and saying that they were non-negotiable, Abdullah bowled the delegates over.

And unlike last year, they gave him a standing ovation.

As a way to unruffle the feathers of BN partners he said: "Umno does not engage in duplicity. We do not change our tune to suit the occasion or the audience.

We are ready to seek intelligent resolutions and win-win outcomes when dealing with sensitive issues relating to race and religion."

On these issues, it is better that they are discussed behind closed doors and BN parties should not allow themselves to be dragged into public discussions of them by the opposition parties.

He said as parties that control the government and exercise executive power, BN component parties should be strong and defend what had been agreed to fifty years ago and "we should never allow ourselves to sink" to the level of the opposition.

Despite so much public debate over issues of religion and race, the keris, the contents of the Merdeka social contract and the NEP relations between BN component parties have not been affected much, he said.

It was as if he was saying: "Well this bodes well for the coalition. There is so much to do. But first let’s go out and win elections."

To win the support of the Malays outside of Umno, Abdullah recalled the Melaka sultanate -- which was a great Malay empire but had lasted only a hundred years, after which the Malays were colonised for about 500 years.

He said the Malays were in control of their destiny now but it should not be just for a hundred years but for a long time to come.

The prime minister talked at length about the various growth corridors and reiterated that their focus would be the eradication of poverty in the rural areas and to bring the rural Malay standard of living close to that of those in the urban areas.

While there is freedom of worship in this country as enshrined in the Federal Constitution, which provides that Islam is the religion of the federation, he said Umno was committed to strengthening Islam and will not apologise for doing so.

And by way of addressing some of the concerns of non-Muslims, Abdullah said, "let us in Umno, show exemplary behaviour by respecting the followers of other religions and their needs."

The Star

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi can count on the MCA as a sincere partner to ensure all Malaysians have a place and future in this country, said MCA president Datuk Seri Ong Ka Ting.

“With Datuk Seri Abdullah’s commitment, there will be balanced growth.

“He has always put race and even politics aside when it comes to development to improve the quality of life of Malaysians.

“Regardless of whether it is Penang, Kelantan or Johor, these development corridors will be given due attention,” he said.

He added that the MCA would throw its weight behind Abdullah in his plan to bring development to the people.

“Our support is sincere. I hope those who criticise will check their facts first before doing so.

“The development corridor will benefit all races,” he said when commenting on Abdullah’s presidential speech at the Umno general assembly.

Ong said the Prime Minister had reaffirmed the importance of power sharing among the various races.

“This power sharing has served us well for the past 50 years because of the cooperation and mutual understanding of all races.

“We take heart of his assurance that the spirit of the understanding – agreed among the different communities at the time of Merdeka – will be upheld.”

Abdullah also assured all Malaysians that important government policies were meant to benefit everyone, said Ong.

He said the MCA supported Abdullah’s call that anyone calling for the return to the spirit of the Federal Constitution should be viewed in a positive manner, interpreted with wisdom and without prejudice.

“This has been consistent with the approach taken by Datuk Seri (Abdullah), whether in Barisan or Cabinet meetings.”

Ong, who is Housing and Local Government Minister, said the Barisan Nasional spirit would remain strong in overcoming all differences and in building the country.

Umno leaders say oil issue and voter concerns rule out polls by year's end

By Reme Ahmad, Assistant Foreign Editor
The Straits Times

NOVEMBER and December are out. March is now being bandied about as the likely date for an early general election in Malaysia.

This new window - after Chinese New Year on Feb 7 - seems to be gaining traction among Umno and Barisan Nasional (BN) leaders, who have taken into account several factors, including current voter concerns.

Excitement over imminent elections filled the hall of the Umno General Assembly on Monday when Deputy Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak said: 'The political radar is getting clearer and the temperature is heating up.

'Our confidence in repeating our victory in the coming elections is well-founded.'

Just weeks ago, there was intense speculation that an election would be held by the end of this year, but some Umno leaders say current indications by the party leadership point to a date after the Chinese New Year, possibly in March.

All these dates, however, are still speculation because the decision to call an election depends solely on BN's chief, Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi.

The government's current term ends in early 2009.

Those who have said the polls were imminent this year have tried to justify their prediction on the basis that the government would want a fresh mandate before fuel prices soar even higher.

The government has promised not to raise fuel prices at all for the whole of this year.

But it might have to raise prices by early January to reduce the burden of fuel subsidies. In the first eight months of the year, the government spent RM16 billion (S$6.9 billion) just to keep prices at current levels. That amount exceeds the RM15 billion for the whole of last year.

The last time the prices of petrol, diesel and LPG were raised in Malaysia was in February last year, when global oil prices hovered around US$61 (S$88). The global oil price hit more than US$98 a barrel yesterday.

In a closed-door briefing to party chiefs on Monday, Datuk Seri Abdullah devoted the bulk of his hour-long speech to his concern about the global energy crisis. He said the fuel subsidies at current levels are not sustainable as they eat deeply into government expenditure.

But Umno Youth leader Mukhriz Mahathir said the oil issue is just one factor the government would consider.

'I do not think we decide on an election date based on something that happens outside the country. We feel confident that we can address the issue,' he said.

Malaysia is also a net exporter of oil, and state oil firm Petronas is reaping a windfall from soaring prices, which must mean soaring tax revenues for the government as well. Every US$1 rise in oil price adds RM250 million to its revenue a year.

A December election date is also regarded as unlikely by others because of the annual flooding caused by the monsoon season.

Last December and early January this year, many areas in the staunchly Umno Johor state were inundated, along with wide swathes of Pahang and Malacca.

Said a political source: 'If elections are to be held this year, none of the Umno movers I spoke to have received instructions.' He was referring to the transfer of political funds for party buntings and T-shirts, and the booking of public meeting halls in constituencies.

Selangor Menteri Besar Khir Toyo was more direct when asked on Monday about the polls: 'You can be sure it will not be held this year.'

A key issue that might delay the election until the Chinese New Year is this: Many urban Chinese voters are thought to be unhappy with the government's handling of the economy, the rising crime rate and issues of race and religion. Raising the oil price just before the Chinese New Year could thus be seen as a politically insensitive move, political leaders say.

Also, calling out voters after March would more accurately reflect the BN's practice in the past 11 general elections.

History has shown there has never been polls held before four years of a five-year term, said Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister's Department M. Kayveas.

Reasons cited for holding polls...

...this year

1. Government may need to raise fuel prices next year.

2. Inflation is expected to worsen.

3. Chinese support may drop due to their perception that the government is handling poorly the economy, crime rate, and race and religious issues.

4. Fear that Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad may resume his attacks on Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi when he recovers fully from heart surgery.

5. Stop opposition chief Anwar Ibrahim from taking part as an election ban on him expires only on April 15.

...next year

1. Datuk Seri Abdullah wants to make the ground sweeter by pushing big projects in mostly rural areas and raising economic growth.

2. Keeping with tradition as the Barisan Nasional (BN) has never gone to the polls until it completes four years of its five-year term.

3. Datuk Seri Abdullah wants to improve the government's record on fighting crime and corruption.

4. The annual end-of-year moonsoon season and flooding in the east coast.

By Chow Kum Hor & Hazlin Hassan, Malaysia Correspondents
The Straits Times

MANY Umno delegates yesterday took issue with the reaction of the Indian community to the recent demolition of a Hindu temple in Selangor, calling on the government to take steps to stop the indiscriminate building of temples and shrines.

Datuk Kamilia Ibrahim of the Umno Women's Wing called for the enactment of a new law to govern the affairs of non-Muslims.

'There should be specific laws governing the setting up of places of worship. We now see places of worship all over the place, from under the tree to on the roadside,' said Datuk Kamilia.

She also warned other races 'not to play with fire' and undermine racial unity.

Another delegate, Mr Ahmad Kuris Mohd Noor of Selangor, said many small mosques on private land had also been demolished.

'Other races must also be willing to give way for the sake of national unity,' he said.

Last week, officers from the Shah Alam City Council demolished a Hindu temple sited on private land in Selangor, sparking anger among Hindus nationwide, including the head of the Malaysian Indian Congress, Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu.

On Monday, he had called off his Deepavali open house celebration and asked his party chieftains to do the same as a sign of protest. He withdrew the decision a few hours later.

But the Works Minister is not holding an open house himself as a sign of respect for the death of his brother earlier this year.

After attending the opening of the Umno assembly yesterday, Datuk Seri Samy Vellu told reporters that he would be attending a national-level Deepavali open house hosted by the government.

'The Muslims have always accepted other religions in this country. But there are certain actions done by certain people. That is the problem.

'This has nothing to do with religion. This is something to do with the administration,' he said.

Meanwhile, the Selangor state government has clarified the situation relating to the temple demolition. In a statement yesterday, it said that the temple, a small mosque and several hundred squatter houses were demolished because they were sited on land belonging to a private company.

There were 1,121 squatters living on the land that the company wanted to develop. The state government had promised to build low-cost houses for the families and to provide land for a new temple and new mosque for free. Notice was given in 2005 to vacate the land. Most of the squatters did so, but some held out, resulting in the forced demolition last week.

Illegal temples are a major problem in Malaysia. The country has about 17,000 Hindu temples and shrines, most of which were built illegally.

Ms Norhamizah Mat Tahir of Umno Puteri (the young women's wing) also touched on the issues of race and religion, reprimanding non-Malays who carped on racial issues.

The Sun

Leaders from other Barisan Nasional (BN) component parties should not set agendas on what Umno delegates should debate on in the party’s annual general assembly, said Umno Youth information chief Datuk Azimi Daim.

Citing a television station which had interviewed several non-Malay Barisan Nasional (BN) component party leaders, he said Umno had never set an agenda as to what should they say in their conventions.

Debating in the assembly today as a representative of the wing, Azimi, who was slapped with a warning by the party’s management committee for making extreme remarks in last year’s assembly, said: “It’s good enough that we did not give them guidelines (in their general assemblies).”

At last year's assembly, he was reported as saying “when tension rises, the blood of Malay warriors will run in veins”.

Azimi started his speech today by saying he would be cautious of his tone this time around after receiving the warning last year.

However, he defended his speech last year, saying it was exaggerated by “certain parties”.

“At the grassroots level, we have never fought. It’s just some leaders who want to be a hero of their own community who exaggerated the fact (of my speech). As a leader of the wing, our responsibility is to tell the truth and the aspiration of the people,” he said, to thunderous applause from the floor.

The Bandar Baru (Kedah) state assemblyman said the country has been stable because Umno had shared its political power with minority ethnic groups.
“No country in this world which is led by the majority race will also give positions and power to the minority race,” he said.

He also defended the move to wave the keris in the wing’s assembly by its chief Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein.

“Never in history has the keris eaten anyone,” he said.

At one juncture, acting speaker Badruddin Amiruldin reminded Azimi that his allocated time of 15 minutes was running out, Azimi quickly appealed to him: “Give me more time, I will help you to campaign in the coming election.”

Without hesitation, Badruddin replied cheekily and to loud guffaws from the crowd: “Teruskan (continue)."

On another matter, Azimi brought the floor's attention to the bottled water distributed to the delegates, with the brand TaHa (which Badruddin said referred to Tabung Haji), saying that it was manufactured by Chuan Sin Sdn Bhd, a subsidiary of Spritzer Bhd.

He questioned why bottled water distributed by a Tabung Haji subsidiary could not be manufactured by a Bumiputra company, saying that if need be, he was willing to do the job.

Negeri Sembilan delegate Datuk Ismail Lasim drew attention to the fact that 90% of the 1.5 million qualified voters who had yet to register were Malays.

"We have to look at this matter seriously, especially within Umno, as this shows the young people are not concerned about the election," he said

'Abandon subsidy mentality, change ideology for benefit of country'

KUALA LUMPUR (Nov 7, 2007): Malaysians – the Malays and non-Malays alike – should abandon the subsidy mentality and change their ideology to work for the benefit of the country, said Datuk Ahmad Shabery Cheek.

The Terengganu delegate, who moved the resolution on the president’s policy speech at the Umno general assembly, said the government spends RM40 billion a year to subsidise fuel and gas.

“If the amount is spent over five years, it would amount to RM200 billion which is the the 9th Malaysia Plan budget. We have to be ready to make changes, even if it takes 50 years. Little by little, we have to rid the culture and mentality of (depending on) subsidy, so the money (saved) can be used for better benefits,” he said.

Relating this to the economy, he said subsidies weigh down Malaysia’s potential to bloom economically.

Comparing Malaysia’s position in the region, he said China, India and Vietnam were moving up the rungs (of economic power) quickly and if Malaysia stuck to its old policies and strategies, she would be left behind.

“China is the fourth biggest economy and is expected to be third next year and be on top in 2050. We’re ahead of Thailand and Indonesia but the gap is fast closing and we have to pick up in our competition – do away with bureaucracy,” he added.

Ahmad Shabery received loud cheers and applause for his proposal to terminate all agreements with utility companies like Tenaga Nasional Bhd and independent power plants as well as highway concessionaires for toll.

“I have heard whispers from the people for Pak Lah (Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi) to review the agreements and remove them in the spirit of patriotism and Umno will support this.

“When electricity is cheap, we will attract foreign investors and this helps the country to be motivated to compete at all levels,” he said.

Ahmad and acting Permanent President Datuk Badruddin Amiruldin had the 2,523 delegates in stitches several times when the latter started reminding Ahmad of his 30-minute time limit.

“YB! Vertigo!” said Amiruddin, when Ahmad was talking about political leaders suffering from vertigo (a fear of height), cheekily referring to their being afraid of looking down from their positions of authority.

Ahmad Shabery made the reference to vertigo, when commending the open concept that the premier had practiced, as reflected in the Anti-Corruption Agency arresting wrong-doers shortly after the Auditor-General’s report was published.

Likening media coverage to a beauty pageant, he said, the media should look at the goodness of Umno candidates instead of just highlighting the negative aspects.

“When the media writes about negative issues, it is like they’re looking at the (bulges) in the bikini competition. The bikini comes after the parade, after the questioning when the candidates are judged not just on their physique but on their brains, when they undergo the question and answer session,” Ahmad added.

The Straits Times

Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi spoke on several issues in his opening speech yesterday. He called for unity in the country and also touched upon...

The keris

'The act of unsheathing and kissing a keris is part of our cultural heritage, but its meaning has been twisted to spread fear among non-Malays, and the image of Umno and Malaysia has been smeared overseas,' he said. Datuk Seri Abdullah said the keris (a Malay dagger) can be used by an individual to defend himself as well as his friends.

The keris has become a focal point of discontent among non-Malays, who see it as a symbol of aggression after Umno Youth chief Hishammuddin Hussein started brandishing it at the assembly in 2005.

The live telecast of the Umno assembly last year

'For the first time, the world was given a window to view Malay political rhetoric,' he said. But the radical speeches of a few delegates sparked much unhappiness among the non-Malays, and the party decided against a live telecast this year.

Datuk Seri Abdullah said only a few speakers touched on ethnic sensitivities, and he believed that similar extremist sentiments were voiced by other political parties. The majority, he said, took a more national perspective.

Crime

'Crime in Malaysia is caused, among others, by social problems and in some cases as a result of the influx of illegal immigrants,' he said. He said dramatic media reports have given the impression that the country was not safe. The police, he added, have been given a large allocation to increase their strength. He also said the government planned to restart neighbourhood patrols.

The Star

Kelantan Umno delegate Datuk Sazmi Miah lambasted the PAS state government during his debate on the presidential speech at the Umno General Assembly.

In a speech largely in pantun-form (traditional Malay poetry), Sazmi said the Kelantan state government had been carrying out “planned” cheating for some time especially when it came to activities that were carried out in forests.

“Thousands of hectares of forest reserves were given up for projects on the pretext the land would be used for gold mining, forest plantations or to grow vegetables.

“But every single time, the land has been used for logging instead.”

After each example Sazmi gave about how the state government had been abusing its powers, he held up a book and said ”Buktinya ada di sini” (the proof is here).

Sazmi, the Natural Resources and Environment Ministry parliamentary secretary, said rivers had turned brown and the land had suffered after being "raped" by loggers.

“I want to ask PAS of the thousands of hectares they 'raped', how many jobs were actually created? Of the 54 gold mining certificates given, how many kilograms of gold was mined?

“It has come to a point where even the grass is crying for the lost trees.”

A Selangor delegate called on the Malays not to sell off their land for short-term gains in the wake of the Government’s nationwide implementation of large-scale development programmes.

Datuk Ahmad Kuris Mohd Nor said the Government had done so much for the development of the Malays and they should not throw such opportunities out the window.

The economic standing of the Malays had improved under these policies, but he reminded them that they were still behind in many areas.

“I urge the Government to implement laws to prevent the Malays from selling off their land for the simple reason of getting high profits, while a special agency be formed to help the Malays manage their land.

“The Malays should be advised to keep their land which will benefit future generations,” he said in the debate on the party president’s policy speech.

Ahmad Kuris thanked Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi for his concern for the people’s livelihood by giving free school textbooks and abolishing examination fees.

Puteri Umno delegate Norhamizah Mat Tahir said the movement would not be apologetic and would defend Umno against its detractors.

She criticised those who claimed that the New Economic Policy (NEP) had benefited the Malays while leaving the other races behind in the country’s development.

“Nine out of 10 of the richest Malaysians in the Forbes magazine list are non-Malays. This means that the NEP had also brought benefits to everyone regardless of race," she said.

Norhamizah also said that racial matters should not be politicised to the extent that the country be destroyed.

“It’s time to say enough is enough. We have given up so many things for others.

“The Umno president should take action against those who try to take advantage of us, otherwise we will initiate our action against those who want to bring down our party,” she added.

Norhamizah suggested that the Puteri Barisan Nasional movement be formed to help the coalition win the general election.

“We hope the party president will not forget our movement leader and consider her as a general election candidate,” she added.

(Bernama) -- Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said basic matters relating to the sanctity of religion, beliefs and practices, Malay interests and the social contract between the communities should no longer be raised.

The prime minister said basic issues that were agreed upon at the time the Federal Constitution was drafted were non-negotiable.

"Umno does not engage in duplicity. We don't change our tune to suit the occasion or the audience. We're ready to seek intelligent resolutions and win-win outcomes when dealing with sensitive issues relating to race and religion," said Abdullah, who is also Umno president, when addressing the Umno General Assembly here Wednesday.

He said that for such issues to be addressed effectively, it was more appropriate to have these discussions behind closed doors.

"Sensitive issues must be handled objectively, rationally and maturely. Umno and its colleagues in the Barisan Nasional must never be ensnared by religious and racial issues raised by the opposition parties.

"We're the party that controls the government, we administer executive power. We should never allow ourselves to sink to their level," he said.

Abdullah said that other communities in the country must appreciate the sensitivities of the Malays.

"We've been independent for 50 years. Now, those who are born in Malaysia are Malaysian citizens. They were born and have grown up knowing only Malaysia as their homeland. The time for championing parochial interests is over," he said.

Abdullah said that during the 2006 Umno general assembly where the media were allowed to provide live coverage of the proceedings, a small number of speakers had raised issues that had perhaps touched on communal sensitivities but the majority chose to tackle them from a national perspective.

"I believe that similar extremist sentiments are voiced by members of political parties that represent other communities. However, in the spirit of building a unified nation, the consensus of moderation and mutual respect outweighs extremist tendencies," he said.

Abdullah also explained that the act of unsheathing and kissing the Malay keris was part of the cultural heritage of the Malay people.

He said the keris was not a weapon to attack friends.

"But it's meaning has been twisted to spread fear among non-Malays, and the image of Umno and Malaysia has been smeared overseas," he said.

Abdullah gave the assurance that Umno would never breach the spirit of the understanding that had been agreed with the other communities at the time of independence.

He stressed that the harmony between the various communities in the country was not an option but a necessity.

"We have no other choice. Fifty years ago, our independence movement was successful because of the wisdom of Tunku Abdul Rahman and his colleagues who introduced the concept of power sharing," he said.

The prime minister also said that maintaining security was a responsibility of the government, one that could be carried out more effectively with the support from the public.

"The Malaysian society is currently facing a number of fears, among them, crime as well as inter-religious and communal issues," he said.

He said the media played an important role in raising public awareness on how members of society could help maintain security.

Channel News Asia

Malaysia's ruling party UMNO - or the United Malays National Organisation - is all geared up for its 61st General Assembly on Wednesday.

Maintaining racial harmony is expected to be the over-riding theme.

However, the use of a Malay dagger as a symbol of UMNO as the defender of Malay rights and interests has hit the limelight again.

The brandishing of the kris, a Malay dagger, is a tradition at annual assemblies held by Malaysia's ruling party UMNO.

At the assembly of the youth wing, its chief Hishammuddin Hussein proclaimed that the kris is a symbol of defence not just for Malays, but also the other races.

Mr Hishammuddin, who is also the Malaysian Education Minister, said, "Be sheltered by the royal Malay kris. No one should feel threatened or be unnerved by the eternal symbol."

Non-Malays in the country had expressed concern that the kris represents the defence of Malay rights only.

Mr Hishamuddin's comments are in line with UMNO President Abdullah Badawi's call for delegates to steer clear of sensitive issues of race and religion at the General Assembly.

This week's assembly is the last to be held before General Elections widely expected early next year.

In his opening address on Wednesday, political analysts believe Mr Abdullah will drive home the importance of maintaining racial harmony in the multi-ethnic country.

The UMNO President, who is also Malaysia's Prime Minister, is expected to address the issue of the rising cost of living due to runaway global oil prices.

Mr Abdullah is widely expected to convey his toughest message so far, urging Malays to be prepared for competition as government subsidies and handouts cannot continue indefinitely.

(Reuters) - In Malaysia, there are very few public meetings where people can turn up with a weapon -- but the nation's largest annual political gathering is one of them.

For the past three years, a leader of the main ruling party, which represents the ethnic Malay majority, gets the party's annual assembly underway by drawing a 2-ft-long (60-cm-long) ceremonial dagger, kissing it and then brandishing it in the air.

And each time, hundreds of party faithful inside the assembly hall have erupted into a cheer while, outside, many in Malaysia's large ethnic Chinese community have quietly cursed, convinced that the knife is metaphorically pointed at them.

"I don't think you bring in a weapon of war to a meeting where you claim to want to discuss and deliberate on nation-building policy," opposition politician Lim Guan Eng said after the latest knife-kissing episode on Tuesday.

"It has been used to threaten non-Malays."

The traditional Malay dagger, or keris, is a symbol of the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO), which leads the multi-racial coalition that has ruled since independence 50 years ago, but it has also become a symbol of racial tensions.

Though Malaysia has been free of major race riots since 1969, when hundreds were killed, ethnic Chinese still flinch when they see a Malay politician waving the keris, rarely more so than at last year's assembly when its appearance stirred up hot words.

After UMNO Youth leader Hishammuddin Hussein unsheathed the keris last year, live on national television, some delegates urged him loudly to use it and some fiery speeches ensued.

One delegate was reported to have said by the Singapore Straits Times: "UMNO is willing to risk lives and bathe in blood to defend the race and religion. Don't play with fire. If they mess with our rights, we will mess with theirs."

CALM BEFORE ELECTION

This year, as the coalition strives to show unity in the run-up to possible early elections, things have gone differently.

First, UMNO's assembly is not being televised live.

And there were no such incendiary remarks on Tuesday when youth leader Hishammuddin, also education minister and chief keris-waver, pulled out his weapon, which had been paraded into the hall on a red cushion by men in Malay warrior costume.

"Don't worry about symbolism. Don't get carried away by racial extremism...," he said after lifting the keris skyward.

He described the ceremonial keris as a symbol of culture, sovereignty, power, dignity and even unity among all races.

"A keris is drawn to defend the race and the interest of the country, not only for the Malays but also to defend others in the country," he was quoted as saying by state news agency Bernama.

"No one should feel nervous or panicky...."

But many ethnic Chinese would prefer the keris stayed out of politics.

"It's not a symbol of justice as he claimed but a symbol of war to threaten the non-Malays," said Lim, secretary-general of the ethnic Chinese-backed Democratic Action Party.

Channel News Asia

THE HAGUE: The International Court of Justice (ICJ) has begun the hearing on the sovereignty of Pedra Branca island on Tuesday. And Singapore has argued that Malaysia has no evidence to show that it owns the island.

In fact, Singapore set out to prove that Malaysia never regarded Pedra Branca as its territory.

Ambassador—at—Large Professor Tommy Koh laid out the agenda as he opened the first day of hearing at the ICJ at The Hague.

The Singapore team of over 30 members was all prepared and armed with geographical maps, which were flashed periodically inside the courtroom for the judges to see as the team pleaded the case.

"In 1979, for the first time, Malaysia published a map purporting to place Pedra Branca within the Malaysian territorial sea, giving rise to the present dispute. The dispute has been an irritant in the bilateral relations between our two countries," said Prof Koh.

Singapore argued that Pedra Branca island and its two outcrops of Middle Rocks and South Ledge rightfully belong to the Lion City.

And Professor Koh stated that Singapore owns the island and has consistently maintained and exercised its sovereignty.

One example he brought up in court was a letter written by Johor in 1953 and was sent to Singapore then. The Johor government said Pedra Branca did not belong to them in the letter.

Professor Koh said Malaysia claims that the British sought permission from Johor to build the Horsborough Lighthouse, but it never provided any evidence to support that.

Chief Justice Chan Sek Keong also spoke on the first day of the hearing. He laid out facts and evidence to show that Malaysia has portrayed an inaccurate account of the history concerning the ownership of Pedra Branca.

He cited how Malaysia had argued that Pedra Branca was actually part of the Johor Sultanate from time immemorial. He said that such argument was "no more than clutching at straws without any evidence to proof".

Attorney—General Chao Hick Tin just spoke on the geographical setting and gave background of the dispute to the judges.

He also played an audio recording of Malaysia’s former prime minister Tun Hussein Onn from a news conference with Singapore’s then prime minister Lee Kuan Yew in May 1980. In that audio clip, Tun Hussein Onn then admitted that the question of sovereignty over Pedra Branca was not very clear to Malaysia.

Singapore’s international counsel Alain Pellet also made his arguments in French as the last speaker wrapping up Tuesday’s session. He rebutted Malaysia’s claim of an original historical title for Pedra Branca.

Professor Pellet will continue his arguments on Wednesday followed by the other international counsels for Singapore.

The Borneo Post

SANDAKAN: Keadilan has been urged to pick calibre, trustworthy people who are committed to the party’s political struggle as candidates for the coming general elections.

Its deputy head of operations for Batu Sapi, Muhammadin Haji Mustapha, said, “We do not want a repeat of the incidences where the party’s candidates withdrew from the race at the last moment, as what had happened in the previous elections,” Muhammadin said.

He said the party leaders must be careful in selecting the candidates, and failure in doing so would cause a setback for the party and a loss to the people of Sabah.

Meanwhile Muhammadin called on the Suluk and Bajau communities to give their full support and vote for Keadilan in the coming elections.

“The rights and interest of the communities will be safeguarded, and they will have a better future with Keadilan. The community can be a decisive factor in the next poll if they unite with the other races in the State,” he said.

Groups see King as an institution capable of helping to bring about electoral changes

By Carolyn Hong, Malaysia Bureau Chief
The Straits Times

A COALITION of political groups is planning to hold a mass march on Saturday to the palace of the Malaysian King to hand an appeal to him to speak up for electoral reforms.

It might seem an odd move to some as the King is not involved in making election laws. But the organisers see it differently.

'We see the King as another institution to address besides the Election Commission and the government,' said Mr R. Sivarasa, a leader of Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim's Parti Keadilan Rakyat.

The monarchy has been enjoying an upsurge in popularity, thanks to its recent intervention in some judicial appointments.

The country's nine hereditary rulers earlier this year refused to accept the Prime Minister's choice for a key judicial post as there were widespread concerns that better candidates were being passed over.

And last week, Malaysia's beleaguered Chief Justice Tun Ahmad Fairuz Sheikh Abdul Halim did not secure an extension of his term after the King refused to endorse it.

Even the most cynical political blogs have been peppered exuberantly with 'Daulat Tuanku', loosely translated as Long Live The King, a phrase rarely heard outside formal royal occasions.

Malaysians sat up and took notice because the Sultans rarely rock the boat.

Under the Malaysian Constitution, their consent is required for key government appointments.

'They are just doing their job, finally,' said Mr Sivarasa.

Previously, the rulers barely seemed to exist in public life, especially after their powers were steadily curbed by former premier Mahathir Mohamad.

The need for a royal assent to Bills passed by Parliament was removed in 1983, and the rulers' immunity from prosecution was curtailed in 1993.

'The balance of power fell overwhelmingly in the hand of the prime minister,' said Mr Sivarasa.

It also did not help that the image of the monarchy was severely tarnished after the press highlighted its excesses in the 1990s.

But to many Malaysians, this is less important than the current sense that the Sultans are in tune with public opinion. This has served to burnish their image to a high shine.

University of Malaya law lecturer Dr Azmi Shahrom said there was a strong sense among the public that the normal democratic processes have failed the people, and they are turning to the royalty.

The government appears to have paid attention. The last two times the rulers flexed their muscle over judicial appointments, Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi acceded to their requests.

This is despite his legal advisers, among them the Attorney-General and the de facto Law Minister Nazri Aziz, taking the view that the rulers had to comply with the government's requests.

But that would have merely created an impasse.

'If it is seen to be against the royalty on an issue that the public feels strongly about, it could be problematic for them,' said Dr Azmi.

The government clearly will tread a little more carefully now, and in Dr Azmi's opinion, that is exactly how it should be.

'That's how checks and balances work,' he said.

RACE ISSUES SPARK CONTROVERSY

Hishammuddin again brandishes keris and says it's a multiracial symbol
By Carolyn Hong, Malaysia Bureau Chief and Chow Kum Hor, Malaysia Correspondent
The Straits Times

UMNO Youth chief Hishammuddin Hussein brandished the keris for the third year running at the party's annual youth assembly yesterday and told non-Malays to get used to his controversial act.

They should not see the Malay ceremonial dagger as a symbol of aggression but as one of unity and protection for all races, he argued.

'Take shelter under the protection offered by the royal Malay keris,' he said, addressing Malaysia's minority groups, saying they should not be afraid of shadows.

The 60-cm-long keris was carried into the hall with much fanfare at the start of the youth assembly and presented to Datuk Seri Hishammuddin on stage.

He unsheathed it and kissed it before raising it high to shouts of 'Hidup Umno' (Long Live Umno).

It was then sheathed and placed on a stand at the stage.

This is the third time in as many years that the keris was wielded in this fashion, although this year, the event was not televised live because of racial sensitivities.

Last year, the keris episode set the tone for the Umno assembly which sparked controversy after a few harsh speeches made the entire proceedings seem extreme.


CONTROVERSIAL ACT: Umno Youth chief Hishammuddin Hussein brandishing the keris, a Malay ceremonial dagger, before addressing the Youth wing yesterday. -- PHOTO: AFP

Datuk Seri Hishammuddin yesterday insisted that the dagger was a Malay symbol of dignity and honour and was also used by the Malaysian King at his coronation.

He went on to warn non-Malays not to get carried away with racial rhetoric and risk hurting the mutual respect among races in a country which was built with the sacrifices of the Malays.

'We have nodded in respect and agreement, and avoided strife. Do not misinterpret our silence as a weakness,' he said to loud cheers.

But for all his rhetorical flourishes, he also seemed keen to heed the call by Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi and his deputy Najib Tun Razak. They had urged delegates to tone down the Malay rhetoric, as race relations have become increasingly strained, especially after last year's assembly.

The bulk of the Umno Youth chief's speech was thus focused on multiracialism. He told delegates that they could choose to be confrontational, but at times, a wiser approach would be better.

'The honour of the Malays will still be preserved, harmony maintained and understanding reached,' he said.

The effort to tread the middle path was welcomed by Malaysian Chinese Association vice-president Chua Soi Lek, who was happy with Datuk Seri Hishammuddin's lengthy explanation about the keris.

'Most non-Malays know that the keris is not targeted at them,' he told The Straits Times, but added that the Malays should also know the Chinese are very sensitive about the display of an unsheathed keris.

But opposition Democratic Action Party leader Lim Guan Eng questioned the need to use a weapon of war. 'It seems that the leopard has not changed its spots,' he said.

Umno women's wing chief Rafidah Aziz, who is the Minister of International Trade and Industry, also opened her meeting on a note of conciliation.

'All Malaysians, regardless of descent, race or religion, have rights and a place in Malaysia,' she said.

Political analyst Karim Raslan said the messages coming from the top are clear.

'We have to let it trickle to the political mainstream and civil servants,' he said.

Most delegates, save for one or two, played it safe, although the handful who skirted close to the edge received the loudest applause.

Selangor delegate Ismail Ahmad was applauded for asking opposition party supporters to leave the country if they were not happy.

'These people, they come to a Malay area and they tell me that our country is not doing well and people are still suffering. Well, I will tell you - you can apply for citizenship in Singapore,' he said.

New Straits Times

MAJOR Barisan Nasional component members welcomed Umno Youth Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein's detailed explanation of the wing's Panca Warisan kris.

MCA Youth chief Datuk Liow Tiong Lai said he appreciated Hishammuddin's explanation of the symbolic meaning of the kris at the Youth assembly.

"He explained in a multi-racial context that the kris was to protect all Malaysians and this is the right message to the public.

"The most important thing is that now we can work towards improving the relationship between MCA and Umno Youth for the benefit of the people," he said.

"I think the public now understands the whole issue. For the MCA, I want to emphasise that both parties will work together after this," he said.



MIC Youth chief S.A. Vigneswaran said culture should not be taken out of context.

"I know Datuk Hishammuddin personally. I know what he meant. Obviously, he meant championing the Malay cause, otherwise, he must close shop."

He said the BN would not want Hishammuddin bowing to pressure.

Like the Malays and the kris, he said Chinese and Indians too had their cultural symbols.

On Umno's freedom of speech at its general assembly, Vigneswaran said each race needed to have an avenue to fight its cause.

"When we talk about rights, of course you can fight, but don't hurt the other races," he said, adding that he had accepted Hishammuddin's explanation on his waving of the kris after the general assembly last year.

"Sometimes delegates get excited. There is no cause to worry. Let Umno fight for the Malays," he said.

Gerakan Youth chief Datuk Mah Siew Keong said his party's Youth wing welcomed Hishammuddin's reminder to all Umno Youth members to enhance co-operation with other races at all times.

"This is important when we are facing challenges posed by globalisation," he said in a statement.

New Straits Times

UMNO is not a racist party and the Malay agenda, which forms the crux of its struggles, is not a racist agenda.

Youth deputy chief Khairy Jamaluddin yesterday delivered a fiery reminder to those who accused Umno of espousing racist ideology to look at the reality of the country's multiracial relations to realise the truth about the party's struggles.

"No one should accuse Umno of being a racist party or label the Malay agenda as being a racist agenda," he said while winding-up the movement's debate over the Youth chief's speech.

Khairy said Umno had accommodated the needs of its partners in Barisan Nasional's power-sharing arrangement as it did not only look after the interest of Malays but of all Malaysians.

"If we look at the allocations of electoral seats, the truth is Umno could have contested more seats than what it has now but this was not the case as we are willing to give way for our BN partners to be better represented."

He said Umno's generosity in such instances should be enough evidence for anyone to refrain from accusing it of being racist.

"If we are racists, we would not give away (Malay-majority seats such Sungai Siput, Kapar, Kota Raja and Pontian."

He added that if any quarter wanted to raise issues of political equality among the races, then Umno Youth would reciprocate by asking for equal economic clout.

Praising his boss, Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein, as being a model of a moderate politician, he said that despite his stance as a defender of Malay rights, he would be the first to defend the rights of other races if they were being infringed upon.

"I have learned a lot from Datuk Hishammuddin and one of the most important is that it is easier to be an extremist than to be a moderate in this country's political environment.

"It is difficult because we need to be smart when faced with difficult issues. Nonetheless, I have also learnt from Datuk Hishammuddin that we must do what is right and not what is popular."

He illustrated the importance of moderation in facing unreasonable actions by the opposition such as the expected gathering at Dataran Merdeka this Saturday to demand a "clean" election.

"If they want to gather 100,000 people for an illegal gathering just a day after this Umno general assembly, then by right we would want to do the same to confront them.

"But this is not the smart way as it would cause a riot. Instead, we call on the police to arrest the organisers of the illegal gathering.

"To these people, I call on them to stop going to the streets and behave like monkeys and instead go to the polls if they want to challenge us."

As racial tensions become a talking point, elections are likely to be delayed

By Reme Ahmad, Assistant Foreign Editor
The Straits Times

RACIAL tensions emerged as a key talking point among Umno delegates yesterday, with the controversial demolition of a Hindu temple in Selangor and the continued wielding of the Malay keris by Umno leaders raising eyebrows among the non-Malays.

The anguish shown by top Malaysian Indian leader S. Samy Vellu over the temple demolition has put a new brake on any plan by Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi to call an early election, politicians say.

Many Barisan Nasional (BN) leaders say the issue must be handled carefully as it could shake the 14-party governing coalition that includes Umno and the Malaysian Indian Congress (MIC).

'We must work to contain this political damage. We cannot go into elections with this issue in the air,' an MIC leader told The Straits Times.

Already, private surveys by pollsters and two recent by-election results have shown that some urban Chinese voters are turned off by the government due to perceived poor handling of the economy, rising crime and debates over race and religion.

And many Malaysians are reeling from the hike in the prices of foodstuffs - from bread to vegetables and rice - brought about by the spike in global oil and wheat prices.

Now the doomed temple joins the list of woes.
CONTROVERSIAL: Scuffles breaking out during the demolition of the Hindu temple in Shah Alam on Tuesday last week. -- PHOTO: SIN CHEW DAILY/ASIA NEWS NETWORK

Datuk Seri Samy Vellu, the MIC president, on Monday shocked many people when he 'advised' MIC Members of Parliament and state assemblymen not to hold any open- house Deepavali celebrations tomorrow 'to mark MIC's respect for Hindus who are saddened' by the demolition of the temple in Shah Alam last Tuesday, he said.

He retracted the statement later, saying other MIC chiefs will hold open houses, but he himself would not do so.

The call is significant because holding open houses during Hari Raya, Chinese New Year and Deepavali are a must-do for top politicians.

Foreign Minister Syed Hamid Albar said yesterday: 'It is easy to retract, but the more important thing is not to make the first statement. We do damage to our people.'

Datuk Seri Samy Vellu yesterday blamed the issue on unnamed groups which he said wanted 'to keep on fighting'.

The temple demolition added to the growing angry airings on issues involving ethnicity and religion in the past two years.

'There will be political damage for sure. It clearly shows that MIC leaders cannot save the Indians,' said Mr S.P. Pathi, a lawyer and an Indian community leader.

A five-minute video of the temple being taken down has been posted on video-sharing site YouTube. In the clip, a woman temple devotee said angrily that she would not vote for the BN again.

A day after the temple was demolished, Datuk Seri Samy Vellu said: 'The majority of Indian voters, if not all Indians in Malaysia, support Barisan Nasional.

'Thus, I urge the relevant authorities not to resort to the drastic action of demolishing temples even though they are not built legally.'

To be sure, even a big sway in the Indian vote will not affect BN's seats in Parliament or in the state assemblies. Indians form just 7 per cent of Malaysia's 27 million population, compared with 25 per cent by the Chinese.

The MIC has seven MPs, including Datuk Seri SamyVellu, out of a total of 199 seats held by BN.

The Indian party also has 19 assemblymen in 11 state assemblies in peninsular Malaysia, out of about 400 seats controlled by the BN.

This means even a big sway in the Indian vote around the country will not have a big impact on BN, politicians say.

But poor handling of the feelings of the Indian community could alienate further the Chinese and other non-Muslim minorities, spooked by the controversial brandishing of the keris by Umno Youth chief Hishamuddin Hussein.

As Mr Huszaimi Abu Hassan, a Penang Umno Youth leader, said of the Indian community: 'They have been solidly behind the BN. We do not want them to ditch us.'

The Straits Times

FOR over four decades, the Sri Maha Mariamman temple sat on private land near the Selangor capital of Shah Alam, a 40-minute drive south-west of Kuala Lumpur.

When bulldozers were about to move in to demolish the temple on Oct 30, Malaysian Indian Congress (MIC) president Samy Vellu rushed to the scene to try to stop them, according to his press secretary E. Sivabalan.

The temple, which was found to have been built illegally on private land, was given immediate notice on Oct 30 to be cleared out as the building was to be torn down on the same day. Temple devotees were 'manhandled' by the police, the influential Malaysia Hindu Sangam organisation said.

Unable to persuade them to hold off, Datuk Seri Samy sought out Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi and Selangor Menteri Besar Khir Toyo, who were at a function at a Shah Alam hotel, to plead his case.

But it was too late. The bulldozers moved in soon after.

Other illegal buildings on the land, including a small mosque and 200 houses, were also razed, the Bernama news agency reported yesterday.

This was not the first illegal temple to be torn down in recent years, but its demolition quickly became contentious because the MIC publicly voiced its unhappiness, Indian activists and politicians say.

And the MIC's intervention was likely due to the temple's historical link to a party chieftain, and the rough manner in which the municipal authorities moved in to demolish it, they say.

The temple was built 45 years ago by the father of Datuk K. Sivalingam, a MIC leader who was also a state minister in Selangor until his death in April. The late politician was the state assemblyman for Ijok constituency and was also chairman of the temple's management committee.

'It was a slap in the face of Samy Vellu that just a few months after Sivalingam died, the temple was torn down,' said lawyer and Indian activist S.P. Pathi.

A private non-governmental organisation, the Hindu Rights Action Force, or Hindraf, went further, claiming Datuk Seri Samy intervened because the MIC had lost ground among Indians because it had not helped to prevent previous temple razings.

'They are now trying to say they also champion the temple issue,' said Hindraf activist and lawyer P. Uthayakumar.

But others say Datuk Seri Samy acted as part of his job to defend the rights of his community.

A veteran MIC leader, Datin Seri Jaya Partiban, said devotees had developed 'a certain trust' in the old temple, and the manner in which the officers took it down 'hurt' Hindu feelings.

The municipal officers were accompanied by riot police, and water cannon was used to disperse the devotees, according to activists. Pictures of the confrontation are being circulated on the Internet.

The Malaysia Hindu Sangam said it was 'gravely shocked' by what had happened.

The government has promised a bigger plot of land of 10,000 sq feet about 2km away for a replacement temple.

David Yeow and Neville Spykerman
New Straits Times

"We are hurt. That's all I am going to say. Hurt is hurt."

This was the reaction from MIC president Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu yesterday on the demolition of a 36-year-old Hindu temple in Shah Alam by the Selangor government.

Samy Vellu said he was so hurt by the state government's action that MIC almost cancelled all its Deepavali open houses as a mark of respect to all Hindus.

The MIC had issued a statement on Monday announcing that all open houses by MPs and state assemblymen would be cancelled, but the notice was retracted hours later.

Samy Vellu expressed displeasure at the handling of the temple issue at Kampung Karuppiah, Padang Jawa, by the authorities, but said he was ready to move on.

"There are discussions and meetings going on between MIC and the state government.

"It is our hope that in the future, something like this will never happen," he said after presenting the Jalur Gemilang to 15 youths who will represent Malaysia in the 39th World Skills Competition in Shizuoka, Japan.

"For us (MIC), we are part of the government. We want to solve problems, not fight with the government."

Samy Vellu said the state government had allocated a 10,000 square feet land in Shah Alam for the temple to be rebuilt.

"The menteri besar has given his word that they will help to rebuild the temple."

Samy Vellu also assured Hindus that the statues of deities had been removed safely.

He blasted a group of residents in Padang Jaya who are adamant in rebuilding the temple at the original site.

Samy Vellu said he was aware that many are unhappy with the demolition of the temple. "I am also unhappy and have expressed this point to the cabinet and to the council of menteris besar and chief ministers."

In a function on Monday in "Little India" in Jalan Tengku Kelana, Klang, Samy Vellu said he would be calling for a meeting of all committees of temples built on private or government land in Selangor.

"This is to help resolve the problem of temporary temples, which do not have their own land and are not registered," he said.

He said Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi had decided that in future, issues relating to temples must be dealt with by the menteri besar and himself.

New Straits Times

The temple committee in Padang Jawa here was given three years' notice before the authorities demolished the building.

This was revealed by the Selangor government yesterday in a statement that was issued to dispel public notion that the government was biased in its treatment of places of worship, particularly those of non-Muslims.

It was stated that the temple was issued notices in 2005, last year and finally on Oct 3 this year.

The state government said it had always been fair and considerate about this issue. Some RM3 million has been set aside by the state to help with the construction of places of worship. Lower premiums have also been allowed for land to be developed for religious purposes.

The state urged all Hindus to get the permission of the Hindu Sanggam to build temples. It also urged the public not to be misled by opposition parties that are harping on the issue for their own political gains.

In Putrajaya, Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Datuk Dr Maximus Ongkili said the government was monitoring reactions following the demolition of the temple. He said the situation was under control.

"The temple authorities had also agreed to an alternative site but there are outsiders trying to complicate the matter."

The Star

The Internet age and blogs were recognised as an information reality, even as the leaders of the Umno Wanita, Youth and Puteri movements warned against their abuse.

Umno Youth chief Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein said that such openness in the age of information technology cannot be stopped.

This, he said, meant that the public was exposed to a whole lot of information choices, including blogs.

“The community of bloggers is very active in our country today and I believe that many of them are quite responsible and give high quality information.

“Such (contributions to the country’s) development should be looked at positively, as part of the democratisation of information in the world and of cyberspace.

“For the younger generation, blogs are part and parcel of their current day lifestyle and this level of sophistication has created a YouTube and Facebook generation among them,” he said Tuesday in his policy speech at the Umno Youth assembly.

Hishammuddin said that even though this phenomenon was good for the country’s development, with freedom comes responsibility.

“Freedom must steer (viewers) towards a maturity of our Malaysian society. Freedom is not absolute. It is not a licence to lash out, ridicule, slander or belittle others.

“The openness of the Government should not be used as an excuse to use the cyber media to sprout lies and to instigate," he said.

Wanita Umno chief Datuk Seri Rafidah Aziz warned that “the main challenge facing us as parents is balancing the good and the bad elements that are now easily accessible through the Internet.

“We do not want the openness made possible by the latest technology being misused by irresponsible groups to spread chauvinistic messages,” she said in her policy speech.

She said that the minority should not be allowed to hijack democracy, by trying to do things that could jeopardise the interest of the majority.

The Puteri Umno movement was concerned that abuse of the ICT would have negative implications towards freedom of religion, political stability and racial unity.

Movement chief Datuk Noraini Ahmad said that under the banner of freedom, irresponsible bloggers would slander, lie, use abusive and vulgar words, and incite racial tension among its readers.

“No matter how much the freedom, the users must be responsible and work along strong ethical lines,” she said, adding that close monitoring of website operators and bloggers were necessary to ensure the society would not be influenced by negativity.

“We fully support the right to freedom of speech but it should never, never be abused,” she said.

By MAZWIN NIK ANIS
The Star

Listen to the voice of the young. In making this plea, Puteri Umno said the potential and ability of the younger generation should not be “killed or nipped”, but should instead be nurtured.

Movement chief Datuk Noraini Ahmad said everyone has the right to voice their opinion, irrespective of age, background and education level, but the voice of the young could hardly be heard today, causing people to be wary of their ability.

“The fact is, some of the younger generation are matured and have good views on issues, sometimes even better than those of adults.

“The Puteri Umno movement demands that more room and opportunities be given to young Malaysians to speak out. After all, they are the future leaders of this country and we should give them the trust and avenue to learn,” Noraini said in her opening speech.

The Puteri chief said the country faced great challenge in building a strong and progressive nation, adding it was crucial to ensure the young were well prepared to face new challenges and realities.

She said while it was important to ensure the Asian value of humility and respect remain intact, the young must be taught to have the “glocal spirit”, be brave, competitive, patriotic and have undivided love and loyalty for the country.

Noraini said even though the movement was busy with its social, welfare and education-related activities, its members were “ever ready” to help Barisan face the general election and their readiness was reflected in the active participation of its members during by-elections in Batu Talam, Machap and Ijok.

The Star

The keris is a protector of not just Malays but everyone as the Government will protect Malaysians of all races, said Umno Youth chief Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein.

With this assurance, he hoped to lay to rest concerns about the keris which had been a bone of contention among non-Malays.

He said that the keris had been misinterpreted last year by some quarters, who questioned why he had unsheathed and kissed at the Youth assembly.

"They said the keris is a symbol of fighting. It looks like 50 years after independence, there are still some of our people who do not understand the culture of our people and country," he said in his speech at the Umno Youth assembly on Tuesday.

Saying that the keris is a symbol of strength and for centuries a part of Malay heritage, he said it signifies sovereignty, power, dignity, and responsibility.

He added that the keris is unique in the way it is made, sheathed, worn and used, and it carried with it specific dos and don’ts.

Unlike the axe which is used to chop or the parang (machete) which is used to slaughter, the keris is not an everyday weapon and is carried to official functions and to the palace.

He noted that the ceremonial keris used by the King has its origin from iron derived from 11 keris from the different states in Malaysia.

Thus, he said, the keris was not just a symbol of strength but also of unity, wisdom and knowledge.

Hishammuddin said that he kissed the keris because he accepted the power and the responsibilities that came with it and pledged to be fair in discharging his duties.

"The keris is unsheathed with the aspiration to defend our people and country, not just the Malays but also the non-Malays in the country.

"The Malay keris is a protector of all, just like the Government of today will always protect people of all races. So don’t let anyone be fearful or nervous about this everlasting symbol," he said.

Malaysia Today

At 11.00am this morning, a delegation from BERSIH went to the Istana Negara to hand deliver a letter to Seri Paduka Baginda Yang di-Pertuan Agong, Alwathiqubillah Sultan Mizan Zainal Abidin ibni Almarhum Sultan Mahmud Almuktafi Billah Shah. The letter was basically to inform Tuanku about the rakyat’s ‘visit’ to the Istana on Saturday, 10 November 2007.

The Istana has asked BERSIH to submit the names of the representatives of the 100,000 delegation who will be going into the Istana to deliver the Rakyat’s Memorandum. Invariably, 100,000 people will not be able to go into the Istana. This is an indication that Tuanku has perkenan (consented) to receive the representatives of the 100,000 delegation.

The Borneo Post

BINTULU: Bintulu Member of Parliament Datuk Seri Tiong King Sing yesterday expressed concern over the release of a key gang leader, who was among 23 arrested in ‘Ops Cantas Kenyalang’, a police operation to crush gangsterism in Sarawak.

In a press statement yesterday, Tiong, who is a Justice of the Peace, said a lot of the people in Sarawak had been as shocked and disappointed as he was and he had been flooded with calls to ask why it had happened.

“The people are still deeply concerned with the state of security in Sarawak. Although the police have put in great pains in ‘Ops Cantas Kenyalang’, the people are still worried and are watching closely the developments,” he added.

He said the release had come when the operation was still continuing, and the police were into their second wave of arrests.

“In the calls that I have received, the people wanted to know what had happened.

“Why was the gang leader released at such a time? They are also asking whether the release has come with a special connection or arrangement?” he said.

Tiong promised he would look into the matter for the security of Sarawak and the people.

He said the people were not only disappointed, but were also discouraged by such a development.

“Such action would also demoralise the State police, who had worked so hard to crush the activities of the gangsters,” he said, calling on the police to “keep up with their spirit.”

“Continue with what you have been doing. The people of Sarawak are appreciative of them,” Tiong added.

He said he had heard from an unconfirmed source that the key leader had been released for health reasons.

“I shall find out why,” he said.

According to a Bernama report yesterday, an influential businessman was released unconditionally after his 60-day detention under the Emergency Ordinance 1969.

Sarawak CID chief SAC II Datuk Tun Hisan Tun Hamzah confirmed this, saying that the man, in his 60s, had been released after 60 days in detention.

Daily Express

Kota Belud: Some 1,500 residents of four kampungs in the Kampung Linau area have reminded the Government of an unfulfilled 1998 election promise that a permanent bridge will be built to replace the suspension bridge currently connecting the main Kota Belud-Kudat road in the Tempasuk constituency.

Kampung Linau Umno chief Jafli Maton recalled that the then Minister in the Prime Minister Datuk Seri Mohamad Nazri Aziz, as election campaign chief, had assured that a steel bridge would be erected to replace the suspension bridge.

He said the deplorable condition of the bridge almost cost the life of a SK Tempasuk pupil in August. The pupil was saved in the nick of time from falling into the river after his uniform got entangled with the wires on the bridge.

SK Tempasuk school children are among those relying on the bridge daily, besides villagers having to get their produce across to town.

He said this after completing works to replace rotten planks on the suspension bridge on a gotong royong basis involving the kampung folks, Saturday. It was participated by villagers and staff from Sabah Credit Corporation.

The 110-metre bridge is also used by residents from Kg Gunding, Kg Ejok and Kg Linau Liang.

According to Jafli, it was understood that the Public Works Department was to be undertaking the project which was estimated to cost RM600,000.

He said the proposed bridge would open a more positive communication facility that could help improve the economic livelihood of the local communities.

Hence, he hoped the promise to replace the bridge would not be forgotten again after the elections are over.

Terence Fernandez
The Sun

Perak’s Sultan Azlan Shah, a former distinguished highest-ranking judge, is believed to have played a crucial role in the matter of filling the vacancy of Chief Justice of the Federal Court.

According to sources, the decision to fill the position of Chief Justice following Tun Ahmad Fairuz Sheikh Abdul Halim’s retirement was based on the outcome of discussions between Sultan Azlan Shah and Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, with consultations with the Yang di-Pertuan Agong Tuanku Mizan Zainal Abidin.

The result of these discussions was conveyed by the ruler to the Conference of Rulers, which agreed to the recommendations before the commencement of the Conference of Rulers last Wednesday.

"The Conference of Rulers, headed by His Majesty the Yang di-Pertuan Agong had asked Sultan Azlan Shah to use his expertise and experience to discuss the appointment of the Chief Justice with the prime minister," said a palace source.

The source said as the Perak Sultan was a former Lord President, he was the most qualified to advise the rulers and consult the government on the candidate for Chief Justice.

The source said contrary to previous news reports and what had been posted on several blogs, the Conference of Rulers did not discuss the re-appointment of Ahmad Fairuz as Chief Justice at last Thursday’s conference.

"There was nothing to discuss as the rulers agreed with the choice of Datuk Abdul Hamid," said the source, adding that a letter from the government concerning Ahmad Fairuz’s extension as Chief Justice was withdrawn before the commencement of the Conference of Rulers.

Court of Appeal President Datuk Abdul Hamid Mohamad was appointed Acting Chief Justice to fill the vacancy left by Ahmad Fairuz who, at 66, had reached the mandatory retirement age for judges.

Abdul Hamid is second on the hierarchy and the Conference of Rulers had agreed with the government that Abdul Hamid, 65, would fill the post until a suitable candidate is found.

The source said due to Abdul Hamid’s age (he will be 66 in April), the rulers, on the advice of the prime minister, agreed that his post shall only be that of an acting capacity until a suitable candidate was found.

"The acting capacity is not a reflection on Abdul Hamid’s capability. If the rulers feel he is deserving, they will agree to his term being extended once he reaches retirement age," said another source.

Ahmad Fairuz had retired under a cloud of controversy when his name was mentioned in an audio-visual recording showing lawyer Datuk V.K. Lingam on the phone purportedly brokering the appointment of judges.

The source said the rulers were also concerned that the whole Ahmad Fairuz episode had given the impression that there was a conflict between the sovereign and the executive.

"This is not true as the executive respects the suggestions and advice of the rulers, while Their Highnesses are receptive to the advice and views of the government," said the source.

By Hazlin Hassan, Malaysia Correspondent
The Straits Times

THE Umno youth, women's and puteri annual assembly begins debate today, with all eyes trained on Umno Youth chief Hishammuddin Hussein as he reprises his controversial keris-raising act.

Although it has become a tradition for him to do this, the act is seen by the non-Malays as provocative.

The keris, a Malay dagger, is a Malay cultural symbol but to the nonMalays, it is seen as a symbol of aggression.

Datuk Seri Hishammuddin has vowed to carry on with his tradition as he believed that the episode has been blown out of proportion.

He said there was no need for Umno to be apologetic or defensive over his action, and insisted people would become 'de-sensitised' over time.

This issue of the keris waving epitomises the delicate balance that the delegates will have to strike as they look ahead to a general election widely tipped to be held within months while pushing hard for a stronger Malay agenda.

Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi and his deputy have already urged delegates to tone down their strong language to avoid inflaming ethnic sentiments further.


JUST SYMBOLIC: Datuk Seri Hishammud- din raising the keris during the Umno assembly last year. He has defended the act, saying it is a Malay cultural symbol.

The last assembly, telecast live, had sparked controversy after a few harsh speeches painted the entire proceedings as extreme.

But at the same time, the delegates feel strongly about the Malay agenda and there is also some resentment over what they see as a challenge by non-Malays to their special position.

As Umno vice-president Muhyiddin Yassin said in a recent interview with the Utusan Malaysia daily, the special rights of the Malays remain 'the pillar of building the nation, the most important thing for Malays, and must not be compromised'.

But he also added: 'We must convey our message using the right tone, not too harsh and not too passive, such that we create a negative reaction in the upcoming elections.'

Terengganu state assemblyman Rosol Wahid feels it would not be in Umno's culture to soften their demands.

He insisted that the hard-hitting debates would not be watered down.

'As long as we cannot fulfil the aims of our Malay agenda, it's what we will continue to do,' he told The Straits Times.

Datuk Rosol added: 'Non-Malays should not make the keris a sensitive issue. It is just a symbol for Malays.'

An Umno Youth leader, Datuk Azeez Abdul Rahman, agreed that the party has to show some discipline as well as respect for Datuk Seri Abdullah's advice.

'This is not a platform to sell rojak by the roadside,' he said.

He added that Malaysians should know that Umno is concerned about the country and its future.

'We are here to protect all Malaysians, not just the Malays,' Datuk Azeez told The Straits Times.

Umno Youth's executive council member Datuk Mukhriz Mahathir also said delegates will still speak their minds but are likely to be mindful of treading on the sensitivities of others.

'Delegates will still bring up issues important to them but they will likely tone down the emotion a bit, bring it down a couple of notches, bearing in mind the coming elections.'

CHOW KUM HOR
The Straits Times

General election

This assembly is expected to be the last one before the general election that is widely expected to be called early next year. Party members will be reminded to rev up the electoral machinery.

The party that forms the backbone of the ruling coalition will also have to come to grips with issues such as the call for judicial reform, corruption and the police force's tattered image.

Malay rights

This is a recurring theme at every assembly. Among the concerns is the need for the Malays to catch up with other races, especially in the business sector.

Some delegates may ask the government to award more contracts to Malay or Malay-majority firms in order to achieve the target of 30 per cent Malay corporate equity ownership.

Issues related to Islam are also likely to crop up, such as the overlapping jurisdiction between civil and syariah laws, which has been a key concern among non-Muslims.

The non-Muslims' strong stance on issues like Islam and Malay supremacy - deemed sacred to the community - has stirred Malay resentment, a feeling that may surface during debates.

Growth corridors

The issue of regional growth areas is a key feature in Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi's administration. Besides the Iskandar Development Region, two other growth corridors have been launched.

Party grassroots have been seeking a more active participation in these areas.

Datuk Seri Abdullah has said that the Malays are capable of reaching greater heights by being involved in activities in the corridors.

Rising cost of living

Increasing prices of goods and services have taken a toll on the middle class and the poor, particularly Malays from the hinterland who make up the party's core supporters.

Local media have reported that prices of vegetables have gone up by 6.7 per cent, rice by 8 per cent and bread by 20 per cent.

With oil prices rising to record highs, government leaders have been asking the people to prepare for a fuel hike.

Teaching of science and maths in English

In 2003, the government introduced the use of English to teach science and mathematics in primary schools.

But many pupils, particularly those from rural Malay areas, are unable to cope with the use of English.

Some Umno leaders want the government to allow the use of English or Malay for the two subjects in the state's Standard Six (equivalent to Primary 6) public examinations.

Rising crime

With more cases of Malaysians falling victim to crime reported in the media, some delegates may ask the government to step up efforts to check the problem. Of late, there have been many cases of 'Mat Rempit', or motorcycle gangs, who are largely Malays, committing crimes such as snatch thefts, rape and even murder.

On Saturday, a woman and her three-year-old daughter were burnt alive in their car.

In September, the country was shocked by the brutal rape and murder of Nurin Jazlin Jazimin, eight, whose battered body was found in a bag.

The Sun

The government has defended the move to introduce a guideline requiring 30% bumiputra participation in wholesale distribution business by foreigners.

Deputy Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Minister Datuk S.Veerasingam said the 30% bumiputra equity ownership contained in the guideline had been approved and accepted by the Cabinet on Oct 20, 2004.

"It is in line with the national development aspiration, which is to rectify the economic and social imbalance and pay attention to the development of a bumiputra industrial and business community," he said in his winding up to points raised by MPs in the Budget 2008 debate in the Dewan Rakyat (Parliament) today.

He however added that the guideline requirement could be negotiated, whereby the ministry could provide such companies a grace period to find the necessary bumiputra partner or investment company.

On the move to set RM1 million as the minimum paid up capital of such companies, Veerasingam said the move was to ensure that foreign companies seeking to set up shop in the wholesale distribution sector are genuinely competent in terms of finance and their ability to manage the business.

"The ministry has also had to take into account the interests and competitiveness of local investors if business opportunities are opened up without any restrictions," he said.

On the guideline relating to racial composition of the directorship and composition of personnel in such companies, Veerasingam said the move was to ensure that all Malaysians, irrespective of racial background, would be able to benefit from such foreign investments.

On the price increase of steel bars and its shortage, he said the government had allowed the importation of the commodity to stabilise the price and ensure sufficient supply.

"As a long-term plan, the government is also looking at an automatic price mechanism to determine the price of steel bars based on the cost of secondhand iron/steel in the world market," he said.

Veerasingam also said that the government had also agreed to introduce a similar automatic price mechanism to determine the price of cement from Jan 1.

"Through the automatic price mechanism and continued strict enforcement, it is hoped that this would be able to stabilise the price of both cement steel bars in the domestic market to fulfill development needs," Veerasingam said.

Maria J. Dass
The Sun

DAY 54

Traces of pentaerythritol tetranitrate (PETN) and cyclotrimethylene trinitramine (RDX) which are categorised as "highly explosive" in the group of secondary explosives - used for military activities, were found on several items collected by the police from the crime scene in Puncak Alam, the High Court heard today.

Asked what he meant by "high explosive", firearms and tool-marks unit head of the chemistry department Shaari Desa said generally the classification of highly explosive material is based on the velocity of detonation which is more than 1,000m per second.

"In addition, this material can explode if it is not contained", he said, adding that "the force of the explosion can cause serious damage to the subject, and the explosion can cause a super sonic reaction."

"The blast waves can be felt and can destroy the surroundings; and the speed of the waves is also high. The opposite sub-sonic reaction will take place if "low explosives" are used, he said.

Asked by DPP Noorin Badaruddin as to what happens if there is resistance in the form of trees or hills in the area, Shaari said: "If the resistance is close to the blast point then it will be destroyed - depending on the type and quantity of explosive used."

Shaari also said that some rubber strips recovered from the crime scene are usually that used to tie or bind two components together, while the rubber granules are a result of the heating process on the rubber strips, in relation to this case.

Based on tests, Shaari said he found traces of PETN and RDX on white powder in the detonating cord and cutting linear charge, and residue on clumps of hair, black plastic strips, pieces of wire and cotton swabs collected from the crime scene.

Asked if he had tested for residue of other types of explosives Shaari said: "The explosives that I have tested for are based on the department’s standards list which includes explosives that are available in the market, and the analysis that I have conducted are based on the explosive materials that I had received from the police."

Shaari also told the court he had concluded that the character markings on the bullet shell that was found in Cpl Sirul Azhar Umar’s Suzuki jeep matched that of five bullets fired from a HK MP5SD sub machine gun.

The sub machine gun and bullet cartridge was one of the 70 exhibits produced by the prosecution last week.

"Using a microscope to conduct comparisons, I found that the character markings on the bullet shell tendered as evidence matches that of the shells produced from the ballistic tests," said Shaari who had conducted ballistic tests using five 9mm bullets.

"Based on this outcome I am of the opinion that the sub machine gun in question is the one that discharged the bullet which has been tendered as an exhibit, he added.

Earlier in the day, Shaari told the court that the soil samples collected from the front left mud guard of Sirul Azhar’s four-wheel drive, and that collected from the front right rims, did not match.

He added that the samples also did not match the soil samples collected from the crime scene.

However he said that due to the weather, soil samples from the surface may differ with that collected from the depths of an area although they are in the same location.

Hearing continues tomorrow, with Sirul Azahar’s defence counsels attempting to use mathematical calculations to show that the tests conducted by Shaari are inaccurate.

The Star

Rocket Clubs will be set up in schools to instil interest in aerospace and astrophysics, Umno Youth vice-chief Khairy Jamaluddin said.

He said Education Minister Datuk Seri Hishamuddin Tun Hussein was inspired to set up the clubs following the successful mission of the first Malaysian Angkasawan.

Hishammuddin had called on Angkasawan Dr Sheikh Muszaphar Shukor and Major Dr Faiz Khaleed to support the programmes.

Dr Sheikh Muszaphar and Dr Faiz were at the Putra World Trade Centre to share their experiences with Umno delegates.

They also handed over the Jalur Gemilang, which Dr Sheikh Muszaphar brought to space, to Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.

Asked if Umno Youth would woo Dr Sheikh Muszaphar and Dr Faiz to join the party, Khairy said the response from the duo had been encouraging.

“We hope the two will develop political interest. We will take it from there,” he added.

Dr Sheikh Muszaphar said the Umno assembly could be used as a platform to generate interest in science, technology and aerospace.

“I have a greater responsibility now. I am willing to play an active role to instil interest in aerospace, especially among the younger generation,” said Dr Sheikh Muszaphar, who also presented a slide show on his experiences in space.

Upset by temple demolition, he says MIC will not hold open house

By Reme Ahmad & Chow Kum Hor, Assistant Foreign Editor Malaysia Correspondent
The Straits Times

DEEPAVALI open house became the talking point yesterday as Umno delegates converged for their annual assembly, after Malaysian Indian Congress (MIC) chief Samy Vellu announced that his party would not extend any invitation this year because of the demolition of an old Hindu temple.

Although he later retracted the announcement, it still created a buzz at the Putra World Trade Centre, where the Umno meeting was held.

Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi, addressing 2,000 Umno chiefs yesterday, said he was 'very disappointed' with what had happened, delegates who attended the closed-door briefing said.

They added that as some Umno leaders shouted 'Sack him!', Datuk Seri Abdullah called for 'calm' and for the issue to be resolved 'peacefully'.

He also warned potential 'troublemakers' - an oblique reference to opposition parties and a Hindu NGO - that he would not hesitate to 'take action' if the issue stirred up emotions.

Party officials said he later discussed the issue with his deputy Najib Tun Razak and Selangor Menteri Besar Khir Toyo.

The annual Umno congress, which saw strident speeches on Malay rights and Islam last year, could now zoom in on Datuk Seri Samy Vellu's statement, amid the backdrop of speculation of an early election.

The mere call by a political leader not to hold an open house to celebrate a religious festival in Malaysia is significant because such events during Hari Raya, Chinese New Year or Deepavali are a must-do for all top politicians, and indeed most Malaysians.

Datuk Seri Samy Vellu is president of the main political party for Indians and a key member of the 14-party governing coalition led by Umno. He is also the MIC's sole Cabinet minister.

Yesterday he had initially 'advised' all MIC Members of Parliament and state assemblymen, largely Hindus, not to hold any public celebrations. 'Advice' from the MIC strongman usually amounts to a directive.

'It is to mark MIC's respect for Hindus who are saddened by the demolition of the Sri Maha Mariamman Temple in Padang Jawa, Shah Alam, Selangor, recently,' he said in a statement sent to the media.

'The demolition of the temple has hurt the feelings of Hindus nationwide.'

He retracted the statement a few hours later through press secretary E. Sivabalan, who said that apart from Datuk Seri Samy Vellu, other MIC leaders will hold open houses due to 'appeals from the public who want the events to go on'.

Umno vice-president Ali Rustam said: 'I hope Samy Vellu will not listen to voices from outside.' He said the issue had already been explained to Datuk Seri Samy Vellu in private meetings with Selangor state officials.

Last Tuesday, officials from the Shah Alam City Council backed by police tore down the temple, which was built on private land.

A small mosque and a number of houses also built illegally on the land were reportedly demolished as well.

A tense face-off between devotees and officials saw 14 people arrested, including four lawyers. A few people were also injured.

Llew-Ann Phang
The Sun

Hours after MIC president Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu issued a statement on Monday afternoon, advising all MIC wakil rakyat (elected representatives) not to hold big Deepavali celebrations as a sign of the party’s respect for Hindus mourning the demolition of the Sri Maha Mariamman temple in Padang Jawa, Shah Alam, the request was retracted.

It is learnt that Samy Vellu retracted the advice at 6.30pm, in view of the overwhelming requests from MIC members and Hindus to continue with the tradition on Deepavali, which falls on Thursday.

The first statement said Samy Vellu’s advice was aimed at all MIC MPs and state assemblymen, deputy ministers and parliamentary secretaries.

"He said the MIC was saddened by the temple’s domolition and the act had hurt all Hindus in the country.

"However, he said MIC wakil rakyat were encouraged to celebrate Deepavali on a moderate scale with their family and relatives at home."

Last Tuesday, 14 residents were arrested in the protest that ensued when the the 100-year-old temple in Kampung Karuppiah, a surau and some 200 houses in Kampung Rimba Jaya were demolished with the participation of the Shah Alam City Hall, some 300 police personnel, including the Federal Reserve Unit.

Samy Vellu turned up at the scene but he could not do anything to stop the demolition of the temple, and later, four lawyers who tried to help the residents who were held in the Section 11 police station were also detained.

The lawyers were arrested for creating a scuffle after they were refused entry.

Later that day, six were released on bail – two residents and the lawyers.

The remaining 12 who were said to be injured during the fracas, were also released on bail last Friday.

(Bernama) -- The High Court here today dismissed with costs an application from blogger Ahirudin Attan to strike out an amended defamation suit filed against him by The New Straits Times Press (M) Bhd (NSTP) and a few senior executives of the company over articles on his webblog.

Senior Assistant Registrar Siti Aishah Abdul Rashid made the decision in her chambers after scrutinising Ahirudin's application and submissions from both parties.

On May 4, Ahirudin who is also known as Rocky, sought a court order for the suspension of all proceedings relating to the case until the disposal of his application to strike out the suit.

In his application, he cited several grounds among them that the amended suit filed by the NSTP failed to clearly state the defamation arising from the aticles that appeared on his Rocky's Bru weblog.

In his supporting affidavit, Ahirudin said that he filed a new application to strike out the suit as the plantiffs had amended their statement of claim, which resulted in him withdrawing a similar application he had filed on Jan 24.

He also said that the plantiffs' amended statement of claim was contemptuous because of its ambiguity, hence he was unable to answer or defend the action in full.

On Jan 4, the NSTP, its deputy chairman Datuk Kalimullah Hassan, chief executive officer Datuk Syed Faisal Albar, group editor-in-chief Datuk Hishamuddin Aun, and former group editor Brendan Pereira filed the suit against Ahirudin over his blog postings for defamation and spreading malicious falsehood.

They later amended their statement of claim after Ahirudin moved to have it struck out.

Justice Datuk Mohd Hishamudin Mohd Yunus has fixed Nov 28 to hear the application by the plantiffs for an inter-parte injunction to require Ahirudin to remove certain articles from his weblog and restrain him from further publishing articles defamatory to them.

MALAYSIA'S political elite gathered on Monday for the ruling party's annual congress, seeking strategies to retain power in national elections expected within months as public disquiet mounts over soaring crime, corruption and prices.

The United Malays National Organization (UMNO), the dominant component of the ruling National Front coalition, will start the five-day assembly with a closed-door briefing by Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi later Monday.

The main proceedings kick off with Abdullah's keynote speech on Wednesday to some 2,500 delegates.

The National Front's current mandate lasts until mid-2009, but Mr Abdullah is widely expected to call an early election within the first half of next year.

'We want to ... focus on the elections,' party Vice-President Muhyiddin Yassin said over the weekend.

The coalition faces little danger of losing power, but observers say it is unlikely to replicate the 2004 election results, when it won 90 per cent of the seats in Parliament.

Public anger against the government has been growing over a string of issues, but inflation and corruption rank high, especially after opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim released a video clip recently, purportedly showing a prominent lawyer brokering the appointment of top judges.

Judicial crisis

Denying there is a judicial crisis, the government rejected demands to set up a royal commission to probe the lawyer and judges he allegedly helped appoint.

Alleged corruption in the police force has also been highlighted by the arrest last week of Malaysia's third-highest ranking police officer for concealing massive wealth.

People are also upset about spiraling consumer prices, which have been partially boosted by rising global oil prices.

Officially, the consumer price index, a measure of inflation, has gone up by 2 per cent this year.

Consumer price index

But market surveys by local newspapers show costs have gone up by as much as 6.7 per cent for vegetables, 8 percent for rice, 15 per cent for milk and 20 per cent for bread.

Soaring crime in cities - including muggings in broad daylight - were emphasised by the rape and murder Thursday of a 9-year-old girl while she was alone at home.

On Saturday, a woman and her 3-year-old daughter were burned alive in their car, and a 50-year-old Singaporean on holiday was raped and stabbed to death in a posh condominium on Sunday.

Racial tensions

The UMNO annual assembly is also being held against the backdrop of racial tensions in this multicultural and multi-religious country.

UMNO, which has been in power since independence in 1957, represents Malays who are all Muslim and form 60 per cent of the country's 26 million people.

'We intend to acknowledge the role and rights of other communities - but without compromising Malay rights and priorities,' Mr Muhyiddin, the party vice-president, said.

'UMNO is a Malay party and we cannot shy from defending Malay issues, however prickly they may be to the non-Malays.' -- AP

Radio Singapore International

Malaysia’s ruling party, the United Malays National Organization or UMNO, which is led by Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi will hold its general assembly this week.

This is the last congress that UMNO will have ahead of the general election that is expected before April next year.

According to UMNO’s vice president, Muhyiddin Yassin, Prime Minister Abdullah will focus on ways to enhance cooperation between the races on the economic, social and educational spheres.

To find out more about what PM Abdullah will focus on at this year’s UMNO general assembly, Shereena Sajeed spoke with Dr Ooi Kee Beng, Fellow at the Institute of South-East Asian Studies in Singapore.

OKB: I think he will be talking about national unity. I think that’s what he talked about yesterday, in an interview. I think it will be national unity that he will try to bring up and I think that’s one of the ways that he can use to calm things down because tat the moment the feeling on the ground in Malaysia is rather bad. There’s a lot of tension and there’s a lot of distrust about the government, which is basically UMNO is willing and not willing to do where reforms are concerned, especially with the judiciary as you know, and then this very strange thing of one top policeman coming out against another top policeman, well it might make good reading, but it’s a bit scary for the country.

What is one of the main issues that will be discussed at the annual meeting, taking into consideration elections are just around the corner?

OKB: I suspect, here I can be totally wrong. I suspect that Abdullah will try not to talk about the general elections. For one thing, we have to remember that this UMNO assembly should have had a general elections and that was postponed. And I’m sure there were very good reasons why UMNO decided to postpone their elections. The main reason I think that it is to, again calm things down and make sure that within UMNO itself, there won’t be too bickering and internal competition so by postponing the party elections, they’re managed to do that. And Abdullah does not have to call elections for over a year yet, you know and we are just speculating that he will call one early. I mean a year is quite a long time. So I don’t think he will, unless he is forced to, I don’t think he will bring it up on his own initiative to talk about the general elections. He will in an obtuse way of course, by talking about national unity and all that. There are certain consequences, certain significance for the general elections.

What are some of the challenges that Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi or any of the UMNO delegates may face at the meeting?

OKB: I think UMNO is basically not a party that is going to, at this point in time, it’s not a party that will challenge the leadership in any way and I think that Abdullah’s soft leadership, if you like, a leadership of violence, if you want to call it, suits many people in the middle rank of UMNO, it gives them a lot of space and for these people, wannabes climbing up and trying to get themselves into positions of patronage, Abdullah is perfect for them so I don’t expect any challenges to come from within UMNO.

Do you think we will see a repeat of what happened last year when things spun out of control?

OKB: No. No I think they’ve learnt their lesson. For one thing, they won’t have it telecasted in anyway I think. What would be interesting would be the role of Hishammuddin, UMNO youth leader when he goes up there. I think he is probably sitting at home now and listening to advice whether to wave the kris or not. I think that’s what people will be looking for and that will be the highlight of the assembly. Will Hishammuddin do it again? He’s done it two years in a row now and it’s become a matter of honour for him now I suppose and the honour of UMNO youth to not cave in from pressure from non-Malays, to not wave the kris so we will see whether they will wave the kris or not.

Daily Express

Kota Kinabalu: Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) alleged that the Anti-Corruption Agency (ACA) refused to entertain a report by the party's Kinabatangan chief Jahran Haji Ghani, on a Barisan Nasional component party's alleged involvement in authenticating MyKads to illegal immigrants in the Sandakan area.

Sabah PKR deputy liaison chief Daniel John Jambun claimed in a statement that Jahran tried to lodge a report at the ACA office in Sandakan on Aug. 19, this year.

However, the officer in question allegedly said he was under instruction not to accept complaints pertaining to the fraudulent issuance of MyKads to illegals from the Philippines, Indonesia, India and Pakistan residing in Sandakan.

Daniel questioned why the ACA had chosen to turn a blind eye to such activities.

The matter was then referred to the PKR chief of Public Complaints Bureau Christina Liew, who in turn assured that a police report would be lodged soon.

He also claimed that a total of some 10,000 foreigners were in possession of MyKads in Libaran, Sandakan, Batu Sapi and Kinabatangan.

Daily Express

Labuan: Keadilan Vice President Datuk Jeffery Kitingan should not be carried away by Parti President Dato Seri Anwar Ibrahim's call for changes, his brother and PBS President Datuk Seri Pairin Kitingan said.

"Nobody knows what other changes Keadilan is talking about and there is no way it can form the next Federal Government.

"Stop talking about changes when changes have been made as we now have a new Prime Minister after 22 years. We should give him the opportunity to achieve the goals. He is a person with a vision that is close to our hearts and Jeffrey should help him for the good of Sabah," he said.

According to Pairin, major issues affecting Sabah such as illegal immigrants, drugs, sharing of powers and poverty were all being addressed. The Federal Government has also made a huge allocation on the 9th Malaysia Plan for Sabah.

Pairin who was here for a three-day visit with a 30-member delegation largely comprising members from Tambunan said Keadilan could hope to achieve nothing in Sabah .

He noted that one common complaint by Barisan Nasional component parties was that the power sharing was lopsided with inadequate opportunities for BN components to have representation in statutory bodies.

He said the matter was being looked into and action would be taken. "We cannot expect sudden changes to come about. We have to wait in the spirit of Barisan Nasional."

He said the Federal Government's intentions for Sabah are good and it would be an uphill battle for any opposition to win seats.

Regarding Jeffrey's talk of returning Labuan to Sabah if Keadilan formed the next Federal Government, Pairin said it was a political gimmick as "it is out of question for Keadilan to have majority control in Parliament.

"Besides, the Federal Territory status of Labuan had been legislated."

On Labuan he said many in Sabah's remote and interior are still not aware of the island's progress.

Visits like this will help spread this by word of mouth.

He said the publicity would also help Labuan draw more tourists from Sabah's interior towns.

The delegation were also entertained with a gala dinner at the Golf Club hosted by Labuan PBS. Headed by Peter Mak.

The Star

The Umno general assembly begins today but the sparks have started to fly with one politician hitting out at the English media for carrying opposition reports.

Information Minister Datuk Seri Zainuddin Maidin said some media were being used by the opposition to highlight their causes now that there was greater press freedom and transparency.

“Since it has been free, there are some mainstream papers which favour those who do not support the Government.

“Some are done in an indirect manner and some directly, especially in English papers,” he said when speaking to student leaders at the Overseas Umno Club leadership course here yesterday.

Citing the judiciary issue as an example, Information Minister Datuk Seri Zainuddin Maidin said the media had its own agenda.

“For example, (the Sultan of Perak) Sultan Azlan Shah’s speech talked about various issues but what was only highlighted was the teguran (warning) on the judiciary,” he said.

Zainuddin also claimed that young Malays such as Azmi Sharom and Amir Muhammad were being used by English papers to attack the Malays.

He said there was one case that raised “doubts over the media’s purpose” was the recent reporting of Port Klang assemblymen Datuk Zakaria Mat Deros’ new mansion although he had been cleared of corruption.

“The case is already over. He took orphans to his new house but what was highlighted was how big the house is,” he said.

Zainuddin also took a potshot at former deputy prime minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and claimed that he was not being truthful about the video clip on the alleged judge-brokering.

“The video clip is creating tunjuk perasaan (protest). This party has already been rejected by the community and only has one seat in Parliament yet they are trying to cause trouble.

“During his (Anwar’s) time, there was restrictions and he had his people in the media Now that the Prime Minister is more transparent, he is using that to attack the Malays,” he added.

UMNO ANNUAL ASSEMBLY

Party assembly is expected to the last before a general election is called

By Carolyn Hong, Malaysia Bureau Chief
The Straits Times

THE Umno annual assembly is usually marked by dramatic Malay rhetoric but this time, with the general election on the horizon, Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi is urging delegates to tone it down.

With the start of the assembly today, Datuk Seri Abdullah told them to keep in mind that Umno is a party that works for all Malaysians.

'Umno is the backbone of Barisan Nasional...We are not just about one race, we have a role to play for the country and its people,' he said in his annual pre-Umno assembly interview with Mingguan Malaysia.

His call echoes that of Deputy Prime Minister Najib Razak who told the New Sunday Times that the assembly's debates should reflect the spirit of racial camaraderie.

This closely-watched assembly is likely to be the last before a general election that is expected to be called within months. But it also comes at a time of increasingly strained racial ties.

Last year's Umno assembly, which was telecast live, did serious damage - the fiery speeches of a few delegates made the entire gathering appear extreme.

It is near impossible for the ruling Barisan Nasional coalition to lose a general election but there are concerns that up to 20 Chinese-majority parliamentary seats are vulnerable.

'If they tone it down, at least they won't lose the MCA (Malaysian Chinese Association) and Gerakan additional votes,' a political analyst said.

Datuk Seri Abdullah said the relationship between Umno and its political partners is still good, but warned all parties not to tread on the sensitivities of the other races.

'Don't react hastily to incidents especially those that involve religious and ethnic sensitivities. We cannot quarrel amongst ourselves or make unreasonable demands that can hurt the feelings of others,' he said.

In particular, he said the issue of the social contract should not be raised, referring to the pre-independence gentlemen's agreement among the founding fathers that the Malays would have a special position, while the other races would be granted citizenship.

'There are ways to raise issues with the Malays. I also have a message for the Malays. I want to see the Malays becoming more confident,' he said.

He added that after 50 years of independence, many of them are still fearful of challenges.

In a separate interview with the NST, Datuk Seri Najib said that while the Umno assembly was aimed at a Malay audience, the party has to reflect its commitment to racial cooperation.

'We will guide them (the delegates). What we say should not hurt the feelings of others,' he said.

On the issue of Umno Youth chief Hishammuddin Hussein raising the keris (a Malay dagger) at the assembly, Datuk Seri Najib said the non-Malays were making too much out of it.

Datuk Seri Hishammuddin, who is also Education Minister, began raising the keris at Umno Youth meetings two years ago. Each time the act angered the non-Malays who saw it as a symbol of racial aggression.

Datuk Seri Najib said it was merely a cultural symbol signifying a political struggle, not a confrontation.

Information Ministry officers have been instructed to counter rumours that the Prime Minister and the Mentris Besar had boycotted the meeting of the Conference of Rulers on Wednesday and Thursday, Minister Datuk Seri Zainuddin Maidin said yesterday.

He said the rumours were spread by certain parties to get the public to join a large-scale demonstration ostensibly to support the Malay rulers.

“In certain blogs, the public has been asked to dress in yellow (for the programme),” he told reporters after meeting the ministry staff here.

He was referring to the Coalition for Clean and Fair Elections gathering to be held at Dataran Merdeka on Nov 10 by non-governmental organisations and opposition parties.

Zainuddin said that although there was no boycott of the meeting, they kept spreading the rumours in the hope that the public would be taken in.

“This is a move to give the impression that there is a rift between the rulers and the executive to create suspicion that the country is in a crisis,” he added.

Zainuddin said: “The planners thought that the people would support the demonstration after seeing that there is support from the media for efforts to restructure the country's judiciary, which started with a demonstration by lawyers (in Putrajaya) on Sept 26.”

He said the demonstration resulted from the exposure of a video clip purportedly on a lawyer brokering judicial appointments with a senior judge.

He said even reports on the speech of the Sultan of Perak, Sultan Azlan Shah, at the 14th Malaysian Law Conference in Kuala Lumpur on Monday had focused on his criticism of the judiciary but not that of the lawyers.

This clearly showed the leaning of certain media, he said, adding that they also published letters and comments from readers and lawyers which supported a restructuring of the judiciary, giving the impression that the judiciary was not independent and credible.

Zainuddin said these people, who had portrayed the Malay rulers as siding with them, believed that they had succeeded in confusing the public and planned a large-scale demonstration, claiming that it was to support the Malay rulers.

“The public must heed the police advice not to attend any unlawful meeting or gathering,” he added.

They should understand that the people behind the proposed demonstration were from opposition parties, which had lost the people's support, he said.

This spreading of false news was an obsolete strategy to get the people to demonstrate, he said.

“I believe the people are not easily taken in by this tactic, which will be used over and over again before the general election.'' – Bernama

By NG SU-ANN
The Star

Opposition parties which allege that the electoral system in Malaysia is tainted or flawed should justify their claim with evidence, said MCA vice-president Datuk Ong Tee Keat.

He said it was ironic that these parties including Parti Keadilan Rakyat still continued to take part in elections when they claimed the system was flawed.

"We respected PKR's stand when it boycotted the Batu Talam by-election due to this claim.

"However, it later took part in the Ijok and Machap elections which were run under the same system. The public should be given an explanation as to why the party made a drastic change in its stand," he told a press conference Sunday.

Ong was responding to a statement earlier in the morning by PKR vice-president Sivarasa Rasiah who said 65 groups, including five political parties would gather at Merdeka Square at 3pm on Nov 10 and march to the Istana Negara to hand over a memorandum to the King.

"The memorandum will include four appeals - to implement a clean electoral system, use indelible ink for elections, ban postal votes and give all parties fair access to the media.

"In many countries, the debates between political parties are televised for the public to watch," Sivarasa told newsmen after giving a talk at Kampung Permatang Damar Laut.

Ong said, "The Opposition's politics is characterised by hollow sloganeering which is unlikely to bring about any concrete development.

"Its brand of politics is nothing but hinging its very survival on the weaknesses of the administration and problems facing the public. They are not sincere in troubleshooting and problem-solving."

By : Hamidah Atan
New Straits Times

Commercial Crime Investigation Department director Datuk Ramli Yusuff is expected to face more corruption-related charges when he returns from performing his haj in Mecca.

It is learnt that he would be charged in a court in Sabah as these offences were allegedly committed there.

Ramli, who has been suspended following charges brought against him under the Anti-Corruption Act on Thursday, is believed to have left the country yesterday to perform his umrah and later the haj.

Ramli, the country's third highest ranking police officer, was charged with two counts of failing to make full disclosure of his assets and another for involvement in business.

The 55-year-old police commissioner had pleaded not guilty to the charges, which in total carries a maximum of 20 years' jail. He was released on bail of RM20,000.

His court appearance came two days after he revealed that he was the senior police officer under investigation for allegedly not declaring assets worth about RM27 million.

Ramli's career with the force began in 1969 when he joined as a constable. He worked his way up to become commissioner last year.

He was also police chief of Sabah and Pahang and deputy director of the Criminal Investigation Department.

He graduated with a law degree from the International Islamic University and was called to the Bar in 1990. He did his Master's in law at the University of London.

Agence France-Presse

KUALA TERENGGANU, Malaysia--Nearly four decades of controversial positive-discrimination policies were supposed to lift Muslim Malays like fisherman Maskan Mohamad out of poverty.

But despite the program, which has alienated the nation's ethnic Chinese and Indian citizens, Maskan's family have empty bellies and little hope as they struggle to survive on a handful of dollars a day.

"All I know is how to fish. My family are all fisherman and even my children are fishermen because we cannot hope for anything more," says the 62-year-old, who earns about 400 ringgit a month ($119).

That's barely enough to feed his wife, three children and elderly parents. Maskan's two teenage sons had to drop out of school at 11, and the whole family labors to process their daily catch.

"The government say they are helping us but I have not gotten much help from them," he says.

"Where is the government money and projects to help us live a better life, to help my children get jobs and have a better future than me?"

Malaysia's population of nearly 27 million is made up of 60 percent Malay Muslims who dominate the government, 26 percent ethnic Chinese who are prominent in business, and eight percent ethnic Indians.

Two years after race riots broke out in 1969, the government launched the New Economic Policy (NEP) with initiatives to narrow the wealth gap between the Chinese and Malays.

But by 2004, 8.3 percent of Malays were still living in poverty -- earning less than $190 a month -- compared to just 0.6 percent of Chinese and 2.9 percent of Indians.

Critics say the main beneficiaries of the policy have been Malay entrepreneurs who cash in on an array of perks including discounts on property purchases and specially allocated government projects.

Meanwhile, the village of Seberang Takir outside the northern city of Kuala Terengganu is home to 20 fishing families leading a hand-to-mouth existence, living in rickety homes that are a patchwork of wooden planks and pieces of tin.

Women in brightly colored batik work salting fish and shrimp in the hot sun, shrouded in dust from trucks rumbling to a reclamation site where the state government is building a new cruise ship terminal.

The fishing folk are unlikely to benefit. Instead, half the village has been demolished to make way for the new project.

"They now want us to move away from the beach. How can we do that as this is our livelihood? They are not paying us much for this land and they have yet to tell us where we will be shifted to. Is this helping the poor?" asks Maskan.

Terengganu, which until 2004 was held by the fundamentalist opposition Pan Malaysian Islamic Party (PAS), is expected to be a key battleground in national elections likely to be held by early 2008.

One out of every five people in Terengganu lives below the poverty line, and many say they are disappointed at how little the United Malays National Organization (UMNO) which has ruled Malaysia for 50 years has done for them.

"We really need the government to help us boost our earnings," says Alias Ismail, 45, whose family makes fish crackers in their simple home in Seberang Takir.

"See over there," Alias says, pointing to the lights of Kuala Terengganu. "That's where all the rich people are. We in the villages don't get any money."

Some of the fishermen say they support the government's development plans for the region, but the green-and-white PAS flags that flutter in the windows and doorways of most houses tell a different story.

Development experts say that economic aid is badly needed in rural regions like Terengganu and neighboring Kelantan, which is the only state now held by PAS.

"There has been a massive structural underdevelopment in the east coast states of Malaysia," says Professor Shamsul Amri Baharuddin, director of ethnic studies at the Malaysian National University.

"The fact that east coast states have been in and out of opposition hands has meant that there has been very little interest or investment from the federal government."

The ruling National Front coalition has begun gearing up for the elections, launching a series of big-spending development masterplans across the nation.

Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi last month unveiled a $33.5 billion plan to transform Terengganu and the other eastern states, with hundreds of projects targeting tourism and the oil and gas sector among others.

"Now is the turn of east coast states to experience the winds of change," Abdullah said at the launch, promising that the 12-year plan will create 560,000 new jobs.

However, local UMNO lawmaker Razali Idris says there is no magic bullet for Malay poverty and that what is really needed is a change in mindset.

"We give them oil subsidies, subsidies for their engines, replace the skins of their boats, but many just turn round and sell the oil or squander the subsidies. Too many are only looking for handouts," he said.

"Positive discrimination can work if the people are willing to work hard and reap the benefits of the advantages instead of wasting them."

By JACK WONG
The Star

The Chinese should make more babies to arrest the community's dwindling birth rate.

State Urban Development and Tourism Minister Datuk Wong Soon Koh said the lower birth rate had resulted in the country's Chinese population plunging from 37% in 1957 to 25% in 2005.

''This will slip further to 24% by 2010 and to 19% by 2030 or a drop of 1% in every five years,'' he said at the United Chinese Association's 30th anniversary dinner here.

He also voiced concern on the high migration rate of the Chinese to other countries.

To arrest the trend, he urged the community to boost the birth rate and to enrol their children for tertiary education in the country instead of sending them abroad.

''There are good colleges and universities in the country to cater for the local population. There is no need to send our children abroad for further education,'' said Wong.

Federation of Chinese Associations Malaysia president Tan Sri Lim Yuk Tong said a committee has been set up to study the decline in the country's Chinese population.

He said the committee was headed by the Federation of Sarawak Chinese Associations, which had raised the matter at the federation's recent delegates’ conference.

Lim urged Chinese organisations to forge greater unity to safeguard and work for the community's interests.

On The Beat: By WONG CHUN WAI
The Star

The MCA’s biggest challenge this election would be to convince the voters that their representation in government is crucial for the Chinese community.

Be mindful – those are the words of caution to delegates attending the Umno general assembly this week as it is almost certain that this would be the last meeting before the next general election.

After last year’s assembly where certain delegates went overboard in their rhetoric on Malay rights – and sentiments are still simmering among many Malaysians – the party leadership is determined this would not be repeated.

It is understood that the party top brass has taken stock of the views of other Barisan Nasional leaders.

Umno leaders are well aware that they cannot afford a repeat of last year with the elections in the horizon. Not that the anti-establishment sentiments in urban areas would hurt Umno. Not even a bit, as Umno is probably at its strongest, despite what has been written in the blogs.

There is no real challenge from PAS and Parti Keadilan Nasional. If there is any anxiety over how the Umno general assembly would be conducted, it would be on the part of the MCA and Gerakan.

The 2008 elections would nowhere be like the 1999 polls, where Umno depended heavily on Chinese and Indian votes to pull through.

This time, the anti-establishment votes would likely only be in the predominantly Chinese constituencies in Penang, Perak and the Klang Valley.

Over the past week, two senior Umno leaders have advised Chinese voters against voting for the opposition.

Information Minister Datuk Seri Zainuddin Maidin said the Chinese voters would only be shooting themselves in the foot if they voted for the DAP or PKR as the community would only reduce its representation in government.

In short, the Barisan government isn’t going to collapse and Umno is not going to lose seats in the 219-seat Dewan Rakyat.

With only about 25 to 30 parliamentary seats with a strong Chinese electorate, the hardest hit would be the MCA and Gerakan if there is a swing to the opposition while Umno with its dependence on the rural heartland would win hands down.

In an interview with Nanyang Siang Pau last week, Umno information chief Tan Sri Muhammad Muhammad Taib urged the Chinese to look at the big picture.

He said they should not vote against the Barisan because they were unhappy with certain policies and wanted to “punish certain parties”.

Muhammad said the community should not harbour the notion of teaching the Barisan a lesson.

If the Chinese were to reject the Barisan in total because of certain policies, it would be akin to not seeing the forest for the trees, adding that it would affect their own interest in the long run.

What Muhammad did not say bluntly was this – if you want to teach Umno a lesson, forget it, you can’t and, instead, you would just end up punishing the MCA or Gerakan.

With the Chinese population dropping to 25% and likely to shrink further, Chinese voters are at a crossroads, as the Malay community is likely to grow up to 80% in the coming years.

The Indian population has also continued to drop and, at present, there is not a single Indian majority parliamentary seat.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi has given his commitment on power sharing but it cannot be denied that politics is also a numbers game.

The MCA’s biggest challenge this election would be to convince the voters that their representation in government is crucial for the community.

It would have to deal with the grouses of the community, many of which are not the doing of the MCA, but these issues would nevertheless have an impact on the voting trend.

The Chinese community has always wanted the best of both worlds – the MCA to represent them in government and to handle their problems and the opposition to shout for them.

The MCA’s method of resolving issues behind closed-doors, despite its effectiveness, does not seem sufficient.

But at the Umno general assembly, where the largest attendance would be seen, it will be a show of unity this week.

Ready to face the polls, the issues that would concern the delegates would be the political and economic rights of the Malays, and religion.

The majority of the delegates are not going to be riled up over unhappy lawyers or a video clip.

For the non-Malay voters watching from the sidelines, it would be an important lesson in “realpolitik”, a German political term which means practical considerations are more important than ideological notions.

By : Tunku Abdul Aziz
New Straits Times

Federal Commercial Crime Investigation Department director Datuk Ramli Yusuff telling reporters recently that he is being victimised by the Anti-Corruption Agency.

THE director of the Federal Commercial Crime Investigation Department, Commissioner of Police Datuk Ramli Yusuff, is obviously a very unhappy man. He claims that he is being "victimised" by the Anti-Corruption Agency.

He finds it both unfair and unethical that the ACA should have chosen to leak details of their investigation of allegations of corruption against him to the media. He naturally is upset that the ACA should have acted in a way that he considers to be in blatant disrespect and disregard for confidentiality.

Ramli has my sympathy though not my support for the way he has chosen to ventilate his outrage. Holding a press conference to explain his side of the story is most inappropriate in a situation where he has not been identified by name.

It would have been better in this case to have waited for the official outcome of the investigation.

Ramli is a serving commissioner of police and he has to understand that while calling for a press conference is not illegal, the question he should put to himself as a high-ranking policeman is whether his action is ethical.

There are, as he well knows, other "normal" avenues established for him and others being investigated to clear their names.

Holding a press briefing is not an option open to lesser beings. Ramli, by his own reckoning, is a "three-star general"; a Freudian slip, no doubt, and possibly encouraged by the fact that his business partner is a retired general.

I hope I will not live to see the day when military ranks are adopted in our police service.

His comments are disturbing in several important respects. For example, it seems to have become standard ACA practice to announce cases they are investigating, a practice which should be avoided because it encourages unhealthy speculation and raises public expectations which, according to past records, are unlikely, for one reason or another, to be met.

The end result is public ridicule and scepticism, which the ACA can do without. The real test of the pudding is in the eating, and the ACA can do a great deal more to convince the public at large that it is worthy of their confidence and trust -- without which the fight against corruption will not yield the results we all hope for.

Public support, which includes media co-operation, is crucial in developing an effective anti-corruption strategy.

In a related development on the "mismanagement of public funds", the prime minister declared: "The agency (ACA) is not stupid and it knows how to do its job."

This endorsement is timely because the ACA is currently under the harshest public scrutiny in its history, and is in a sense trying desperately to reinvent itself. It needs our support, and we owe it to ourselves to give it every reasonable assistance.

The agency, on its part, must ensure that it projects an image of an organisation that can be relied upon to use its considerable power wisely and in ways that respect human rights, ethical values and principles.

It is fantastic to read that there is a move afoot to set up a "complaints commission similar to the one proposed for the police".

As with the police, an independent complaints and misconduct commission for civil servants will have as its main objective protection against wild, unfair and unfounded criticisms.

It is a recognition that from experience both here and elsewhere, the police or any enforcement agency cannot be relied upon to police itself. Why should the ACA be treated differently?

An independent commission, such as what is being considered by the government, is the best guarantee citizens can have against unfair, unjust and arbitrary treatment at the hands of crooked or overzealous officers.

I find it extremely disturbing to read, as part of Ramli's press conference, that: "On July 17, I was directed by the deputy internal security minister, Datuk Johari Baharum, to investigate illegal money-lending activities in Malaysia. I was appointed head of the task force and received written orders to carry out these responsibilities..."

A question that comes to mind is whether it is normal practice for a minister to issue an order directly to a police officer without going through the inspector-general of police?

This is an appalling practice, which can cause confusion and lead to unnecessary breakdown in the command and control procedure: it is not at all helpful.

There is, by all accounts, utter confusion in determining which agency is responsible for what. Within the police itself, the line demarcating the responsibility and accountability between the Criminal Investigation Department and the Commercial Crime Investigation Department has to be better defined.

It does not look good for the two most important operational departments of the police to create, by their actions, the impression that they are a herd of bulls in a china shop.

As for the ACA, I suggest that it should ask for more powers to enable itself to go up to any public official and demand an account of how he or she has come into possession of assets which appear to be inconsistent with his or her earnings.

Every time I raise this with the ACA, I am told: "Yes, we'd like to do it, but the Anti-Corruption Act of 1997 does not allow for it."

Now is the time to ask for it, and I can assure you that you will succeed beyond your wildest dreams.

If you do not believe me, pick up your telephone and ask the Hong Kong Independent Commission Against Corruption about the importance of this enabling power in its own success story.

Perhaps, even better still, you should persuade the government to turn you into an independent commission. It is worth a try.

The writer is a former member of the Royal Commission to Enhance the Operations and Management of the Royal Malaysian Police and former Special Adviser to the United Nations Secretary-General on Ethics. He can be contacted at tunkua@gmail.com

By JOSEPH LOH and RASHVINJEET S.BEDI
The Star

Bread now costs 20 to 30 sen more per loaf, and toll charges may be raised again next year. All over the country, Malaysians are paying more for popular local fare like char kuay teow and roti canai.

Prices are increasing across the board for items and commodities essential for a modern lifestyle. Toll on the Damansara-Puchong Expressway (LDP), for example, has increased this year from RM1 to RM1.60.

While this may be a worrying situation for Malaysia, it is hardly a localised phenomenon but one that is happening globally.

The immediate concern to Malaysians, however, is the effect on their wallets.

According to the latest Consumer Price Index (CPI), prices have increased by 2% from January to September. The highest increase was in alcoholic beverages and tobacco (7.3%) and food and non-alcoholic beverages (2.8%).

The Consumers Association of Penang (CAP), however, feels the CPI does not reflect the true situation.

“The CPI deals with averages but most consumers will dispute this figure.

“Consumers can tell you prices have gone up by more than 2%,” said CAP president S.M. Mohamed Idris.

Razak Hamzah, 43, and his wife Siti Ruhayu, 37, who have three school-going children, know for a fact that the price of their purchases has gone up significantly.

They, like many other families, really feel the pinch when it comes to basic necessities like Milo, milk, flour, cooking oil and chicken.

“I can remember getting two chickens for RM13, but today I can only get one,” said Siti.

So, for the couple, it is all about juggling expenses and keeping strictly to a budget – which remains at RM300 per month for groceries despite higher prices.

“We try to make do with less. Our income hasn’t gone up so we have to be smart and adjust our needs,” said Siti, who runs a business with her husband.

Those in the middle and lower middle income groups will feel the effects of the price increases most painfully as food is one of their core expenses.

Fears that the salary increases for civil servants of between 7.5% and 42% effective July 1would result in price hikes despite government controls have come true.

Hence, the call by MTUC for a cost of living allowance (Cola) for private sector workers; and Cuepacs' nationwide boycott campaign against rising prices of essential goods.

Dr Yeah Kim Leng, group chief economist at Ratings Agency of Malaysia (RAM), attributes the price increases to the rise in commodity prices like wheat, milk, corn, soya bean and rice, which are at a 10-year high. There are also energy commodities such as petrol and gas to take into account. Oil is currently selling at US$92 per barrel.

“The revision of control prices of commodities has exerted domestic price pressures,” he said.

A price increase in petrol will result in higher transportation fees, and is relayed to the consumer – and this trend is occurring all over the world. Other factors include the growing of crops for bio-fuel and animal feed instead of for food.

Even global warming is in the picture. The rising price of wheat due to drought and reduced harvests in Australia caused the price of flour to rise: in Jamaica it’s up by 30%; in China, the price of a packet of instant noodles jumped an average of 20% and by as much as 40% in some cases in July.

Mydin Mohamed Holdings Bhd (MMHB) managing director Datuk Ameer Ali Mydin looks at increasing prices differently.

“Undoubtedly, prices for almost everything are going up, but is anything wrong with that?”

He believes that if prices globally are increasing, there has to be a pass-through mechanism implemented by the Government.

“We cannot live in an isolated world. In this globalised economy, we cannot have a protected economy.

“We can live with it temporarily to obtain a balance, but currently we can see the Malaysian economy becoming increasingly distorted because of the millions of ringgit going into subsidies of petroleum, flour or rice, for example.”

He said the country did not have deep-enough pockets to maintain this indefinitely.

He said the wages of Malaysians had also been artificially kept low.

Citing the example of his starting salary 26 years ago at RM1,400, Ameer Ali said: “Now, I am employing graduates at the same salary. There is something wrong here. In every other developed country, the minimum wage has increased by at least 100%.”

He said certain measures taken have helped the country in its early development stages.

“But we have to get out of this rut and become a consumption-based economy. When you increase wages, you can increase the price of flour or petrol. So, the person who now earns more is also paying more, but all subsidies have been removed.”

By : CHOK SUAT LING
New Straits Times

Women voters outnumber men, so politicians are finding out what exactly influences their vote, CHOK SUAT LING writes

IT is said that women are from Venus and men are from Mars, poles apart in almost all respects. This is true, it seems, even in politics.

Women apparently vote differently from men. They want different things and are generally influenced by separate issues.

Audit consultant Jasmine Li, 30, has been a registered voter since 2003. She exercised the right to cast her ballot for the first time in the 2004 general election, when she looked for a gender sensitive party and candidate.

To win her favour, political parties in the running should look out for the welfare of women.

"There are other things I look out for but I consider that the most crucial factor. My husband, of course, doesn't share this view. His main concern is corruption, transparency and honesty," says Li.

This is also the trend on a larger scale. An opinion poll conducted by the MCA recently showed that the voting pattern differed among men and women.

The poll, which was done in six constituencies, was to gather general data and not specifically focused on the voting pattern of the different sexes.

"However, when we analysed the data, the differences came out quite distinctively," says MCA's Institute of Strategic Analysis and Policy Research (INSAP) director Fui K. Soong.

According to the poll, where a woman's vote will go appears to be determined by income level. Those from a lower income group tend to vote for the Barisan Nasional.

"Women who earn more, above RM6,000 a month, are more critical," she points out. Conversely for men, income level does not determine how they vote.

Education level is surprisingly not a determining factor, adds Soong. A highly educated woman, it seems, tends to vote in the same way as one who is less so.

Considering the dearth of more comprehensive data, she says there is an urgent need to conduct a survey to find out what women want and what influences their vote.

"It is important for political parties to know this as women comprise the majority of registered voters," Soong stresses.

The number of women voting is between three and five per cent more than men. The ratio is usually 55:45, which was the case in the 2004 election.

Umno clearly recognises and acknowledges the power of women.

"In 1959, when Chinese voters isolated the Alliance and Pas brought political Islamic ideologies into Malayan politics, Umno set up Kaum Ibu (later Wanita Umno) to counter extremism," says Soong.

"In 1999, when Malays were split, Puteri Umno was set up to counterbalance the political power. So once again, the gender power base was exploited."

It is a misconception to think that many women do not vote, says Soong

"They are not apathetic. Politicians must consequently be more aware and sensitive to women's needs. Political parties must be careful when choosing candidates. They should not say things which are politically incorrect. Gender issues transcend political parties."

While women, like men, place importance on good delivery systems and the integrity of institutions, they also want a government that is sensitive to issues concerning the empowerment of women, opportunities, access to education and abuse.

There remains ample room for improvement in this regard. According to surveys by the Women's Development Collective in 2005 and 2006, members of parliament hardly address women's issues related to, among others, healthcare, legislation and working environment.

WDC executive director Maria Chin Abdullah says its report card tracks the sensitivity of MPs to gender issues through their statements made in the media and classifying them accordingly.

Soong also notes that women are especially concerned about public safety and issues related to children's welfare and education.

"Whenever we have a focus discussion, men talk about the economy while women inevitably raise issues on crime and safety.

"Women tend not to look at the race of the candidate or their parties," she notes.

"The bocor remark made in parliament recently is wrong irrespective of whether the MPs who made it were from the BN or not. If a male candidate is fielded, women voters want one who is gender sensitive."

DAP Member of Parliament Teresa Kok says that women look for different things when voting.

"Women without a strong affiliation to any political party usually vote according to the gender of the candidate," she says.

Most women parliamentarians are voted in by the women in their constituency, especially in urban areas. She observed this in her constituency, Seputeh.

"Women in urban areas are also more conscious of gender equality issues."

But in the rural areas, women are more partial to the BN, says Kok.

"In such places, it is almost a family tradition to support a particular party.

"Many women are not highly educated, and not too concerned about gender issues, so they are easily influenced by the men close to them, like their husbands, fathers and colleagues. They are not too bothered about politics, so they do whatever people tell them to."

Consequently, Kok predicts that sexist and politically incorrect MPs, such as those who made the bocor remark, may get re-elected if fielded in rural areas.

"I would not be surprised if such candidates are voted in by rural constituents who have not been sensitised by the media."

Besides being gender sensitive, what should political parties do if they want to have women voters on their side?

According to Soong, parties should strive to have a good proportion of capable woman members.

"Having more women is good for a party's image. Political parties should field more women in elections."

However, she admits that it can be a challenge to find women who can "play the game".

"Going through party grassroots politics is tough. A lot of time and effort is needed and not many women can take that."

Parties should also realise that branding is integral, she points out.

"Women voters have less knowledge of the newer parties, even Keadilan."

Soong says, however, that the voting pattern for women of different races could be dissimilar due to cultural differences.

Senator Datuk Saripah Aminah Syed Mohamed, however, does not think there is much difference in voting patterns of women from different ethnic groups.

The Penang Wanita Umno chief says high earning "corporate" women working in urban areas tend to be more cynical and critical.

"One of our concerns is that they will return to their kampung and attempt to influence their families."

This is especially so based on their recent door-to-door surveys, she reports. One concern raised by some 75 per cent of those polled, irrespective of gender, is rising prices.

"However, we have explained and are confident that those who traditionally vote for the BN in rural areas will continue to do so based on our track record," she says.

Senator G.K. Loga Chitra believes that Indian women voters are very much issues-driven. She dismisses the notion that they tend to be influenced by their husbands or male relatives.

Loga Chitra, who is Wanita MIC national treasurer, says Indian women are concerned about domestic and national issues.

"There is more empowerment now and they are very much capable of making independent decisions."

The Star

DAP central executive committee member Ronnie Liu allegedly tried to stop enforcement officers from sealing a budget hotel in Puchong Jaya, near here.

He was detained at about 6.30pm on Friday and released at 4pm yesterday.

Liu, who was arrested for allegedly obstructing the police and Subang Jaya Municipal Council enforcement officers from sealing the place, was questioned at the Subang Jaya district police headquarters.

“We will forward our investigation papers to the authorities for further action,” said district police chief Asst Comm Zainal Rashid Abu Bakar.

He said the police had raided the hotel on Thursday and had rounded up 23 women – 19 Chinese nationals and four Vietnamese – who had been hiding in two secret cubicles.

“The women are being questioned and will be handed over to the immigration authorities once investigations are completed,” added ACP Zainal Rashid.

Twelve men were also picked up.

ACP Zainal Rashid said Liu had gone to the place on Friday when the police and council officers were about to seal the premises.

He claimed Liu verbally abused the policemen and council workers.

ACP Zainal Rashid said police were still looking for the hotel owner.

By CHRISTINA KOH and RASLAN BAHAROM
The Star

Let it be a lesson – that was what MIC president Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu said of the party's proposal to expel the PPP from the Barisan Nasional.

“It will serve as a reminder to everyone that when you are in a partnership or an alliance, you should not be questioning other parties,” he said.

He was speaking to reporters before giving away Deepavali hampers to the needy here yesterday.

Yesterday, The Star reported that MIC wanted the Barisan to expel PPP from the ruling coalition for making outrageous allegations against another component party.

Samy Vellu said the MIC central working committee planned to forward its request to the Barisan leadership to take further action against PPP president Datuk M. Kayveas.

Asked if MIC’s call would make it seem that the Barisan was not united, Samy Vellu said: “The unity of the Barisan is important. But when a sister party is trying to defame another party, it has to be brought before the Barisan.”

Samy Vellu said just a month ago, MIC had no quarrel with PPP or its leaders.

“But he (Kayveas) is always questioning us on what we have done for the Indians, Tamil schools and economy of the Indians,” he said.

Samy Vellu said as a leader of a component party, Kayveas should be raising any grievances at Barisan meetings.

“Instead, he has taken up a new policy of rebuking MIC and humiliating its leaders,” he said.

Kayveas, when contacted, blamed MIC vice-president Datuk S. Sothinathan for the war of words between him and Samy Vellu.

“Sothinathan gate-crashed my constituency and called all MIC branch leaders to boycott my activities. Coming to Taiping and directing MIC branch leaders not to support me is clearly going against the spirit of the Barisan,” he said.

Kayveas added that Samy Vellu should discipline Sothinathan before criticising him.

“We won’t stop fighting until Sothinathan apologises to me,” he added.

Kayveas said rather than proposing for the expulsion of PPP, MIC deputy-president Datuk G. Palanivel should come up with a proposal on when Samy Vellu should retire.

Meanwhile, MIC Lembah Pantai division leader R. Narayanan said the scathing attacks by Kayveas on the MIC leadership could be orchestrated by a disgruntled former MIC leader.

“What is apparent is that the relentless attacks by Kayveas smacks of a hidden hand,” he was quoted as saying by Bernama.

David Lavoie
New Straits Times

IT made the front page of the New Sunday Times last month. Ninety-two Malaysian lawyers have been struck off the rolls over the last five years for serious professional misconduct.

Their offences included embezzlement, dishonoured cheques, financial deception, overcharging and misdemeanours in court.

Another 103 were temporarily suspended for similar offences during the same period.

Tan Sri Khalid Ahmad Sulaiman, chairman of the Advocates and Solicitors' Disciplinary Board, commented that many of the disbarred lawyers were young and that they saw the practice of law as a business, rather than as an honourable profession.

They were only interested in making money. This was not the case, he says, even a quarter of a century ago.

Incidences of lawyers manipulating the legal system for personal gain are, unfortunately, all too widespread around the world. It's a case of a few rotten apples threatening to taint the whole barrel.

There has long been a sort of love-hate relationship between lawyers and the public. We admire their skill in protecting us and our interests, but are often made sceptical by their ability to manipulate complex legal arcana.

On one hand, dedicated, honourable lawyers are often the heroes of popular culture.

Who, having read Harper Lee's classic American novel To Kill A Mockingbird, will ever forget Atticus Finch and his courageous defence of an Afro-American man wrongly accused of raping a white girl in a largely racist South? He is an icon.

On the other hand, no less a person than Shakespeare once voiced a popular opinion of lawyers. In Henry VI, a cut-throat, Dick the Butcher, and his henchman are discussing a ridiculous plan to overthrow the monarchy.

"The first thing we do," chortles Dick, "let's kill all the lawyers."

Like so much in Shakespeare, the line is more complex than it first appears.

The audience of the day, however, frequently frustrated by the difference between the law as interpreted by scheming legal practitioners and real justice, would have howled with laughter.

The flip side is that the ridiculous revolutionaries have stumbled on a sure way to cause chaos, by removing the defenders of the status quo.

Shakespeare's line gives pause for thought, however, when one learns of some of the more spectacularly ridiculous legal decisions which occasionally occur in the United States, land of the litigious.

Consider these recent decisions successfully obtained by American shysters:

Kathleen Robinson of Austin, Texas was awarded US$80,000 (RM250,000) in her suit against a furniture store. Her lawyer claimed negligence on the part of the store when she tripped over a toddler who was running down the aisle and broke her ankle. The store owners were somewhat surprised by the jury's decision. The toddler was her own son.

Carl Truman, a 19-year-old in Los Angeles, was awarded US$74,000 plus medical expenses when his neighbour ran over his hand in a Honda Accord. The youth apparently didn't realise that his neighbour was at the wheel of his car when he attempted to steal its hub caps.

The lawyer for Amber Carson of Lancaster, Pennsylvania, convinced a jury to order a Philadelphia restaurant to pay her US$113,500 after she slipped in a puddle of spilled soft drink and broke her tailbone. She had thrown the soft drink at her boyfriend 30 seconds earlier during an argument.

In the face of such stories, who wouldn't be cynical? It becomes too easy to forget that the profession, by and large, does its job honestly and professionally.

But what has happened to those members of the legal fraternity who seem to have lost their moral bearings and now gleefully exploit, rather than uphold, the law?

A book published recently in Canada suggests some answers. Philip Slayton's Lawyers Gone Bad is subtitled "Money, Sex and Madness in Canada's Legal Profession".

You need read no further to imagine what a ruckus this book caused when it was released.

Slayton's stories of lawyers gone bad are horrific. They involve breach of trust with both clients and the law firms they work for, schemes to cheat the public and deceive the government, unethical physical relationships with clients, embezzlement, fraud and physical violence.

Slayton points out that lawyers, at least in North America, are more highly prone than the public to depression, anxiety, social isolation and obsessive-compulsive disorders. It is, he suggests, the nature of their chosen profession that is the cause.

Legal training, says Slayton, teaches lawyers to argue for the client, not for truth and justice.

They become masters of manipulation of legal rules.

They live in a world of moral ambiguity, where all principles are capable of interpretation. Is it possible that such manipulation of the law eventually suggests that the system itself is meaningless and open to a personal exemption from its application?

That certainly seems to be what Khalid is thinking of when he recommends that the Bar Council and the universities strive much harder to instil a clearer standard professional behaviour and a higher sense of ethics in its young law graduates.

He knows that many lawyers need to find again the sense of the nobility of their profession that they all had not so very long ago.

In any case, we can't "kill all the lawyers", even metaphorically. We need the good ones too much.

David Lavoie is a retired Canadian teacher who now lives in Malaysia