PAS man dies, and causes another by-election

KUALA LUMPUR— The PAS state assemblyman for Permatang Pasir in Penang, Datuk Mohd Hamdan Abdul Rahman, died this morning at the National Heart Institute here.

His death is likely to set off yet another by-election battle between Pakatan Rakyat (PR) and Barisan Nasional (BN).

It will be the eighth by-election for either federal or state seats since last year's general election.

Penang has become a stronghold for PR especially since it is the home state of Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and DAP's Lim Guan Eng is the chief minister.

But the change of leadership in the federal government and Umno has given BN a boost, with the ruling coalition looking to have gained some momentum in its rivalry with PR.

In the recent Manek Urai by-election in Kelantan, which is an even bigger stronghold of PR, the PAS candidate scraped by with a wafer-thin majority.

Mohd Hamdan was a two term state lawmaker and was the former Penang PAS commissioner.

The 60-year-old leaves a wife and six children.

A Penang government official said Mohd Hamdan's body was expected to arrive in his constituency this afternoon for prayers and burial.

In the 2008 polls, Mohd Hamdan beat Umno's Ahmad Sahar Shuib by a majority of 5,433 votes. (TMI)

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DNA of two males found on Teoh's clothes

SHAH ALAM: DNA from two people were found on the clothes of Teoh Beng Hock — and one is from an unknown male, the inquest into his death was told.

The mystery individual has been labelled as Male 1.

Tan Hock Chuan, the lead counsel acting for the Attorney-General, said one of the DNA profiles derived from a swab taken from the back of the blazer worn by Teoh matched blood specimen taken from the deceased.

In the spotlight: Press photographers clicking away as the Teoh family wait outside the magistrates court in Shah Alam yesterday. The inquest was postponed to Aug 5. — KAMARUL ARIFFIN / The Star

The other DNA profile belonged to an unknown male, he said.

Tan said another DNA profile from a swab taken from the belt worn by Teoh also consisted of a mixture of male DNA types – one matched Teoh’s blood stain specimen while the other was from an unknown male.

(The inquest was not told whether the DNA was there before or after Teoh’s death.)

Swabs were taken from 102 individuals to determine if any of their DNA matched the unknown person or persons.

“I’ve been told by the chemist that tests on 90 people have been completed and tests on 12 male individuals will be conducted,” he said, adding that two people had also refused to give samples.

This, he added, had delayed the process.

Lawyer Gobind Singh Deo, who is holding a watching brief for Teoh’s family, asked Tan: “We wish to know if any of those 90 specimens matched the DNA of Male 1?”

Tan replied that this was best revealed by the experts.

Coroner Azmil Muntapha Abas postponed the inquest to Aug 5 to give more time to the lawyers to study all the documents.

It is learnt that police are collecting swabs for DNA testing from all who came into contact with Teoh’s body at the scene or the mortuary.

Sources said among those expected to give samples were state Chief Police Officer Deputy Comm Datuk Khalid Abu Bakar, the investigating officer and pathologists.

Outside the court, Gobind said it was good that the coroner postponed the inquest as it would give more time for those concerned to focus on the DNA angle and carry out the various tests.

“The results from the unidentified DNA profile will be very telling,” he added.

Gobind said his team would examine the post-mortem reports, chemist profiling, forensic findings, still photographs and closed-circuit TV camera footages with the help of foreign experts.

Also present were Teoh’s father, Leong Hwee, 62, brother Beng Kee, 33, sister Lee Lan, 29, and fiancee Soh Cher Wei.

DAP adviser Lim Kit Siang and Kota Alam Shah assemblyman M. Manoharan were also there.

Lee Lan said the maintained their wish for a Royal Commission of Inquiry to unravel Teoh’s death instead of the inquest. (TheStar)

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Inquest starts over Teoh’s death

SHAH ALAM— The coroner's court today began hearing the inquest into political aide Teoh Beng Hock's mysterious death at the national anti-graft Selangor office with criminal lawyer Tan Hock Chuan surprisingly leading the Attorney-General's team.

The government team is usually led by a deputy public prosecutor. A total of 77 witnesses have been called up to testify in the inquest slated to end on Aug 12.

Among them are Teoh's father Teoh Leong Hwee, brother Beng Kee and his lawyer M. Manoharan, who is also Kota Alam Shah assemblyman.

The Teoh family is represented by Gobind Singh Deo and Sankara Nair while Malik Imtiaz Sarwar is representing the Selangor government.

The Bar Council has sent a 12-man team to take part led by Hisyam Teh Toh Teck.

Gobind applied to the court for family, Selangor and Bar Council lawyers to take part in inquest.

The prosecution agreed except to the Bar Council's participation. However, magistrate Azmil Munthapa Abas allowed all three to take part in the inquest.

The deputy registrar, who is sitting as a magistrate in the coroner's court, also said the proceedings will be recorded and given to the relevant parties.

Among those in the three-quarter-filled courtroom at the Shah Alam courthouse are DAP strongman Lim Kit Siang, and Selangor exco members Dr Xavier Jeyakumar and Ean Yong Hian Wah, who was Teoh's employer.

The 30-year-old political secretary was found dead on the rooftop of a five-storey building next to Plaza Masalam, where the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) has its Selangor head office on the 14th floor, last July 16.

Teoh was there as a witness in a probe into alleged misuse of state funds. He was due to register his marriage to his two-month pregnant fiancee the day he was found dead.

The Cabinet has formed a royal commission of inquiry into MACC's investigation procedures after it was revealed that Teoh was questioned from 6pm to 3.45am the next day.

MORE TO COME

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JJ to become Malaysia's ambassador to US by next month

KUALA LUMPUR— Former cabinet minister, Datuk Seri Jamaluddin Jarjis will be officially appointed as Malaysia’s ambassador to the US early next month, filling a crucial diplomatic slot that has been empty since Datuk Rajmah Hussain retired in June last year.

The Malaysian Insider understands Jamaluddin has been cleared by the US State Department to take up the posting.

And in a measure of the Najib administration’s decision to upgrade ties with Washington, he will be accorded ministerial status.

According to sources, Jamaluddin will receive his credentials from the King on August 4.

The appointment is one of the choice overseas postings and is usually reserved for senior diplomats.

A close friend of the PM, he was passed over when Najib announced his line-up of ministers and deputy ministers on April 9.

Former ambassador to the US Tan Sri Ghazzali Sheikh Abdul Khalid was also shortlisted for the post but was passed over due to his links with disgraced US lobbyist Jack Abramoff.

It was during Ghazzali’s tenure that the Malaysian Embassy in Washington reportedly paid up to US$1.2 million (RM4.21 million) to Abramoff to secure a meeting with then US president George W Bush in 2002.

Abramoff was later convicted of fraud, tax evasion and conspiracy to bribe public officials.

Jamaluddin is a member of the Umno supreme council and has held several Cabinet positions before this, including as the minister of science, technology and innovation and also as the second finance minister.

The reason that has been put forward for his appointment as ambassador is that he has a “good network” in the US. (TMI)

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'We are untouchable!' says Ronnie Liu

SELANGOR State executive councillor Ronnie Liu (pic) has scoffed at suggestions that the method of payment for some community programmes in Sungai Pelek involving his special assistant, Wong Chuan How, is questionable.

Liu, who was responding to queries whether it was procedurally right for cheques meant for the programmes be made under Wong’s name, said this method had been “used for the past 50 years”.

“My special assistant will put in an estimate (of cost) for a particular programme, and this is verified by me and sent to the district officer (DO),” he told me last night. “If the DO says okay, they will issue us a cheque. On our side, we have to furnish the DO with payment vouchers, receipts as well as photos of the event later.”

Liu said there was nothing wrong with the method as this had been the practice by the previous State government as well. The Pandamaran State assemblyman said beneficiaries that are big organisations would be issued cheques directly by the DO.

“For example, if St John Ambulance were to ask for RM30,000, the DO would issue cheques directly to it. But alternatively, the same cheque can also be issued to our account and we would later issue a cheque with the same amount of allocation to St John.”

Liu said there were, however, instances when the cheques were deposited by the DO into the constituency’s special account.

“These are cases when the recipients are small-time traders who do not have bank accounts. They can be nasi lemak sellers and curry puff traders who provide food during majlis ramah mesra (meet-thepeople) sessions.

“There are also cases whereby people who provide us with PA systems and canopies are paid in cash and in these cases, the cheques received from the DO to carry out a programme would subsequently be banked into a current account, after which payment in cash would be made to the beneficiaries.”

Liu cited a case of an old woman who had asked for some contribution, as she had run out of rice at her home she shared with two physically challenged children, as an example of when cash was given out.

“You cannot expect us to issue a cheque to her and this is why cash is given out.” Liu said beneficiaries of any form of payment would have to sign a payment voucher and a photo of the recipient would also be taken. Asked why the cheques were not issued in his name, Liu said it was for the sake of convenience.

“If it is issued under my name, I would have to do all the running around. I am an exco member as well as the State assemblymen for Pandamaran, I don’t have the time to run around making payments to beneficiaries. I can’t be going around ordering canopies whenever there is a function and that is why I have to delegate this task to Wong. Everything is substantiated and documented. This is normal procedure! We are untouchable!”

Liu said some of the programmes in the list put up in the blog t4tbh.blogspot.com were irrelevant as there were projects conducted by Umno.

“Why would Pakatan Rakyat want to support any programmes carried out by Umno?” (MM)

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Kit Siang: Who cares who’s MCA president?

What difference does it make? Lim Kit Siang claims that Malaysians aren’t interested who runs MCA anymore. — Picture by Choo Choy May

By Lee Wei Lian

KUALA LUMPUR– DAP supremo Lim Kit Siang weighed in on the rumblings from an impending tussle for the MCA presidency, saying that Malaysians cannot be bothered about who occupies the top post in the Barisan Nasional (BN) component party.

This comes a day after MCA president Datuk Seri Ong Tee Keat remarked that there were external parties trying to subvert MCA and oust him as president, giving the impression that he was under siege.

“I regret that Ong continues to imply I am one of the external forces which put him under siege.

“Let me reiterate that I have no interest whatsoever in MCA politics and I am not in the least bothered whether there is a ‘topple Ong’ campaign in MCA or not. Whether Ong or his deputy Datuk Seri Chua Soi Lek becomes president is utterly inconsequential to Malaysians who do not see any difference between the two.”

Lim has been hounding Ong over the scandal-plagued Port Klang Free Zone (PKFZ) project for months, much to Ong’s annoyance, and today accused the transport minister of trying to claim credit for exposing PKFZ details at much personal risk.

“Ong wants to be a hero without heroism,” said Lim. “If he is going to be toppled as MCA president and transport minister for revealing less than 10 per cent of the PKFZ scandal, why doesn’t he go all the way … expose 100 per cent and accept the consequences of such a principled and courageous act.

“I am prepared to support him to the hilt even if it means consolidating his position as MCA president and transport minister.”

He also offered to lodge a police report over news that Ong had received death threats, if Ong failed to do so himself within 48 hours.

“I will lodge a police report to protect Ong’s life and ensure that the dark forces of the politico-business underground does not compromise the integrity of the government and Cabinet.”

The Star newspaper today reported that Ong had received a threat that said: “If you are wiped out from this world some day, you should know why this happened.”

Ong’s deputy and bitter rival, Dr Chua, also accused Ong of trying to portray himself as a “hero” over the PKFZ debacle.

In response to Chua’s comments, Ong told reporters today: “Let him talk, let him talk.”

When asked if he had already lodged a police report over threats to his personal safety, Ong told reporters: “I have been doing what is needful. I have been keeping in touch with police.”

The Malaysian Insider understands that supporters of both Ong and Chua are gearing up for a fierce battle that could culminate in a fresh vote for the MCA leadership. (TMI)

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In MACC mess lies Pak Lah’s legacy of visionary ideas and half-baked execution

KUALA LUMPUR— As the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) flounders, the legacy of Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi is already in tatters barely three months into his retirement.

The MACC was a cornerstone of Abdullah’s so-called reform package.

It would have more bite than the Anti-Corruption Agency (ACA) and would be the hallmark of the government’s seriousness in fighting corruption.

But with the death of Teoh Beng Hock, a DAP political aide called in for questioning as a witness, the MACC’s image has been battered to a pulp.

The interrogation methods of anti-graft officers are being questioned.

Significantly, it also brings direct attention to allegations that the MACC is not an independent agency.

Pakatan Rakyat (PR) leaders have pointed out that the MACC’s relentless pursuit of flimsy allegations of graft against Selangor government officials is in stark contrast to its inaction against Barisan Nasional (BN) leaders.

Teoh had been questioned for eight hours, according to the MACC, over allegations that his boss, a state government executive councillor, had allegedly misused RM2,400 in state funds.

In contrast, the MACC has not reported if it is investigating claims that former Selangor Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Dr Mohd Khir Toyo had amassed enough wealth to build a palatial mansion in Shah Alam.

It is hard to dispute the general public perception that the MACC is now viewed with greater disdain than its predecessor the ACA.

Also the Judicial Appointments Commission (JAC) has done nothing to reverse the view that the judiciary has decayed.

The courts’ handling of the Perak crisis has left the public again feeling less than satisfied.

Judgments of senior judges are now being openly challenged. Holes are being punched in the judgments by retired judges and senior lawyers for inconsistencies with legal principles and the constitution.

Ultimately, a significant number of Malaysians are left feeling that the courts are not exactly free and fair.

In other words, the public perception of the judiciary has not changed if it has not been worsened.

Abdullah stayed on for six more months as prime minister to fulfil what he says were his promises to the public and add some lustre to a patchy legacy.

The MACC he created is more powerful but little else.

It is not seen as an independent body and is an ocean away from Hong Kong’s much vaunted Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC).

Both the MACC and the JAC perhaps do symbolise the Abdullah years: visionary ideas, half-baked execution and a dismal end-product. (TMI)

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TEOH DEATH: More questions than answers

POLICE investigations into DAP political secretary Teoh Beng Hock’s death revealed he died four to five hours after he was last seen in the Selangor headquarters of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission at Plaza Masalam in Shah Alam.

This new evidence now raises the question: Was Teoh really released at 3.45am, as the MACC claims?
MACC director of investigations Datuk Mohd Shukri Abdul told reporters last Thursday that Teoh "was last seen by one of our officers at 6am" that day, sleeping on a settee at the MACC Selangor headquarters.

Police said they have completed 60 per cent of their investigation into the death of Teoh, aide to Selangor State executive councillor Ean Yong Hian Wah.

Selangor police chief DCP Datuk Khalid Abu Bakar said yesterday that Teoh "most likely fell from the 14th floor of Plaza Masalam", where the MACC office is located.

He also said Teoh's Sony Ericsson P1 handphone, wallet and backpack were in the possession of MACC officers and that police have taken them.

“The forensics unit found pieces or components of a window on the 5th floor where Teoh had fallen,” Khalid said.

It is understood that the Chemistry Department will be matching the window latch taken from the MACC office to the pieces found.

Khalid also said the post-mortem indicated Teoh had died four to five hours before his body was found at 1.30pm on Thursday — about two to three hours after he was allegedly last seen at 6am.

The case is still being classified as sudden death.

In another development, Kajang Municipal councillor Tan Boon Wah denied he was not cooperating with the police. He said he had to be away in Johor during the weekend, and came to the Shah Alam police headquarters at 9 last night, after attending Teoh's funeral in Malacca.

He was issued an order to be present at the Shah Alam police station. Tan was there until 12.30 this morning, and he said he gave two statements to the police, one was to assist in investigations into Teoh’s death, and the other was on a report that Tan lodged with the police on MACC’s alleged mistreatment of him while he was interrogated.

Khalid also said CCTV footage taken from Plaza Masalam had shown Teoh going into the building but not coming out of it.

He said police would be recording statements from Teoh’s boss and State executive councillor Ean Yong Hian Wah and his lawyer, Kota Alam Shah assemblyman M. Manoharan.

So far, police have recorded statements from 33 witnesses, 26 of them MACC officers, including Teoh's investigating officer.

Federal CID chief Datuk Seri Mohd Bakri Mohd Zinin said the others included five security guards, Teoh's brother and a pathologist.

“Bukit Aman is also closely monitoring this case and we promise a transparent investigation,” said Bakri, adding that statements from at least six witnesses would be recorded by this week.

Bakri also said police would be requesting an inquest into Teoh’s death.

Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Musa Hassan, who was briefed on the case at the Selangor police headquarters about 9.30am yesterday, said investigations would be completed as soon as possible and the findings released to the media.

Meanwhile, Manoharan reiterated the MACC had no right to bar him from accompanying Teoh during his questioning as a witness.

“They blatantly refused me. I argued with MACC officers and one of them even showed his fist at me. I have proof of that in photos," said Manoharan.

Ean Yong said Pakatan Rakyat would continue to press Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak to set up a Royal Commission of Inquiry into Teoh’s death.

“Najib must state his stand tonight. We also want MACC to give a full explanation. It cannot say it is clear of any responsibility for Teoh’s death,” said Ean Yong.

Meanwhile, Selangor MACC director Ja’afar Mahad said full cooperation is being given to the police, while an internal inquiry would take place later.

Asked if he could explain why Teoh’s belongings were in the possession of MACC officers, Ja’afar declined comment. (MMail)

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Top advisers may quit MACC over Teoh’s death

By Debra Chong

KUALA LUMPUR— With the public baying for blood over the mysterious death of political secretary Teoh Beng Hock, talk has been rife that the national anti-graft body's top advisers might quit or demand changes to interrogation procedures.

Tan Sri Ramon Navaratnam, who heads one of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission's (MACC) five advisory panels, confirmed today that several of his fellow advisers have indicated they may quit their appointed posts to protest the methods in which witnesses are questioned for information.

While he said none have openly declared they would step down for certain, the chief of the Panel on Consultation and Prevention of Corruption seemed to feel the rising heat and pressure from the public.

“Speaking for myself, I want to carry on,” Navaratnam told The Malaysian Insider when asked if he would step down in protest.

“No point in resigning. That's the easy way out. We've got a public trust to fulfil,” the former civil servant explained, stressing that the challenge was in taking accountability for something he had committed himself to.

Navaratnam said he fully backs the setting up of a Royal Commission of Inquiry to investigate the MACC, which is suspected to have had a hand in the death of Teoh.

The 30-year-old had been questioned for over eight hours straight by an MACC officer on a case of alleged fraud over state funds involving his boss, Selangor exco member Ean Yong Hian Wah.

The MACC said it released him at 3.45am on the day he was to get married. His body was found sprawled on the rooftop of the block beside the MACC's headquarters in Shah Alam at 1.30pm later that same day.

Navaratnam pointed out he was the first among the 42 people who were appointed early this year to oversee the fledgling MACC to publicly condemn the manner in which the officers carried out their job.

Six months ago when it was launched, the MACC enjoyed the full weight of public approval behind it as it took over the anti-graft fight from disgraced predecessor, the Anti-Corruption Agency (ACA), although the personnel remained the same.

Today, the supposed giant of reform is reeling from the full weight of the public's fury. (TMI)

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Thousands petition for royal inquiry at Teoh memorial rally

A large crowd gathers to greet DAP veteran Karpal Singh as he arrives at the rally for Teoh Beng Hock at Kelana Jaya stadium. - Picture by Jack Ooi

By Asrul Hadi Abdullah Sani

PETALING JAYA– Pakatan Rakyat (PR) leaders today rallied thousands of their supporters today with fiery rhetoric and demanded the government establish a royal inquiry into the death of Teoh Beng Hock.

Led by DAP stalwart Lim Kit Siang, Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng and Selangor Mentri Besar Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim, they laid the blame for Teoh’s death on the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC).

Teoh, political secretary to Selangor executive councillor Ean Yong Hian Wah, was found dead on July 16 outside the MACC office in Shah Alam. The 30-year-old was earlier questioned over alleged abuse of public funds by his boss.

The crowd began slowly to stream in for the Teoh Beng Hock memorial at Stadium Kelana Jaya here at 4pm.

The situation was calm with no visible police presence and people brought their families to show support for Teoh.

White carnations were distributed to the crowd while most present signed a petition urging MACC and Barisan National (BN) take responsibility for Teoh’s death, and to call for a royal commission of inquiry.

The memorial began with the crowd observing a moment of silence.

The normally soft-spoken DAP vice president Tunku Aziz did not mince his words in attacking Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak.

“Forget Najib’s 1 Malaysia, we have 1 black Malaysia. We will die for a better Malaysia where there is equal opportunity for all,” he told the crowd. “We should tell the government that we do not trust them anymore.”

The people listen as Pakatan Rakyat leaders harangued the government over its complicity in Teoh Beng Hock's tragics death. - Picture by Jack Ooi

Selangor executive councillor Dr Xavier Jeyakumar also attacked Najib and wanted him to explain to Malaysians what happened to Teoh.

“We want Najib Razak to answer to Selangor people, Teoh’s parents, Malaysians … what the hell is going on?” he thundered.

Datuk Husam Musa, a member of PAS’s central working committee, was also present to show support and told the crowd that Teoh’s life was as valuable as any Malay, in an apparent reference to a story in Umno-controlled Berita Harian today which equated criticism against MACC as an attack on Malay institutions.

“If you kill a man, you have killed humanity. There is no doubt that Beng Hock was murdered. Beng Hock is our hero, his family are also heroes,” he said.

The PR leaders also expressed their belief that the public had lost confidence in the police as well and called for the resignation of the Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Musa Hassan.

“Why don’t we trust them? They are suppose to be our friends? They are suppose to be our protectors? We pay their salary, we are their paymasters!” Lim kit Siang told the applauding crowd.

Lim also called for MACC chief commissioner Datuk Seri Ahmad Said Hamdan to step down.

“We want the director general of MACC to resign and the Cabinet to take responsibility because the MACC acted under the directive of the Cabinet,” he said.

However the biggest cheer went to Selangor Speaker Teng Chang Khim. He received a five-minute standing ovation when he related how he was able to kick former Selangor MB Datuk Seri Mohd Khir Toyo out of the state assembly while the MACC failed to act on allegations surrounding the Umno leader’s palatial mansion.

The leaders also mocked the MACC for targeting Teoh over allegations surrounding the allocation of flags worth RM2,400 in Ean Yong Hian Wah’s constituency of Seri Kembangan while no action has been taken in other more significant cases like the Port Klang Free Zone (PKFZ) RM12.5 billion scandal.

“When we saw Teoh Beng Hock lying helplessly on the ground, we also felt helpless because the government and authorities that were supposed to protect us have now become oppressors,” Guan Eng, who is also DAP secretary-general, told the crowd.

Selangor MB Khalid said that there were too many questions that remained unanswered.

“This is not about politics, activists or race. This is about justice,” Khalid said.

The memorial ended with DAP national chairman Karpal Singh announcing the party would soon take the MACC to court over Teoh’s death.

After the speeches, PR supporters were seen burning copies of Berita Harian and Utusan Malaysia to express their anger over the articles criticising the opposition for allegedly politicising Teoh’s death. (TMI)

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Chua left MCA to joint PKR

KUALA LUMPUR – Chua Jui Meng has done it. At about 4.15pm Saturday, he announced he has left MCA and joined the opposition PKR.

With him at the rostrum before a packed crowd at the Sunway Resort Hotel and Spa ballroom were former MCA stalwarts David Yeo Eng Hock and Dr Yap Yit Thong.

A member of the MCA for the past 23 years, Chua was given a rousing welcome when he entered the hall with PKR de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim at about 3.45pm.

He told his audience he was about to take a journey of change, adding that his entry into PKR was a ‘defining critical moment’.

Describing Anwar as a ‘kindred spirit’ in changing Malaysia, Chua said: “I am now joining a multi-racial party.”

Taking the road less travelled

A banner strung across the entrance to the ballroom greeted Chua and Anwar as they entered the hall at about 3.30pm amidst loud applause and cheers. The banner read: 'Congratulations to Chua for joining PKR'.

Addressing the elated gathering of more tjhan 2,000 people, he said: "I am resigning as a member of the MCA and, with the permission of Anwar, I'm announcing that I'm joining PKR." The assembly responded with cheers of 'Reformasi!'.

Saying he was misquoted by a mainstream newspaper on Friday, Chua said he is convinced that today he is standing on the right side of history, and taking the right side of change.

Chua said: "An Umno leader once said if we do not change, then the people will change. And one thing for sure now, we have seen the truth of the words.” He did not name the leader.

“Now, 'people power' is the force that has to be reckoned with.”

He said the MCA is a mono-racial party and there is no place for the Chinese community in such parties in future.

“I know I am leaving the comfort and security of my present life for a road less travelled - a tough and rough road. Ahead of me awaits hardships. I am prepared for this last hurrah of my life," he said, to tumultuous cheers.

Chuah said he was joining PKR to help preserve the two-party system that had emerged after the March polls last year.

The announcement by Chua served as the preamble for a forum on alleged scandals involving the Barisan Nasional, incuding the issues of the Perak government, the PKFZ controversy and the so-called Barisan conspiracy against the Pakatan Rakyat alliance.

An elated Anwar Ibrahim

In welcoming the former health minister into the PKR fold, Anwar said he was happy with the turnout of party members and supporters at the gathering.

Feeling jubilant at Chua’s decision to join the party, he quoted philosopher Edmund Berg as saying that “it is the triumph of evil when good men and women do nothing.”

Anwar told Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak that “enough is enough.”

“No more mysterious and dubious deaths.No more taking money from the people and enriching the few".

Reacting to Chua's defection, MCA president Ong Tee Keat said: "Everybody has their goals. If it brings some benefit to the rakyat..well, we wish him good luck.

"In politics, anything can happen. In the MCA, everyday we see people coming in and going out. That's the spice of life," added Ong.

When Chua was asked at a press conference later whether he would be meeting Ong on his resignation, he replied, "Tee Keat is my friend. He is a man of ideals and principles. I respect him for that and I'm sure he respects me too. We will always be friends", he said. (MMirror)

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Rooney to lead MU against Malaysian Selection

KUALA LUMPUR - Touring English Premier League (EPL) champions Manchester United (MU) will field a strong line-up for the friendly match with a Malaysian selection here tomorrow, MU manager Sir Alex Ferguson said Friday.

The match is scheduled for 5.30pm tomorrow at the National Stadium in Bukit Jalil.

"It will be an exciting match. We are looking forward to tomorrow's match," Sir Alex told a news conference here.

He said he would be banking on striker Wayne Rooney now that Christiano Ronaldo and Carlos Teves were no longer in the team. Ronaldo has joined Real Madrid while Teves moved to Manchester City.

"We will try out a few things while we are here," Sir Alex said.

Besides Rooney, Sir Alex will also be banking on midfielders Fererico Macheda, Dimitar Berbatov, Paul Scholes, Darron Gibson, Anderson and also Michael Owen who has just joined MU.

Honour to play MU

The MU manager said he would give every member of the team "a decent run-out" during the 2009 Asia Tour which will take the team also to South Korea and China.

A friendly in Indonesia has been cancelled after bomb blasts today at the JW Marriott and Ritz-Carlton hotels in Jakarta.

As for the Malaysian side, coach K. Rajagobal said it was an honour for the team to play against the top English Premier League team.

"It is an honour for me and a great opportunity to play against Manchester United. The players too are very excited as most of them are MU supporters, and so am I.

"It is great to have MU back in Malaysia. I was in the Malaysian team which played against MU back in 2001. And now, I meet them again but this time as coach of the team," said Rajagobal. - Bernama

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Pakatan stonewalled over Teoh’s death

A protester continues his protest even as he is herded into the police van. — Pictures by Choo Choy May

UPDATE 4

By Neville Spykerman

SHAH ALAM, July 17 — Despite their demands, Pakatan Rakyat (PR) leaders today failed to get any answers about the death of Teoh Beng Hock from Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) officers at their Selangor headquarters at Plaza Masalam here.

PR top guns Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, Selangor Mentri Besar Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim, Lim Kit Siang and Lim Guan Eng had gone to MACC office on the 14th floor where Teoh may have either fallen or jumped to his death early yesterday morning.

Sources said MACC officials remained tight-lipped, saying they were under instructions not to say anything. Kit Siang called the meeting a waste of time.

Outside, however, an angry crowd shouting "Siasat, Siasat" drove home the point that the conduct of the MACC and the death of the 30-year-old political aide to DAP’s Ean Yong Hian Wah was simply unacceptable.

Teoh was taken in for questioning by the MACC on Wednesday evening. The agency said he was freed a little after 3.45am but his body was later found sprawled on the roof of a five-storey building next door at 1.30pm yesterday

Despite police roadblocks, several hundred protesters including a dozen PR MPs and state assemblymen managed to gather outside the building.

Repeated police warnings failed to deter the crowd which clashed with police dressed in riot gear several times.

Police officers dragging away one of the protesters at the MACC office today.

At least two people were injured during the fracas, including an assistant to state executive councillor Elizabeth Wong, when the crowd went head to head with police for several minutes.

Wong was seen arguing with the authorities while at least two other protesters were seen being dragged away roughly right in front of reporters and photographers.

Shah Alam police chief ACP Mohd Nor Azam Jamaluddin was seen twice appealing to PR leaders to ask the crowd to disperse but to no avail as the crowd continued to jeer.

The protesters later staged a sit-in at the entrance of the building, waiting for PR leaders to come out.

Police were seen preparing to move in against the group which included elected representatives Tony Pua, Fong Kui Loon, Teo Nie Ching, Tan Kok Wai and Elizabeth Wong while reporters were instructed to leave the area.

However, the arrival of Selangor Police Chief Datuk Khalid Abu Bakar stopped the tense situation from becoming worse. Khalid asked the MPs, state lawmakers and other protesters just to move to the side and not block the entrance of the building and they immediately complied.

At least seven protesters were arrested in the melee. They included Kapar MP S. Manikavasagam and Selangor exco member Dr Xavier Jayakumar.

Anwar and Kit Siang have called for the setting up a royal commission to investigate Teoh’s death.

Later at a press conference, Khalid said his administration would not allow its officials to be investigated outside their offices.

“We will prepare a legal team to assist our officials under investigation.”

He said the state government would assist and support family members of Teoh, including helping in the funeral arrangements.

“I have directed the deputy state secretary to meet with family members.”

He also called for a royal commission of enquiry to clear the MACC’s image.

"The MACC's image has been tarnished. People want to what happened,” he said.

MORE TO COME (TMI)

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Judge to decide on extra proof for Anwar trial

UPDATE 1

By Debra Chong

KUALA LUMPUR— It was the first lively exchange between the defence and prosecution in the lead-up to Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim's Sodomy II trial.

While wrapping up the defence team's bid to get more proof from the prosecution, Anwar's lawyer Sivarasa Rasiah accused the prosecution of actively trying to bury important records that could prove the opposition leader's innocence, just as it did in the first sodomy trial 10 years ago.

“The danger of suppression of evidence happened in Sukma's case and is happening in this case,” Sivarasa charged today, referring to medical reports on Anwar's Indonesian adopted brother Sukma Darmawan Sasmitaat Madja, which came to light years later and helped clear his name of the crime.

“This application is to prevent that from happening. We can see the resistance,” the Subang MP added, provoking an outcry from the head of prosecution Datuk Yusof Zainal Abiden.

Yusof, the Solicitor-General II, denied Sivarasa's claim and insisted that if the view were true, the defence would not have received anything from the prosecution.

“In this case, we have supplied documents so suppression of evidence does not exist,” he said huffily, prompting Sivarasa to stand up quickly to raise a point.

But the High Court judge must have caught a certain look on Sivarasa's face, because he immediately stepped in and cut off both parties.

Anwar and Wan Azizah leaving the court after the hearing was adjourned to later in the day.

“Point taken. You're just saying there should be no suppression of evidence, OK?” said Justice Datuk Mohamad Zabidin Mohd Diah.

The federal lawmaker, however, was dissatisfied with the judge's action and later told reporters that the exchange between him and Yusof “affirms our contention that there is an active political conspiracy” targeted at the PKR leader.

Zabidin will give his decision at 2.30pm today whether Anwar can obtain extra evidence from the prosecutors in his Sodomy II trial.

The judge adjourned hearing at 10am.

Anwar's other lawyers Edmund Bon and Amer Hamzah Arshad had kicked off today's hearing with their rebuttal against Yusof's reading of the law yesterday, claiming the court has no power to force it to give extra proof.

Taking it in turns, the tag team duo rejected Yusof's view.

Bon insisted the court has a role to play in making sure the accused person's right to defend himself fully is protected, especially when the accused is challenging the prosecution in court for withholding relevant information.

He said the court must not be confused on the type of evidence that can be admitted in the trial, stressing that at the pre-trial stage, the accused has rights to all material that may help his case, even if the prosecution decides not to use it later on.

“We're not saying these documents should be given more weight now,” Amer added in his turn in arguing to be given the case notes from the doctors and the chemist outlining the way they arrived at their conclusion in the scientific reports.

“A person charged with a criminal offence should be given a fair trial. If he can't be tried fairly, then he should not be tried at all,” he said forcefully.

The hearing resumed this morning without Anwar, who arrived five minutes late with his wife Datuk Seri Wan Azizah Ismail and family and supporters.

There were few supporters outside the courtroom, leaving the police to relax its tight security cordon at the court complex in Jalan Duta.

At the outset of the trial this morning, Sivarasa asked the judge to order investigating officer Jude Pereira out of the courtroom as he is a key prosecution witness.

The judge agreed and ordered Pereira out of the room.

Anwar, 61, who stands accused of sodomising a former male aide, Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan, in June 2008, has repeatedly claimed he is being denied a fair trial.

The former deputy prime minister, who made his political comeback last year, has also applied to strike out the sodomy charges against him.

He is also trying to disqualify the present seven-member prosecution team headed by Yusof . He claims they are a part of a “malicious” prosecution handpicked by Attorney-General Tan Sri Abdul Gani Patail, whom he accuses of trying to put an end to his political career.

If convicted, Anwar faces up to 20 years in prison, effectively snuffing his dreams of taking over the federal government. (TMI)

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Anwar vows fight to the last

KUALA LUMPUR— Beleaguered opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim claimed today the federal government is pulling out all the stops in its charge to crush the fledgling Pakatan Rakyat alliance, but vows not to cave in.

“We’re going to make it very difficult for them. We’re going to fight at every stage,” he told reporters grimly after an afternoon in the High Court here, where he faces a second sodomy charge in a decade.

The former deputy prime minister expressed his disgust at what he claims is Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s attempts to “intimidate” the opposition.

He (Anwar) had earlier failed to get the court to postpone hearing his bid for evidence he claims the prosecution is purposely withholding from him, effectively denying him a fair trial.

Anwar’s lead lawyer Sulaiman Abdullah had pulled out last night due to poor health. The PKR leader wanted the judge to give him more time to appoint a new counsel but was turned down.

A disgruntled Anwar told reporters the “system still perpetrated injustice”.

“We need to change the system,” he stressed.

He pointed out that Najib’s administration had abused public institutions such as the judiciary and the national anti-corruption body MACC, whose setting up he had supported.

“I supported in 1997 to give the Anti-Corruption Agency more power even though my colleagues in the Cabinet and Umno did not support this.

“But now it’s being used as a tool by the Umno-Barisan Nasional,” he said.

Anwar alleged that the authorities had failed to take action against reports of massive corruption by government officials, including the Attorney General and the Inspector General of Police despite strong evidence in their direction.

Instead, they use the powers to “harass” opposition leaders on the flimsiest of excuses, he added, referring to the latest MACC raid on two DAP lawmakers in Selangor today.

“Your right to expect a fair trial, your right to be defended against gangsters and Ah Longs, what about PKFZ? Where’s the investigation there?

“You think you can silence the opposition by intimidating and harassing me like this? You think harassing Anwar like this, he will behave himself?” he charged.

“On the contrary, we will exercise our rights to speak up for the people,” he swore. (TMI)

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Congrats PAS and Umno for a restrained contest

9

Finally, the Manik Urai by-election is over, with the narrow victory to the PAS candidate Mohd Fauzi Abdullah over the BN candidate Tuan Aziz Tuan Mat.

The by-election result should not surprise anybody. Manik Urai is a rural constituency in Kelantan that is a proven fortress for PAS through many general elections. In fact, Umno has won in this state constituency twice only in all the long years of our nation’s independence.

The incredibly high voter turnout of 87.3% is probably due to the declaration of polling day on July 14 as a public holiday to entice more civil servants to the polls. It is also an indication that Kelantan voters in the rural constituencies are generally much more involved in community politics than say, apathetic urban voters in their alienating surrounding.

The high voter turnout can also be due to the intense campaign conducted by both PAS and Umno, involving the appearance of their national heavyweights in the constituency throughout the campaign period.

Although there have been minor incidents on polling day in Manik Urai, the by-election campaign so far has been quite free of the kind of rather vitriolic negative demonisation that we have had to witness in the few by-elections in recent past.

While the verbal scuffle has been intense both on the ground and in the media, as is expected of any by-election in which both competing coalitions mobilise their national resources to the small constituency, the tone of the electoral contest has been restrained from both sides.

Both Umno and PAS can be congratulated for conducting their campaign by arguing on issues like oil royalty and development, rather than zeroing in on personal attacks. In retrospect, Umno’s biggest mistake was probably the promotion of their candidate as an educated bureaucrat while belittling the PAS candidate as a mere fishmonger, in a constituency where a great majority of voters are not very educated rubber-tappers and fishermen.

During the campaign period, there has been great media interest in the PAS internal discord as is evident in the conspicuous absence of PAS deputy president Nasharuddin Mat Isa. His appearance in the final days of the campaign and his gesture of respect for party spiritual leader Nik Aziz Nik Mat did show the deep political maturity of PAS as a whole.

But PAS victory in Manik Urai has settled nothing between this Islamist party and their nemesis Umno in their long-running feud for political domination within the Malay rural heartland. They will battle each other all the way to the finish line in the next general election.

The PAS victory is also a morale booster for the Pakatan Rakyat coalition at a time when the public bickering between the three peninsular components of the coalition continues unabated.

But even professional politicians must be getting exhausted by this long series of by-elections since the March 8 general election. Do they not feel distracted from their wide range of political duties and weary from non-stop electoral politicking that requires their long absence from their office and their home?

Certainly, media organisations and media professionals must be weary to the bone of covering by-election after by-election. Perhaps a reprieve from more by-elections will be welcome by all principle participants, so they can all go back to the comfort zone of their regular business.

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Liverpool reject mega-money bids for Torres

LIVERPOOL have rejected four mega-money bids for Fernando Torres after manager Rafael Benitez ruled the Spanish striker was not for sale at any price. Real Madrid, Manchester United, Chelsea and Manchester City all made it clear they would pay £60 million (RM348m) for Torres after being encouraged by the lack of transfer cash available at Anfield.

TORRES: Liverpool are rejecting all offers for the Spaniard

But Benitez was told by Liverpool’s struggling American owners that they would leave the decision to him. And his answer was that Torres was untouchable. After seeing United boss Alex Ferguson cash in on Cristiano Ronaldo for a world-record £80 million just months after vowing never to do business with Real, Benitez felt compelled to keep hold of Liverpool’s most prized asset.

“We have had some very big offers for some of our key players this summer and that includes Torres,” Benitez told The Mirror. “Clubs wanted Torres and we were contacted by agents working for those clubs. But we always knew that when a bid came in we would say ‘no’.

“The main thing was that Torres wanted to stay here. People knew the player wanted to stay, but it did not stop clubs trying.

“Football has changed and there is big, big money around. But we still have the same idea to keep the spine of the team and work hard for next season. In football and life you cannot guarantee anything, that is a fact.

“I don’t want to speak about United selling Ronaldo to Real because he is not my player and they are not my team. “But what I will say is that we wanted to send out a message that Liverpool are a strong team and that we want to improve. You don’t improve by selling your best players.”

Torres, a £20 million capture from Atletico Madrid two years ago, would not consider a return to his home city to play for a club he regarded as the enemy.

A move to Old Trafford would have been just as unlikely given United’s status as Liverpool’s bitter rivals and City’s failure to tempt the club into selling the Spaniard twice last season. Chelsea, though, have been strongly linked with Torres before and would have been favourites to land him if Benitez had sanctioned a sale.

Torres has been quick to dismiss reports that he is unsettled on Merseyside and would prefer to live in London. The 25-year-old has been given extra time to recover from his Confederations Cup exertions — along with Xabi Alonso and Andrea Dossena.

All three will return to duty next week for the club’s tour to Thailand and Singapore. Torres’ fitness will be monitored throughout the season and he has undergone specialist physical conditioning to ensure there is no repeat of the hamstring problems that hit him last season after playing at Euro 2008. (mmail)

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Oil Royalty for PAS or Bridge for UMNO - PRK N41 Manek Urai

By Adib Zalkapli

KUALA KRAI— In the final lap of the Manek Urai campaign, the choice is either voting for a new bridge offered by the Barisan Nasional or Pakatan Rakyat's insistence that voters take the opportunity to pressure the federal government to pay oil royalty to Kelantan.

Throughout the campaign PAS has repeatedly claimed that the federal government owes the state RM1 billion for oil extracted off Kelantan shores since 2004.

At a rally last night, opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim ridiculed the promise to build a new bridge linking Manek Urai Lama and Manek Urai Baru to replace the 40-year-old single-lane bridge.

“Do not talk about the bridge, give back the RM1 billion and let Tok Guru manage it, they talk about RM6, RM7 million because they think people are stupid,” said Anwar in Sungai Peria near here.

He also slammed the federal government's plan to build new mosques in the rural constituency.

“Manek Urai is not about new mosques, there are enough mosques in Manek Urai,” Anwar told the all Muslim crowd.

DAP's Lim Kit Siang also spoke at what was the biggest Pakatan rally throughout the campaign that caused traffic congestion i

Setting the record straight in Kampung Peria, Anwar during his speech last night. -Picture by Danny Lim

n the constituency.

Anwar, the PKR de facto leader, told some 5,000 people who attended the rally that he will use PAS's victory in Manek Urai to strengthen Pakatan's demand to the federal government to pay the oil royalty to the state.

“In the next Parliament session me and Lim Kit Siang will stand up and fight for Kelantan's right, for the people of Manek Urai we will pressure the finance minister to explain what happen to the RM1 billion,” said Anwar to shouts of “Allahuakbar” from the crowd.

Just hours earlier Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin promised a new bridge in Manek Urai costing RM7 million to replace the current bridge that accommodates only one car at a time.

The narrow bridge connecting Manek Urai Baru and Lama. The straight and narrow like this bridge would probably decide the election outcome.- Picture by Danny Lim

Courtesy Of TheMalaysianInsider

But he said the bridge will only be built if BN wins the by-election, giving Manek Urai voters the stark choice of benefitting themselves or putting more pressure on the ruling federal coalition that has lost four straight by-elections in the peninsula to Pakatan.

Pakatan has won five by-elections in the peninsula since Election 2008, including Penanti which Barisan refused to contest, despite promises of development which is seen as an inherent right rather than a gift from a government that has ruled the country since independence.

“It is only a promise, the previous Prime Minister Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi announced the construction of the Second Sultan Ismail Bridge across the Kelantan River, but until now it has not started,” Kelantan Mentri Besar Datuk Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat told reporters after the rally.

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Daisy Fajarina may have to serve jail term

DAISY Fajarina, the controversial mother of the equally controversial Manohara Odelia Pinot, may have no choice but to serve a jail sentence in France after all.

The 44-year-old Daisy had been sentenced in absentia (without her presence) by a French court to 18 months' jail for abusing her Indonesian stepdaughter who was staying with her and husband, Rener Pinot Noack, in France, but in 2007 fled to Indonesia, where she has remained a fugitive.

Requests for her to be arrested and sent back to France have been denied as Indonesia and France do not have a Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty. That, however, may change soon. The Indonesian Foreign Affairs
Ministry yesterday said it was considering a request to send Daisy to France to serve the sentence.

Indonesian online news portal, Empo Interaktif, quoted minister Hassan Wirajuda as saying yesterday that he had received a report from the Consulate-General in Marseilles, France, requesting that the Indonesian government assist in getting Daisy to serve the sentence.

Hassan said the Consulate-General had made the request on behalf of an Indonesian "whom Manohara's mother had brought to France". While not naming the Indonesian complainant, Hassan said the request involved "sexual abuse" charges that the French court had passed a judgment on.

"As there has already been a judgment in France, the authorities there are asking that Manohara's mother be compelled to return to France." Hassan said the ministry's Foreign Affairs Department, through its Indonesian Citizens' Protection Directorate, would be in consultation with the Indonesian police headquarters to decide on the next course of action.

He added that Daisy's stepdaughter had the right to see that justice was served in view of the official request by the French authorities and taking into consideration that she had been a victim of sexual assault.

Tongue-in-cheek, Hassan remarked that this would only heighten interest in the 25-episode "sinetron", or soap opera, based on Manohara's allegations that her husband the Tengku Temenggung Kelantan, Tengku Muhammad Fakhry Sultan Ismail, had abused her.

Malay Mail reported yesterday that Manohara was offered a massive Rp2.5 billion (RM865,285) contract for the series. Her decision sparked off speculation that she and her mother were cashing in on the latter's publicity.

The Manohara saga has generated massive interest, starting with allegations that she had been badly treated by her husband. Weeks after appearing in public at a reception in Kelantan, she made headlines again when she "escaped" from her husband and his bodyguards from a hotel in Singapore with the assistance of the Singapore police.

Umno Muar division chief Datuk Kadar Shah Sulaiman Ninam Shah had then taken credit for "negotiating" the escape. He had claimed to have been given the blessings of the Kelantan palace - a claim that has since been refuted.

On July 3, Malay Mail had reported, based on French court documents, that Daisy was a fugitive in Indonesia as the magistrate's court in Grasse, France, had sentenced her to 18 months' jail in absentia for "submitting a vulnerable and dependent person to undignified working conditions and assault since 1998".

Pinot, who was sentenced to four months' jail, had admitted in court that he had been forced by Daisy to caress the stepdaughter's body in front of her after undressing the girl. Court documents had also revealed that Daisy had untidily cut her hair as punishment.

Pinot had admitted that he had started in February, 2007, caressing the girl, kissing her, and touching her breast "everyday a little bit more". She managed to avoid him several times before she gave in and had sex with Pinot.

She was a virgin until then. Pinot, in his testimony, claimed that he was too scared of Daisy to stop her acts of violence against the girl.

Daisy fled France, and a warrant of arrest was issued on June 26 the same year.

She is raring to go

DARING Daisy Fajarina says she is ready to return to France to challenge the court judgment. Denying the allegations brought up by her stepdaughter, she told Empo Interaktif that the charges were trumped up by the girl, whom she brought from Southern Sulawesi to stay with her and her husband, Rener Pinot Noack, in France when the girl was 15.

Daisy, who named the girl when giving the interview, claimed that she was hurt when the girl had an affair with Pinot between March and April 2007.

“I was extremely hurt. I had treated her like my own daughter since she was 15, and I was so in love with my husband,” she said.

Daisy said she was ready to challenge the French court judgment. “The allegations are lies...absolute lies,” she said.

However, she did not state why she was absent from proceedings. She claimed that her stepdaughter and Pinot’s affair was “consensual”.

Daisy claimed that she had caught Pinot and her stepdaughter having sex when she returned home one day to collect the handphone she had left it behind.

She claimed that the stepdaughter left the house after the incident. “She did not even leave a letter to apologise, but had asked that the matter not be reported to the French police,” she said.

“However, once she left, she claimed to have been abused, forced to work for long hours and never ever saw the sun.”

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Courtesy Of MalayMail

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Tengku Razaleigh welcomes decision on BM for Maths and Science

KUALA LUMPUR— Veteran politician Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah today welcomed the government’s decision to abolish the teaching and learning of Science and Mathematics in English.

He said when the policy to teach the Year One students in national schools was implemented in 2003, the country was not ready.

“So, are we going to sacrifice the future of our children in wanting to adopt a new policy when we are not ready?

“So, I welcome the decision for the sake of the children, but, by all means, we should spend more time and dwell on the future of English because that is the language of the future.

“And I think our people must be proficient in English as we were before we gained independence,” he said during a talk organised by the Public Relations Consultants’ Association of Malaysia here.

The former minister of finance said, as a person who represented two constituencies (Ulu Kelantan and Gua Musang) for the last 45 years, he had welcomed the change (the teaching and learning of Science and Mathemaics in English) which he thought could bring progress to the people.

“But unfortunately, it was done in such a hurry, we didn’t have enough teachers, we didn’t have enough equipment.

“In my area (constituency), we don’t even have electricity in those areas where we have schools, so how do you expect the children to follow the new system when we don’t have all the facilities . . . and the failure rate is very high,” he said.

Tengku Razaleigh was also asked on how he would rate Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s performance on the prime minister’s first 100 days in office.

He said the only way to determine a politician’s performance was on how well the person faced the election.

“But in terms of the country, I think he is making efforts to help improve the situation, he’s going all out, poor fellow, he’s working hard in order to bring in more investments, more money into the country in order to provide the environment and more jobs for the people,” he said. – Bernama

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Dr M: I don’t believe Khir’s mansion costs only RM3.5mil

KUALA LUMPUR: Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad is not convinced with former Selangor Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Dr Mohamad Khir Toyo’s claim that his controversial mansion costs only RM3.5mil.

“He cannot simply say he bought the mansion for RM3.5mil. I believe it is more than that,” he said.

“I also have a home in Seri Kembangan. I have spent RM1mil on it, but this (Dr Khir’s mansion) is massive - many times bigger than mine,” he said.

Dr Mahathir was met by reporters after attending a closed-door meeting on the position of the institutional monarchy and the Malays in the Federal Constitution from the 1Malaysia perspective at the Putra World Trade Centre, here, yesterday.

Asked if the matter could tarnish Umno’s image, he said: “Yes, I think so. He has to explain where he got the money to buy the house.”

On Monday, Sekinchan assemblyman Ng Suee Lim alleged that Dr Khir’s property was worth RM24mil, but the latter had denied it saying that he secured a RM3.5mil loan to buy the house five years ago.

Mohd Khir said he took the loan from HSBC and had no problem servicing the monthly repayment of RM18,743 as he was now involved in business from which he was making RM50,000 a month.

It was also reported that the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission will investigate Ng’s allegation that Dr Khir spent RM24mil to build the Balinese-style mansion in Section 7, Shah Alam during his tenure as the Mentri Besar.

MACC chief commissioner Datuk Seri Ahmad Said Hamdan said the commission would get more details from the Selangor government. (TheStar)

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Wrath of Dr M about to befall Najib

KUALA LUMPUR– Ever since Datuk Seri Najib Razak took office as prime minister just under 100 days ago, the outspoken Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad has held his peace and refrained from attacking the Barisan Nasional (BN) government.

But today Dr Mahathir hit out at the Najib administration for “not listening to the voice of the people” when it decided to abandon the policy of teaching science and mathematics in English.

“I am not surprised over the disappointment and even anger towards the government’s decision on the teaching of maths and science,” he said.

“Seems to me like the government is not listening to the voice of the people,” the former prime minister said in a short posting on his blog today.

Dr Mahathir also appeared to be planning a campaign to stop the government from reversing a policy he had initiated six years ago just before he retired.

He has started a poll to ask readers of his blog if they supported or opposed the decision to now revert to teaching science and mathematics in Bahasa Melayu.

A separate poll conducted recently of voters in peninsular Malaysia by the independent Merdeka Centre showed that a majority of Malaysians wanted English to remain as the medium of instruction for the two subjects.

But yesterday, Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin announced the government’s decision to scrap the policy, bowing to pressure from nationalists and education activists.

Dr Mahathir, who had been informed by the DPM prior to the announcement, said yesterday that his recommendations were not taken into consideration.

He had suggested the government at least keep English as the medium of instruction for secondary schools.

The former PM also punched holes in the government’s arguments, and pointed out that if the government was now going to train more English teachers, they could also train science and mathematics teachers in the same language as well.

Dr Mahathir had been a strident critic of the Abdullah Badawi administration, and his attacks against the last prime minister had contributed significantly to the latter’s eventual downfall.

Last year, Malaysia’s longest serving PM even quit Umno and only rejoined the party this year when Najib took office. Since then Najib has taken pains to pay homage to Dr Mahathir.

But in recent weeks, Dr Mahathir had begun to seethe over some of Najib’s decisions.

Besides ignoring Dr Mahathir and deciding to skip the recent Penanti by-election, Najib has also disregarded the former PM over the “crooked bridge” to Singapore.

Dr Mahathir had also recently come out to say that the liberalization of the economy was not the right move by Najib.

The ongoing attempt by the Najib administration in trying to appoint his aide Omar Mustapha to the board of Petronas has also irritated Dr Mahathir who is still the national oil company’s adviser.

But with the flip-flop on the government’s English policy, Dr Mahathir appears to be preparing to strike back. (TMI)

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Fed Crt agrees to hear Nizar’s appeal, refuses to grant stay

PUTRAJAYA: The Federal Court has granted Pakatan Rakyat Menteri Besar Nizar Jamaluddin leave to appeal a ruling handed down by the Court of Appeal that Umno’s Zambry Kadir was the rightful chief minister of Perak.

However, the top court refused to grant Nizar a stay of execution on the appellate court’s decision. This means Zambry can continue to act as Menteri Besar until the Federal Court decides on the case.

In a widely condemned move, the Appeals Court had on May 22 overturned a High Court ruling that Nizar was at all material times the rightful Menteri Besar. It also granted Zambry a stay of the May 11 High Court decision.

However, on Thursday, while the Federal Court agreed to hear Nizar’s appeal, the fact that it refused to grant him a similar stay of the Appeals Court’s decision does not bode well for the PAS leader.

Also, only a three-member bench heard his application today, not the five-man team that was agreed on. No explanation was given. The three were Alauddin Mohd Sheriff, Arifin Zakaria and Zulkefli Ahmad Makinuddin.

Nizar had filed his appeal June 19, asking for a full 11-man bench. It was turned down, with Chief Justice Zaki Azmi – a former Umno leader – only permitting a five-man bench.

Of late, Malaysia’s judiciary has come in for a hammering over its decisions, which legal practitioners have slammed as reeking of bias and contrary to the law itself.

Prime Minister Najib Razak has been blamed for pressuring the courts and other public institutions, such as the police, to openly support his political agenda at the expense of their neutrality, destroying public and investor confidence in the country’s system along the way.

In February, Najib had launched an unpopular coup d’etat against the Pakatan state administration. With the support of the Sultan, he wrested control of the state government, forcing Nizar and the Pakatan to respond with a barrage of legal suits. (SK)

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Petronas given 48 hours ultimatum to answer to Cabinet on Kelantan Oil Royalty

KUALA KRAI: The Cabinet has directed Petronas to answer to claims that the Federal Govern-ment is cheating Kelantan out of its so called entitled oil royalty.

Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhiyiddin Yassin said Petronas had been given 48 hours to clarify the allegations made by state PAS deputy commissioner II Datuk Husam Musa.

Rebutting Husam’s arguments, Muhyiddin said PAS had conveniently twisted facts to mislead voters in the Manek Urai by-election and the Federal Government should confront the lies.

“From what I gather, the offshore areas are outside state boundaries and belong to the federal administration.

“Furthermore, most of the Petronas profits are re-channelled back to the Government.

“They provide about RM20bil to RM30bil per annum for us to bring development to the entire country. So, either directly or indirectly, Kelantan benefits,” Muhiyiddin said when campaigning at the Peria area.

He also directed the southern Kelantan Development Authority (Kesedar) to answer to all the alleged lies spread by PAS.

“Kesedar must list out all the roads, bridges and other infrastructure they have completed in the past few years.” he said.

“If not for Kesedar, the poverty level in the southern part of Kelantan would have been even higher.” (TheStar)

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Azizan and Kedah DAP resolve to patch up

An agreement has been reached between Kedah DAP and Menteri Besar Azizan Abdul Razak, paving the way for a noisy internal feud blown-out-of-proportion by the Umno press to finally come to an end.

“Met Kedah MB Azizan with DAP Kedah chairman Thomas Su and secretary Lee Guan Aik over Pakatan Rakyat Kedah. Reached agreement and set up Pakatan Rakyat Kedah problem solving mechanism,” Kit Siang twittered back on his blog.

“No problem, no problem. It is over,” Azizan told reporters after the meeting.

Endorsement

Although Kedah DAP can only formally rejoin Pakatan after the decision is endorsed by rest of state committee, the reconciliation will nevertheless be cheered far and wide across the country by Pakatan supporters.

News that Kedah DAP had pulled out from the coalition over the closure of an abattoir had shocked the nation, causing a week of emotional distress and uneasiness, with top leaders trying their best to bring about a reconciliation without sacrificing principles or respective promises to their voters.

On July 1, Kedah DAP had stormed out of the Kedah state government accusing Azizan of not being sincere after he refused to stop the demolition of a decades-old slaughterhouse, which to be fair was the bane of residents in the area for years.

Su and other Kedah DAP members were also unhappy over the PAS-led state government’s decision to raise to 50 percent from 30 percent the housing quota for bumiputeras as well as the partial demolition of two temples.

The patient Azizan, who has maintained that he could not restrain the Alor Setar municipal council from tearing down the abattoir, has however taken pains to find a replacement site for the 28 pork wholesalers and distributors.

“We had expected there would be settlement between DAP and PAS in Kedah. In fact, the Menteri Besar had already given an undertaking to resolve the issue but the DAP jumped the gun. Still, we are glad that Kit Siang is willing to reach an amicable solution,” said PKR strategic affairs director Tian Chua.

Different ideologies? Of course, Pakatan is but a microcosm of the Malaysian population

In the past week, there have accusations from both friends and foes that Pakatan was shooting itself in the foot by its stubborn refusal to keep quiet and conform.

Indeed apart from the expected jibing from the Umno-BN, leaders from the three Pakatan parties themselves made no bones about their feelings on the pullout.

Very public calls were made to the DAP not to be arrogant and mulish and to PAS not to lose sight of its non-Malay voters in its quest to please the Malay ones.

Umno-BN supporters again rushed to bring out the top weapon in their arsenal – how can three very different entities with completely contrasting ideologies come together and administer Malaysia?

But actually, what is Malaysia now? Or even before?

A very polarised nation of not just Malays, Indians and Chinese but also Kadazandusuns, Dayaks, Punjabis and so forth.

If the fiercely Islamist PAS, the proudly secular DAP and the humbly multi-racial PKR can bring themselves to negotiate and give-and-take to find a common platform, then Malaysians have a chance at real unity.

Because if they can’t, it merely reflects the divisions amongst the people themselves. At the core of it, Pakatan is just that – a microcosm of the Malaysian population, warts and strengths across the spectrum – right, left and centre.

“This has been a very challenging episode for all us in Pakatan. It is a good lesson that perhaps we must be more circumspect in our words and speech especially with the Umno-BN press,” said Tian.

“They have gone all out to destroy us. But at the same, I don’t think any of us in Pakatan – PKR, PAS or DAP – would stop stop speaking up for the people. If that makes us noisy, so be it. But we are confident the people will accept us and appreciate it even more because we are sincere and open about our work.” (SK)

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Record crowd welcomes Ronaldo to Real Madrid

Cristiano Ronaldo said on Monday he had fulfilled a "childhood dream" as he was officially unveiled as a Real Madrid player before a record-setting capacity crowd of nearly 80,000 people at the Santiago Bernabeu stadium.

Cristiano Ronaldo said on Monday he had fulfilled a "childhood dream" as he was officially unveiled as a Real Madrid player before a record-setting capacity crowd of nearly 80,000 people at the Santiago Bernabeu stadium.

"I am very happy to be here," the 24-year-old Portuguese winger told cheering fans at the Santiago Bernabeu stadium in the Spanish capital after completing his long desired move to the club from Manchester United.

"For me it is the realization of a childhood dream, which was to play for Real Madrid. I never expected the stadium would be full just to see me. It is impressive," he added.

Club officials said the event had smashed the previous record for attendance at the unveiling of a footballer set in July 1984 when Diego Maradona was presented at Naples after signing from Barcelona before 75,000 people.

Real acquired the player from Manchester last month on a six-year deal worth 94 million euros (131 million dollars) and he will reportedly be paid 13 million euros each season, making him the most expensive player in the world.

Ronaldo, the 2008 FIFA world player of the year, said he was "proud" to be the world's best paid footballer and would do all he could to help the team win the Champions League.

"I want to prove that they paid the right price for me," he told a lengthy news conference after he was unveiled where he fielded questions in English, Spanish and Portuguese.

"We have a great team, a great coach, and we have to take it step by step. We have a really good chance to win the Champions League," he added.

Real, Spain's historically most successful team, last won the Champions League in 2002.

Ronaldo wore the black and white Number 9 jersey once sported by club legend Alfredo di Stefano during his unveiling.

The Argentine striker, Real's honorary president, was present at the unveiling as was Portuguese legend and former Real player Eusebio.

The number 9 jersey was recently vacated by Argentine striker Javier Saviola who joined Portuguese side Benfica last month.

While Ronaldo wanted to keep the number 7 which he used during his six years at Manchester, that number is already taken by Real captain Raul.

"Nine is a mythical number at the club. The numbers don't play. It is me who is going to play and I am going to play well," he said.

Ronaldo arrived in Madrid on Monday afternoon on a private flight from his native Portugal where he was on holiday to undergo medical tests before he was unveiled.

The head of Real's medical services, Carlos Diez, said Ronaldo was "in perfect condition" after the player underwent medical tests.

"His cardiac and lung capacity is extraordinary," he added.

Fans, many equipped with food and drinks to ease a lengthy wait, starting gathering at the stadium hours before the official presentation, which lasted about 30 minutes, got underway at 9 pm.

Real president Florentino Perez praised Ronaldo's "professionalism and talent" who is capable of taking the club to "the peak of world football".

Ronaldo will team up with Kaka, the 2007 FIFA world player, who signed with Real from AC Milan for 65 million euros from AC Milan in early June.

Kaka was officially unveiled on June 30 before 55,000 fans. He was the first big name who Perez signed since he returned in June for a second stint as president of Real.

Perez, who brought Luis Figo and Zinedine Zidane to Real during his first term as the club's president between 2000 and 2006, is seeking to rebuild a squad which trailed arch rivals Barcelona last season by reviving his policy of signing football superstars.

Among Real's other signings is French striker Karim Benzema from Lyon and defender Raul Albiol, who joined from Spanish side Valencia.

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Khir Toyo in hot soup over RM24mil mansion in Shah Alam

Former Selangor Menteri Besar Mohd Khir Toyo has threatened to sue DAP assemblyman for Sekinchan Ng Suee Lim for slander after the latter accused him of having spent RM24 million on building a palatial home in Shah Alam.

“I cannot tolerate this anymore. I will sue him for his attempts to tarnish my reputation. I bought the house for RM3.5mil with a loan I obtained from HSBC. I did not buy the land and build the house on it,” Khir told reporters.

The DAP assemblyman had taken reporters and photographers to see Khir’s mansion at Jalan Suasa, Sect 7, Shah Alam, Selangor earlier in the day.

According to Ng, the bungalow was built on roughly 50,000 square feet of land at an estimated cost of RM20 million, while the land alone cost RM3.8 million.

Ng also brought with him documents from the Selangor Land and Mineral Office, showing that Khir and his wife Zahrah Kechik jointly bought the land from Ditamas Sdn Bhd in 2007. Two bungalow plots were bought for RM2.9 mil and RM900,000 respectively.

The former MB also imported exclusive top-of-the-range fixtures and furniture from Bali, he said.

“He has a right to build a house of whatever size he wants. But as a former menteri besar, he has to explain how he funded the house. The frontage alone costs approximately RM290,000. The tiles you see are imported,” said Ng.

Ng also urged the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission to investigate Khir. He also threw in a quick math lesson for the reporters present.

Taking the RM48,000 monthly salary earned by current Menteri Besar Khalid Ibrahim as a guide, Ng reckons Khir’s income over the eight years he was in office would total to some RM4.6 million.

The Sekinchan assemblyman also said Khir was a dentist before he became Menteri Besar and used to live in a rented house in Sekinchan itself.

“How could he afford to have spent about RM24 million on his house?,” asked Ng.

I haven’t moved in yet

Meanwhile, Khir said he only replaced the roof and did some minor renovations but had not moved in yet.

“My contractor has absconded and the work has yet to be completed and that’s why I haven’t moved into the house yet,” said the former MB, challenging Ng to try and sell the house for RM24 million.

“If he can do this, I will give him 50 percent as commission and use the remaining RM12 mil to pay off HSBC and buy a good house in Damansara.”

Judging from the quality of the house , the sheer physical size and current market value, it is unlikely Khir’s mansion cost only RM3.5 million.

It is likely to cost much more although whether it is really RM24 million would be hard to ascertain without inspecting the interior and putting a value on the fittings and fixtures, which can easily cost many times more than the land and building itself. (SK)

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At Manek Urai: What the Pakatan and Umno-BN say

Campaigning in the Manek Urai by-election in Kelantan has officially kicked off now that nominations are over and the Election Commission has declared a straight fight between PAS’ Mohd Fauzi Abdullah and Umno’s Tuan Aziz Tuan Mat.

Over the next eight days till polling on July 14, the temperature in the quiet town is expected to shoot up dramatically. Intense and emotional campaigning is widely expected.

Although PAS president Hadi Awang said he expects local issues to dominate, others predict that the recent unity talks offered by Prime Minister and Umno president Najib Razak to dominate campaigning.

As the Umno press rushed to ask about the absence of PAS deputy president, Nasharudin Mat Isa who sparked an internal quarrel by welcoming Najib’s proposal last month, Hadi shot back, asking why the PM as the Umno head did not come to Manek Urai, was he afraid?

Money politics and skewed decisions from the police and the EC – as evident in previous by-elections – can also be expected as the Umno goes all out to wrench the seat from arch rival PAS.

Suara Keadilan appends below the comments and expectations of both PAS and Umno leaders sourced from various media:

Nik Aziz Nik Mat, PAS spiritual adviser
We have been wanting to debate with Umno since PAS’ inception in 1951. I just want to ask two things — why reject Islam and embrace nationalism, and what is wrong with the policy implemented by PAS, especially in Kelantan.

The unity talks proposal is dead. We are united in Pakatan Rakyat. If Umno returns to the true teachings of Islam, everything will be fine.

I don’t know where Nasharudin is. Ask him lah.

Hadi Awang, PAS president
Only local issues will be important here. This is a state seat, not a federal one. Najib is also not here. The voters themselves can assess who is right and who is wrong.

Mohd Fauzi Abdullah, PAS candidate
We are close to the people here. The voters know me well. PAS is close to them and we have been moving on the ground much earlier.

Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, Umno vice president
This time around, voters in Manik Urai should not be deceived by PAS’ sweet talk because it is only sweet outside but bitter inside.

According to the latest statistics, there has been a positive outlook among voters in Manik Urai because the work done by the BN machinery had been effective.

The people must realise that only BN can bring about positive changes to the state.

Umno Youth has young leaders who are proficient in issues related to Islam and I am confident they will be able to counter issues raised by PAS during the dialogue.

Muhyiddin Yassin, Umno deputy president
We don’t think all the voters here fully support PAS and Nik Aziz.

Courtesy of SuaraKeadilan

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