No Choice!! Pak Lah need to stays on as PM

By Wong Choon Mei

A call by the Islamic-based PAS for the formation of a unity government to put aside unnecessary negative politicking and focus national resources and attention on weathering the economic crisis has the full backing of the Pakatan Rakyat.

However, there is one all-important condition.

“Broadly speaking, Pakatan is agreeable with the idea and principle of a unity government given the uncharted economic uncertainty facing the nation,” said KeADILan information chief Tian Chua.

“But we are agreeable only, and only if the unity government is under Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi. You can see for yourself, it is becoming quite clear, the people are uncomfortable with Najib, and we have to abide by their wishes.”

Put aside differences until next general election?

PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang had said that Barisan Nasional could not on its own pull Malaysia out from the economic crisis.

“To do it fairly it must involve all parties, in times of crisis it is important for all of to carry out our duties collectively,” Hadi was quoted as saying by the Malaysian Insider.

“I wish to suggest to the outgoing Prime Minister to make some changes, to at least complete his agenda in reforming the judiciary, eradicating corruption and I believe Barisan Nasional cannot do it alone.”

Abdullah is due to step down in favour of his deputy Najib Abdul Razak, who is also Finance Minister, on March 31.

The 55-year old Najib is the scion of one of the best-known political families in the country. Despite his distinguished lineage, he himself has been plagued by scandal throughout his 33-year political career.

Lacks the confidence of the people

Although the Umno-led Barisan Nasional no longer commands its long-held two-thirds majority in Parliament, it still has sufficient mandate to push through many programmes. However, it does not enjoy the confidence of the people and has been losing every by-election to the Pakatan since the March 2008 national polls.

The problem lies with the growing unpopularity and public distrust for Najib, who angered many Malaysians earlier this month with a questionable power grab in Perak state, leading to an outbreak of open and intensifying hostilities between the Pakatan and Umno-BN.

When news surfaced early last month that not a single initiative from a RM7 billion economic stimulus plan unveiled on Nov 4 had been implemented yet, public disquiet grew. Only then were steps hurriedly taken to push out RM5 billion in projects disbursements.

Disclosures from Najib’s own cabinet colleagues that chunks of the stimulus package were also to fund special projects in states holding by-elections further fuelled public distaste for his methods - reminiscent of those employed by his mentor, ex-premier Mahathir Mohamad and former economic adviser Daim Zainuddin.

Guilty or not, calls have been growing from the public as well as from civil society for Abdullah to stay on and keep an eye on the economy and the national coffers, as the government prepares to spend unprecedented billions to mitigate what will clearly be the worst-ever economic crisis.

Toll increases from March 1 for five highways

KUALA LUMPUR: The toll rates for five highways will be increased from March 1, Works Minister Datuk Mohamad Zin Mohamed said on Thursday.

The highways, which road users have to pay more to use are North-South Expressway (Plus), Sprint, Ampang Elevated Highway, Sg Besi Highway, and New Pantai Expressway.

StarBiz had reported Thursday that the Government was expected to make a decision on road toll rates soon, possibly before the end of the week, as it owes compensation to the highway concessionaires for at least two months and more will be owed without a decision.

“Three groups owned highways with toll rates that were overdue for increases, according to their concession agreements.

“These concession owners are PLUS Expressways Bhd, IJM Corp Bhd and Lingkaran Trans Kota Holdings Bhd (Litrak). While they own a number of tolled highways, several were due, or already overdue, for toll increases on Jan 1.

“These involved the North-South Expressway, New Klang Valley Expressway and Federal Highway Route 2 under PLUS, New Pantai Expressway (NPE) and Sungai Besi Highway under IJM group, and Damansara Link and Kerinchi Link that are stretches of the Sprint highway of Litrak,” wrote C.S. Tan.

Bewildered in Malaysia

The energy fuelling the electoral tsunami that saw members of the opposition coalition Pakatan Rakyat win in five states last March was general indignation over the rapidly deteriorating state of governance in the country.

With the ruling coalition, the Barisan Nasional, still not showing signs of reforming itself a year down the road, this indignation is turning into bewilderment.

The coup-through-defections against the PR government of Perak is still being played out, with the Sultan’s decision to hand over power to the BN being challenged with full force.

The PR Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Mohd Nizar Jamaluddin has taken his successor as MB, Datuk Zambry Abdul Kadir, to court for usurping his position, while the Speaker of the state assembly, V. Sivakumar, has suspended Zambry for 18 months from the legislature for contempt, and his five exco appointees for a year.

These latest moves are designed to force Sultan Azlan Shah to concede that all parties will have to return to the Perak electorate for the final say. The fear is that musclemen may be moved in to solve the constitutional crisis.

One further incident that is worrying the general public is the spreading of semi-nude photos of opposition leader Elizabeth Wong. These had been taken on the sly, apparently by an ex-boyfriend with his camera phone while she was asleep in her apartment.

Outraged, saddened and feeling violated, this prominent assemblywoman of Selangor has offered to resign. There was pressure on her to act in order to pre-empt a split in the PR, if and when certain Islamists may feel forced to criticise her for moral reasons. The coalition will decide her fate next week.

The vocal segment of the Malaysian public is expressing outrage over the fact that the apparent victim of a crime is being punished. This follows three lines of reasoning.

Firstly, had Wong been a man whose semi-nude pictures, taken without his consent, were distributed to the mass media, political repercussions would have been minimal.

Secondly, the invasion of privacy in this case was so blatant the mass media should not have tried to capitalise on it, and politicians such as former Selangor Menteri Besar Datuk Dr Khir Toyo, a BN leader badly tainted by allegations of wrongdoings, should not be calling for her immediate resignation.

Thirdly, the country’s ethical diversity is being denied to the extent that the supposed sensitivities of those most willing to demand ethical conformity of others are being given decisive and undue consideration.

While no link to the BN has been identified where the Elizabeth Wong case is concerned, most fingers are definitely pointing at elements in the government as the parties guilty of facilitating the release of the pictures.

Opposition parliamentarian Jeff Ooi has gone so far as to suggest on his popular website that Wong’s ex-boyfriend, Malek Hilmi, was one of several “Trojan horses” placed within the PR camp as aides in the confusion following PR’s surprise victories in last year’s general elections. Another such “horse”, claims Ooi, was Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s aide who has levelled charges of sodomy rape against his former boss.

Anwar himself has also accused the BN for being behind the release of Wong’s pictures.

Premier-in-waiting Datuk Seri Najib Razak has denied any BN connection to the case, and is challenging PR leaders to substantiate their claims. In the event, Najib failed to take moral advantage of the situation to act as the Premier-in-waiting and take a decided stand against the political misuse of Wong’s ordeal by BN leaders such as Khir.

In truth, the political game in Malaysia has reached the level where intrigues and hidden tactics are the order of the day, where the mass media, the police and the judiciary are no longer expected to act professionally, objectively, and with integrity.

Politicians, even leading politicians, are certainly not expected to act like statesmen, and in a non-partisan manner.

Under such circumstances, no one really expects any proof to be reliable or made readily available. Indeed, proof becomes rather superfluous where faith and trust in the institutions of state are in short supply.

Perception is everything in politics, and in Malaysia, where the BN has been in power since independence and controls — and has consequently compromised — all the institutions of government to varying degrees, any episode that hurts the opposition is invariably believed to bear BN’s fingerprints.

No evidence either way, be it in the Perak crisis or the Wong case, or even in the many politically charged criminal cases being heard at the moment in Malaysian courts, is taken at face value by the public.

Malaysia’s addiction to conspiracy theories is quite incurable, fed as it is by dose after dose of bewildering episodes and partisan posturing.

It is not only Perak that is suffering a constitutional crisis. The whole country is mired in a misguided democracy. — Today

Dodgy accounts in Selangor investment arm

By Neville Spykerman

SHAH ALAM, Feb 23 — The state investment agency Permodalan Negeri Selangor Berhad's (PNSB) chief executive and finance manager have been asked to go on leave following the discovery of irregularities in the company's financial accounts.

In a statement, the Selangor state Government said the company's chief executive Datin Khairiyah Abu Hassan and finance manager Nora Azmin Radzuan have been given 30 days paid leave to facilitate investigations.

The decision was made by PNSB's board of directors.

PNSB is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Selangor state government and the irregularities and weaknesses in the financial accounts was detected by Menteri Besar Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim

Khalid is the chairman of Selangor Menteri Besar Incorporated, the parent company of all state subsidiaries.

Among the discrepancies are PNSB's declarations to the Internal Revenue Board and the sale and purchase of real estate in Mekah between 2006 and 2007.

The Malaysian Insider has learnt that perks and bonuses of previous top officials of PNSB's were not declared to the IRB.

Dodgy accounts in Selangor investment arm

By Neville Spykerman

SHAH ALAM, Feb 23 — The state investment agency Permodalan Negeri Selangor Berhad's (PNSB) chief executive and finance manager have been asked to go on leave following the discovery of irregularities in the company's financial accounts.

In a statement, the Selangor state Government said the company's chief executive Datin Khairiyah Abu Hassan and finance manager Nora Azmin Radzuan have been given 30 days paid leave to facilitate investigations.

The decision was made by PNSB's board of directors.

PNSB is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Selangor state government and the irregularities and weaknesses in the financial accounts was detected by Menteri Besar Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim

Khalid is the chairman of Selangor Menteri Besar Incorporated, the parent company of all state subsidiaries.

Among the discrepancies are PNSB's declarations to the Internal Revenue Board and the sale and purchase of real estate in Mekah between 2006 and 2007.

The Malaysian Insider has learnt that perks and bonuses of previous top officials of PNSB's were not declared to the IRB.

Caught on video: Its Norm In Malaysiakini

BEIJING - CHINA has sacked a senior official for misconduct after Internet users uploaded a video of a government delegation enjoying a tour of the Pyramids in Egypt on a public-funded 'study' trip, local media said on Monday.

Overseas 'study' trips have long been a perk enjoyed by Chinese bureaucrats, with travel itineraries often skewed more towards pleasure than business.

Internet-led witch-hunts by Chinese surfers, known as 'human flesh search engines', have gleefully exposed a string of officials enjoying excessive leisure time on the public purse, leading to media storms and sackings.

A post titled 'Overseas study or overseas travel?' spread across Chinese portals in recent days shows a video of 13 public servants from Zhaoqing, a city in southern Guangdong province, living it up on a 14-day tour to Africa and the Middle East in 2007.

Apart from taking in the Pyramids and the Sphinx in Egypt, the 17-minute video posted on one blog on major Chinese webportal Sina.com (http: vhead.blog.sina.com.cn/player/outertplayer.swf?auto=1&vid=18827101&uid=1267084551) shows them touring Table Mountain in Capetown, riding jeeps in the desert, and visiting an ostrich farm.

One scene shows officials laughing and dancing with models on a cat-walk in Istanbul. Another shows them touring Dubai's iconic Burj Al Arab hotel.

Narrated by unseen male and female narrators and sometimes accompanied by hip-hop music, the video appears to be specially edited to package the officials' holiday memories.

The delegation, led by a Communist Party official in Duanzhou district, also includes officials of the local government's finance and legal affairs bureaux and 'discipline and inspection' office, the department responsible for checks and balances.

Each of the officials' titles appears in the video, but the names are obscured by red. It was unclear how the video came to circulate on the Internet. The city's disciplinary office had confirmed the trip had been funded by public money and sacked Duanzhou's deputy Communist Party secretary, a report by the Guangzhou Daily posted on Sina.com (www.sina.com.cn) said.

Other officials were under investigation and had been ordered to pay back the money for trip, which amounted to some 450,000 yuan (S$100,000), the report said. -- REUTERS

REUTERS

ACCEPT NAJIB OR LOSE THE THRONE

Could This Be True?!!
Date: Fri, 13 Feb 2009 09:49:21 +0800
NEWSBREAK

Here's a dramatic twist to the Perak Conundrum…

HRH SULTAN AZLAN SHAH DID NOT HAVE A CHOICE – IT WAS EITHER ACCEPT NAJIB OR LOSE THE THRONE OF PERAK IN A FEW MONTHS.


There was controversy when Azlan was elected as Raja Muda (Crown
Regent) because his mother is a commoner and was therefore considered
an outsider.

In fact it is believed that he lived outside the royal community when he was growing up.

Zombie Used The RAKYATs Monies To London?

Perak Mentri Besar Datuk Dr Zambry Abdul Kadir and his six suspended state executive council members are seeking a second opinion from a Queen’s Counsel in London on the constitutional impasse in the state.

Dey Tamby Zombie, who pays the cost for all the bastard to London?. See!! Non Malaysian wants to take your case. Why dont you look for Mr Correct Correct Correct?

What? He also don't wants!. Than you should go for Mr Korek Korek Korek. You basket!! Son of a bi=ch.

According to a source close to the Barisan Nasional, a senior lawyer is leaving for London Monday to meet with the QC.

One of the assemblymen and other lawyers will also be part of the group, said the source.

“The team comprises old and new young lawyers, there is one who was involved in the two chief ministers case in Sabah in 1986.

“They are going to for a second opinion on the purported suspension of the Perak MB and the six assemblymen as well as the suit filed (by Datuk Seri Nizar Jamaluddin on Feb 13) that the MB (Dr Zambry) is purportedly not the MB.”

The constitutional crisis in Perak began early this month after two PKR and one DAP assemblymen left their parties, leading to Nizar to seek Sultan Azlan Shah’s consent to dissolve the state assembly. On Feb 5, the ruler instead declared the Pakatan Rakyat government had lost its majority and appointed Barisan’s Dr Zambry as Mentri Besar.

Nizar and his team have refused to quit and the crisis is now a well truly a constitutional quagmire after State Legislative Assembly Speaker V. Sivakumar on Feb 18 suspended Dr Zambry and his executive council from the assembly for 12 and 18 months, respectively.

Asked whether the lawyers had been instructed by Barisan, the source said they were acting on behalf of Dr Zambry and the six exco members and took instructions from them as the aggrieved party.

On whether they would apply for a QC to represent them in court, the source said:

“No. In addition to seeking a second opinion, they also want an opinion on the position in other Commonwealth jurisdictions, apart from the Sabah and Sarawak cases here.”

Asked whether the legal eagles were getting a QC’s opinion because several legal experts have described the legal impasse as “uncharted constitutional territory”, despite the East Malaysian case precedents, he replied:

“They think the Federal Constitution has been stretched to extreme limits. See how the Speaker unilaterally acted in convening the Rights and Privileges Committee when the Dewan was not in session and suspending the MB and his exco members.”

“That is a clear and direct contravention of the assembly’s Standing Orders and convention as practised in Parliament.”

Asked whether the state legal adviser would represent Dr Zambry and the six in court, the source said that because they were suspended as assemblymen, the question of whether the state legal adviser could do so in that case and act for Dr Zambry in Nizar’s application for a judicial review was also a matter they were seeking a second opinion of from the QC.

Day Time Robbery: RM30 billion Gone

KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 22 – The government is expected to announce a stimulus package worth more than RM30 billion next month, Sin Chew Daily, the country’s leading Chinese-language newspaper reported today.

The newspaper quoted deputy finance minister Datuk Kong Cho Ha as disclosing “the minis-budget will be worth more than RM30 billion and will benefit most sectors of the economy.”

It had been widely expected that the mini-budget set to be announced by Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak on March 10 would be worth some RM10 billion only.

But analysts and economists have been painting a grim picture on Malaysia’s economic outlook and have projected in recent weeks that the country needs an injection of around RM50 billion to cushion the blow from any global recession.

Kong was quoted by Sin Chew as saying the government’s mini-budget would be especially used to help those facing retrenchment. (Can the RAKYAT trust you?)

He said the government expects between 50,000 and 60,000 Malaysians to become jobless this year.

Government officials believe that there is a good chance that Malaysia could be in recession this year.

This grim picture only makes it harder for the Barisan Nasional government to shore up its support at the political front, and could have a significant impact on the public perception towards Najib (read Najis) when he takes over the premiership in March.

Since unveiling the RM7 billion stimulus package in November, the administration has been upbeat about the ability of the Malaysian economy to deal with the global crisis, given the strength of the financial system here, liquidity in the markets and reasonable commodity prices.

But assumptions made when the earlier package was unveiled are no longer valid.

Malaysia’s exports have plunged more sharply than anticipated because global market demand for the country’s products has plummeted.

December’s figures showed that exports contracted by nearly 15 per cent.

Its understands that some RM5 billion of the RM7 billion stimulus package was disbursed by the Finance Ministry to individual ministries in January but much of it has been trapped by officialdom and suffocating red tape.

As a result, very few pump-priming projects identified under the stimulus package have taken off.

The Malaysian Employers Federation believes that as many as 200,000 workers could be jobless in 2009, a projection far higher than that of the government.

Recognising the gloomy outlook, Najib finally admitted last week that the government’s optimistic projection of a 3.5 per cent expansion in the economy was highly unlikely to happen.

He said the government is likely to revise downwards its projection in real gross domestic product for 2009 to a more realistic level.

Most economists in the private sector are predicting figures of between zero and one per cent with some even suggesting a contraction of at least five per cent.

Malaysiakini Incident Proved Malaysian Police Are Idiot

A two-hour search at the scene, involving two police dogs, proved fruitless. -- PHOTO: AFP

KUALA LUMPUR - MALAYSIAN police have launched a manhunt for a Singaporean detainee facing the death sentence, who escaped from custody in handcuffs while being escorted to court, a report said on Sunday.

The New Straits Times said the Singaporean man was being taken to a court lock-up in a police vehicle with two other detainees on Friday, when he shoved an officer out of the car and escaped.

The remaining officer could not give chase as he had to guard the other detainees.

A two-hour search at the scene, involving two police dogs, proved fruitless.

Khalid Abu Bakar, police chief of central Selangor state, told the daily that an investigation would be conducted into how the man managed to escape.

'The two policemen are also being investigated as certain procedures were not followed,' he said.

The Singaporean, who was not named in the report, was arrested several years ago and charged with drug trafficking, which carries the death penalty. -- AFP

Malaysian Cops good for nothing. Mostly sre corrupted. Idiot and shits........ PDRM are The real basket and hopeless government department.

Bukit Aman commercial crime division quiz Samy Vellu - Malaysiakini

Federal police in Bukit Aman and the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) are investigating MIC's education arm, Maju Institute of Educational Development (MIED), an entity entrusted to construct and run the political party's Asian Institute of Medicine, Science and Technology (AIMST).

Police also earlier this week met MIC president Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu over the case.

Bukit Aman commercial crime division director Datuk Koh Hong Sun today confirmed that his department had begun investigations into the construction and maintenance of AIMST, which saw its initial cost estimate of RM230 million balloon to RM500 million at the end of the construction period early last year.

AIMST, located in Semeling, Kedah, opened its doors 18 months ago as an MIC endeavour to own and run its own university.

A brainchild of Samy Vellu, it was built from contributions by well-wishers, donations and collections from each MIC branch in the country.

"We started investigations after several police reports were lodged on the matter. We have also interviewed several MIED office-bearers and investigations are continuing," Koh told Bernama.

It is learnt that the police reports were lodged by individuals alleging financial mismanagement in AIMST's construction and maintenance.

Police sources revealed that commercial crime officers spoke to Samy Vellu for five hours at the MIC headquarters on Wednesday and that some files on MIED and AIMST were taken to facilitate investigations.

"The Bukit Aman commercial crime division director is directly monitoring investigations. This is a big case. We might also question several other MIC leaders.

"Once investigations are completed, we will talk to MACC if there is a need for further action. The MACC is also monitoring the case and if we need their assistance, we would ask them to move in... only if the need arises," a senior officer involved in investigations told Bernama.

Samy Vellu, it is also learnt, has briefed the MIC central working committee on the visit by the police to the party headquarters, at the CWC meeting on Thursday.

Asked if Samy Vellu had been questioned, Koh declined comment, saying that it was not right to divulge any information on the case as the probe was under way.

MIED, which runs AIMST through MIED Capital Sdn Bhd, has been mired in controversy after it was found that the cost of AIMST doubled from its early estimate.

Last December, Tan Sri M. Mahalingam, a signatory of MIED cheques, was removed as MIC treasurer-general by Samy Vellu, who said the move was part of an MIC rebranding exercise.

The party president had also said that there was a need to inject new blood into the party.

MIED chief executive officer P. Chitrakala Vasu, on the other hand, has been asked by Samy Vellu to go on leave since the controversy broke out.

Samy Vellu had also sent Chitrakala several show-cause letters, to which she had replied.

There have been news reports of some irregularities with regard to the awarding of the contracts, especially those involving landscaping and providing security at AIMST.

The saga took an unexpected turn last month when MIC vice-president and MIED director Datuk S. Sothinathan lodged two police reports over missing files belonging to MIED.

The reports, lodged at the Dang Wangi police station and Sentul district police headquarters, alleged that files pertaining to the AIMST contracts were missing from the party headquarters in Jalan Rahmat, off Jalan Ipoh here.

Last week, a former MIC member lodged a report at the MACC headquarters in Putrajaya, saying he had surrendered proof to the commission on alleged mismanagement in the awarding of construction contracts.

He had also alleged that some politicians awarded contracts to their friends without a proper tender process.

It is learnt the MACC has opened a file on the matter and investigations have already begun. However, the current batch of leaders involved in MIED and AIMST have yet to be interviewed.

Mahalingam, when contacted, revealed that officers from the Bukit Aman commercial crime division had recorded his statement on the MIED and AIMST accounts.

"Yes, I spoke to the police. It was for about four hours, a few days ago. I explained some matters that were referred to me. I can only tell them what I know," he said, adding that MACC officers had not contacted him.

It is learnt that Chitrakala is overseas and is expected to return home at the end of the month. — Bernama

Karpal questions MACC

GEORGE TOWN: DAP chairman Karpal Singh is questioning the “unholy haste” behind the decision of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) in announcing that it had good and strong evidence against Selangor Mentri Besar Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim for misusing his powers.

“As MP (Bukit Gelugor), I demand from MACC chief commissioner Datuk Seri Ahmad Said Hamdan as to the basis on which he made this very serious statement publicly.

“I wonder what his motive was in publicly maligning the Mentri Besar,” said Karpal Singh on Saturday.

He said it was a very serious matter for Ahmad Said to publicly announce, before a decision was made to prosecute, that the MACC had good and strong evidence to show that Khalid misused his powers over the maintenance of his personal car and the distribution of 46 cows for slaughter in his Bandar Tun Razak parliamentary constituency.

Karpal Singh said he would raise the matter in Parliament, which is in the process of sitting, if he did not get a proper reply.

He said Ahmad Said was “quite incompetent” in saying the commission would refer the case to the Attorney-General’s chambers although it was vested with powers to prosecute.

“He does not even know the provisions of Section 58 of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission Act 2009, which states that a prosecution for an offence under the Act shall not be instituted except by or with the consent of the Public Prosecutor.

“The MACC is given wide powers of investigation but no power to prosecute,” he said.

Karpal Singh also said Selangor opposition leader Datuk Seri Dr Mohd Khir Toyo should not publicly say that in the event Khalid was charged, he should resign until such time the case was concluded.

“The question of resigning his post does not arise because the law is very clear. A person is presumed innocent until proven guilty, that’s elementary,” said Karpal Singh.

He was speaking at a press conference at his legal firm in Green Hall here after having his statement recorded by investigating officer ASP Mohamad Ismail Jamaluddin from the George Town police headquarters in connection to his police report lodged on Friday about receiving live bullets and a death threat through the mail.

Karpal Singh said the case had been classified as criminal intimidation by an anonymous communication under Section 507 of the Penal Code, which carries a jail term of up to two years in addition to the punishment provided for threatening to cause death or grievous hurt under Section 506, which carries a jail term of up to seven years, or a fine, or both.

“I call upon the Inspector-General of Police to personally look into the report, which is a very serious threat to an MP. No MP should be intimidated with death,” he said.

He also reminded whoever had sent the threat that it would not deter him in his duties to the people and in the public interest.

Please accept me as MB. U make me laugh!

IPOH: Mentri Besar Datuk Dr Zambry Abd Kadir has appealed to the people to accept the Sultan of Perak’s decision to appoint him to rule the state.

Dr Zambry said he was aware that people were wondering whether he was truly the MB.

“I understand the question and I want to make it clear that I would not be here if my position was considered illegitimate and illegal.

“I ask from the heart that we show our readiness to the Sultan,” he said during his inaugural meeting with school principals and headmasters at the state secretariat here on Saturday.

Dr Zambry urged the people to not be overcome by emotion and to view the situation in an objective manner.

Saying he did not want to influence everyone, he called on them to look objectively at the actual causes behind the crisis recently taking Perak by storm.

“Please come to your senses. A person who is overcome by anger will not be able to come to the best decision. Let us show respect to the Sultan,” he added.

Dr Zambry added that he would not let the political crisis of the past few days, since he and his exco members were barred from assembly sittings, affect his duties as mentri besar.

Kah....Kah....Kah.....Kah...... What a Zombie !!!!!!!!!!

Arrogant Barisan Nasional

Unlike a lot of people who have been making noise about Elizabeth Wong in the past week, I have a couple of links to Eli: I personally know her, and she is my representative in the Selangor state assembly. I have a real stake in what happens to her, and in how the present political crisis in Malaysia is resolved. And I am mad as hell with what is going on right now. As far as I’m concerned, nearly all of the political machinations since the beginning of this year have done little but undermine the will and the fundamental democratic rights of the Malaysian people, and I’ve had quite enough of it.

My former Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Dr Khir Toyo thinks Eli ought to quit for having a boyfriend who — horror of horrors — has access to her apartment at night. That’s not a crime. As far as moral offences go, it might as well be a virtue. I’d much rather be represented by a politician whose only fault is trusting her boyfriend too much, instead of a politician who went on television a few days ago to pour a heap of scorn on my rights as a Malaysian citizen.

There is a pattern to all that’s been going on lately, and that pattern is pretty clear: most of our politicians, especially prominent leaders of Barisan Nasional, aren’t very interested in protecting the rights and liberties of the citizens they supposedly serve. Look at the body language of the four katak Perak state reps at the press conference Barisan excitedly threw to welcome them — how many of them were actually excited about joining Barisan? Barisan’s own politicians are not very keen on being a part of Barisan, and that is because unlike Barisan’s top leadership, they understand that there will be a judgment day, and when that day comes, the Malaysian people will judge Barisan very harshly for what it has done.

After all, Barisan decided to kick off the year by subverting the popular will of one of the most prosperous and advanced states in the country. As has become so transparently clear ever since his fall from power, the former Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Nizar Jamaluddin is so wildly popular that he has become a hero to Malaysians across the country — an unlikely fate for a former political unknown from Pas, whose initial appointment as menteri besar was so controversial amongst people of all political persuasions. Just under a year ago, a majority of the voters in Perak decisively threw their support behind Pakatan Rakyat; the subversion of their will has been a complete and utter betrayal of the democracy we supposedly believe in.

Meanwhile, the campaign against the Pakatan Rakyat government of my state, Selangor, seems to be already well under way. Before anyone could even react to the shocking news about Eli, Khir Toyo was already out there calling for her to resign — shockingly arrogant behaviour for a menteri besar whose administration was marked by incredible tolerance for corruption and mismanagement, far worse crimes against the Malaysian people. My family, my constituency, my state voted for a Pakatan Rakyat government, and we’ll be damned if Barisan politicians like Khir think they can just waltz in and undemocratically topple the government we elected.

Of course, Khir does think that, because like many of his Barisan colleagues, he really does not believe in democracy or in the constitutional rights of the rakyat. At his recent televised debate with two other contenders for the Umno Youth chief post, he persistently argued that it is unconstitutional to regard non-Malay Malaysians as equal to their Malay fellows. I wonder if Khir is this forthrightly bermuka tebal about non-Malay inferiority in casual conversation with his non-Malay friends.

As comfortable as Umno politicians like Khir are with playing this nonsensical game of denouncing the rights and prerogatives of half the country they serve, they would be as uncomfortable as ever saying this tripe to their non-Malay colleagues. This doesn’t just insult the citizenship and freedoms of non-Malays — this is a challenge to every Malaysian. My Malay friends treat me as their equal, and I treat them exactly the same way; Khir’s preposterous argument that it is an insult to the Malays for the non-Malays to be their equal is essentially saying that the Malays are so small-minded, so bigoted, so insecure that they can never engage their fellow Malaysians as equals.

The truth is, Khir is just projecting his own problems and insecurities onto the Malays he so vocally claims to serve; as with most politicians from his party, he is the one who is small-minded, bigoted and insecure. It’s no wonder; Barisan can now no longer count on the support of Malaysians, and neither can its leaders. Respect is something you have to earn, and can easily be lost; while Pakatan has been slowly building up respect, Barisan has only seen its reputation shredded over the years.

If Barisan wants to lead, that leadership role is not going to be a free lunch. The politicians of Barisan need to win back the support of the voters. Toppling democratically-elected governments and inventing scandals out of whole cloth is not going to do that. Respecting the voters, engaging them in thoughtful discussion, and attempting to meet their needs is what wins hearts and minds.

That is why Pakatan is on the upswing, while Barisan goes from defeat to defeat. As I write this, Barisan is now angrily lashing out at the speaker of the Perak state assembly for suspending its supposed menteri besar and his exco. Instead of calling for fresh elections, as they undoubtedly would have done themselves if Pakatan had successfully lured 30-plus MPs to its side last September, Barisan leaders whine about Pakatan disrespecting the will of the Rulers.

There’s a lot of good things to be said for the Rulers, and there’s a lot of good things to be said for Barisan. You can’t deny what they have done for Malaysia in the past. But you can’t deny that they are what now seem to be holding us back from the democratic ideals we aspire to. Like it or not, this is a constitutional and democratic monarchy, with rules we have to follow. You can’t topple the constitutionally-elected and appointed government without expecting severe consequences. You can’t subvert the will of the rakyat without expecting to run into major difficulties.

At least when Pakatan courted crossovers from MPs, it was open with the public about its actions and the need for feedback and dialogue; Barisan’s smug, arrogant “we know better” attitude throughout the recent political storms has only cemented public opinion against it. Barisan does not even care enough about the voters to engage them through the press or to seek their approval, as Pakatan did in its own ethically debatable crossover campaign. Barisan simply does not care about its constituents; it claims to be their legitimate representative, in spite of going behind the public’s back to topple their elected leaders. If you want your leadership to be respected, you have to earn that respect — and that respect can only be earned by first respecting those you seek to lead.

The arrogant Barisan persists in asserting that it knows better than the voters, that it has the right to overturn the constitution, the laws, the democracy we have in place. God knows that for the last few decades that’s almost all they have been doing. But last March, Malaysians decisively told Barisan to shape up or ship out: that we can have a Malaysia without a Barisan government. If Barisan truly wants our respect and truly wants to lead, it has to start by respecting this verdict. As long as it persists in inventing scandals and excuses to topple our democratically-elected leaders, we the rakyat will be glad to continue rejecting the false and undemocratic leadership of Barisan Nasional.

Short Story Of Malaysian Cop and AG

—PRESS STATEMENT FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE —
20th February 2009.


1. On 1st July last year 2008, I made a police report against Gani Patail and Musa Hassan stating that they were amongst the persons involved in fabricating evidence against me in the police investigation into the assault on me by Rahim Noor.

2. I regret that it has been over 8 months now and there is no sign of any action being taken by the ACA ( now the much touted MACC ).

3. We are told last December in Parliament by Minister Nazri that the investigation papers are with the Chambers of the Attorney General. How much confidence can that generate when it is Gani Patail himself who is directly implicated in an offence of fabricating evidence.

4. Detailed information about the involvement of Gani Patail in the process of that police investigation has been revealed in the Statement of Claim filed by Dato Mat Zain ( the investigating officer in my assault case ) in his civil suit against me confirming irrefutably the role of Gani Patail and Musa Hassan in that sorry episode.

5. That information together with an insightful analysis of the proceedings of the Royal Commission has now shown me that Gani Patail and Musa Hassan were involved in another instance of fabricating evidence.

6. The facts also show that they were involved ( with other senior police officers ) in the fabrication of a false police report ( Travers Report 3977/98 )in relation to my arrest made by ACP Koh, my arresting officer at 2 am on 21st September 1998, stating that I was arrested under the ISA, instead of the sodomy allegation that was stated to me by Koh when he effected the arrest at my home a few hours earlier. This was done in a conspiracy to prevent the fact of my assault and injuries being made known to the public, as I would not have to be produced in court subsequently.

7. Gani Patail and Musa Hassan as persons who had committed such offences in the past. Yet they have been entrusted with the leadership of critical agencies such as the police and the AG’s chambers.

8. I have today lodged a police report in relation to their role in the conspiracy resulting in Koh lodging a false police report against me on 21st September 1998. I say that this further confirms their role in the conspiracy behind the lodging of the police report by Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan on 28th June 2008 as a fabricated report.

9. I call for immediate action in relation to my earlier police report lodged on 1st July 2008.

ANWAR IBRAHIM
20 February 2009

From Elizabert Wong To Malaysian.

Dear friends,

I have departed today.

Despite having tendered my resignation from all posts, the media and websites continue to intrude into my private life and privacy. I have been informed by several media that they will continue to publish even more lewd graphical, sensational stories of my private life. I have also been told there will be a fresh assault, with more photographs and videos released and circulated in order to completely degrade and bury me.

This is the darkest episode in my life. I have never felt so alone, vulnerable and humiliated. I need to rest and to search for peace of mind to get away from the stormy events surrounding me.

I appreciate the overwhelming support from all quarters, especially my voters, women in particular and party comrades. Words cannot express my gratitude for your gentle kindness.

I have informed my party leaders that I am determined to relinquish all my positions, as a Selangor State Exco Member as well as the State Assemblywoman for Bukit Lanjan. I am thankful for the party leadership’s concern and encouragement. I seek their understanding for my predicament.

My commitment to the ideals of the Parti Keadilan Rakyat remains unwavering. I shall retain my party membership and continue to struggle for a just society with the party.

The nation is at a crisis facing a serious economic recession. Unemployment is rising, while corruption remains rampant. I wish public discussions would concentrate on these important issues rather than analysing my private life. My principle remains the same – I will not answer any questions pertaining to my private life. My private life is not for public scrutiny as I have not broken any law or caused harm to anyone.

I plead to the media as well as my supporters to allow me some peace of mind, and to give me space. I urge the media to leave my family, friends and I alone. Please do not continue to shame my family and I, so that we have a chance to lead a normal life as ordinary citizens.

Lastly, I wish to thank the support from the public that has been pouring in ceaselessly. I am very moved and eternally grateful to my friends and colleagues who stand by me. There is nothing in this world that can repay your kindness.

ELIZABETH WONG

Its gutter politics

CAMBRIDGE (Britain): Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad believes that the circulation of Bukit Lanjan assemblyman Elizabeth Wong’s semi-nude photographs was politically motivated.

“In Malaysia now, we’re seeing a lot of dirty politics,” the former Prime Minister said in response to claims that she was a victim of a political smear campaign.

He added that a lot of things were happening in Malaysia which was related to politics.

“This is bad because it’s so easy to take pictures and get people into trouble,” he told The Star after giving a talk on “Malaysia At The Crossroads” at Cambridge University on Wednesday.

Dr Mahathir added that whether Wong would eventually resign depended on her party although she had offered to do so.

What Al Jazeera Says About Malaysia.

The chief minister of a Malaysian state and his six member cabinet have been barred from attending the state parliament, in the latest move of a growing political crisis pitting the country's opposition against the ruling coalition and royalty.

On Wednesday V Sivakumar, the speaker of the assembly in the northern state of Perak, ordered the suspensions of Zambry Abdul Kadir and six others from the ruling Barisan Nasional (National Front) coalition.

In a statement, Sivakumar, a member of the opposition Pakatan Rakyat (People's Alliance) coalition, said he was suspending Zambry for showing contempt to the house by taking office unconstitutionally last month.

"I have decided that Zambry is, with immediate effect, suspended and barred from attending State Assembly sessions for 18 months while the six [cabinet] members are barred for 12 months," he said in the statement.

If the suspensions stand, the balance of power in Perak will return to the opposition.

Zambry and his colleagues replaced an opposition government, which won control of the state in general elections last March, but lost power following the defection of three of its members in January.

The March elections saw the ruling BN score its worst result in more than five decades in power, losing control of Perak and four other states and seeing its majority in the national parliament radically reduced.

Defections

The Perak crisis has sparked allegations that the opposition defectors were bought over by Umno (United Malay National Organisation), the dominant partner in the BN coalition.

The escalating stand-off in the state comes as Umno's Najib Abdul Razak, Malaysia's prime minister-in-waiting, faces party elections next month.

Following the defections, the state's hereditary ruler and titular head, Sultan Azlan Shah, appointed Zambry as the new chief minister.

The opposition claimed the sultan had acted unconstitutionally in making the appointment without waiting for a vote of confidence in the state assembly.

Sivakumar, the Perak speaker, also questioned the sultan's decision, a move fraught with risk of igniting racial conflicts.

Sultans in Malaysian states are highly respected and considered beyond reproach by most Malays, the country's ethnic majority, who also believe that decisions by sultans should not be questioned, especially by non-Malays.

'Abuse of power'

According to The Star newspaper, Zambry, the ousted chief minister, has described the suspension order as a joke that he said made a mockery of the system.

"The suspension is tantamount to not respecting the sultan," Mah Hang Soon, one of Zambry's suspended cabinet members, said.

Hamdi Abu Bakar, an associate of Zambry, said the suspended legislators would continue to work as normal.

"The speaker has no right to do that. It's an abuse of power," he said.

Last Friday, Mohammad Nizar Jamaluddin, the former opposition chief minister, filed a legal suit challenging the legitimacy of his successor and the new state government.

Source: Al Jazeera

Idiot tells Zombie to lodge police

PUTRAJAYA: Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi has asked Perak Mentri Besar Datuk Dr Zambry Abd Kadir to lodge a police report against state assembly speaker V. Sivakumar.

The Prime Minister said he had spoken to Dr Zambry about his suspension and was of the opinion that he should lodge a police report, adding that the mentri besar “was of the same opinion.”

On Wednesday, Dr Zambry and all six state executive council members were suspended and barred from the state assembly for allegedly showing contempt for the House. Dr Zambry was suspended for 18 months, the others for 12 months each.

Sivakumar, who heads the Committee of Special Privileges that summoned the seven to answer to a complaint, made the order on grounds that they had failed to give any explanation.

Abdullah told Dr Zambry and his exco to “continue attending the state assembly, and to serve the state and its people.”

Lopsided highway contracts

PETALING JAYA: An “Unfair Public Contracts Act” should be passed in Parliament to set aside or review lopsided contracts, including those for highway projects that have not benefitted the people.

Lawyer Tommy Thomas said only such an Act would make it compulsory for such contracts to be revised.

“The Act should give legal power to an independent public contracts commissioner. He should be allowed to access and review all public contracts and supporting documents, be given the power to subpoena and have a team of experts to aid him,” he said when speaking at a public dialogue entitled “Can we get back our highways?” Wednesday night.

“The commissioner must then certify in his judgment whether the contract is unfair, and he should also be given the power to set aside or renegotiate the contracts and provide compensation where it is due,” he added.

There should also be relevant guidelines on compensation, limiting them depending on past profits, he added.

Panellist and Petaling Jaya Utara MP Tony Pua said that it was contractually possible for the Government to buy back certain highways such as the Lebuhraya Damansara Puchong (LDP) at a reasonable figure as stated in the declassified concession agreement.

“For the LDP agreement, there is an expropriation clause where the Government can terminate the agreement by giving the concessionaire three months’ notice.

“LDP cost RM1.33bil to build, but they stand to make RM18.8bil by 2019 according to profit projections based on their listing prospectus,” he said.

He added that at the end of last year, the Government paid a total of RM628mil in compensation to the concessionaire Lingkaran Trans Kota Sdn Bhd (Litrak).

“The toll rates are expected to increase to RM3.10 in 2016. Even if the Government absorbs some of the cost and we pay RM2.60, it is still the taxpayers’ money that has to be used to pay the compensation,” he added.

YB Eli Ex-boyfriend sought

KUALA LUMPUR - MALAYSIAN police are seeking the ex-boyfriend of opposition politician Elizabeth Wong after photos of her in the nude were circulated.

He has been identified as Mr Hilmi Malek (above), 32, who worked as a personal assistant to lawmaker Hee Loy Sian for nine months after last year's March general election.

Like Miss Wong, Mr Hee is also from the opposition party Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR).

Selangor police chief Khalid Abu Bakar said they had received two nude photographs, and a CD, of the 37-year-old Wong from a Malay Mail journalist.

The photos, which have been circulating since last week, reportedly show Miss Wong partially covered by a sarong. It is not known how the private snaps ended up in public circulation.

Police have recorded statements from four journalists from the Malay Mail and Sun, reportedly the first two newspapers to have received the photos.

They also recorded Miss Wong's statement on Tuesday, after she offered to resign from her Selangor executive councillor and assemblyman posts. PKR has not yet accepted her resignation. She is now on leave.

According to the Malay Mail, Mr Hilmi has been missing since last Saturday, with unconfirmed reports saying he has left the country. The paper quoted Mr Hilmi's colleagues as saying they were aware of his relationship with Miss Wong and that the latter had revealed that they had split up recently.

Prominent blogger and opposition MP Jeff Ooi wrote on his blog that this would be the second time a politician's aide was involved in such a scandal, and suggested they were 'trojan horses'. He cited the earlier example of opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim's aide Saiful Bukhari Azlan, who had accused Mr Anwar of having sodomised him.

'I believe there is a dire need for all Pakatan Rakyat leaders and elected representatives to beware of trojan horses in our earnest deeds to recruit new blood and party cadres,' he wrote.

For now, it appears that Miss Wong could continue as assemblyman.

PKR insiders said she may relinquish her executive council position in the Selangor government, but public support could enable her to keep her state seat, the Malaysian Insider news website reported.

Selangor chief minister Khalid Ibrahim has said he is open to the idea, but added he would seek the advice of the Selangor sultan and discuss the matter with the state executive council. snst

Was this the future of Umno?

At best last night's televised debate between the three Umno Youth chief candidates confirmed what an increasing number of Malaysians think of Umno — that its leaders are out of touch, arrogant, hypocritical.

Worst still, it showed the appeal to the Umno ground of particularly racist views.

At one stage Datuk Seri Dr Mohd Khir Toyo appeared to be even suggesting that it was blasphemous for the government to consider non-Malays on the same standing as Malays.

Malays, he argued, had a special position under the federal constitution. Likewise Islam and as such it could not be placed on the same standing as non-Islamic religions.

Even when the moderator pointed out to Dr Khir that he was one of the leaders in Umno and Barisan Nasional that lost an entire state to the Pakatan Rakyat, he argued that it was because his party was not Islamic enough and did not champion the Malays enough.

Never once did Dr Khir acknowledge the public perception of corruption and arrogance in his government when he was Selangor menteri besar.

To their credit, the other two candidates — Khairy Jamaluddin and Datuk Mukhriz Mahathir — appeared a little uncomfortable with some of Dr Khir's remarks.

Mukhriz appeared to be way out of his league during the debate, and looked like he did not really want to be there.

From his responses — that he was very proud of his father — it was clear that what he was trying to offer Malaysians nostalgic for his father's strong leadership a return to Mahathirism.

Mukhriz offered support for Dr Khir's assertion that the government has been slow in invoking the Internal Security Act on DAP politician Karpal Singh over his threat to sue the Perak Sultan.

He also voiced support for a continuation of the policy to teach science and mathematics in English, which was one of the last major policies introduced by his father.

But among the three men it was probably only Khairy who attempted to project a more centrist view.

The current deputy Youth chief played it safe when it came to the issue of affirmative action policies — he was for such policies to continue — but he avoided the vitriolics of the other two men when it came to the use of the ISA.

He also pointed out that the upcoming power transition from his father-in-law Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi to Datuk Seri Najib Razak would be meaningless without reform.

Compared to Dr Khir's conservative bordering on extremist views, Khairy's message was probably the most palatable of the three candidates (Mukhriz was almost not there).

He appeared to be saying sorry on behalf of his father-in-law when he acknowledged the failure to deliver the reforms promised in 2004 led to BN and Umno's disastrous performance in last year's general election.

But the fact that the moderator Dr Agus Yusof pointed out to some ironic applause from the audience that Khairy was also seen to be a liability which contributed to BN's results, suggests Malaysians remain quite sceptical and cynical about what the deputy Youth chief had to say.

If the audience reactions were anything to go by Dr Khir probably won the debate.

If the audience reactions are a reflection of the views of Umno members, Dr Khir will probably become the next Umno Youth chief.

And if that happens, it will probably see a more nationalist Umno emerging, and one which is opposed to reforms and changes, and one which will lead a more hardline government.

Perak Speaker has suspension powers

KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 18 — The Perak Speaker acted within his powers when he barred Menteri Besar Datuk Zambry Abdul Kadir and six executive councillors from the next sitting of the state legislature, in the latest move arising from the constitutional crisis in Perak, said a law expert today.

Abdul Aziz Bari, a law professor at the International Islamic University here, told The Malaysian Insider that the Speaker’s authority covers a very wide area in matters involving the assembly’s regulations.

“That includes the finality on the interpretation of provisions in the Standing Orders, the rules which govern the House,” he said.

Veteran lawyer, Karpal Singh, concurred.

Karpal, who is also the DAP chairman, said that while V Sivakumar is a first-term Speaker, he is absolutely within his rights to act as he did today.

Earlier today, Sivakumar announced that Zambry would not be allowed to take part in the state assembly’s proceedings for the next 18 months, following a probe by the state assembly’s Special Privileges Committee.

Sivakumar added that six other BN state lawmakers would also not be allowed in for the next 12 months.

The committee had acted following complaints that the seven state assemblymen were appointed unconstitutionally.

Abdul Aziz observed that at the federal level, the Speaker of the Dewan Rakyat has previously made some “absurd and illogical decisions — rejecting motions and suspending members, among others”.

“Now it is the turn of the BN to taste that,” he noted.

Pakatan Rakyat’s (PR) Datuk Seri Mohammad Nizar Jamaluddin maintains he is still the lawful menteri besar of Perak as he has neither resigned from his post nor has he been voted out by the majority of assemblymen in the state legislative assembly.

His civil suit against Zambry, filed last Friday challenging the Pangkor assemblyman for usurping his authority, was heard this morning at the High Court here.

Abdul Aziz said that Nizar has a right to stake his claim in court as it is based on the “dubious position of Zambry’s government”.

He added that the state government “owes its position” to the majority in the legislative assembly.

“This is the problem as we are not sure whether Zambry’s got that,” the professor said.

Selangor MB files two defamation suits against Khir Toyo- Malaysiakini

Khir Toyo - Before and After Botox.

SHAH ALAM: Mentri Besar Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim has filed two defamation suits against Sungai Besar state assemblyman Datuk Seri Dr Mohd Khir Toyo for allegations over the purchase of 46 cows and another related to his personal car, a Lexus.

Solicitor Sankara Nair, who filed the suits at the High Court in Shah Alam on Wednesday, said the suits were about Dr Khir’s allegations that were libelous in nature.

No financial damages were specified as Khalid was not looking for financial gain but vindication, he said.

If Dr Khir had apologised, within the seven-days given, it would not have come to this, he said.

Sankara said that despite two letters of demand for an apology, retraction and damages were posted to the former Selangor Menteri Besar Dr Khir on Feb 4, no apologies or retraction of his statements were made.

“On my client’s (Khalid) part there are no transgressions as he has the documents to back up his purchase of the Lexus and on the purchase of the cattle (for Hari Raya Aidiladha) it was made solely by PKNS and donor firms, without his involvement,” he said.

Accompanied by two lawyers K. Praveena and Wan Anuar Shaddat, Sankara said now it was up to the courts to decide on the matter.

No more race-based parties: Poll respondents

KUCHING: Respondents to an online opinion poll have voted overwhelmingly for the abolition of race-based political parties in the country.

Some 90% of about 500 respondents believe that the abolition would result in greater social harmony and understanding among the various communities.

Dewan Rakyat Deputy Speaker Datuk Dr Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar launched the poll on “Racial harmony in a balanced society” conducted by Kuching-based malaysiapollster recently.

Respondents were asked to answer seven related questions.

Poll analyst Goh Leng Chua said 7% of the respondents disagreed that doing away with race-based political parties could help enhance social harmony and racial understanding, while the remaining 3% were unsure.

He said about 44% felt that racial harmony could best be achieved by getting rid of politicians who play the race card.

Another 30% believe that education and inter-racial social activities, such as festivals, sports and inter-marriages, were the best way to promote racial harmony.

The remaining 27% favoured equal opportunity to all those in need, particularly the poor.

Goh said half of the respondents also felt that there was no need for a Race Relations Act in Malaysia.

About 92% of the respondents agreed that “Malaysians are a colourful example of racial, cultural and religious tolerance, living peacefully in a social mosaic rich in diversity, and we should proactively preserve and treasure our common destiny.”

Nizar vs Zambry: Malaysiakini

KUALA LUMPUR: High Court Judicial Commissioner Mohamad Arif Md Yusof has offered to recuse himself from hearing the lawsuit filed by former Perak mentri besar Datuk Seri Mohd Nizar Jamaluddin against his successor Datuk Dr Zambry Abdul Kadir.

The suit was filed after the Pakatan Rakyat government lost the state to Barisan Nasional with the resignation of three assemblymen from their parties, and the defection of a fourth.

Nizar wants the court, by way of judicial review, to declare him the legitimate mentri besar and for an injunction to stop Dr Zambry or his agents from carrying out the duties and functions of the mentri besar.

At the onset of the proceedings Wednesday, Mohamad Arif said he has been a legal advisor and counsel for PAS on a number of election petition cases. Nizar is a member of PAS, which together with PKR and DAP, makes up the Pakatan alliance.

“I have also been involved in PAS legal matters from time to time, and have advised PKR on legal issues,” Mohamad Arif said.

“I have also acted for Barisan in an election petition in Sarawak,” he added.

“I tend to think that to preserve justice and the integrity of the institution, perhaps I should recuse myself from hearing this matter,” he said.

He set Feb 23 for counsel from both sides to brief him on whether they had any objection to him hearing the matter, as well as on two other issues:

First, whether the matter should be referred to the Federal Court over the question of law for determination and finality, over intepretation of Article 16(6) of the Perak Constitution.

Second, on the standing of Perak’s state legal advisor Datuk Ahmad Kamal Md Shahid acting as counsel for the respondent since Dr Zambry is being sued in his personal capacity.

The five-page suit, filed last Friday, also asks for “punitive, aggravated and exemplary” damages to be awarded to Nizar.

Modern History of Malaysia.

Demang Lebar Daun promised that “the descendants of your humble servants shall be the subjects of your majesty’s throne, but they must be well-treated by your descendants. If they offend, they shall not, however grave their offence, be disgraced or reviled with evil words: if their offence is grave, let them be out to death, if that is in accordance with Muslim law”. To which Sang Utama replied ” I agree to give the undertaking for which you ask, but I in turn require an undertaking from you … that your descendants shall never for the rest of time be disloyal to my descendants, oppress them and behave in an evil way to them.” To which Demang Lebar Daun agreed “… but if your descendants depart from the terms of the pact, then so will mine… subjects shall never be disloyal or treacherous to their rulers, even if their rulers behave cruelly and immorally … and if any ruler puts a single one of his subjects to shame, that shall be a sign that his kingdom shall be destroyed by Almighty God.”

Let us begin our today’s lesson on Derhaka by listing 10 most Derhaka incident in Modern History of Malaysia. I shall start by the most horrible Derhaka of all which is conducted by UMNO current Information Chief, a senator and a minister by the name of Muhammad Muhammad Taib. He deceived than lie to the Al Marhum Tuanku about his marriage with Tuanku’s princess. He took the princess to Thailand and secretly took their vow there.

Then came double act by Abdullah Ahmad Badawi the Prime Minister and President of UMNO last March.

Where is UMNO during this time? Are they behind their leader and tumpang menderhaka sekaki or defending the Palace?

Dear my beloved reader, I shall place the honour to list another 7 incident of Derhaka if you can recall. I bet by end of this day, we will have at least ten incident and all involve UMNO.

– Persundalan yang diizinkan oleh UMNO–

20 Kes Rasuah Khir Toyo

*

1. Meluluskan projek pembina jalan merentasi bendang termahal, di Sekinchan, sejauh 20.5 km, bernilai RM92.5 juta kepada kontraktor yang hampir disenaraihitamkan, Meram Holdings.

Menurut taksiran JKR, kos jalan itu tidak boleh melebihi RM50 juta. Subkontraktor yang menjalan semua projek berkenaan, Cabaran Wangsa, di miliki Pua Kim An, 27 tahun, tuan rumah yang pernah disewa oleh Khir, manakala seorang lagi pengarah syarikat, Ahmad Tarmizi Tajjeury adalah kroni Khir yang juga mendapat 100 ekar tanah yang memberi keuntungan minimum RM20 juta.

2. Meluluskan tanah 400 ekar di Shah Alam, pada 20 Disember 2000 kepada empat syarikat berbeza (Layar Kekal/ Tirai Gemilang, Samasys, Usahasewa Sdn Bhd), tetapi seorang nama pengarahnya (Samsuri Rahmat) hadir dalam semua syarikat tersebut, iaitu seolah-olah Khir meluluskan tanah berpontensi tinggi itu kepada seorang sahaja.

Nilai tanah di kawasan berkenaan boleh mencapai RM1 juta untuk satu ekar. Samsuri boleh untung minimum RM300 juta dari tanah tersebut.

3. Meluluskan tanah kepada kroninya secara berulang kali dalam tempoh masa singkat. Daripada hanya dua mesyuarat Exco Kerajaan Negeri yang diambil secara rawak, iaitu pada 20 Nov. 2000 dan 4 Julai 2001, sekurang-kurangnya empat nama bertindan yang mendapat 100 ekar setiap orang, Ahmad Tarmizi Tajjeury, A.Rahman Mokhtar, Suzilawani Mustaphin dan Ali Nordin. Semua mereka ada hubungan, sama ada dengan Khir ataupun Setpol, Dr Karim Mansor. Sebahagian tanah ini telah dijual, dan pemiliknya boleh mengaut keuntungan RM200,000 seekar tanpa mengeluarkan modal walaupun satu sen.

4. Meluluskan tanah seluas 50 ekar setiap seorang kepada empat pemohon yang hanya baru berusia 20 tahun (Ahmad Azmir, Noor Ashikin, Mardhiah, Azril Yusri).Salah seorang darinya adalah anak pegawai Daerah Kuala Langat, di mana lokasi tanah itu dikesan. Difahamkan sebahagian anak-anak muda ini tidak tahu pun yang mereka mendapat tanah berkenaan kerana mereka hanya penama bagi pihak yang rapat dengan Khir. Mereka ini hanya menjadi pengarah syarikat, tidak pun sampai 40 hari sebelum Exco meluluskan permohonan mereka. Beberapa syarikat terbabit dikenal pasti mempunyai pemegang syer yang sama, yang terdiri dari dua wanita yang ketika permohonan diluluskan baru berumur 24 tahun.

5. Bagaimana Khir, pada bulan Mac 2001, hanya selepas 5 bulan menjadi MB, boleh membayar semua baki pinjaman rumahnya sebanyak RM150,000 secara tunai kepada BBMB Kajang. Kalaupun beliau tidak membelanjakan langsung elaun MBnya, beliau tidak mampu membayar semua pinjamannya itu.Rumah itu juga diubahsuai dengan kos yang besar, ini belum lagi dikira kos membina rumahnya sekarang di Simpang Lima, Tanjung karang, yang menelan belanja lebih RM300,000.

6. Menggunakan kuasa dan pengaruhnya sebagai Pengerusi PKNS untuk mendapatkan sebidang tapak banglo di Lot 14, Jalan 2/1G, Seksyen 2 Tambahan, Bandar Baru Bangi dengan diskaun hebat, 50%. Khir berbohong di Dun Selangor pada 31 Oktober 2001 apabila mendakwa beliau tidak membeli tanah itu, kononnya kerana tidak mampu dan dia juga menafikan pernah menerima dua tawaran dari PKNS dengan harga yang berbeza-beza. Salinan pembayarannya telah diperolehi.

7. Khir memberi sumbangan peribadinya, berbentuk telur ayam, ayam dan peralatan sekolah kepada pengundi di kawasannya, di Sungai Panjang pada 25 Disember 2000. Nilainya hampir RM200 ribu. Apabila dipersoalkan dari mana sumber kewangannya, beliau, melalui akhbar Malay Mail pada 15 Januari 2001 mendakwa sumbangan ayam diperolehi dari Lintang Bistari Sdn Bhd sebuah syarikat bumiputera yang menurut Khir adalah syarikat ternakan ayam terbesar di Sungai Panjang. tinjauan menunjukkan bukan ayam atau reban tidak ada di kawasan berkenaan, malahan bulu dan tahi ayam pun tiada.

8. Pada 17-18 April 2001, meluluskan kawasan kayu balak Kompartment 78 Hutan Simpan Hulu Langat kepada Fungsi Mewah Sdn. Bhd, seluas lebih 1200 ekar. Fungsi Mewah dimiliki oleh Pua Kim Seng, adik Pua Kim An, yang mana rumahnya bersebelahan rumah sewa Khir di Sekinchan dahulu. Pua Kim An juga dikesan mendapat tanah 100 ekar di Shah Alam. Keluarga Pua ini menyumbangkan dana kewangan yang besar kepada Khir semasa kempen pilihan raya 1999 dahulu.

9.Projek membekal dan memasang paip air besi keluli MS1200mm, dari Semenyih ke Banting sejauh 37.3 km, bernilai RM82,385,182.. Projek ini terlalu mahal dari taksiran awal, yang tidak boleh melebihi RM40 juta. Dan jika sumber air diambil dari Pekan Dengkil kemungkinan jaraknya dapat dipendekkan menjadi hanya 20 km dan ini lebih menguntungkan. Ahli keluarga terdekat Khir didakwa mendapat imbuhan berpuluh juta daripada kontraktor LBH Engineering.

10. Meluluskan konsesi membekalkan peralatan paip air untuk jabatan Bekalan Air Selangor kepada syarikat milik Naib Ketua Umno Tanjong Karang, JAKS Sdn Bhd. Harga paip JAKS 50% lebih tinggi daripada harga kilang. Bayangkan, untuk 1 meter paip, harga JAKS adalah RM900 sedangkan harga kilang hanya RM600. Selangor mahu tukar 5,000 km paip,jadi berapa untung JAKS?

11. Meluluskan kawasan balak di Kompatmen 78, Hutan Simpan Hulu Langat, seluas lebih 1,200 ekar kepada Fungsi Mewah, milik Pua Kim Seng, iaitu abang kepada Pua Kim Seng, bekas tuan rumah yang pernah disewa Khir di Sekinchan. Keluarga Pua ini juga mendapat kontrak membina jalan termahal (RM4.6 juta untuk 1km)merentasi sawah padi daripada Meram Holdings, kontraktor yang hampir disenarai-hitamkan.

12. Khir membayar RM10,000 sebulan bagi tapak banglonya, di Lot 14, Jalan 2/1G, Seksyen 2 Tambahan, Bandar Baru Bangi, yang dibelinya daripada PKNS dengan harga diskaun 50 peratus. Sumber pendapatannya dipertikai kerana sebelum ini beliau membayar tunai RM150,000 untuk selesaikan pinjaman rumahnya di Kajang, selepas lima bulan menjadi MB.

13. Beliau mengarahkan Pengarah JKR Selangor, melalui nota pensil (agar dapat dipadam jika timbul kontroversi kelak), agar menyerahkan projek yang membawa keuntungan lumayan kepada kontraktor kroni. Antara projek terbabit ialah pembinaan jalan di Sabak Bernam, masjid di Puchong Perdana, kem wataniah dan kuaters kakitangan SUK di Shah Alam.

14. Khir mempunyai hubungan rapat dengan kontraktor yang memohon projek kerajaan negeri, misalnya beliau bersama keluarga pernah bermalam di sebuah resort mewah di Janda Baik milik kroninya. Majulia Sdn. Bhd. Ini bercanggah dengan surat akujanji yang ditandatanganinya di depan Sultan Selangor.

15. Menswastakan kutipan tunggakan pembayaran ansuran bulanan rumah awam kos rendah seluruh Selangor kepada syarikat kroni, Noble Nexus Sdn Bhd melalui perjanjian konsesi pada 27 September 2001. Untung lumayan dapat dipungut secara mudah kerana tugas Nobel Nexus hanya menghantar notis saman dan 30% kutipan menjadi miliknya.

16. Meluluskan pembelian kenderaan rasmi kepada Exco Kerajaan Negeri Selangor dan Menteri Besar (dirinya sendiri) melalui mesyuarat Exco ke 25/2001 pada 26 September 2001, tanpa melalui prosedur yang lazim digunakan. Usia kereta rasmi MB belum sampai lima tahun (didaftarkan pada Jun 1997), dan tempoh Khir menjadi MB baru setahun iaitu tidak sampai lima tahun seperti sepatutnya. Beliau juga tidak merujuk kes ini kepada Perbendaharaan dan Ibu pejabat JKR di Kuala Lumpur. Meskipun menyentuh kepentingannya, di mana kereta rasminya Merc S320L, no. plat BGF7337 ditawar untuk dijual kepadanya, Khir masih mempengerusikan mesyuarat dan tidak mengisytihar kepentingannya.

17. Khir mengarahkan agar semua minit dan kertas mesyuarat exco dikutip semula selepas mesyuarat tamat, manakala segala bahan-bahan penting mesyuarat Exco yang dipengerusikannya sejak Ogos 2000 tidak dibenarkan disimpan oleh Exco lain. Selalunya kertas-kertas penting itu diedarkan kepada anggota Exco sehari sebelum mesyuarat, iaitu pada Selasa, tetapi selepas isu rasuahnya terbongkar, ia hanya diserahkan selepas setiap Exco duduk di kerusi masing-masing. Maknanya, “Exco Selangor masuk mesyuarat berlenggang, keluar pun berlenggang.”

18. Meluluskan hampir 11 ekar tanah di Bandar Baru Bangi, yang diwartakan sebagai kawasan rekreasi, kepada syarikat kroni, Bestarama Sdn Bhd. Masyarakat setempat membuat bantahan kerana setakat ini banyak kawasan hijau dibangunkan demi mengejar keuntungan lumayan. Bestarama boleh untung segera lebih RM14 juta. Menariknya, pemegang syer Bestarama juga pemegang syer Noble Nexus. Kedua-dua wanita itu hanya penama bagi suku-sakat Khir.

19. Menggunakan ratusan ribu ringgit wang kerajaan negeri untuk membeli iklan dua muka penuh berwarna dalam Utusan Malaysia, sekurang-kurangnya pada 1 Feb, 16 Mac 2002, bagi menjawab serangan Lutfi Othman yang mendakwa Khir mengagihkan tanah (yang luas dan mahal), pelbagai projek besar, balak, buat kroni dan suku-sakatnya.

20. Mengeksploit mesyuarat Majlis Tindakan ekonomi Selangor (MTES), untuk meluluskan segala tanah & projek kepada sesiapa yang disukainya tanpa kehadiran Exco lain. Mesyuarat Exco esoknya (pada setiap Rabu) hanya mengesahkan saja. MTES, menurut bekas penasihat undang-undang negeri, adalah tidak sah dari segi legal kerana ia merampas kuasa mesyuarat Exco.

Apa hukum bela TOYOL? Kalau kita bunuh TOYOL salah atau tidak?

BBC : Ashamed of BN Malaysiakini

(BBC)- A prominent Malaysian opposition politician has offered her resignation after naked photos of her sleeping were circulated by mobile phone.

Elizabeth Wong, one of Malaysia's top human rights activists, blamed government "gutter politics" for the release of the images.

Newspapers have speculated that the images were taken by an ex-boyfriend.

As a single woman in a conservative society, she has been criticised by male politicians for her independence.

"I wish to state that I am not ashamed of my sexuality as a woman and a single person," Ms Wong, 37, said in an emotional news conference.

"I have broken no laws. I stand by the fundamental principle in a democracy that everyone has a right to privacy," she said.

Gutter politics

Ms Wong is a respected member of the opposition People's Justice Party, led by Anwar Ibrahim, winning her seat in the state assembly of Selangor a year ago.

She has won support from both sides of the political divide, but some political opponents have jumped on the incident.

"She is a single person. How can she allow a man into her room when they are not married? What's the status of the relationship?" said Mohamad Khir Toyo, the National Front ex-chief minister of Selangor.

Opposition officials said a decision would be made later on whether to accept the resignation, which would trigger a by-election in Selangor.

Ms Wong said she believed that the governing National Front coalition would "continue to manipulate the situation".

"Accordingly I have decided to make a stand in the interests of the party and its struggle for the people," she said, as a group of supporters holding flowers and banners yelled support.

She said it was "an insidious and under-handed attempt" to smear her reputation, adding that "the real objective is to discredit the party".

This is the latest incident in Malaysian politics to intrude into the private lives of politicians - most of whom have been opposition figures.

The government has denied a role in the scandals.

Perak MB summoned before committee - Malaysiakini

IPOH: Perak Mentri Besar Datuk Dr Zambry Abd Kadir and two journalists were summoned to appear before the state’s Committee of Special Privileges.

Dr Zambry, who turned up at state assembly speaker V. Sivakumar’s office at the State Secretariat here at 3.30pm Tuesday, left after 20 minutes and declined to reveal what was discussed.

Asked whether it was regarding a newspaper report, Zambry said:

“I can’t comment on that. I am here as a show of respect to the speaker.”

On whether he would attend the committee’s meeting Wednesday, before which he and his six newly sworn-in state executive councillors had been summoned to appear, Dr Zambry said:

“You will know tomorrow.”

Later, Sivakumar said Dr Zambry and the journalists from The Star and Sin Chew Daily were summoned to gather information related to a report which appeared in local dailies on Feb 15 on his conduct as a speaker.

“It is related to a comment made against the speaker and we are here to compile a report on the matter,” he said, adding that no decisions were made during the meeting.

He said Dr Zambry cooperated fully during the meeting.

The committee consist of five members from Pakatan Rakyat and one from Barisan Nasional, with Sivakumar as chairman.

Confused. Khir Toyo or Khir Toyol? Malaysiakini

Kepada semua RAKYAT yang menentang kezaliman, persundalan dan kesialan amalan UMNO/BN. Sila pautkan (link) diruang komen apa sahaja maklumat, samada dalam bentuk berita, rencana, gambar atau video yang wajar didedahkan kepada RAKYAT tentang salahlaku atau penyelewengan yang dilakukan oleh UMNO. Website Kerajaan Rakyat adalah milik RAKYAT. Bongkarkan semuanya….!!!!

– Persundalan yang diizinkan oleh UMNO–


20 kes rasuah Khir Toyo

*

1. Meluluskan projek pembina jalan merentasi bendang termahal, di Sekinchan, sejauh 20.5 km, bernilai RM92.5 juta kepada kontraktor yang hampir disenaraihitamkan, Meram Holdings.

Menurut taksiran JKR, kos jalan itu tidak boleh melebihi RM50 juta. Subkontraktor yang menjalan semua projek berkenaan, Cabaran Wangsa, di miliki Pua Kim An, 27 tahun, tuan rumah yang pernah disewa oleh Khir, manakala seorang lagi pengarah syarikat, Ahmad Tarmizi Tajjeury adalah kroni Khir yang juga mendapat 100 ekar tanah yang memberi keuntungan minimum RM20 juta.

2. Meluluskan tanah 400 ekar di Shah Alam, pada 20 Disember 2000 kepada empat syarikat berbeza (Layar Kekal/ Tirai Gemilang, Samasys, Usahasewa Sdn Bhd), tetapi seorang nama pengarahnya (Samsuri Rahmat) hadir dalam semua syarikat tersebut, iaitu seolah-olah Khir meluluskan tanah berpontensi tinggi itu kepada seorang sahaja.

Nilai tanah di kawasan berkenaan boleh mencapai RM1 juta untuk satu ekar. Samsuri boleh untung minimum RM300 juta dari tanah tersebut.

3. Meluluskan tanah kepada kroninya secara berulang kali dalam tempoh masa singkat. Daripada hanya dua mesyuarat Exco Kerajaan Negeri yang diambil secara rawak, iaitu pada 20 Nov. 2000 dan 4 Julai 2001, sekurang-kurangnya empat nama bertindan yang mendapat 100 ekar setiap orang, Ahmad Tarmizi Tajjeury, A.Rahman Mokhtar, Suzilawani Mustaphin dan Ali Nordin. Semua mereka ada hubungan, sama ada dengan Khir ataupun Setpol, Dr Karim Mansor. Sebahagian tanah ini telah dijual, dan pemiliknya boleh mengaut keuntungan RM200,000 seekar tanpa mengeluarkan modal walaupun satu sen.

4. Meluluskan tanah seluas 50 ekar setiap seorang kepada empat pemohon yang hanya baru berusia 20 tahun (Ahmad Azmir, Noor Ashikin, Mardhiah, Azril Yusri).Salah seorang darinya adalah anak pegawai Daerah Kuala Langat, di mana lokasi tanah itu dikesan. Difahamkan sebahagian anak-anak muda ini tidak tahu pun yang mereka mendapat tanah berkenaan kerana mereka hanya penama bagi pihak yang rapat dengan Khir. Mereka ini hanya menjadi pengarah syarikat, tidak pun sampai 40 hari sebelum Exco meluluskan permohonan mereka. Beberapa syarikat terbabit dikenal pasti mempunyai pemegang syer yang sama, yang terdiri dari dua wanita yang ketika permohonan diluluskan baru berumur 24 tahun.

5. Bagaimana Khir, pada bulan Mac 2001, hanya selepas 5 bulan menjadi MB, boleh membayar semua baki pinjaman rumahnya sebanyak RM150,000 secara tunai kepada BBMB Kajang. Kalaupun beliau tidak membelanjakan langsung elaun MBnya, beliau tidak mampu membayar semua pinjamannya itu.Rumah itu juga diubahsuai dengan kos yang besar, ini belum lagi dikira kos membina rumahnya sekarang di Simpang Lima, Tanjung karang, yang menelan belanja lebih RM300,000.

6. Menggunakan kuasa dan pengaruhnya sebagai Pengerusi PKNS untuk mendapatkan sebidang tapak banglo di Lot 14, Jalan 2/1G, Seksyen 2 Tambahan, Bandar Baru Bangi dengan diskaun hebat, 50%. Khir berbohong di Dun Selangor pada 31 Oktober 2001 apabila mendakwa beliau tidak membeli tanah itu, kononnya kerana tidak mampu dan dia juga menafikan pernah menerima dua tawaran dari PKNS dengan harga yang berbeza-beza. Salinan pembayarannya telah diperolehi.

7. Khir memberi sumbangan peribadinya, berbentuk telur ayam, ayam dan peralatan sekolah kepada pengundi di kawasannya, di Sungai Panjang pada 25 Disember 2000. Nilainya hampir RM200 ribu. Apabila dipersoalkan dari mana sumber kewangannya, beliau, melalui akhbar Malay Mail pada 15 Januari 2001 mendakwa sumbangan ayam diperolehi dari Lintang Bistari Sdn Bhd sebuah syarikat bumiputera yang menurut Khir adalah syarikat ternakan ayam terbesar di Sungai Panjang. tinjauan menunjukkan bukan ayam atau reban tidak ada di kawasan berkenaan, malahan bulu dan tahi ayam pun tiada.

8. Pada 17-18 April 2001, meluluskan kawasan kayu balak Kompartment 78 Hutan Simpan Hulu Langat kepada Fungsi Mewah Sdn. Bhd, seluas lebih 1200 ekar. Fungsi Mewah dimiliki oleh Pua Kim Seng, adik Pua Kim An, yang mana rumahnya bersebelahan rumah sewa Khir di Sekinchan dahulu. Pua Kim An juga dikesan mendapat tanah 100 ekar di Shah Alam. Keluarga Pua ini menyumbangkan dana kewangan yang besar kepada Khir semasa kempen pilihan raya 1999 dahulu.

9.Projek membekal dan memasang paip air besi keluli MS1200mm, dari Semenyih ke Banting sejauh 37.3 km, bernilai RM82,385,182.. Projek ini terlalu mahal dari taksiran awal, yang tidak boleh melebihi RM40 juta. Dan jika sumber air diambil dari Pekan Dengkil kemungkinan jaraknya dapat dipendekkan menjadi hanya 20 km dan ini lebih menguntungkan. Ahli keluarga terdekat Khir didakwa mendapat imbuhan berpuluh juta daripada kontraktor LBH Engineering.

10. Meluluskan konsesi membekalkan peralatan paip air untuk jabatan Bekalan Air Selangor kepada syarikat milik Naib Ketua Umno Tanjong Karang, JAKS Sdn Bhd. Harga paip JAKS 50% lebih tinggi daripada harga kilang. Bayangkan, untuk 1 meter paip, harga JAKS adalah RM900 sedangkan harga kilang hanya RM600. Selangor mahu tukar 5,000 km paip,jadi berapa untung JAKS?

Teruskan membaca di sini.

..

Anwar wants Wong to reconsider quit decision- Malaysiakini

KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 17 — Opposition Leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim today asked embattled Selangor state executive councillor Elizabeth Wong to rethink her decision to quit following the circulation of her naked photographs.

“Elizabeth Wong has spoken at length to Azizah and me. We have discussed the issues and we understand her reasons and the decision she has taken,” said Anwar, referring to his wife Datin Seri Wan Azizah Ismail.

“We have asked Eli to go on leave, we will meet her again to discuss,” Anwar told reporters at a press conference here.

He described Wong as a very important figure in the Selangor government with an excellent track record.

“Eli is a very responsible leader, has been with the party since its inception and I appreciate the widespread support for her to stay. We will invite her again and see what is best,” said Anwar.

Anwar said that he had discussed the matter with Pakatan Rakyat leaders including Pas’s Datuk Seri Hadi Awang who had asked for the issue to be resolved by PKR.

The Permatang Pauh MP described the circulation of Wong’s private photographs as part of a bigger conspiracy to destroy PKR.

“I can only use the strongest possible terms to condemn the smear tactics used against her. One can only wonder to what depths the people behind this will stoop to achieve their aims,” he added.

“The last few days must have been trying and stressful for her and her family. We hope the mass media will give her the breathing space she deserves.”

He also took the opportunity to slam Barisan Nasional leaders saying that they have no right to talk about morality.

“Let us hear from Najib first on morality,” said Anwar, referring to the deputy prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak.

Earlier today Wong offered her resignation as state executive councillor and Bukit Lanjan assemblyman, but was asked by Menteri Besar Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim to take leave.

Yesterday Selangor Opposition Leader Datuk Seri Dr Mohd Khir Toyo asked Wong to resign immediately saying that she was morally unfit to continue as executive councillor or assemblyman. - MalaysiaInsider

Elizabeth Wong may give Pakatan a boost - Malaysiakini

KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 17 – The need to uphold a higher moral ground in comparison with the Barisan Nasional (BN) and shrewd political calculations are behind the resignation of Elizabeth Wong as Bukit Lanjan assemblyman and Selangor executive councillor Elizabeth Wong, after pictures of her in the nude were circulated in the past week.

“The party debated the issue long and hard on Monday night and early Tuesday and although it is so painful we had to let her go,” said a senior PKR leader who could not be identified because he is not authorised to comment on the issue.

“Some of us actually cried,” the person said, adding the general consensus was that although everyone stood by Wong and agreed she is the victim of a cunning blackmail, but they also felt the party had to distance itself from the affair.

“The party comes first, it has to be protected,” the person said.

“We felt our political enemies would extensively exploit the images and other materials during the Bukit Gantang and Bukit Selambau (April 7) by-elections,” the person said. “The party would be badly damaged.”

In addition, hard-nosed political considerations are also involved in letting Wong go, not just to fend off BN attacks.

While Wong says the photographs could have been taken by her former boyfriend it is still not known how it fell into the hands of her political enemies who are not necessarily all from the BN.

At an emotionally-charged press conference today Wong described the circulation of the pictures as a smear campaign which had caused her a lot of anguish but the real target was the PKR.

“I have done nothing wrong; I wish to state that I am not ashamed of my sexuality as a woman and as a single person,” she said.

She said that she believed that the attacks would continue in greater intensity and that the PKR’s political rivals would continue to manipulate the situation to their advantage.

“Accordingly, I have decided to make a stand in the interest of the party and its struggle for the people,” Wong said as supporters broke into tears, while urging her to reconsider.

Elizabeth was outspoken even in the PKR and in the Selangor executive council and is known by her friends and colleagues to have strong opinions on major issues close to her heart, such as the environment, poverty alleviation, minority rights and press freedom.

She was outspoken and fought for such policies as declaring assets, a minimum wage for workers and more rights for women in an environment that was unreceptive to such ideas even though these were promised in the Pakatan Rakyat manifesto.

She had enemies within and outside, a colleague said.

By letting her go, Pakatan Rakyat has lost a highly committed, sincere and dedicated activist, said the colleague.

While some of her supporters say she can make a comeback like MCA veteran Datuk Dr Chua Soi Lek, who resigned all posts following a sex scandal in 2007 but managed to bounce back to win the MCA deputy presidency.

It remains to be seen whether Wong can make a comeback or have a political life at all.

She won the Bukit Lanjan seat by a 5,000 vote majority, a sterling achievement for a newcomer and in a state seat where majorities are mostly small.

If a by-election is held as it seems likely, Pakatan Rakyat is confident of recapturing the seat which consists of 52% Chinese, 30% Malays and 14% Indians.

But political circumstances are changing across the country with the departure of Datuk Seri Abdullah Badawi and the rise of Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak.

Najib’s rise coincides with the loss of Perak and the injection of new vigour into Umno and BN and consequently giving the impression that the Pakatan Rakyat tide might have reached its zenith.

Some quarters say BN/Umno – given the changing circumstances and other factors – can possibly win Bukit Gantang or even Bukit Selambau but probably not Bukit Lanjan.

Therefore, a comfortable victory in Bukit Lanjan would boost the Pakatan Rakyat at a time when it seems to be in retreat after losing Perak and facing allegations of defections of its representatives in Kedah and Selangor.

In that sense, letting Wong go, saving the image of PKR and winning back Bukit Lanjan, are shrewd political calculations. - By Baradan Kuppusamy