Zulhaidah bt Suboh

Archive for the ‘Corruption’ Category

“Detain me, drag me to the court! I will still repeat my statement that (DAP adviser) Lim Kit Siang is a racist and he is indeed a racist,” alleged former Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

Dear Mahathir Kutty Mohammad,

Anda terlalu lama. Pakatan Rakyat tidak akan membuang wang pembayar cukai untuk mengheret anda di mahkamah yang di mana-mana acara akan mencari anda bersalah. Apabila didapati bersalah, pembayar cukai lagi wang akan menjadi sia-sia untuk memenjarakan anda dan memberi makan kepada kamu kerana jumlah terkumpul hukuman anda akan mendapat akan melihat anda dipenjarakan lebih daripada 100 tahun. Mengapa membuang wang yang baik selepas orang seperti anda?

Mahathir said DAP chairman Karpal Singh’s statement that he would be detained and charged in court if the opposition captured Putrajaya in the 13th General Election (GE13), was to stop him from revealing more details about Lim’s character as a racist.

“I am shocked, I have turned pale (sarcasm)… because DAP chairman Karpal Singh wants to detain me due to my revelation that DAP adviser Lim Kit Siang is a racist.

“DAP only wants to contest in areas with a Chinese majority because they are only accepted by the Chinese and DAP’s action clearly shows that they (DAP) are racist,” he said when speaking at a gathering in Kampung Padang Jual, Johol, here, today.

Yesterday, Karpal was reported to have said the opposition would detain the former Prime Minister and charge him in court for accusing Lim Kit Siang as a racist, if the opposition took over Putrajaya after the GE13.

Mahathir alleged that apart from DAP, its ally PAS were also a racist party since they (PAS) only contested in Malay majority areas, especially in Kelantan and Terengganu, unlike UMNO and MCA who contest in all constituencies throughout the country, without preference for any race majority.

Mahathir also alleged that Kelantan Menteri Besar and PAS spiritual adviser Datuk Abdul Nik Aziz Nik Mat was a hypocrite since he had performed the Friday prayers at the Tuanku Mizan Zainal Abidin Mosque in Putrajaya, to garner votes.

“Earlier PAS had said they would auction off Putrajaya but now they (PAS) are not interested in auctioning off Putrajaya but more interested in conquering the administrative capital of the country… why not build an administrative centre like Putrajaya in Kelantan,” he asked.

Also present were his wife Tun Dr Siti Hasmah Mohd Ali and BN’s Johol state assembly seat candidate Abu Samah Mahat. – Bernama

It’s half-way through the campaign period and the political situation has become clearer with parties finally getting a grip on their strategies.

The Star yesterday spoke to sources from Barisan Nasional, the Opposition and enforcement authorities who revealed that the political battle was starting to shape up towards a very interesting end.

In Miri, a hot seat eyed not only by the Barisan and PKR but also betting bookies, PKR’s candidate Dr Teo Yu Keng had brought in big names like Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and Datuk Seri Wan Azizah to help out.

Anwar drew a massive crowd during his ceramah at the waterfront here yesterday.

“However, that is not an indication that PKR is leading in Miri. It is just that city folk are drawn to the national PKR leaders who are fiery and aggressive. The people may or may not vote for Dr Teo.

“At the same time, SUPP candidate Datuk Sebastian Ting seems to be gaining grounds in terms of being able to link with the rakyat.

“Everywhere he goes here, people greet him and warm up towards him, unlike the days during the 2011 state elections when some people openly argued with Tan Sri Dr George Chan on the streets.

“Miri SUPP is now more focussed on their election manifestos and has explained clearly their aims for the people,” said a police observer.

The observer said that if problems of underground bookies in the city could be tackled, Barisan should make it through with a narrow victory.

Ting is up against Dr Teo and STAR’s Chong Kong Fatt.

In the hot seat of Baram, it is learnt that Barisan teams have gone to many settlements promising increased allocations for rural development projects if Barisan candidate Anyi Ngau wins.

“Barisan has the money to allocate funds. PKR candidate (lawyer Roland Engan) does not have the financial resources but he has many issues such as the people are unhappy with the state government.

“The Barisan teams have visited upper settlements but will focus more on the Iban voters while PKR is focusing on the mainly Orang Ulu heartland of upper and middle Baram basin.

“Roland is also venturing into the Bakong side in lower Baram where there are many land issues affecting the Ibans,” said a source.

Meanwhile, in the Lawas seat, senior PBB veteran Datuk Amar Awang Tengah Ali Hassan told The Star: “It should be OK for Barisan.

“No major problem faced in Lawas so far, it should be okay for Barisan,” he said when met at the Miri Airport a few days ago.

In Limbang, however, it is said that PKR’s state chief Baru Bian was aggressively pursuing PBB’s incumbent MP Hasbi Habibolah.

“Baru has been very persistent in his rounds in the kampungs and in the ulu longhouses in the outskirts of Limbang. He is currently making his presence felt more and more in the town areas.

“People are responding to him positively. He is obviously a well-known chap and rather likeable.

“Anyway, Barisan will be sending in their top leaders to Limbang this week and there will be some big gatherings.

“Barisan will not allow Baru any easy victory,” said a source.

In Sibuti, PAS is giving PBB’s incumbent Ahmad Lai Bujang a good run for his money.

“PAS has been more aggressive towards Barisan. Ahmad Lai will be bringing in Chief Minister Tan Sri Abdul Taib Mahmud to help him out,” a Barisan man said.

In Bintulu, it seems that Barisan incumbent Datuk Seri Tiong King Sing of SPDP is being pursued by DAP’s John Brian Anthony over land issues outside town.

Brian is also stressing a lot on the environment, heavy industrial project issues, as well as housing woes.

However, some political observers said Tiong still had the upper hand in Bintulu and it would require a massive effort from DAP to unseat him.

The Star

SJKC Chung Hua No. 2 set to undergo expansion but date unknown

SJKC Chung Hua No. 2 here, which was relocated from the city centre to Tabuan Jaya Baru in 2009, will have another five-storey block, comprising 15 additional classrooms.

However, the starting date of the expansion remains unknown. So far, the Committee of Management of Kuching Chung Hua Primary School Nos. 1-6 has collected RM500,000 out of the required RM5.5mil of building funds.

Source – The Star

HUNDREDS of bicycles provided to participants of the recent 1Malaysia Patriotic Cycle went missing after the entrants rode them home at the end of the event, leaving the organisers embarrassed.

It is not immediately known how many of the 5,000 bicycles went missing but apparently, even the bicycle used by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak has disappeared.

A participant, who did not wish to be named, said: “It was horrible as the participants were all rushing to take the bikes home. It is so unbecoming and reflects poorly on Malaysians.”

“The Youth and Sports Ministry was the biggest loser as many of their bicycles were carted away.

There was no proper monitoring due to the large volume of riders,” a source in the ministry said.

Some 10,000 people, including cabinet ministers, took part in the event on April 3 in a 12km ride around Putrajaya.

The bicycles came from various organisations including the Youth and Sports Ministry, Yayasan 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) and Putrajaya Corporation.

Youth and Sports Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Shabery Cheek offered no excuses, saying it was a “learning experience” for all those involved.

“We thought we could trust the participants with the bicycles.

We didn”t want to make life difficult for them by asking them to leave their documents or MyKad with us. I guess we learned the hard way,” said Ahmad Shabery.

“In Europe, people are accustomed to bicycle rentals where after use, they park it back at the station.

Perhaps Malaysians are still not familiar with the concept of returning something that has been loaned.”

Why so surprised?

These people just learned from their leaders who steal the country like nobody business!

The losses (total??) will be borne by taxpayers anyway!

On the number of bicycles that went missing and the cost incurred by the ministry, Ahmad Shabery said he has yet to receive a full report on the incident.

“I hope there weren”t many bicycles that were not returned. They are recreational bicycles and were bought in bulk so the cost is not as high as some may think.

“Perhaps we need to get people to leave their identity cards before they take something from us. We don”t like holding people”s ICs but after this incident, we don”t have much choice,” Ahmad Shabery said.

Putrajaya Corporation corporate communications senior deputy director Zahara Salamat said the company loaned 50 of their bicycles from Taman Botani for the event.

“The bicycles were loaned and not given out for free. We know who we gave our bicycles to, mostly VVIPs, as it is all documented as per our procedure.

“A handful have yet to be returned. I can”t say more than that as this matter is still being investigated.”

1MDB operations director Jofa Hilmi refused to comment on the matter, saying the question should be addressed to Yayasan Rakyat 1Malaysia instead.

Local opposition parties here are laughing over Sarawak United People’s Party’s (SUPP) 10-point declaration which includes “fighting corruption”.

It’s a well-known fact here that several SUPP “seniors” are Chief Minister Taib Mahmud and his family’s business cronies.

It was on this premise that opposition DAP won its 12 seats in the last state election.

Pointing out the irony of SUPP’s 10-point manifesto, Stampin DAP candidate Julian Tan said it was a pledge that came a little too late in the day for SUPP.

The Barisan Nasional partner is on an uphill batte to retain its five seats. SUPP lost two seats – Bandar Kuching and Bandar Sibu – to DAP.

Tan is himself up against SUPP stalwart and incumbent Yong Khoon Seng, 73.

Said Tan: “SUPP has been in the government over the past 30 years in Sarawak and only now it comes up with this manifesto. It should have been done many years ago. It’s a joke.”

Apart from pledging to take “swift and drastic” action combating corruption, the other key points in the SUPP declaration was a promise to “strongly” request the federal government to recognise the Chinese Unified Examination Certificate (UEC) and to urge both the state and federal governments to award government projects by public tender.

SUPP has also promised to ask the Housing and Local Government Ministry to construct at least 100,000 houses over the next five years priced at below RM100,000 for the lower income groups and to ensure that the native customary rights (NCR) land throughout the state is surveyed within the next five years.

‘Why now?’
Commenting on the declaration, Tan, who is an aerospace engineer, doubted if SUPP could implement its pledges.

“For example, on the fight against corruption, what is its stand on corruption as exposed by Global Witness implicating the chief minister of Sarawak?

“And what is its stand on the chief minister saying that he would not cooperate with MACC [Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission] as it was ‘naughty’?

“Tell the rakyat now of your stand. Don’t wait until after the election,” Tan said.

On SUPP’s second point, he said that almost every election the people heard SUPP talking about the Chinese UEC.

“All high-ranking universities had already recognised UEC, and yet Malaysia is still pending.

“When Pakatan Rakyat states that it will recognise UEC when it forms the next government, they (SUPP) too says that it will do the same. Why now after 30-plus years?”

Meanwhile, Tan also chided his opponent Yong for claiming that five DAP elected representatives had “nothing to do but make daily complaints against SUPP and the government”.

“Of course, we complain and scold SUPP every day because it does not do its work properly.

“As an opposition, it is our work to supervise the current government and SUPP, and if they do not do their job properly of course we scold them every day,” he said, referring to many broken promises and failed projects.

FMT

When it comes to hoodwinking the rakyat, no one does it better than Barisan Nasional, as evident from the hogwash revealed through the coalition’s 13th general election manifesto.

Not only does BN had the audacity to continue to lie to the people, its irresponsibility in claiming credit for things done is clear hint that the party has no intention of doing anything by the book.

BN’s manifesto, launched on April 7, is supposedly THE word given by the ruling party of action and policies that would be executed should it win the 2013 general election.

The BN manifesto promises improvement in just about every area, be it public transport, housing, education, easing the cost of living, making health services accessible, enhancing security and public safety, fighting corruption, promoting Islam, religious freedom and harmony and strengthening women’s participation.

However, going by BN’s refusal to deal with the above issues head-on during its five-year tenure post-2008, there is no assurance that the promises made in its “administration plan” are for real.

Take, for example, the issue of enhancing public transport. Tearing down buildings to make way for more train stations is not going to solve the problem until and unless the country’s public transport operators start paying respect to time and swear upon punctuality.

Ask any commuter of the Keretapi Tanah Melayu (KTM) train services to rate the service provided and the reply will only be a sigh for KTM is notoriously lousy when it comes to punctuality.

Is the BN government not aware of the unsatisfactory service given by KTM to the rakyat? If it is, why then was there no improvement from 2008 until the country went into election mode?

Likewise, claims by BN that health services will be accessible to the rakyat cannot be taken at face value. Merely setting up the Klinik 1Malaysia is not good enough: are the doctors and nurses being overworked and underpaid or are they pleased to serve the rakyat?

BN manifesto lacks vision
Also, do the natives in rural areas and those living in the interiors of Sarawak have access to such clinics?

By the way, have the methadone replacement and needle exchange programmes really halved new cases of HIV since 2005?

Looks like the shameful defeat in the 2008 general election has not taught BN any lesson: had it done so, the party would have treaded cautiously on the issue of religious freedom as guaranteed under Article 11 of the Federal Constitution.

Time has over and over proven that BN has never bothered extending respect to the other races, as evident from the fact that the 13th general election is slated on a Sunday, a day when Christians congregate in churches.

In its manifesto, BN displays no vision of promoting racial tolerance between Malaysians of diverse faiths. Instead, the concern is to continue to uphold Islam as the religion of the Federation and ensure that the country’s identity as a Muslim nation remains unchallenged.

While the Federal Constitution guarantees the freedom of religion, has this aspect truly been upheld as far as BN is concerned?

The raids on events organised by the non-Malays and the proselytisation accusations hurled at them are no reflection of a government that upholds the tenets of the constitution.

The verbal abuses and threats made by the Malays against the non-Malays of this country who dare question Article 153 of the Federal Constitution which assures Malay rights and privileges have never worried the ruling BN goverment.

The condemnations and threats to burn the Malay bibles that used the word “Allah” too saw no reaction from the BN government led by Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak.

BN’s respect for women yet to come
BN in backing up its 13th general election manifesto says it has thus far recognised religious celebrations as national events and holidays: if it is indeed so, why then the reluctance to declare the Hindu festival of Thaipusam a national holiday, unlike at present where only certain states gazette it as a public holiday?

In its manifesto, too, BN claims it will work at eradicating sexual harassment and provide women a more secure sense of being.

Not only that, should BN return to power in the 13th general election, it will promote gender equality to maximise the potential of Malaysians in all fields, gender regardless.

On both accounts, BN has failed its women voters: in the case of sexual harassment, nothing was done by BN when the Labour Department director-general ridiculed the need for a Sexual Harassment Act.

It was also BN that remained mute when its politicians including those holding ministerial posts were implicated in sexual harassment and rape cases.

Can Najib tell the rakyat why BN refused to punish these perpetrators and why nothing was done to put an end to the rapes involving the Penan women and girls in Sarawak?

The lust for power is synonymous with BN and this is evident from the about-turn made by the party in declaring that it will in the next five years focus on promoting gender equality to tap the potential of Malaysians across the board. Whatever happened to BN’s intensive witch-hunt against the LGBT (lesbians, gays, biseuxals and transgenders) communities post-Seksualiti Merdeka festival in 2011?

In its 13th general election manifesto, is BN giving its word that it will finally give the marginalised LGBT communties the much deserved respect by acknowedging their capabilities?

Ending corruption – is BN joking?

In its manifesto, BN has declared that eradicating graft has been the government’s highest priority – this by far is the worst joke coming from BN.

From Najib to the head of states, the rakyat is aware of their “penchant” for “under the table” money.

The Scorpene submarines purchase and the corruption involving senior Umno leaders to the “never say no to graft” attitude of Sarawak Chief Minister Taib Mahmud to the richness enjoyed by the BN politicians: can BN honestly say it is fighting corruption that has long taken root in this country?

The truth is BN enjoys corruption and has no intention of putting an end to it.

The 13th general election manifesto with all its claims is nothing more than BN’s modus operandi of making a fool of the rakyat, of promising them a good life which the party has no desire of making it happen.

FMT