Cyberjaya Online One Malaysia News
- PM targets 6pc GDP growth for 2010
- Cracks in Putrajaya govt quarters, 515 evacuated
- Pathologist maintains Teoh Beng Hock died from fall
- Cops asked to investigate parents of child abuse victim
- Tailor claims loss of RM100,000 in land scam
- Manhunt on for kindergarten attacker (Update)
- US will continue to help police Straits of Malacca
- Police in hunt for kindergarten attacker
- Medical perks for civil servants’ parents
- Anwar still fighting Cabinet dismissals
PM targets 6pc GDP growth for 2010
UPDATED
By Debra Chong
KUALA LUMPUR, March 10 — Datuk Seri Najib Razak wants at least six per cent growth in the local economy this year, and tonight appealed to the Chinese community to continue working with Bumiputeras to achieve the aim.
He also indirectly told his Chinese allies in the ruling Barisan Nasional to “get on with it” to solve their infighting which has distracted the coalition
US will continue to help police Straits of Malacca
PUTRAJAYA, March 10 — The United States Government wants to continue providing assistance to littoral states to secure the Straits of Malacca. This follows recent information from its intelligence network on possible terrorist threats along the straits.
US Assistant Secretary for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Kurt M. Campbell said the state took an active role to provide support to Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia on the issue.
“We think that cooperation is very strong. We think those states are in a lead and we want to continue to provide as much assistance,” he told reporters after the Second Senior Officials Dialogue with the Malaysian Foreign Ministry here today. Campbell said the matter was also discussed during his visit to Singapore recently.
Anwar asks Federal Court to review its ruling on his sacking
PUTRAJAYA, March 10 — Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim today asked the Federal Court to review its March 8 decision to uphold the legality of his sacking from the Cabinet 11 years ago.
He filed an application at the Palace of Justice here, asking for a review of the apex court’s decision that his termination as deputy prime minister and finance minister on Sept 2, 1998 was lawful.
Ex-Labuan MP jailed, fined for fraud
KOTA KINABALU, March 10 — Former Member of Parliament for Labuan Datuk Suhaili Abdul Rahman, who pleaded guilty for not disclosing to the bank that he was a bankrupt when he became a guarantor in a loan application 14 years ago, was fined RM10,000 in default one month jail today.
Kota Kinabalu Sessions Court judge Duncan Sikodol passed the sentence after hearing mitigation by Suhaili, who was represented by counsel Rakbir Singh.
Don’t let Zulkifli in, Gerakan urges Umno
PENANG, March 10 — The Penang Gerakan has urged Umno and the Barisan Nasional (BN) leadership not to accept Kulim-Bandar Baharu member of parliament Zulkifli Noordin as a member.
Its chairman, Datuk Dr Teng Hock Nan, said Zulkifli was sacked by PKR for his unwillingness to subscribe to multi-racialism.
“Accepting him into Umno and BN will not augur well for BN as a moderate and multi-racial coalition serving the interests of all Malaysians,” he said in a statement today.
Balik Pulau PKR MP wants a ‘study’ on third vote
By Syed Jaymal Zahiid
KUALA LUMPUR, March 10 — While two Pakatan Rakyat (PR) states are pressing for local government elections, Balik Pulau PKR MP Yusmadi Yussof (picture) is calling for a study to see if people actually want it.
The PR states are Penang and Selangor which want the local council elections restored after it was suspended in 1965.
Yusmadi said retrospectively, the third vote was first mooted by former British High Commissioner to colonial-era Malaysia , Sir Henry Gurney, but was rejected by the then Council of Rulers.
PAS man arrested for trespassing Felda settlement
By Adib Zalkapli
KUALA LUMPUR, March 10 — A PAS central committee member Mazlan Aliman was arrested last night for allegedly trespassing a Federal Land Development Authority (Felda) settlement in Pahang.
Party vice-president Salahuddin Ayub told The Malaysian Insider, Felda has barred Mazlan from conducting activities within any Felda settlement.
Mazlan was arrested after a gathering at Felda Lembah Klau in Raub, Pahang organised by Anak, an organisation representing the interest of children of Felda settlers.
TBH inquest: Porntip, Vanezis to testify in April
By Shazwan Mustafa Kamal
SHAH ALAM, March 10 — The coroner’s court today confirmed that Thai forensic pathologist Dr Porntip Rojanasunand, who had testified last October in Teoh Beng Hock’s inquest, will once again take the witness stand on April 20.
Dr Porntip, who is currently the director of the Bangkok-based Central Institute of Forensic Science, had been engaged by the Selangor government last year to look into the first post-mortem report done by government pathologists Dr Khairul Azman Ibrahim and Dr Prashant Naresh Samberkar.
In her court testimony on October 21, she had stated that Teoh was likely a victim of homicide, contradicting the findings of the two pathologists who performed the first post-mortem.
Lawyers clash over Anwar’s ‘qazaf’ motion against Saiful
By Asrul Hadi Abdullah Sani
KUALA LUMPUR, March 10 — The Syariah High Court today saw lawyers arguing over Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s qazaf or criminal defamation against his sodomy accuser Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan.
Government Syarie lawyer Zainul Rijal Abu Bakar argued that the the Syariah High Court does not have the authority to order Syariah chief prosecutor to charge Anwar’s former aide.
Zainul said that the court cannot interfere or meddle the authority of the Syariah chief prosecutor under section 58 (2) in Islamic law’s administrative act.
PM spends too much time on Facebook, says Kit Siang
By Clara Chooi
KUALA LUMPUR, March 10 — DAP’s Lim Kit Siang took a stab at Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak today, accusing him of spending more time on Facebook than on the country’s affairs.
He criticised the Najib’s pledge to respond to all messages he received via the social networking site and claimed it would take at least 10 hours daily for this to happen.
Lim was responding to a statement by Najib’s political secretary Datuk Seri Shahlan Ismail that the Prime Minister would respond to all constructive criticisms submitted by the people via Facebook.
PAC summons SPMB to explain cost over-runs
UPDATED
By Syed Jaymal Zahiid
KUALA LUMPUR, March 10 —Government housing agency SPMB was called up by the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) today to explain alleged cost over-runs.
PAC chairman Datuk Azmi Khalid was briefed by SPMB representatives in Parliament on the matter but failed to get sufficient information.
“As such, we have told them to come back in three weeks’ time to return with the necessary information,” he told reporters after the briefing.
Four Indian migrant workers killed in fire
JOHOR BAHARU, March 10 — Four Indians were killed when fire razed a textile shophouse in Jalan Pasar, Masai near here early today.
Johor Fire and Rescue deputy director Syukor Sani Hashim said the fire at 3am also destroyed two adjacent stationery and two textile shops.
“Two of the victims were working at the textile shop while two others were their friends. The charred remains have yet to be identified,” he told reporters at the fire scene today.
Ministry targets 650,000 Indian tourists this year
NEW DELHI, March 10 — The Tourism Ministry has again upped it mark for tourists arrivals from India, hoping to pull in 650,000 visitors to Malaysia this year.
With budget carrier AirAsia making plans to fly to more major Indian cities later this year and the swelling in outbound travel in India, tourism officials are optimistic that the new target can be easily achieved.
“India is a main growth market and the country’s outbound travel is booming. With AirAsia scheduled to fly to major cities soon, we can achieve a 10 per cent growth without any problems,” Datuk Mirza Mohammad Taiyab Beg, Director-General of Tourism Malaysia, told the media here.
Anwar to meet police tomorrow over rally speeches
KUALA LUMPUR, March 10 — Opposition Leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim (picture) has been called-in to give a statement to the police tomorrow — joining the list of Pakatan Rakyat leaders who have been asked to meet the police over their recent public speeches at four gatherings.
The Malaysian Insider understands that interviews are a result of police reports made at Batu Maung, Kepala Batas, Kampung Baru and Kubang Semang.
At these gatherings Anwar spoke about the legislature’s and judiciary’s loss of credibility, the lost jet engines, the death of the Mongolian model, the second sodomy trial and the developments in regards to the use of the word ‘Allah’.
Pathologist changes mind, says Beng Hock not strangled
UPDATED
By Shazwan Mustafa Kamal
SHAH ALAM, March 10 —In an apparent about turn, Sungai Buloh Hospital chief pathologist Dr Shahidan Md Noor today testified that Teoh Beng Hock could not have been strangled at all prior his fall last July 16.
The government pathologist took great pains to rule out the possibility that the neck injuries sustained by Teoh could have been caused by strangulation.
He was testifying at the inquest for Teoh, who was found dead outside the Selangor Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) office after overnight interrogation.
When ‘Allah’ was not the only word banned
By Debra Chong
KUALA LUMPUR, March 10 — Allah is not the only word banned by the Home Ministry from use by non-Muslims.
The Malaysian Insider recently obtained a copy of two letters sent out in 1986 by the ministry through its publishing division and addressed to the Council of Churches Malaysia (CCM).
It lays down a laundry list of words the federal government claimed — and still claims — are sensitive to Muslims who make up the biggest group in multi-religious Malaysia.
Two dropped in Kedah exco reshuffle
UPDATED
By Adib Zalkapli
KUALA LUMPUR, March 10 —Two Kedah executive councillors from PKR and PAS were dropped in a minor state Cabinet reshuffle this morning, just two years after the Pakatan Rakyat government came to power.
PAS’s Pantai Merdeka assemblyman Abdullah Jusoh was replaced with Abdul Ghani Ahmad who is the representative for Ayer Hitam, while PKR’s sole backbencher, Tan Show Kang was appointed executive councillor to replace Tan Wei Shu.
PAS is represented by seven executive councillors in the state administration while PKR has three.
Malaysia’s decades-old Christian ‘Allah’ issue
By Debra Chong
KUALA LUMPUR, March 10 — The issue of Christians not being allowed to use “Allah” goes back to the 1980s when the authorities ring-fenced a list of Arabic terms first on national security grounds then later in order to prevent confusion among Muslims.
The National Evangelical Christian Fellowship (NECF), an umbrella body for Christian groups in Malaysia, said the use of the word “Allah” became a “problem” because of the distortion of certain facts by a government department in the mid-1980s.
“First, they say it is national security. Then they say it will confuse Muslims. But why are they listening only to Jakim?” quizzed NECF’s Bahasa Malaysia section executive secretary Alfred Tais, referring to the Department of Islamic Development Malaysia.
Phang, The Star can comment on Wee, PKFZ
UPDATED
By Clara Chooi
KUALA LUMPUR, March 10 — MCA Youth chief Datuk Wee Ka Siong’s chief critic and The Star newspaper are free to comment on him and the Port Klang Free Zone (PKFZ) scandal pending the hearing of a defamation suit this April 5.
Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission panel adviser and Social Care Foundation chairman Tan Sri Robert Phang Miow Sin said today that as there was no order barring him from doing so, he would exercise his full right without fear or favour.
“I will challenge him (Wee) all the way. There is no fear. As an MP, it is his statutory duty to come forward to the MACC for investigation; the MACC must be supported all the way in its fight against corruption,” he said at the Kuala Lumpur High Court today.
‘Digital dividend’ for other services
KUALA LUMPUR, March 10 — The government is studying the possibility of using the ‘digital dividend’ or surplus television spectrum that will become available once the change from analog to digital transmission is in effect, for other services.
Information Communication and Culture Minister Datuk Seri Dr Rais Yatim said the other services being studied included mobile services or broadband.
“When the spectrum used by the various companies for broadcasting is reviewed (after the change from analog to digital transmission), we will have what is known as a “digital dividend” or surplus spectrum.
Zul denies rejoining PAS, informs Speaker he’s an independent
By Clara Chooi
KUALA LUMPUR, March 10 — Former PKR lawmaker Zulkifli Noordin (picture) refuted rumours that he planned to rejoin PAS, adding that he was comfortable staying as an independent for the Kulim-Bandar Baharu parliamentary constituency.
The recently sacked PKR member said in a statement tonight that he strongly denied the rumours as he had no intention to join any party for now.
“In fact, I just wrote to Tan Sri Speaker this morning informing him that I am now an independent MP, effective immediately,” he said last night.
Third vote not likely before next elections
By G. ManimaranKUALA LUMPUR, March 10 — Local government elections requested by the Pakatan Rakyat states of Penang and Selangor might not happen before the next general elections as it requires tabling new laws and the Election Commission creating electoral wards.
The EC will also have to consider the cost of conducting another set of elections apart from a Federal Government that is reluctant to have the polls which were suspended in 1965 at the height of the Confrontation with Indonesia.
“It is impossible for local government elections to be held before the 13th general elections,” a former official who was attached to the EC told The Malaysian Insider.
Contest on for Penang’s Malay business chamber’s leadership
PENANG, March 9 — Businessman Datuk Azman Shah Omar Shah will be taking on incumbent Rizal Faris Mohideen Abdul Kader for the president’s post of the Penang Malay Chamber of Commerce (DPMPP) at the chamber’s polls on Thursday.
Speaking to Bernama here today, Azman Shah, 49, said he was contesting the post to revive DPMPP, which he claimed was ailing under the present leadership.
The polls, held inconjunction with the chamber’s annual general meeting, is expected to be heated with about all posts up for grabs likely to see contests.
Shahrizat wants probe into child-brides in Kelantan
KUALA LUMPUR, March 9 — The Women, Family and Community Development Ministry has asked the relevant authorities in Kelantan to investigate and act against those marrying underage girls.
Minister Senator Datuk Seri Shahrizat Abdul Jalil said such marriages went contrary to the Kelantan Islamic Family Law Enactment as there was no endorsement from the Syariah Court.
“The Kelantan Islamic Family Law Enactment stipulates the minimum marriageable age for women as 16 years unless there is approval from the Syariah Court,” she said when asked to comment on the marriage of a 11-year-old girl to a 41-year-old man in Kuala Krai, Kelantan.