Radzi wants Shahidan to go - The Star

By Sira Habibu

KANGAR: The much talked about rift between Umno secretary-general Datuk Seri Radzi Sheikh Ahmad and Perlis Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Shahidan Kassim is out in the open.

Radzi proposed a change in the state leadership, saying it was the best way to avoid a split in Umno.

“It is nothing personal. I am saying this in the best interest of the party,” he said after opening the Padang Besar Umno election machinery yesterday.

Radzi, who is from Perlis but does not hold any post in Perlis Umno, said Shahidan should be replaced to overcome internal problems within Umno.
The Home Affairs Minister also said that Perlis had not developed like other states because there were no changes at the top.

When contacted, Shahidan said he was not perturbed by Radzi’s comments.

“If the party president said such a thing, I will take note,” said Shahidan, who has served as mentri besar for three terms.

[More at http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2007/12/30/nation/19885669&sec=nation]

Kata dua Hishammuddin kepada Gerakan - Utusan

Oleh Herman Hamid

MACHANG 22 Dis. – Pergerakan Pemuda UMNO mendesak Pemangku Presiden Parti Gerakan, Tan Sri Dr. Koh Tsu Koon segera memberi penjelasan berhubung kenyataan Naib Ketua Pemuda parti itu, S. Paranjothy yang mendakwa UMNO adalah salah satu punca mengapa kaum India terpinggir.

Ketuanya, Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Tun Hussein menegaskan, sekiranya penjelasan tersebut gagal diberi atau tidak memuaskan, tidak mustahil hubungan Pemuda UMNO serta Barisan Nasional (BN) dengan Parti Gerakan akan putus.

“Buat masa ini kita tidak mengeluarkan sebarang pendirian berbentuk mengutuk dan sebagainya tanpa terlebih dahulu mendapat penjelasan Gerakan kerana bagi BN, apabila timbul isu dari kalangan parti komponen, kita perlu dengar penjelasan.

“Namun ini bukan bermakna Pemuda UMNO beralah. Sekiranya penjelasan tidak memuaskan, kita sanggup putuskan hubungan. Hal ini bukan main-main,” katanya.

Beliau berkata demikian pada sidang akhbar selepas merasmikan Program Korban Perdana anjuran pergerakan tersebut di sini hari ini.

[More at http://www.utusan.com.my/utusan/arkib.asp?y=2007&dt=1223&pub=Utusan_Malaysia&sec=Politik&pg=po_01.htm]

DPM: Ignore Hindraf - The Star

PUTRAJAYA: The public, especially political parties, should not dance to the Hindu Rights Action Force’s (Hindraf) tune, Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak said.

The Deputy Prime Minister said they should not turn hysterical every time the group voiced its comments or criticisms, saying that Hindraf did not speak for the Indian community.

“Who is Hindraf representing? We should not dance to its tune.

“Action can be taken against it if it broke any law, and we have taken action against some of its members recently.

“The situation in the country is still under control, and the people are confident about the measures taken by the Government to maintain peace,” Najib told reporters after giving prizes to the winners of the Felda youth awards here yesterday.
Najib, who is also Barisan Nasional deputy president, said he would ask People’s Progressive Party president Datuk M. Kayveas to explain his statement on Sunday that the protests by the Indian groups recently were aimed at the MIC.

[More at http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2007/12/11/nation/19722714&sec=nation]

Shocked by ‘apartheid’ report - The Star

KUALA LUMPUR: Datuk Seri Rafidah Aziz was shocked during a recent work trip to India to find a newspaper there carrying a front page article that claimed that Malaysia was practising apartheid against Hindus.

Holding up the DNA newspaper of Nov 28, the International Trade and Industry Minister said that the article quoted a 22-year-old Sri Lankan-born poet who had spent 17 years in Malaysia, as saying that she fled Malaysia last month to escape “systematic racial harassment.”

“Fleeing Malaysia? Oh my goodness gracious. Can you imagine? This is really telling lies,” Rafidah told reporters yesterday after chairing a Wanita Umno meeting.

The Wanita Umno chief said that the poet, Sharanya Manivannan, had also claimed in the article that there had been cases in Malaysia of “body-snatching” of Hindu corpses by the authorities so that the deceased could be buried according to Muslim rites.

She said that the poet, however, had never mentioned that these men had converted to Islam.

Rafidah added that Sharanya had said in the article that “countless (Hindu) temples have been demolished and idols smashed – oftentimes in the middle of prayer sessions and devotees attacked”.

“What a lie. Words like this are terrible. The article really hurts,” she said.

[More at http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2007/12/5/nation/19672054&sec=nation]

Government Never Ignored Minority Races In Malaysia, Says Nazri - Bernama

KANGAR, Dec 2 (Bernama) -- The Government has never forsaken the interests and welfare of minority races in Malaysia, what more launching an "ethnic cleansing" to wipe them out from the country.

Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Datuk Seri Mohamed Nazri Abdul Aziz said all races are given due protection under the law and adequate avenues to seize opportunities available in the country.

The Government has never imposed restrictions on their freedom to embrace the religion of their choice and practise their respective cultures and traditions, he told reporters after launching the state-level Thai Loy Krathong festival in Pengkalan Asam here last night.

The minister said the well-being of the minority Thai community in Malaysia was also given due protection by the Government.

"Although there are only about 60,000 Siamese in the country, the Government had never ignored their interests and welfare. This showed there was no racial discrimination in Malaysia," said Mohamed Nazri, who is also Malaysian Siamese Association patron.

"I intend to ask for a bigger allocation from the Culture, Arts and Heritage Ministry and the Tourism Ministry to preserve the Siamese art and culture which have been well accepted by Malaysians," he said.

[More at http://www.bernama.com.my/bernama/v3/news.php?id=299800]