Read this doc on Scribd: The Sun Malaysia Cover (4 April 2008)
The nation’s FREE newspaper 30 sen for delivery to your doorstep MEMBER AUDIT BUREAU OF CIRCULATIONS (MALAYSIA) 275,000 COPIES DAILY Award winning newspaper for public service reporting and opinion writing. No. 4485 PP 2644/12/2008 (020369) Friday April 4, 2008 TELLING IT AS IT IS www.sun2surf.com » Mugabe’s biggest battle yet pg18 » Dancing to different tune pg38 Entertainment Hisham makes way UMNO YOUTH CHIEF NOT DEFENDING TOP POST by Husna Yusop newsdesk@thesundaily.com PUTRAJAYA: Umno Youth chief Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein declared yesterday he will not defend his post in the party elections in December, refusing to openly endorse a possible successor. “We have to look forward. We have to do changes and reforms, re-build the party and the wing. And if the Youth is still in a situation where they don’t know what my plans are come December, that becomes a barrier for us to move forward. “I feel today might be the right time for me to tell them about my plans after 10 years of building the Youth from the time when it was split to where it is now,” he said when asked about the timing of the announcement. Hishammuddin, who is also education minister, was speaking after announcing the ministry’s second report card for the Education Development Master Plan (2006-2010). His announcement fuels speculation that he is going for a higher post. But when asked if he was going for the deputy president or vice-president post in Umno, he said it was something for the delegates to decide. Umno has three vice-presidential seats, one of which became vacant after Tan Sri Isa Samad was suspended for dabbling in money politics. The other elected vice-presidents are Datuk Seri Ali Rustam and Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin. On whether Youth members are courageous and mature enough to choose a new leader, he said yes and he welcomed a contest. “Previously, what had hindered the two who had offered themselves was my own position. So now I am making it clear. Let there be no hindrance and those who feel they are qualified, they should offer themselves according to the normal process and let the delegates decide,” he said. It was reported on Wednesday that Datuk Mukhriz Mahathir and Datuk Seri Dr Mohd Khir Toyo had said they would offer themselves as candidates for the Youth chief post if Hishammuddin declined to defend it. Asked whether his deputy Khairy Jamaluddin agreed with his decision not to contest, Hishammuddin said it was his right to do so. “When I make a decision, it is usually in the interest of the party. Not for the posts, material or money,” he said, adding that he was not pressured to let go of the post. Asked if he wants Khairy to contest for the Youth chief post, Hishammuddin said: “It is not for me to decide. I can only answer what is within my control.” Asked if he had a personal preference of a successor, he said he had his own favourite but he would rather keep it to himself. When suggested that it is a tradition for the deputy to move up the ladder once the seat is vacated, he said it was not necessarily so, as “(listening to) the voices from the ground, clearly they are in power.” On whether he would accept any nomination for the top two posts in Umno, he said he would not respond to that as it did not matter at this point of time. “Our duty now is to rebuild the party, look at how we have fared (in the elections) and listen to the grassroots. We have no time to think of certain posts or chase after this or that. Our task is to rebuild the spirit of our members in certain states,” he said. Hishammuddin, the son of third prime minister Tun Hussein Onn, also said he did not expect a tough fight for the Youth chief post, “unless people are not sincere and honest in offering themselves”. When contacted for a response, Khairy said he did not have any comments for the time being while Mukhriz could not be reached on his mobile phone. New kids in the House ... B ATU MP Tian Chua (Parti Keadilan Rakyat) and Khairy Jamaluddin (Barisan Nasional), no strangers to speaking their minds and taking their causes to the streets, have another thing in common. They are newly-elected people’s representatives and will be making their Dewan Rakyat debut later this month. They joined other MPs for orientation at Parliament House yesterday. » Full report Page 2 PM meets Penang CM... New initiatives to contain inflation KUALA LUMPUR: The government is working on new initiatives to curb inflation and is expected to announce some of them soon, International Trade & Industry Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin said yesterday. “Some of these matters (pertaining to the inflation issue) were highlighted by the prime minister during the meeting,” he said when asked to comment on the outcome of his meeting in Putrajaya last Tuesday with Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi and other ministers on efforts to curb inflation. “He (PM) also highlighted certain things that must be looked at more closely and what certain ministries and agencies need to do. “Once (Second Finance Minister) Tan Sri Nor (Mohamed Yakcop) comes back to the cabinet with his full report on studies (on the country’s current state of inflation and economy), then the government will decide on the new initiatives to curb inflation and (at the same time) put more income into the pockets of consumers,” he said after an official visit to the Malaysian Industrial Development Finance Bhd. Muhyiddin declined to elaborate on the new initiatives other than to say that it will be a package to be announced by Abdullah soon, with some of them expected to be implemented before Budget 2009 is tabled. When announcing his new cabinet line-up recently, Abdullah had said his priority was to support lower income groups suffering from higher prices of consumer goods. Bank Negara Malaysia in its 2007 Annual Report released recently noted that Malaysia was expected to post a higher average headline inflation of 2.5-3.0% this year compared to 2% last year as a result of the pass-through effect of global inflation as well as the continued strength of domestic demand. The central bank said the period of high uncertainty surrounding global growth and inflation prospects was evident from the second half of last year and was expected to continue this year. – Bernama ATUK Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi welcomes Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng at Putrajaya. Lim received an assurance that federal projects planned for the state will be fulfilled. Abdullah in return advised Lim to be careful with his words as he was now a government leader. D » Full report Page 4 SHARIL AMIN/THE SUN
The nation’s FREE newspaper 30 sen for delivery to your doorstep MEMBER AUDIT BUREAU OF CIRCULATIONS (MALAYSIA) 275,000 COPIES DAILY Award winning newspaper for public service reporting and opinion writing. No. 4485 PP 2644/12/2008 (020369) Friday April 4, 2008 TELLING IT AS IT IS www.sun2surf.com » Mugabe’s biggest battle yet pg18 » Dancing to different tune pg38 Entertainment Hisham makes way UMNO YOUTH CHIEF NOT DEFENDING TOP POST by Husna Yusop newsdesk@thesundaily.com PUTRAJAYA: Umno Youth chief Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein declared yesterday he will not defend his post in the party elections in December, refusing to openly endorse a possible successor. “We have to look forward. We have to do changes and reforms, re-build the party and the wing. And if the Youth is still in a situation where they don’t know what my plans are come December, that becomes a barrier for us to move forward. “I feel today might be the right time for me to tell them about my plans after 10 years of building the Youth from the time when it was split to where it is now,” he said when asked about the timing of the announcement. Hishammuddin, who is also education minister, was speaking after announcing the ministry’s second report card for the Education Development Master Plan (2006-2010). His announcement fuels speculation that he is going for a higher post. But when asked if he was going for the deputy president or vice-president post in Umno, he said it was something for the delegates to decide. Umno has three vice-presidential seats, one of which became vacant after Tan Sri Isa Samad was suspended for dabbling in money politics. The other elected vice-presidents are Datuk Seri Ali Rustam and Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin. On whether Youth members are courageous and mature enough to choose a new leader, he said yes and he welcomed a contest. “Previously, what had hindered the two who had offered themselves was my own position. So now I am making it clear. Let there be no hindrance and those who feel they are qualified, they should offer themselves according to the normal process and let the delegates decide,” he said. It was reported on Wednesday that Datuk Mukhriz Mahathir and Datuk Seri Dr Mohd Khir Toyo had said they would offer themselves as candidates for the Youth chief post if Hishammuddin declined to defend it. Asked whether his deputy Khairy Jamaluddin agreed with his decision not to contest, Hishammuddin said it was his right to do so. “When I make a decision, it is usually in the interest of the party. Not for the posts, material or money,” he said, adding that he was not pressured to let go of the post. Asked if he wants Khairy to contest for the Youth chief post, Hishammuddin said: “It is not for me to decide. I can only answer what is within my control.” Asked if he had a personal preference of a successor, he said he had his own favourite but he would rather keep it to himself. When suggested that it is a tradition for the deputy to move up the ladder once the seat is vacated, he said it was not necessarily so, as “(listening to) the voices from the ground, clearly they are in power.” On whether he would accept any nomination for the top two posts in Umno, he said he would not respond to that as it did not matter at this point of time. “Our duty now is to rebuild the party, look at how we have fared (in the elections) and listen to the grassroots. We have no time to think of certain posts or chase after this or that. Our task is to rebuild the spirit of our members in certain states,” he said. Hishammuddin, the son of third prime minister Tun Hussein Onn, also said he did not expect a tough fight for the Youth chief post, “unless people are not sincere and honest in offering themselves”. When contacted for a response, Khairy said he did not have any comments for the time being while Mukhriz could not be reached on his mobile phone. New kids in the House ... B ATU MP Tian Chua (Parti Keadilan Rakyat) and Khairy Jamaluddin (Barisan Nasional), no strangers to speaking their minds and taking their causes to the streets, have another thing in common. They are newly-elected people’s representatives and will be making their Dewan Rakyat debut later this month. They joined other MPs for orientation at Parliament House yesterday. » Full report Page 2 PM meets Penang CM... New initiatives to contain inflation KUALA LUMPUR: The government is working on new initiatives to curb inflation and is expected to announce some of them soon, International Trade & Industry Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin said yesterday. “Some of these matters (pertaining to the inflation issue) were highlighted by the prime minister during the meeting,” he said when asked to comment on the outcome of his meeting in Putrajaya last Tuesday with Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi and other ministers on efforts to curb inflation. “He (PM) also highlighted certain things that must be looked at more closely and what certain ministries and agencies need to do. “Once (Second Finance Minister) Tan Sri Nor (Mohamed Yakcop) comes back to the cabinet with his full report on studies (on the country’s current state of inflation and economy), then the government will decide on the new initiatives to curb inflation and (at the same time) put more income into the pockets of consumers,” he said after an official visit to the Malaysian Industrial Development Finance Bhd. Muhyiddin declined to elaborate on the new initiatives other than to say that it will be a package to be announced by Abdullah soon, with some of them expected to be implemented before Budget 2009 is tabled. When announcing his new cabinet line-up recently, Abdullah had said his priority was to support lower income groups suffering from higher prices of consumer goods. Bank Negara Malaysia in its 2007 Annual Report released recently noted that Malaysia was expected to post a higher average headline inflation of 2.5-3.0% this year compared to 2% last year as a result of the pass-through effect of global inflation as well as the continued strength of domestic demand. The central bank said the period of high uncertainty surrounding global growth and inflation prospects was evident from the second half of last year and was expected to continue this year. – Bernama ATUK Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi welcomes Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng at Putrajaya. Lim received an assurance that federal projects planned for the state will be fulfilled. Abdullah in return advised Lim to be careful with his words as he was now a government leader. D » Full report Page 4 SHARIL AMIN/THE SUN
No comments:
Post a Comment