PM tells Umno sec-gen to make police report - Malaysiakini.tv

Abdullah said that he has instructed Umno secretary-general Tengku Adnan Mansor to lodge a police report against DAP chairperson Karpal Singh over his allegedly seditious remarks against the Sultan of Perak.

"The statements that he (Karpal) has made gives the impression that the sultan does not know the law," he said.

"As such, many (including Umno) are upset."

"I'm also told that others - Malays and non-Malays - who respect the constitution, also feel slighted by what has happened. They may also complain to the relevant authorities," said Abdullah at the sidelines of the 5th Malaysia International Halal Showcase at Matrade.

Melayu marah - PM. UMNO, lima ahli Parlimen, NGO buat laporan polis terhadap Karpal - Utusan

Oleh Arshad Khan

KUALA LUMPUR 8 Mei –Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi hari ini mengarahkan UMNO membuat laporan polis terhadap Pengerusi DAP, Karpal Singh ekoran kenyataannya yang mempersoal bidang kuasa Sultan Perak.

Laporan itu telah dibuat oleh Setiausaha Agung UMNO, Datuk Seri Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor di Ibu Pejabat Polis Daerah Sentul, di sini.

Presiden UMNO ketika bercakap kepada pemberita selepas merasmikan Pameran Perdagangan Halal Antarabangsa Malaysia Kelima (MIHAS) di Pusat Pameran dan Konvensyen Matrade (MECC) di sini menegaskan, laporan polis dibuat kerana tindakan Karpal mempunyai kecenderungan menghasut dan menimbulkan kemarahan orang Melayu.

Menurut beliau kenyataan Pengerusi DAP itu dalam isu berkenaan antara lain boleh dilihat sebagai menggambarkan bahawa sultan tidak tahu tentang tugas dan bidang kuasa mereka.

Katanya, justeru kenyataan itu jelas adalah satu bentuk hasutan dan dengan adanya laporan polis maka perkara itu akan dibawa kepada Jabatan Peguam Negara dan mahkamah untuk tindakan seterusnya.

“Setiausaha Agung UMNO diminta membuat laporan polis supaya kes ini dapat dibawa kepada Jabatan Peguam Negara dan mahkamah,” katanya.

[More at http://www.utusan.com.my/utusan/info.asp?y=2008&dt=0509&pub=Utusan_Malaysia&sec=Muka_Hadapan&pg=mh_01.htm]

BN Component Parties Need Not Merge - Ong - Bernama

KUALA LUMPUR, May 8 (Bernama) -- Barisan Nasional (BN) component parties representing the non-Malays need not merge to be loudly heard as the individual parties can handle issues and challenges that come their way.

MCA secretary-general Datuk Seri Ong Ka Chuan said such a merger would be unhealthy as the BN believed in dialogues and an honest relationship.

He was commenting a statement by former MCA deputy president Dr Chua Soi Lek that non-Malay BN parties should merge to become a strong to rival to Umno.

Ong, who is also Perak MCA chief, said the BN was aware of the political reality and was taking steps to improve its image and breathe new life in the coalition.

"We are having very active discussions at committees level to enhance the cooperation between component parties," Ong said after opening the Architect's Centre here Thursday.

He added that the components parties would be meeting more frequently to strengthen ties and to avoid difference of opinion.

[From http://www.bernama.com.my/bernama/v3/news.php?id=331711]

Bunga Tanjong Dissolution Null And Void, Says Betty Chew - Bernama

PENANG, May 8 (Bernama) -- The wife of Chief Minister, Betty Chew Gek Cheng, said the dissolution of Pertubuhan Bunga Tanjong (PBT) is null and void as its former management had failed to comply with legal requirements.

She said Bunga Tanjong's constitution had clearly spelt out that an application for dissolution had to be made within 14 days of the decision to dissolve the organisation whose members comprise wives of former and serving Barisan Nasional (BN) state assemblymen in Penang.

Failure to do so meant the dissolution was null and void, she said in a statement Thursday.

Betty said Penang Registrar of Societies (ROS) director Mohd Jamil Mohd Noor had admitted that the application for dissolution was made only on April 4 which was more than 14 days after their decision on March 9 to dissolve Bunga Tanjong.

Therefore, she said, the former President of PBT, Puan Sri Chui Kah Peng, the wife of former Penang Chief Minister Tan Sri Dr Koh Tsu Koon, should withdraw her application to dissolve the organisation on legal and ethical grounds.

"Should she still refuse to do so, the ROS should reject the application on grounds that both are ultra vires and failing to comply with the requirement to submit the application within 14 days," she said.

[More at http://www.bernama.com.my/bernama/v3/news.php?id=331699]

Abdullah Asks Police Report Be Lodged Against Karpal - Bernama

KUALA LUMPUR, May 8 (Bernama) -- Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi has asked Umno secretary-general Datuk Seri Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor to lodge a police report against DAP chairman Karpal Singh over his statement on the powers of the Perak Sultan.

Abdullah said this was to enable the matter to be referred to the Attorney-General and then brought to court.

He said Karpal's statement had incurred the ire of the public, including non-Malays.

"It is seditious and seen by the people as ridiculing the Sultan as though the ruler did not know his duty," he told reporters when asked about Karpal's controversial statement.

Earlier, Abdullah had opened the 5th Halal Industry International Exhibition hosted by Malaysia, here Thursday.

Abdullah said the Malays and other races felt aggrieved and offended by Karpal's statement, and he was made to understand that more people would be making police reports against the lawyer.

[More at http://www.bernama.com.my/bernama/v3/news.php?id=331684]

Ibrahim apologises to disabled, but not to Karpal Singh - The Star

By Paul Choo

KUALA LUMPUR: A commotion broke out in the Parliament lobby Thursday when Datuk Ibrahim Ali (Independent - Pasir Mas) stormed out of a meeting with a group of disabled people demanding for his apology to Karpal Singh at the Parliament lobby at noon.

The group, known as Malaysians Against the Discrimination of the Disabled (MADD), urged Ibrahim to retract insulting statements he made against Karpal recently when he asked the latter to stand when speaking in Dewan Rakyat.

Ibrahim had apologised to the group initially for hurting their feelings over the remarks he made in the Dewan Rakyat to Karpal.

However, he refused to say sorry to Karpal.

"My problem was with Karpal Singh and never with all of you. I have never offended you and I love disabled people from the bottom of my heart.

"But if you all have misinterpreted my meaning, I extend my sincerest apologies.

"I hope you don't misunderstand this because there are groups trying to take advantage of you," he said, referring to several Pakatan Rakyat leaders, Datin Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, Lim Lip Eng, Loh Gwo Burne, Gobind Singh Deo and others, who had escorted the group into Parliament.

[More at http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2008/5/8/nation/20080508153335&sec=nation]

Raja Petra agrees to post bail - The Star

PETALING JAYA: Raja Petra Kamaruddin is expected to be released on Friday morning after his wife posted bail Thursday.

The necessary documentation will be delivered to Sg Buloh prison by tomorrow at the latest, after which he will be released.

Earlier today, Raja Petra agreed to post bail after his wife Marina Lee Abdullah met him in prison.

Marina finally got to see her husband for about 10 minutes this morning, after he twice refused to meet her on Wednesday.

She said Raja Petra was fine, except for a slight back ache after spending two nights in jail.

[From http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2008/5/8/nation/20080508115959&sec=nation]

Malaysian Islamic court allows convert to renounce faith - AFP

PENANG, Malaysia : A Malaysian Islamic court Thursday allowed a Chinese convert to renounce Islam in a rare decision for this conservative Muslim-led nation.

Apostasy, or renouncing the faith, is one of the gravest sins in Islam and a very sensitive issue in Malaysia where Islamic sharia courts have rarely allowed such renunciations and have also jailed apostates.

Penang Sharia Court judge Othman Ibrahim said he had no choice but to allow an application by cook Siti Fatimah Tan Abdullah to renounce her faith and return to Buddhism.

"The court has no choice but to declare that Siti Fatimah Tan Abdullah is no longer a Muslim as she has never practised the teachings of Islam," Othman told a packed courtroom.

"I order the conversion certificate to be nullified," he added.

Siti Fatimah or Tan Ean Huang, 38, said she had never practised Islamic teachings since she converted in 1998 and only did so to enable her to marry Iranian Ferdoun Ashanian.

[More at http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/afp_asiapacific/view/346369/1/.html]

Mahathir: Danger of defections is real - The Star

By V. P. Sujata

PUTRAJAYA: There is great danger in Pakatan Rakyat taking over the Federal Government, as there are signs of component parties in the peninsula, Sabah and Sarawak crossing over, said Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

He said when the Barisan Nasional had two-thirds majority in Parliament, it was not worth for any component party to crossover unlike now they had nothing to lose as crossing over meant still being in the Government.

Stating that Pakatan Rakyat was a force to be reckoned with, he added that PKR de facto leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s threat had to be taken seriously.

“I, at first, wanted to dismiss this possibility, but on studying the situation I feel there is great danger,” he said, adding that members lacked inherent loyalty to the party and are only interested in personal gains.

Dr Mahathir said people in Sabah were used to being under Opposition rule while state Barisan leaders like Datuk Joseph Pairin Kitingan had great support when he was in the Opposition.

“So, can you say they will stay loyal to Umno, I don’t think so. Even here in the peninsula, I see quite a number of the people who will crossover when there is something to gain.

“If this Government loses its power, it is no longer the Government, and it will not be in a position to dole out all kinds of cookies; the clout is gone,” he told reporters after presenting the keynote address on National Sovereignty during the Perdana Leadership Foundation’s Discourse Series yesterday.

[More at http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2008/5/8/nation/21182478&sec=nation]

Bloggers not immune to the law, says Najib - The Star

MERSING: The Government has always been liberal towards bloggers and has no plans to clamp down on them, said Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak.

However, he reminded bloggers and Internet users that there were laws pertaining to sedition, defamation and libel.

“Just because you operate in cyberspace does not mean that you are absolved from having to comply with the nation’s laws,” he said when asked to comment on the recent case involving Raja Petra Raja Kamarudin.

Asked about the timing of the arrest and charging, which made the Government look unpopular, he said: “I do not think so. We have to draw the line of what is right or wrong”.

“This is not politically motivated,” he said to reporters after accompanying Sultan of Brunei Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah during a one-day working visit to the Special Forces base yesterday.

[More at http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2008/5/8/nation/21183139&sec=nation]

Dewan Rakyat: Furore over word 'treason' - NST

By : V. Vasudevan, B. Suresh Ram, Eileen Ng, R.S. Kamini, Ili Liyana Mokhtar and Joseph Sipalan

A BACKBENCHER'S use of the word "treason" in reference to comments by Karpal Singh (DAP-Bukit Gelugor) on the King's speech in the Dewan Rakyat created a furore among the opposition.

Fong Poh Kuan (DAP-Batu Gajah) said there should be no dispute over the question of loyalty to king and country and called on the chair to get Razali Ibrahim (BN-Muar) to withdraw the word.

"Because all the MPs had taken their oath of loyalty and expressed their allegiance every time they sang the national anthem Negaraku, it is not right to question our loyalty to the king."

Datuk Dr Mohamad Shahrum Osman (BN-Lipis) said taking the oath of loyalty and singing the national anthem were not enough in demonstrating one's allegiance to the Yang di-Pertuan Agong.

"It must be reflected in our conduct. At times, our friends on the opposition bench speak with such vigour, to the extent that some feel they are not being loyal. Words must also justify our claims of loyalty."

Deputy speaker Datuk Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar ruled that Razali did not intend to question Karpal's loyalty.

[More at http://www.nst.com.my/Thursday/National/2234625/Article/index_html]

Jamry episode takes another twist - NST

By : M. Husairy Othman

IPOH: Datuk Jamry Sury officially resumed his duties as the state Religious Department director after clocking-in at 7.30am at Kompleks Islam here yesterday.

It is believed that he had finally received his "appointment" letter signed by State Secretary Datuk Dr Abdul Rahman Hashim a day earlier.

However, it looks like the whole episode of him being transferred out immediately and subsequently being reinstated a week later is not quite over just yet.

Jamry's ability in carrying out his duties in a fair manner because of his status as an Umno member has now been questioned by a group of Pas members from the party's Ipoh Timur division.

"We are suspicious (curiga) after learning that he is a Parit Buntar Umno member. He might be biased against the present Pakatan Rakyat-led state government," division chief Salman Saleh told reporters outside Jamry's office here yesterday.

Reading from a memorandum which was earlier handed over to the department's deputy director Mohd Yusop Husin, he called upon Jamry to work with the Pakatan Rakyat-led state government in a professional manner.

[More at http://www.nst.com.my/Thursday/National/2234325/Article/index_html]

Najib: Case against blogger not politically motivated - NST

By : Sheridan Mahavera

MERSING: Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak said the case against blogger Raja Petra Kamaruddin was not politically motivated.

Dismissing talk to the contrary especially on the Internet, he said the case against the 58-year-old webmaster, who was charged under the Sedition Act 1948, should not be construed as a move to clamp down on bloggers or freedom of speech.

"The government has always taken a very liberal stand with bloggers and the Internet and we will continue to do so. But there are laws in this country related to sedition and defamation.

"Just because you operate from cyberspace, it does not absolve you from having those laws applied to you.

"Whatever the case, the Attorney-General will decide if there is a case," Najib said at Camp Iskandar here, when asked about Raja Petra being charged under the Sedition Act 1948 on Tuesday.

[More at http://www.nst.com.my/Current_News/NST/Thursday/National/2234681%20/Article/index_html]

Dewan Rakyat: Highway concession, tolls to be reviewed - NST

By : V. Vasudevan, B. Suresh Ram, Eileen Ng, R.S. Kamini and Ili Liyana Mokhtar

TOLL rates and highway concession agreements which burden the people are being reviewed in view of the rising cost of living.

Works Minister Datuk Mohd Zin Mohamed said a toll review mechanism to gauge traffic volume and toll collected at the 22 highways nationwide could result in lower toll and re-negotiations of the agreements.

If the traffic volume is high, there should not be a need to increase toll rates at any particular route, he said at a press conference at Parliament Lobby yesterday.

Among matters being looked into is the Projek Lebuhraya Utara-Selatan (PLUS) highway concession, where the toll rate hike scheduled for last January has been delayed for a year.

Mohd Zin said parts of the PLUS highway would also be re-designated as "urban link" such as the stretch between Rawang and Nilai and "inter-urban exchange" such as stretches of highways passing within the areas of Ipoh, Seremban and Johor Baru.

[More at http://www.nst.com.my/Thursday/Frontpage/2234622/Article/index_html]