A large crowd turned up to watch the Olympic torch make its way though Kuala Lumpur on Monday despite the heavy downpour.
Monday, April 21, 2008
Olympic flame captivates KL - TheStarOnline.tv
Scuffle at the torch rally - TheStarOnline.tv
Police detained a Japanese man who unfurled a pro Tibet banner at the starting point of the Olympic Torch in Kuala Lumpur.
PR MPs want to meet Syed Hamid on media - Malaysiakini.tv
At a press conference held at DAP's Damansara Service Centre, they said the government's move to loosen its publications licensing regime by allowing opposition PKR to publish its Suara Keadilan party organ and the apparent openness to bloggers are laudable.
However, the decision to revoke Tamil paper Makkal Osai's printing permit for reasons that remain unclear illustrates the need for a complete overhaul of laws pertaining to the media, they said.
Malaysia parades Olympic torch through sun, rain, protests - AP
By Vijay Joshi
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia - The Olympic torch was carried through blistering sun, torrential rain and isolated protests in Malaysia on Monday, completing another segment of its round-the-world relay that has become a magnet for protests against China's crackdown in Tibet.
A Japanese brother and sister and the woman's 5-year-old boy were heckled and roughed up by Chinese nationals when they unfurled a Tibetan flag before the start of the heavily guarded relay in downtown Kuala Lumpur.
Police detained the Japanese but released them without charges after about six hours. The Chinese were not detained.
At one point in the relay a Western man wearing a T-shirt reading "Beijing Torches Human Rights" rushed forward shouting "Shame, shame, shame." He was hustled away by police but not arrested.
A British woman wearing a "Free Tibet" T-shirt and a foreign Buddhist monk were also detained and released after a few hours.
Criticism of China's human rights record has turned the Olympic torch run into one of the most contentious in recent history.
[More at http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24178247/]
Saya bukan penakut - Najib - Utusan
KUALA LUMPUR 21 April — Timbalan Perdana Menteri, Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak hari ini menolak dakwaan Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad kononnya beliau lemah dan pengecut dan tidak layak menjadi Perdana Menteri.
“Ia bukan masalah `Mr. Yes Man atau tak berani atau takut sebab saya berpegang kepada prinsip bahawa cara yang terbaik ialah penyerahan kuasa secara tersusun, cara yang terhormat. Itu yang akan memberi makna dan menentukan kepentingan parti tidak terjejas,” katanya kepada pemberita hari ini, ketika diminta mengulas kenyataan Dr Mahathir bahawa beliau tidak seharusnya menjadi Perdana Menteri kerana tidak berani mendedahkan sebab sebenar kekalahan Barisan Nasional pada pilihan raya lepas.
Najib berkata, sorotan sejarah UMNO akan membawa orang ramai melihat bahawa penyerahan kuasa yang pertama antara almarhum Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra Al-Haj dan allahyarham Tun Abdul Razak Hussein berjalan dengan cara yang baik.
“(Allahyarham) Tun Hussein Onn serah kepada Tun Dr. Mahathir pun dengan cara yang baik. Sudah ada tradisi, cara yang baik yang diamalkan dalam parti.
“Pada hemat saya itulah cara yang terbaik dan kaedah yang baik untuk kita melakukan perubahan kepada kepimpinan negara seperti mana yang dinyatakan oleh Perdana Menteri dan presiden parti,” katanya.
[From http://www.utusan.com.my/utusan/info.asp?y=2008&dt=0421&pub=Utusan_Malaysia&sec=Terkini&pg=bt_16.htm]
CM: Lee's appointment for Penang's future - The Sun
By Opalyn Mok and Pauline Wong
PENANG (April 21, 2008): The appointment of Datuk Lee Kah Choon as a director of Penang Development Corporation (PDC) is a move to help the state government chart a new course and hopes for Pakatan Rakyat (PR) party members, says Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng.
"The decision to appoint Lee as PDC director and executive committee chairman of InvestPenang (PDC's investment arm) was made after consultations in the state executive council. Now, we definitely have to explain that we want to have a new political paradigm," he added.
"Whenever there is something new, there are bound to be criticism," he said when asked whether the appointment of an outsider had upset PR members.
Lim said: "This decision is to give everyone the opportunity to contribute (to the state) as we do not want to discriminate against race, religion or political background.
"I will explain (this decision) to any dissatisfied party member and hope he or she will accept the decision."
The appointments have raised eyebrows in the political scene as Lee was one of the three Gerakan leaders who could have become Penang Chief Minister if Barisan Nasional (BN) had won the mandate to rule the state.
[More at http://www.sun2surf.com/article.cfm?id=21620]
Malaysia steps up anti-corruption battle: PM - AFP
Malaysia's prime minister Monday said he would boost the powers of the country's anti-corruption agency in a bid to step up the battle against graft.
Abdullah Ahmad Badawi's announcement comes amid growing calls to clamp down on corruption in the country, one of the issues that led many voters to switch sides in recent elections.
"My government will restructure the anti-corruption agency... to become a full-fledged Malaysian Commission on Anti-Corruption," Abdullah said.
"To enhance its effectiveness, transparency and public accountability the new commission structure will be set up to include a system of effective checks and balances," he added.
"It is my fervent hope that by restructuring the (agency), its effectiveness, transparency and accountability will be considerably raised while public trust in its integrity and independence will be quickly renewed."
The agency, currently under Abdullah's office, will report to a new parliamentary committee on corruption prevention.
[More at http://news.my.msn.com/regional/article.aspx?cp-documentid=1351714]
ACA To Become Commission By Year-end - Bernama
KUALA LUMPUR, April 21 (Bernama) -- The Anti-Corruption Agency (ACA) will be made a full-fledged commission by year-end, Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi announced Monday.
The prime minister said this was one of the four key reform initiatives that would be carried out by the government in the move to address the public concerns on corruption in the country.
He said the commission, which would have to table an annual report and be subject to queries from a parliamentary committee on the prevention of corruption, would ensure that there would be an effective check and balance.
The government would also increase the commission's workforce to 5,000 officers over a period of five years, he said when launching the first Asean Integrity Dialogue 2008, here.
He said the government would also "introduce legislation to provide a comprehensive protection for whistle blowers and witnesess" in corruption cases.
The government would also take immediate steps to improve the public procurement process through measures targeted at addressing specific problems in the system, he added.
[More at http://www.bernama.com.my/bernama/v3/news.php?id=328069]
Umno men reject state govt posts - NST
GEORGE TOWN: Three Umno assemblymen who were offered seats in various state administrative committees recently have rejected the offers, claiming it could be a political trap.
The three are Sungai Acheh's Datuk Mahmud Zakaria, Seberang Jaya's Datuk Ariff Shah Omar Shah and Pulau Betong's Muhamad Farid Saad.
State Umno liaison committee secretary and state opposition chief Datuk Azhar Ibrahim said the party had expected the new state government to make such an offer and had agreed from the start to reject it.
Azhar, who is also Penaga assemblyman, said Umno wanted to give the state government space to fulfil its election promises.
He said the party's involvement in the state administration would make it difficult for them to debate any motion tabled at the state legislative assembly.
"However, we are prepared to give them our advice and help," Azhar said.
[More at http://www.nst.com.my/Monday/National/2219408/Article/index_html]
'Dr Khir to blame for Indian vote swing' - NST
KUALA LUMPUR: MIC president Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu has urged all Barisan Nasional leaders to accept blame for the coalition's poor performance in the last general election and not just the prime minister.
In reiterating the MIC's undivided support for Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi to lead the country, he said: "Every one of us has to take a slice of the blame."
He criticised former Selangor menteri besar Datuk Seri Dr Mohd Khir Toyo for calling on Abdullah to hasten handing over power to his deputy Datuk Seri Najib Razak.
"Dr Khir has to take a bigger slice of the blame for Barisan Nasional's poor show in the general election.
"This is because just two days before Deepavali, he had ordered the demolition of the (Hindu) temple in Padang Jawa (in Shah Alam) that enraged the Hindu community throughout the country," he said yesterday.
Samy Vellu said on the day the temple was demolished, he had rushed to a hotel in Shah Alam to meet Abdullah and Dr Khir who were attending a function.
[More at http://www.nst.com.my/Monday/National/2219358/Article/index_html]
'I will not apologise' - NST
GEORGE TOWN: DAP chairman Karpal Singh said there was no reason for him to apologise or retract his criticism of the Tengku Mahkota of Kelantan for the latter's speech.
He said the speech could provoke ill will and hostility among the different races in the country.
Karpal said the attorney-general should look into the possibility of directing a police officer to lodge a report against the Tengku Mahkota for going beyond what he claimed was permissible as freedom of speech.
[From http://www.nst.com.my/Monday/National/2219401/Article/index_html]
KLIA heist: Police hunt for inside man - NST
SHAH ALAM: After arresting four suspects in connection with the RM3.5 million robbery at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport, police are now looking for a fifth suspect, believed to be the inside man.
Sources familiar with the case revealed that the suspects could not have known about the moneychangers at KLIA or their valuable cargo without a tip-off.
The source also said police were interviewing the four injured in the shoot-out.
On Friday, police raided a terrace house in Skudai, Johor and arrested two men from Perak. Police also seized RM259,850 and S$10,000 (RM23,190) from the house.
They also found two Glock 19 semi-automatic pistols, a Smith & Wesson revolver, a Beretta shotgun, a Llama .22 automatic pistol, five handcuffs, 284 9mm bullets, five .22 calibre bullets, a smoke bomb and a pair of gloves.
On the same day, police raided an apartment in Taman Perling, Johor, and arrested a 26-year-old, also from Perak. They confiscated US$129,000 (RM405,520) and RM23,000 in cash and a Honda Jazz.
[More at http://www.nst.com.my/Monday/National/2219367/Article/index_html]
Dr M: Najib should not be PM - The Star
By Choi Tuck Wo
MANCHESTER: Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad said he had second thoughts about Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak becoming Prime Minister as Najib had failed to speak up about the real reasons behind Barisan Nasional’s losses in the general election.
The former prime minister claimed that Najib was not “brave enough” to directly say anything that was not liked by his boss.
“We see that he is a penakut (coward). He is always saying, ‘yes sir, yes sir, saya sokong, saya sokong (I support, I support).”
He said, when the prime minister blamed Barisan’s losses on sabotage, Najib merely agreed to it.
Dr Mahathir cited another instance when Najib gave his full support for Malaysia to build a bridge to Singapore despite the republic’s disagreement. But Najib suddenly changed his mind when Abdullah decided against the project, he added.
“I believe he should rightly explain the real reasons for Barisan’s losses in the election,” he said when asked on the reason for his change of mind about Najib after giving a talk on “Malay, Malaysian and Malaysia: Challenges Ahead” at the University of Manchester on Saturday.
[More at http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2008/4/21/nation/21012821&sec=nation]
Sunday, April 20, 2008
MB Seeks To Have Terengganu Manage Oil Royalty - Bernama
KUALA TERENGGANU, April 20 (Bernama) -- Terengganu Menteri Besar Datuk Ahmad Said Sunday asked the federal government to hand over to the state government the management of the latter's oil royalty which amounts to nearly RM1 billion a year.
He said the time had come for the annual five per cent oil royalty, which was withdrawn in 1999 when PAS captured the state and restored later as the Federal Government Special Fund, to be fully managed by the state government to carry out more development projects.
"We want to be frank. We expect the (royalty) money to be given to us," he told reporters here.
After PAS took over the administration of Terengganu following the 1999 general election, the Finance Ministry announced on Sept 5 2000 that the five per cent oil royalty would be channelled directly to the people through development projects and no longer given to the state government.
Ahmad said the money, via the special fund, was channelled directly to the implementing ministries without any consultation with the state government, resulting in many projects failing to provide the desired impact as they had not taken into account the people's needs.
[More at http://www.bernama.com.my/bernama/v3/news.php?id=328039]
希山：將败选归咎巫统‧不认错领袖將嚐恶果 - Sin Chew Daily
（吉隆坡）巫青团团长拿督斯里希山慕丁提醒那些把国阵在全国大选惨败归咎于巫统，不承认本身也有错的国阵领袖，他们会嚐到恶果或报应（padah）。
他表示，公开指责巫统领袖的国阵领袖必须知道，终有一天他们也会受到同样的对付；因此，他们最好不要再高傲自负，及一直患有“否认症候群”，推卸本身的责任。
“人民不会忘记他们现在说过的话，所以我希望他们经过深思熟虑后才发言。”
他接受媒体的访问时指出，在现在的政治环境中，不单马来人会否决这种领袖，甚至他们本身族群也会唾弃他们。
他说，人民已经不满国阵的领导方式和政治手法，这种不满是超越种族和宗教的；因此，他提醒有关国阵领袖，除了確保本身继续有强大的內在力量外，国阵领袖必须瞭解，他们的未来在很大程度上，取决于彼此的谅解、真诚和诚意。
“巫统和巫青团要向前看，如果有任何国阵领袖的步伐拒绝与我们一致，而要继续有‘否认症候群’，等著瞧他们的命运会怎样吧？”
[More at http://www.sinchew.com.my/node/62728]
Support For ACA As Independent Body - Bernama
KUALA LUMPUR, April 20 (Bernama) -- Various quarters Sunday welcomed the proposal for the Anti-Corruption Agency to become an independent body, to show the government's credibility in trying to eradicate corruption and abuse of power.
Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (Suhakam) commissioner Datuk N. Siva Subramaniam, for instance, said Malaysians had been waiting for this as they wanted change in the ACA.
"The public will be more daring to lodge complaints on corrupt practices as there will be no interference from other parties. This will also benefit those who are victims of power abuse," he told Bernama here Sunday.
Saturday, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said he had received the proposal paper from the ACA for the agency to be an independent body.
Abdullah said the proposal would be carefully studied before a decision could be made.
Malaysian Bar Council vice-president Ragunath Kesavan also expressed his support for the proposal.
"This is a good move in efforts to restore the image of the country's judiciary and legal system, besides bringing about transparency of the parties involved," he said.
[More at http://www.bernama.com.my/bernama/v3/news.php?id=328025]
PKR Hails Publishing Permit For Suara Keadilan - Bernama
KUALA LUMPUR, April 20 (Bernama) -- Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) Sunday lauded the decision by Home Minister Datuk Seri Syed Hamid Albar to approve the publishing permit for the party's newspaper "Suara Keadilan".
"The decision will open up more avenue for criticism and to propagate the party's reformation ideas widely and effectively," its information chief Tian Chua said in a statement Sunday.
He said PKR also welcomed Syed Hamid's announcement to review the Printing Presses and Publications Act as it was in consistent with the demands of PKR and civil society organisations in their fight for the right of expression and for every political party to publish their own newspaper.
The Batu MP said the basis for a nation's progress was press freedom to ensure a transparent government administration and the people could air their views on national policies and the government's decisions on various issues.
The PKR has been publishing the fortnightly Suara Keadilan since June 2005.
Syed Hamid, in an interview with the Sunday Star Sunday, said the government had approved PKR's application for a permit to publish a newspaper.
[From http://www.bernama.com.my/bernama/v3/news.php?id=328012]
Malaysia promises press freedom--report - AFP
KUALA LUMPUR--Malaysia's home minister has pledged to review the country's repressive media laws, promising to boost press freedom, a report said Sunday.
"I have told my officers that I want to have a re-look at the Printing Presses and Publications Act so that we can move with the times," Home Minister Syed Hamid Albar was quoted as saying in the Star daily.
He was referring to legislation that requires newspapers and other publications to apply for licenses that are renewed annually.
He added that a publishing permit had been approved for the opposition Keadilan party's newspaper. The party had been applying since its formation in 1999.
Malaysia's media are largely state-linked and kept on a tight leash.
Media watchdog Reporters Without Borders ranks the country 124 out of 169 on its worldwide press freedom index, and says the main media are "often compelled to ignore or to play down the many events organized by the opposition."
[More at http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/breakingnews/world/view_article.php?article_id=131589]
Olympic torch arrives in Kuala Lumpur - AFP
The Olympic flame arrived in Kuala Lumpur amid heightened security on Sunday after earlier demonstrations fuelled Malaysian fears that foreigners might disrupt the April 21 leg.
The torch, accompanied by Chinese security, arrived by charter plane at Kuala Lumpur International Airport at about 2:19 am (2349 IST) from Thailand.
The symbol of the Beijing 2008 Games is on the Asian leg of its world tour, which has so far been largely trouble free after embarrassing protests in Europe and the United States earlier this month.
Two Malaysian Olympic officials joined the Chinese Ambassador to meet the torch party, said witnesses.
The torch will now be kept at a secret location before it appears in public on Monday for Malaysian leg, officials said.
Malaysian police have increased security for the torch relay, with local Olympic officials concerned that foreign protesters will try to disrupt the event.
[More at http://www.hindustantimes.com/StoryPage/StoryPage.aspx?id=55f3f7fd-fbcf-4252-99cb-bc301292ddc5&MatchID1=4&TeamID1=7&TeamID2=1&MatchType1=5&SeriesID1=1&PrimaryID=4&Headline=Olympic+torch+arrives+in+Kuala+Lumpur]
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