Tag: Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO)

Police Want to “Map History” By Cooperating With 12 Jan Assembly Organisers

8

SHAH ALAM, 8 Jan: National Chief of Police Tan Sri Ismail Omar promised that the police would give full cooperation to the organisers of the People’s Uprising Assembly so that the gathering can take place peacefully.

This guarantee is greeted with optimism and openness by the organisers who held a meeting for an hour with Ismail at Bukit Aman this evening.

PKR Secretary-General Datuk Saifuddin Nasution Ismail, who joined the meeting said that the police this time promised to play the role of being the facilitator.

This is in line with the guidelines set by the Peaceful Assembly Act 2011 to ensure that previous chaos will not repeat.

“Tan Sei Ismail personally invited us to gather to create a historical moment in the country where the police and organisers can work together in a peaceful protest.

“They also admitted to past mistakes and are determined to learn from their weaknesses and to not repeat them after this,” said Saifuddun when contacted today by TV Selangor.

The assembly which is being driven by the Pakatan Rakyat coalition is expected to attract a million participants this Saturday.

The organisers are still asking Permodalan Nasional Berhad to use the National Stadium but until now, there has been no response form PNB,

Commenting on the location of the assembly which is to be held on January 12, Saifuddin, who is also the Machang MP said that till now they have not received any news regarding the approval to use Merdeka Stadium.

“We will wait until 1 pm tomorrow, if there is still no response, we will announce the location of the assembly at a press conference at 4 pm tomorrow at the PAS headquarters.

“The Police Chief aso have asked about this matter, and we have told him that we will inform him as soon as we come to a final decision tomorrow,” he added.

Besides Saifuddin, Pakatan Rakyat leaders also present at the meeting with the IGP this evening was the PAS Deputy President, Mohamad Sabu, Central DAP Committee Member, Datuk Teng Chang Kim and Bersih NGO activist Maria Chin Abdullah and Hishamuddin Rais.

Ismail was accompanied by his deputy, Datuk Seri Khalid Abu Bakar, Director of Internal Security and Public Order, Datuk Salleh Mat Rashid and Bukit Aman special branch officers.

People’s Uprising Assembly, Selangor Mobilises 300,000 Participants

2

PETALING JAYA, 7 Jan: The Selangor Pakatan Rakyat (PR) will mobilise 300,000 supporters in an effort to gather a million people in Kuala Lumpur on Saturday’s people’s Uprising Assembly (Himpunan Kebangkitan Rakyat).

Selangor PAS Commissioner Dr Abdul Rani Osman said that the Selagor PR is always committed towards efforts of harnessing the voice of the people in stating their stand in issues related to the country’s administration, economy, environment and elections.

Thus, he said that the assembly which will be held at Merdeka Stadium will act as a vehicle for the people to express their stance against the Umno-BN Government administration.

“In relation to that, Selangor Pakatan Rakyat will mobilise the people to gather at this assembly which is rooted in democracy, freedom and interests of the people,” he said this morning in a media statement at the PKR headquarters.

Also present was the Selangor DAP Chairperson, Teresa Kok and the Selngor PKR Secretary of Leadership Council, Amirudin Shari.

In the meantime, Dr Rani also called for participants to make their way to Kuala Lumpur a day earlier and to use public transport to avoid traffic jams.

Meanwhile, Teresa, who is also the Investment, Industry and Trade Exco of Selangor confirmed that till now, there has been no response from the police or the Stadium Merdeka party regarding permission to hold the assembly.

However, she stressed that the assembly will still carry on as planned in the vicinity of the stadium although there has been no response from the aforementioned authorities.

“Previously, the Prime Minister said that if an assembly is to be held, we can use the stadium.

“However, after we submitted the application, no response was given. We would like to carry it out in peace, however it is often provoked by some,” she said.

The organisers targets one million people to gather at Merdeka Stadium on 12 January with green; representing anti-Lynas, yellow; representing Bersih 2.0, orange for the anti Felda Group Venture Holdings (FGVH) and red for the group claiming royalties.

Deepak Has Spent RM13 Million Before to Buy Rosmah’s Jewelry

8.1

PETALING JAYA: Today PKR Strategy Director, Rafizi Ramili revealed invoices of jewelry purchases worth RM13 million for the Prime Minister’s wife, Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor, by carpet dealer Deepak Jaikishan.

He claimed that the invoices from two companies in Hong Kong proves that Deepak paid as much as RM13 million as a reward in a land transaction.

He produced the document which he claims to have obtained, through a middleman, from Deepak.

Rafizi said that the purchase of 19 types of jewelries including rings, necklaces and diamond earrings, were made within a time frame of three months starting from March to May 2009, after Datuk Seri Najib became Prime Minister.

Even Rosmah’s name appears in an e-mail document that was sent by the employee of the diamond company involved.

Among the documents revealed by Rafizi were invoice e-mails of diamond purchases from Dehres Limited and Firestone Co. Ltd and the payment slips through two banks.

All the jewelry was paid by Deepak’s two companies, Carpet Raya Sdn Bhd and Carpet Plus Sdn Bhd, within the three months.

“In fact, after checking, the company engaged in the jewelry business does exist and has been operational since 2000.

“Rarely, purchased jewelry exists in the collection of the company,” he said in a press conference at the PKR headquarters.

In relation to that, the people on his side asks Deepak to reveal the original documents and Rosmah will be called to come forward to give an explanation.

“We want this matter to be investigated and we will make reports to the police and to the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (SPRM) next week,” he said.

8.2

8.3

PR Is Already A Good Opposition, Now It’s Time To Be A Good Government + Video

3.1

KUALA LUMPUR, 2 Jan: Pakatan Rakyat (PR) has already demonstrated the ability to be a good opposition party all this while and now it is prepared to become a good government, replacing BN after the upcoming 13th General Elections (GE-13).

Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng said that the ability of the coalition in governing Putrajaya has already been proven by administering four states better, after GE-12, than in the BN administration era.

3.2

Guan Eng said that the people are now in the third class following the BN leaders failure in managing the national economy efficiently while only giving priority to projects that profits their political cronies.

He said that through total political change, the people will be able to be in the first class.

“The people should also reject racial politics which is brought about by BN for the sake of stronger unity,” he said.

He said this at the launch of the UBAH Rocket Style Music Video ceremony which was held at the Kuala Lumpur and Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall.

3.3

At the event, DAP launched the “UBAH Rocket Style’ video which can be viewed on youtube at www.youtube.com/videodap.

The song that uses the ‘Gangnam Style’ rhythm also comes in different language versions that is hoped to deliver the message of change directly to all citizens of this country.

Also present at the launch was DAP adviser, Lim Kit Siang, National Laureate A. Samad Said, Selangor Exco, Ronnie Liu, and Selangor and Federal DAP leaders. It was attended by more than 500 people.

Meanwhile, PKR Vice-President Nurul Izzah Anwar, in her speech, invited the people in accordance with the new year, to strengthen our resolve to end the Umno-BN administration for over 50 years, that has committed a lot of fraudulent activities, in the GE-13

“The country’s wealth cannot just surround certain leaders that are wasteful and not ashamed that they are using public funds the way they would use their father’s money,” said Nurul Izzah.

In order to watch the English Version of UBAH Rocket Style video (Gangnam Parody), visit youtube:

2012 Curtain Closes: Selangor Government Further Strenghtens, the Envy of Umno-BN

1.1

1.3

COMMENTS: As the 2012 curtain comes to a close, Pakatan Rakyat (PR) continues to prove its ability to govern states under its leadership with many resounding successes throughout its reign.

1.2

Among the achievements that are considered as major milestones of PR in 2012 includes the acknowledgement of the Auditor General, headed by Tan Sei Ambrin Buang, towards good fiscal management by Selangor, Penang, Kedah and Kelantan Governments.

According to the Auditor General’s 2011 Report (LKAN) which was tabled in Parliament on October 15, it clearly demonstrates the financial management of states under PR are far better, leaving behind states administered by Umno-BN.

Among the acclaimed in the LKAN report was that the monies raised by the Selangor Government has increased by R62.5 million compared to the previous year.

Selangor also recorded its own history when, for the first time, the State Government reserves reached more than RM2.5 billion.

Apart from that, the response of the people of Selangor towards various agendas under the ‘ Merakyatkan Ekonomi Selangor’ by the State Government has also been the envy of Umno-BN.

Until September 30, 2012, the State Government has spent RM766,913,379 for the success of 16 assistance programmes or assistance schemes, for the people of Selangor since the programme was launched.

At the same time, a total of 166,441 people of Selangor and 1,303,601 households have received various benefits from the programmes.

Among the programmes introduced are Free Water Supply, Selangor Microcredit Scheme (SkimSel), Children’s University Entrance Gift, Golden Age Friendly Scheme (SMUE), Selangor Children Heritage Fund (TAWAS), People’s Tuition Centre, Urban Microcredit Scheme (MiMBAR), Selangor Kindergarten Assistance Scheme (TUNAS) and People’s Care Assistance Scheme (SiKembar) as well as others.

Umno-BN Fights With Slander

1.3

Thus, it is not surprising when Umno-BN madly attacked and defamed the Selangor State Government to ensure that the richest state returns to to them.

Among the insane actions taken by Umno_BN includes the fictitious ‘Selangor Water Crisis’ advertisement project which was held at an apartment in Petaling Jaya on September 24.

However, this immoral political game shattered when several media, including TV Selangor itself, managed to sniff out the such activities.

On location of the filming, TV Selangor managed to be informed by several actors that they had paid RM50 for the success of several profanities describing ‘Water Crisis in Selangor’.

1.4

The filming also became hilarious when tankers supposedly supplying water to ‘victims of water crisis’ did not only no carry a drop of water, but the ‘victims’ themselves took tap water before filling it into buckets which were brought as filming props.

The residents were unhappy with the action and also notified that their homes have never experiences water outages as the fictional film was trying to depict.

Meanwhile in October, residents at Taman Medan Cahaya also became victims of Umno-BN’s dirty politics when they were manipulated to participate in a demonstration demanding 20 cubic metres of free water from the State Government.

1.5

However, the Block B Resident’s Association Chairman, Mohamad Fuad Jam Jam and a resident of Block H of the apartments involved, A Ramlee Yahya, informed that the involved apartment had already received free water supply since 2011.

In addition to that, Mohamad Faud also informed that before the demonstration was held, the association was informed by the demonstration organisers that the main purpose of the demonstration was to protest the publication of a film that insulted Prophet Muhammad, thus causing confusion among the residents.

Ever-Increasing Political Violence

Due to mounting pressure to return to power in PR states and to maintain power in Putrajaya, Umno-BN has been continuously acting insanely by violently hindering PR’s advancement.

1.6

Several violent incidences involving Umno-BN supporters against PR supporters at a ‘ceramah’ site, either in Selangor or other states, have become among the heated topics of 2012.

Lately, at an incident at Negeri Sembilan, ANAK Information Chief, Naraza Muda was wounded in the head and passed out after being beaten with a sharp stick by Umno-BN supporters in the Orange Travel Convoy on December 23 recently.

Meanwhile, two PR supporters also suffered injuries after being attacked by a sharp weapon by Umno-BN supporters at a PR ‘ceramah’ in Gombak on December 4.

1.7

Another most talked about Umno-BN violent incident in 2012 was the series of attack on the ‘People’s Freedom Tour’ (Jelajah Merdeka Rakyat) convoy including the ‘Independant People’ (Merdeka Rakyat) bus which PKR Opposition Leader, Datuk Anwar Ibrahim, was travelling in.

What’s more unfortunate was that the the police themselves did not show eagerness to overcome these violent political issues, thus letting it continue.

Malay Reserve Land Mortgaged

1.8

Apart from violent actions against supporters of the opposition party, Umno-BN also shamelessly plays the race card to scare Malay voters into thinking that they would lose their political power.

However, unfortunately for Umno-BN, their efforts did not cause the maximum impact that they expected when their violent acts were also ridiculed by the general public.

In addition, Umno-BN’s patriotic action was also wasted with the expose of the old party’s betrayal of selling State Government-owned land and Malay reserve lands.

Inn Selangor alone, from 1999 to 2008, an estimate of 24 land lots belonging to the State Government, with an estimated value of RM300 million, which was obtained by Umno-BN in the Umno-BN administration era, was sold at a low price or were transferred to third parties.

Umno-BN was also smart in easily making money by inserting their interests in every transaction of the sale of land to third parties.

1.9

Thus, the people of Selangor should make a wise decision in the upcoming elections in 2013.

If measures in terms of performance, it is not a difficult choice for the people of Selangor because performance records of over four years under the Selangor PR administration and the Umno-BN’s administration records of 55 years, tells everything.

Selangor Chief Minister’s Christmas Day Message

2

Malaysians are famous for multiple celebrations. Its trait as a plural society has made Malaysia among the unique countries in the world in terms of culture and beliefs of its citizens. And Christmas is one of the compositions of that faith.

If we observe the positive spirit infused in this celebration, Christmas brings the symbol of friendship and unity of the various races in this country. In fact, the culture of visiting each other and helping each other has become a tradition in our society and has been embedded as a compulsory agenda in the process of appreciation across religions and cultures.

Not only that, the festival highlighted with a public holiday has brought tremendous joy to most people. Although it is not celebrated on the factor of different beliefs, the holiday has certainly become an indirect platform for solidarity between Christians and non-Christians in this country.

Which is why Selangor has always made harmonious relationships between races and the well-being of the religious community a strong peg that must be followed by every state government agenda.

Every progress and improvement of the people’s quality of life has been lit till its roots so that implementation of positive values instilled in every belief and religion remains preserved.

It is not surprising that under the current government administration, apart from providing assistance to the development of Islam, we are also providing special provisions to help the management of worship places such as Christian churches, Buddhist and Hindu temples as well as other religions.

This matter is important so that every citizen in the state of Selangor will obtain fair and impartial assistance. This mechanism has been used throughout our given mandate. Hopefully, this will continue to be accepted by the people and will continue to be trusted by the people, especially in Selangor.

Therefore, as a representative of the Selangor State Government, I am pleased to wish everyone Happy Holidays and Merry Christmas to the Christian citizens of Selangor.

Thank you.

TAN SRI DATO ‘ABDUL KHALID BIN IBRAHIM
Chief Minister of Selangor

Alinah’s Appointment Will Empower Women

8

SHAH ALAM, 21 Dec:Datin Paduka Alinah Ahmad’s appointment as the first female Mayor in Malaysia will strengthen Selangor Government’s efforts in empowering women.

Welfare, Women’s Affairs, Science Technology and Innovation Exco, Rodziah Ismail said that the hopes of women in Selangor is enormous to all women who hold key positions in the public sector.

“Her experience and dedication in Selangor’s public service as well as her concern for women’s issues will give impetus to the efforts of women in the state.

“Congratulations and well done on the first time appointment of a woman to hold the top post at the City Local Authority (PBT) level in Selangor and Malaysia,” said Rodziah in a media statement.

On Dec 19, Chief Minister Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim announced the appointment of Alinah, who was the former Executive Director of the Selangor Housing and Property Board (LPHS).

Alinah will assume her duty as the Mayor of Petaling Jaya on January 1, 2013.

She previously served as Deputy Director at the Selangor Land and Mines Office, Kuala Langat Head assistant district officer (ADO), Petaling District Office Enforcement ADO, State Financial Secretariat (SUK) Head Assistant and Implementation and Coordination Unit (ICU) Secretary Head Assistant, Prime Minister’s Department.

Alinah will be replacing Datuk Mohamad Roslan Sakiman who is currently the Deputy State Secretary (Development).

“Hopefully, Datin Paduka Alinah Ahmad will continuously be successful and improve the quality of life for people in Selangor, especially for women,” said Rodziah.

MAS Management Urged to Explain Foreign Workers Recruitment Policy

7

SHAH ALAM, 21 Dec: The new management of the national airline carrier, Malaysia Airlines System Berhad (MAS) has been called upon to explain their foreign workers recruitment policy which might affect the efficiency of the company.

Shah Alam Member of Parliament, Khalid Abdul Samad said that MAS performance recovery efforts have to be reported to the country and not just to cronies profiting from the company.

“It is understood that a lot of MAS work have been outsourced and have been distributed to cronies.

“And a lot of MAS work such as cargo maintenance is done by foreign workers who do not have the skills and training like the original MAS workers,” he said in press conference at his office.

In the press conference, Khalid showed the media a video which was said to be sent to his office by an anonymous individual regarding negligence of foreign workers in maintaining aircraft owned by MAS.

The video, dated in November which was a duration of about two minutes, showed the alleged foreign worker’s actions of banging into a 737 aircraft engine on a runway which was at an unspecified location.

He said that previously, MAS had equivalent standing and rank as foreign airline companies such as Singapore Airlines System (SIA) and other international companies.

However, due to granting maintenance work and management to cronies, the performance of MAS is now disputable.

“After all kinds of political interference, especially during Tun Mahathir’s time, the situation has been deteriorating.

“We want transparency and accountability from MAS, we do not want things that happened during Tajuddin Ramli’s time to repeat,” he said..

Previously, MAS recorded a net loss of RM2.52 billion for the financial year which ended on December 31, 2011, the largest in the corporate’s history with earnings of RM13.9 billion.

Money Laundering, Evidence of Corruption in Najib’s Era

2

PETALING JAYA, 20 Dec: The 2010 report by Global Financial Integrity (GFI) regarding money laundering flows has put Malaysia as the second worst, proving that the ruling era of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak is burdened by corruption.

Although it was expected, however the large amount of illegal money transferred out of Malaysia from year 2000 to 2010 still shocked the nation, said PKR Opposition Leader leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim at a press conference here, at the PKR Headquarters.

“Malaysia is a country whose economy depends on international trade. Export and import activities involving money moving in and out, and investment funds, are becoming more complex every day.

“Therefore, the results of GFI’s study has shown the big picture of economic leakages in the country that has been moved out of the country which ultimately is disadvantageous to the people.” he said.

Anwar explained that Najib’s failure in managing the country’s economy is evidenced by the amount of illegal money outflows which has increased 111 percent from US$30.41 billion (RM94,27 billion) in 2009 to US$64.38 (RM199.58 billion) in the year 2010.

Compared to other countries, Malaysia is the only country that saw the amount of illegal money outflows increasing by one fold from 2009 to 2010.

Other countries include China, Mexico and Saudi Arabia.

“The most critical period of Najib’s administration, which is from 2009 to 2010, reflects economic policies and economic approaches that he has carried out.

“Therefore, this increase proves that his approach on economic policies have failed to curb corruption, failed to stop criminal activities that are behind the illegal economy and he has failed to strengthen national institutions to inculcate good governance,” he said.

In relation to that, Anwar will be writing letters to the Governor of the Central Bank of Malaysia, Tan Sri Zeti Akhtar, to GFI and to all Pakatan Rakyat Chief Ministers to invite them to participate in a discourse on how to combat illegal outflows of money which is anticipated to be held in January 2013.

These discussions at the negotiating table is to pursue this problem while finalising plans to combat money laundering.

TNB, TM Asked To Repair Cables Caused By Flash-Floods

5

SHAH ALAM,18 Dec: Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB) and Telekom Malaysia (TM) have been urged to take immediate action regarding the cable bridge collapse here that has blocked the passage of water to Sungai Kandis causing flash-floods in several areas in Sri Muda.

Sri Muda assemblyman, Shuhaimi Shafiei said that he has made a complaint to the relevant departments on November 3, however until now, still no action has been taken.

He said that following the incident, there have been reports of flash-floods happening until yesterday around the areas of Bukit Naga, Kampung Sri Gambut, Kampung Batu Lapan, Taman Sri Meena, Sentosa, Taman Mewah Jaya and Bukit Rimau.

“The main cause of flooding is of course due to heavy rain, however it also includes drainage problems. We have cleaned the drains but still there are drains that have yet to be repaired, one of it being the voltage cable in the direction to Sungai Kandis.

“So that’s one of the reasons causing water flow to be blocked and to not flow. When there is a lot of water, the drainage will move slowly and cause flash-floods,” he said when contacted by TV Selangor.

He said, as an early measure, his side has informed the issue to the Public Works Department (JKR) and the Department of Irrigation and Drainage (JPS) to solve the problem.

He added that flash-flooding incidents have occurred in areas in Sri Muda since November 16.

“For areas badly hit by floods like Kampung Johan Setia, JPS has taken action to fully clean 11 drains. So when it rains, water will not get into houses and will flow straight to Sungai Air Hitam.

“Several other areas have not been fully resolved yet because utilities have yet to be repaired. However, we will implement immediate action,” he said.

Japanese Students Join MPSP Tree Planting Programme

CYBERJAYA, 14 Dec: A total of 120 students from Nagasaki Nichidai High School, Japan, joined the tree planting program organised by the Sepang Municipal Council (MPSP) at Taman Hutan Bandar last week.

It was the third time the group from the school attended the tree planting event while appreciating the trees that have been planted before.

“For two consecutive years, in 2010 and 2011, they have come to plant trees and we have put up their pledge.

“This healthy program has evidently become an annual programme for us (MPSP) and the school (Nagasaki Nichidai High School) because we have the same beliefs.

“Which is that a lot of green trees are good for addressing climate change, especially in Cyberjaya,” explained the Assistant Director of the MPSP City Planning Department, Mohd Adham Mahmood at the programme on 8 December.

The tree planting programme was launched on 8 November 2009 by MPSP Council Member, Lau Weng Chan, who also officiated the programme that morning.

To date, nearly 2,000 trees have been planted here with an area of ​​9.67 acres next to Limkokwing University.

Apart from the Japanese students, the programme also gained support from local community as well as corporate companies such as Prima Properties Management Sdn Bhd, Limkokwing University and the Selangor State Development Corporation (PKNS).

“Hopefully, with the participation of the students from Japan, the private sector and the community here, the aim of increasing awareness and the importance of greenery can be increased among the community,” Adham said.

Zainudin Maidin’s Attack on BJ Habibie is Superficial and Vilely Prejudiced

SHAH ALAM, 12 Dec: The statement by the Former Information Minister, Tan Sri Zainuddin Maidin that attacked the former Indonesian President, BJ Habibie, is racist and does not represent the opinion of the masses.

PKR Opposition Leader, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said that Zainuddin is arrogant and racist which is one of the causes of the crisis between Malaysia and Indonesia.

“I was informed and affected by the ugly attack by Zainuddin Maidin on the former Indonesian President, the Most Respected BJ Habibie was published by Utusan Malaysia, the Umno-owned newspaper.

“The writings of Zainuddin Maidin is well known to be superficial and he represents Umno elites who are vilely prejudiced towards Indonesia,” Anwar said in his media statement.

Anwar firmly said that many already know Zainuddin’s background of being the former editor of the Umno-owned newspaper, Utusan Malaysia.

Anwar said that Zainuddin often points fingers and labels groups that are not aligned with Umno as being ‘traitors’.

“Zainuddin was the only senior minister who lost in the last general elections to a candidate from PKR.

“Thus we can understand the anxiety, resentment and his motives in launching such attacks,” said Anwar.

On 6 December, BJ Habibie or Bacharuddin Jusuf Habibie was present at a dinner organised by the Selangor government in Shah Alam, which was also attended by PKR leaders.

He also gave a lecture to students and academics which was held at the University of Selangor (UNISEL) on political and economic developments in the region.

Habibie who became the third president of Indonesia is famous for his measures of opening democratic spaces in the country by allowing freedom of expression, association and media freedom.