Tag: State Representatives & Institutions

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More ‘Special Branch’ Members in Najib’s Time Compared to the Era of Emergency

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KUALA LUMPUR, 6 Nov: The number of members in the Special Branch (SB) of the Police is more in Najib’s time compared to the Emergency in the 1950s, said Member of Parliament for Bukit Mertajam, Steven Sim.

Steven revealed that in 1954, when a state of emergency was declared, there were only 459 members of the SB, about two percent from the entire police force.

“But in 2012, under the administration of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak, there are 8,200 SB members compared to only 5,000 members in 2005 under Tun Abdullah Badawi.

“Does this mean that Malaysia, under Najib, is worse than the era of emergency?” asked Steven during the House of Representative’s session when debating on the Budget 2014.

Steven said that last year, SB completed 380,000 intelligence reports, equivalent to 1,000 reports per day, while the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) only successfully completed 60,000 cases in the same year.

“The number of cases solved by the CID was only 15 percent of the crimes reported.

“Wouldn’t it be better if the SB’s excellence in intelligence, including political intelligence, is used to fight crime,” said Steven.

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US Spying on Malaysia, Immediately Stop TPPA Negotiations

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KUALA LUMPUR, 6 Nov: The Federal Government has been urged to halt talks on the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA) with the United States and Australia following the surveillance activities conducted on Malaysia.

Member of Parliament for Klang, Charles Santiago, said that the action was necessary to show Malaysia’s dissatisfaction on surveillance as a violation of human rights of the citizens of this country.

“Instead, the government merely sent a protest note which was embarrassing and shows that the Malaysian government is weak.

“Even Najib merely responded that he will wait for response from the US about what is happening in Malaysia,” said Charles.

He said this in a press conference here at the Parliament lobby, which was also participated by the Member of Parliament for Bayan Baru, Sim Tze Tzin.

Last week, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs sent a memo of protest after news of spying by the two countries on Malaysia was exposed by the media.

Tze Tzin, in a statement, urged for Najib and the Foreign Affairs Minister, Datuk Seri Anifah Aman, to urge the American and Australian embassies to explain the real situation to the Federal Government.

“We hope that the government will seek an explanation from both the embassies this week and that they will give us an answer in Parliament next week.

“This matter cannot be regarded as petty because it involves national sovereignty,” said Tze Tzin.

The two parliamentarians urged Najib, ad the Prime Minister, to rise up and protest strongly on the spying done.

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Healthcare Costs to Increase due to the GST

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KUALA LUMPUR, 6 Nov: The cost of healthcare will increase with the implementation of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) despite the Minister of Health issuing a statement that says otherwise.

Member of Parliament for Petaling Jaya Utara, Tony Pua, said that the GST will still have an impact on consumers when the hospitals have to pay the GST for all their services and products purchased from suppliers.

“Without the GST, hospitals, for example, pay RM50 to suppliers and resell it to patients at RM55 for a profit of ten percent. With the GST, hospitals would need to pay suppliers an additional of 6 percent, thus making the cost RM53.

“It is impossible for hospitals to maintain the sale cost to consumers with a profit of only 3.8 percent, if it is sold for the same price of RM53,” said Tony Pua.

On Monday, Datuk Seri S.Subramaniam claimed that the implementation of the GST in 2015 will not increase the cost of healthcare because it is exempt from the GST.

“Suppose the hospital wants to maintain the ten percent profit in the previous example. Then the price would be RM58.30 (RM53 + RM5.40), which still causes consumers to pay the GST.

“Looks like BN should stop misleading the public and begin to come clean about the impact of the GST,” he added.

Therefore, he said, Pakatan Rakyat will continue to oppose the implementation of the GST, even more so in the country’s administration which is filled with leakages, corruption and cronyism.

“What’s even worse is that the GST is to be implemented when 80 percent of the people do not have enough income to pay the income tax,” said Tony Pua.

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Fishermen Protest Federal Government’s Reduction in Subsidised Diesel

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KUALA LUMPUR, 6 Nov: This morning, about 50 fishermen held a peaceful protest outside the Parliament House to protest against the move by the Central Government to reduce diesel subsidies.

They also urged the government to review the use of the 38 millimetre (mm) hole size of trawl nets.

A representative of the fishermen, Cheah Swee Teck, said that boats in Zone C2, waters up to 30 nautical miles from the mainland, is now charged RM2.00, while for Zone A, B and C, the price has increased from RM1.25 to RM1.45.

“The action to reduce the subsidy burdens fishermen nationwide.

“And the use of 38mm hole trawl nets affect the catch of fishermen, for example, the fishermen in Hilir Perak are affected badly because the 38mm nets are not suitable to catch shrimp in the area,” said Swee Teck.

According to him, attempts to negotiate with the Minister of Agriculture and Agro-Based Industries, Datuk Ismai Sabri, have been ignored until now.

“So is the proposal for the hole size of trawl nets; the government did not respond.

“So we decided to send a memorandum of protest today to be submitted to Ismail Sabri,” he said.

The peaceful assembly was attended by fishermen from Selangor, Johor, Perak and Pahang, and lasted about 30 minutes.

Also participating in the demonstration was the Member of Parliament for Gelang Patah, Lim Kit Siang, and Member of Parliament for Ipoh Barat, M.Kulasegaran.

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Sallehen: Fishermen Strike Requires a ‘Win-Win’ Solution

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SHAH ALAM, 6 Nov: The Central Government and fishery associations are urged to resolve the issue of net sizing and the prohibition of employing foreign workers immediately before consumer are affected from the fishermen’s strike which was been going on since 1 November.

The Executive Councillor in charge of Islamic Affairs, Agricultural Modernisation and Rural Development, Sallehen Mukhyi, said this when he found that the Ministry of Agriculture and Agro-Based Industry refuses to budge and the fishing communities have resolved to continue the protest by refusing to go out to sea until the enforcement of certain provisions in the Fisheries Act 1985 is withdrawn.

Sallehen is actively monitoring the situation through meetings with the fishing community. He said that he is ready to help so that discussions between the two sides are finalised.

“We are not saying that the enforcement is improper and we are also not saying that the actions of the fishermen are not right. However, to appease the situation, a public hearing must be held.

“Views of the fishermen and all involved parties should be taken into account and a win-win solution has to be found” he said.

On 1 November, the Ministry enforced the law that the hole size of nets were to be enlarged from 25 millimetres to 38 millimeters. The overall size of the nets is also to be reduced to only 3 metres.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Agro-Based Industries, Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob, said that the existing small size of the holes also trawl fish fry, resulting in the overall supply of fish to be affected.

However, the fishermen say that the large size of the hole causes their catch to decline by 60 percent.
Fishermen also said that the fry caught are sold as snacks for fishery cultivation and fertiliser.

The new policy also sets for fishermen that fish at Zone B (five nautical miles from shore) to not be allowed the services of foreigners.

The services of foreigners are only allowed for fishing in Zone C (12 nautical miles from the shore and above). Licencees mus be on the ships that sails the seas.

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Anwar Ibrahim: Democracy in Indonesia is better than in Malaysia

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SHAH ALAM, 6 Nov: Indonesia has a better democracy system than in Malaysia, stressed Opposition Leader, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.

Anwar said that in Indonesia, the right to an opinion and views are more open compared to Malaysia.

“In Malaysia, you cannot speak like this, this is an advantage that does not exist in my country,” said Anwar.

Anwar added that Indonesia has a huge chance of becoming a leader of Muslim nations because it has the advantage of a large Muslim population and a stable democracy to become a strong platform to realise it.

“Indonesia has a great opportunity to lead Muslim countries in the world after Arab faces a crisis, so the expansion of Islam will point to Southeast Asia.

“Indonesia, as a country with the biggest Muslim populated country, with good economic growth, has an opportunity in this regard,” Anwar said at the National Museum in Jakarta on Tuesday.

In a quote from Tribunnews.com, Anwar said that the Indonesian government is still being 50/50 when fighting for the Muslims when the American Government is involved too much in the conflict in Syria and Egypt; the Indonesian Government is not being assertive.

“While the US Government is doing that, Indonesia is not being stern with them, not like Brazil or even Germany, when this is the way to establish attachment to Muslim unity,” Anwar said.

Currently, Indonesia has a population of 250 million people (July 2013 statistics), with 88.2 percent, or 202.9 million people, being Muslims (2009 statistics).

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Suhaimi Said Dies

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SHAH ALAM, Nov: The Chairman of the PKR Felda Bureau and Indigenous People, Suhaimi Said, 58, dies at the Sultan Haji Ahmad Shah Hospital at 6.00pm, Senator Syed Husin Ali’s twitter reports.

Suhaimi was admitted in the hospital since 29 July for a suspected infection in his spine.

Suhaimi, who is also the Kuala Krau PKR Branch Chief, was a fighter of the Felda community since the 1980s, and he was also involved in a bloody tragedy during the Lubuk Merbau by-election in Kedah.

His services to the people, especially the settlers and indigenous people, were tremendous. He was also a tenacious lawyer who helped the people and was feared since the days of Tun Dr Mahathir as Prime Minister.

He was twice detained under the Internal Security Act (ISA) and was many times arrested and his lectures were surrounded by the police.

The Selangor Kini portal wishes heartfelt condolences to his family..Al-Fatihah.

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SELANGOR

Is the KPI for Love?

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PRESS RELEASE: Exco for Selangor State Welfare & Women’s Affairs, Rodziah Ismail

Certainly, there is an Islamic perspective in creating the KPI for everything. And the place the KPI is located is in the organ dubbed “the king of all organs”, the heart.

Love, with the KPI, would make a person better in terms of personality, attitude and self-esteem, as well as to be highly motivated towards something better. In addition, a deep sensitivity to the nature of justice and fairness towards all human beings.

It is fortunate for those who have met individuals who can motivate others to be better than their previous self.

But relationship between such individuals should be something consciously searched for, only then can they obtain permission and guidance from Allah.

It makes the individual feel that anything can be achieved. The achievement is always accompanied by sensitivity and a guarantee of the rights and interests of others, without betrayal, cruelty, lies and the violation of transparency limits and good stewardship.

Transparency and good stewardship should also occur in relationships between individuals and family, and not just at the level of organisations, communities, country and international. Individuals and families are small groups that build larger clusters.

Individuals and family members are the people who are gathered in a society that forms a country and the international society. What is practiced by the individual becomes the practice of the family, which is the reflection of characteristics of a society where the individual is part of.

Some individuals become judges, educators, journalists, filmmakers, lawyers, doctors, engineers, activists, honoured members, ministers and those who make very important decisions that affect the lives of people.

Good decisions for the people are emitted from the love-filled KPI, which comes from the purity of the heart; the heart is always taken care of by the Prophet: “All actions are judged by motives…”

This year’s Hijra, let us all strive to achieve love-filled KPI, which makes our personality better, makes us feel safe and protected, and serve in a fair and equitable manner.

Happy Ma’al Hijra 1435, may we be blessed in this world and hereafter.

Selangor State Exco and Batu Tiga Assemblywoman
Chief of Wanita Selangor and Deputy Wanita Chief of Parti Keadilan Rakyat

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Najib’s Monarchy Strategy to Dominate the Country’s Finances

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SHAH ALAM, 5 Nov: Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s move to add up to 43 times in provisions under the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) is seen as a full monarchy style strategy in efforts to dominate the country’s finances.

The Member of Parliament for Shah Alam, Khalid Samad, said that the strategy enables Najib to have an advantage of using taxpayers’ money as he wished without clear details and is is probably being used for the political survival of Barisan Nasional (BN).

“This way, the PMO would be like kings and sultans, with full control of everything and cannot be questioned. With this too, the country’s finances can be used to either enhance the image of the Prime Minister or ‘instant noodle’ projects of buying votes during the elections for BN’s victory,” he said when contacted by the Selangor Kini portal today.

He said said this when asked to comment on the exposure by the Member of Parliament for Kluang, Liew Chin Tong, regarding the allocation for the PMO which increased by 43 times since Najib led the country’s administration 2009.

In 2010, the total allocation for the PMO was only RM158 million, 0.3 percent of the total RM54 billion allocation for development, but it increased to RM6.8 billion, 15 percent of RM53 billion of the total allocation development for the year 2014.

Khalid, who is also the Selangor PAS Commissioner, said that Najib’s actions hide monetary expenditures under the PMO name, which is seen as being not transparent and irresponsible.

“It evidence that this is a desperate move by Najib in attempt to strengthen BN, which is seen as losing the people’s faith day by day, because this is seen as easier compared to placing it under other ministries that need to go through audits, compared to placing it under the PMO,” he said.

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SERIES 1 EXCLUSIVE – Malaysia has the Most ‘Semi-Professional’ Killers

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SHAH ALAM, Nov: Murder using firearms is seen as an increasing trend and the current choice of the people, either as a career or to simply gain personal satisfaction.

Almost every day, the country is shocked by various shooting incidents causing concern among the community about their state of security.

Criminal analyst, Datuk Akhbar Satar, said that there are three types of hired killers identified in this country which are not mature (discord cases, jealousy, semi-professionals (resentment, envy) and professionals (murder without consequences).

He said that most of the hired killers in Malaysia are among the semi-professionals and is carried out in public places such a traffic lights and eateries.

“These assassins can usually be detected by the police. If the authorities do not take drastic action, they (semi-professional assassins) can turn into professional shooters who murder victims without being detected, and this is what we are concerned about,” he told the Selangor Kini portal today.

He said that the use of firearms for killing is believed to be rampant due to a power struggle between triads to control an area, and it is not just driven by revenge.

He said that the existing laws are not guaranteed effectiveness if government enforcement is not tightened.

“Every law is good, but enforcement and cooperation from the public is needed to combat such crimes. The public needs to help the police by reporting incidents or those suspected to be involved in criminal cases,” he said.

Meanwhile, the Member of Parliament for Kelana Jaya, Wong Chen, said that the problem of crime should be addressed holistically and not to just be focused on the enforcement of law alone.

Wong Chen said, the economic aspect should also be given serious attention, like the enforcement of law, in curbing criminal activity in the country.

“Suppose one criminal commits armed robbery every day, the country will witness 365 criminal cases throughout the year. Imagine if we have 10,000 criminals with the same commitment, how many police officers would be needed then to handle this problem,” she said.

Wong Chen said that he urges the central government to be more concerned with administrative management in providing a better economic environment for the people by taking into account the worrying economic pressure.

“Criminals in this country seem to be committed in making crime a permanent career so much so that they are willing to smuggle firearms from neighbouring countries,” he said.

* Series 2 will follow tomorrow, 6 November 2013 *

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MOHA Urged to Issue a Cause Letter to Security Companies

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SHAH ALAM, 5 Nov: The Ministry of Home Affairs (MOHA) has been urged to immediately issue a cause letter and revoke the licences of security companies involved in the robbery of a gold shop in Setapak last week.

The call was made because prior to this, the MOHA took drastic measures to revoke the licence of Kawalan Prima Sdn Bhd when a security guard of the company shot a banker dead at the Ambank in USJ2 last month.

Member of Parliament for Padang Serai, N.Surendran, said that the MOHA and the Inspector General of Police (IGP) should be responsible regarding the matter seeing that the authority to approve firearms is issued by them to security companies.

“The failure and responsibility lies with the MOHA and the IGP because the approval for firearms comes from the ministry concerned.

“This means that the problem is the MOHA’s failure to ensure that security companies given the licence have the ability and aptitude to perform their duty without committing crime,” he told the Selangor Kini portal today.

Surendran said that the inconsistent attitude in cancelling licences of security companies involved in any crime should be addressed because it involved the life of the public.

On 30 October, a security guard pointed a gun at his employer before starting business at the gold shop, prior to bringing a tray containing 100 necklaces, of which the value if uncertain, to the premises which is located at KL Festive City Mall.

Commenting on the alleged involvement of a former IGP in the security company, Surendran said that the MOHA needs to explain the matter in more detail.

According to the MStar portal, a search on the Security Services Association of Malaysia (PPKKM) shows that one of the member of the board of directors of the firm that hired the suspect is a former IGP.

The Astro Awani portal reported that the Filipino security guard has been arrested, together with his friend, at the Low Cost Carrier Terminal (LCCT) airport and is being remanded for seven days starting from yesterday till 10 November.

The arrest has also been confirmed by the Kuala Lumpur Criminal Investigation Department Deputy Chief, Assistant Commissioner (ACP) Khairi Ahrasa and is being investigated under Section 117 of the Criminal Procedure Code.

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Selangor CM: Congratulations, Mohd Azam, for Becoming the New Sg Limau Assemblyman

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SHAH ALAM, 5 Nov: The Chief Minister, Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim, congratulated Mohd Azam Abd Samat who was voted to be the new Sungai Limau Assemblyman yesterday.

“Finally, the people of the Sungai Limau constituency elected him (Mohd Azam) as the new Assemblyman. Congratulations to PAS and Pakatan Rakyat (PR) for the victory in the Sungai Limau State Legislative Assembly By-Elections. Hopefully, we would carry this responsibility with trust and sincerity, Insya-Allah (God willing),” he said through his Facebook page last night.

Meanwhile, Mohd Azam said that his victory at Sungai Limau is a victory for all and thanks all PAS and PR leaders, Sungai Limau voters, and the whole machinery for helping him win the N20 seat.

“Alhamdulillah, Allah SWT bestowed victory on this new Hijra year. This victory is a victory to all fighters of Islam, justice and truth, as well as defenders of the people’s rights,” he said in a press statement.

PAS Youth Chief, Nasarudin Hassan, described Mohd Azam’s victory as a 1435H New Year’s gift for the people of Sungai Limau.

“Thousands of congratulations to Mohd Azam on his victory in this by-election to carry the trust of Muslims and the people of the Sungai Limau constituency,” he said through his Facebook account.

Nasarudin, who is also the Member of Parliament for Temerloh, hopes that the new Sungai Limau Assemblyman will perform duties entrusted unto him well and excellently. He also congratulated the party leadership for sacrificing time, energy and finances for the by-election.

Mohd Azam, 37, received 12,069 votes, defeating the BN candidate, Dr Ahmad Sohaimi Lazim, 52, who received 10,985 votes, thus enabling PAS to retain the Sungai Limau constituency seat with a majority of 1,084 votes.