Aljazeera, June 5, 2008 (30 Jamadilawal 1429)

US 'plans permanent bases in Iraq'

 

 

 

Al-Sadr's supporters have demanded the government hold a referendum on the issue [AFP]

Details have emerged of a deal between Washington and Baghdad that would allow the US forces to occupy permanent bases in Iraq, carry out military operations and have immunity from Iraqi law. 

The details, revealed in a report by The Independent, a British newspaper, on Thursday, is likely to prompt a violent backlash in the country.

The deal would also cement the US military presence in Iraq and could prevent Barack Obama, the Democratic presidential hopeful, from making good on campaign promises to withdraw US troops if elected. 

The proposed pact has been controversial in Iraq, where there have been protests against it.

 

 

 

"Iraqi sovereignty would be very much diluted if this pact goes ahead as Washington wants," Patrick Cockburn, author of The Independent report, told Al Jazeera. 

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"It would be very difficult to call Iraq a fully independent country if it agreed to these terms." 

The Independent report says that under the proposed "strategic alliance", the US, which currently has about 155,000 troops in Iraq, would be allowed to have more than 50 permanent bases in the country. 

Soldiers stationed there would be granted full immunity from Iraqi law and a free hand to conduct arrests and military operations without the consent of Baghdad, or even an obligation to consult the Iraqi government, according to the report. 

It also said the US wanted control of Iraqi airspace below about 9,700m. 

The US has said in the past that it does not want permanent bases in Iraq, but The Independent quoted an unnamed Iraqi source as calling Washington's position "a tactical subterfuge". 

On Thursday, Ryan Crocker, the US ambassador to Iraq, reiterated the US position, rejecting claims that the US wants permanent bases in Iraq. 

Iraqi protests 

Last week, tens of thousands of Iraqis took to the streets of Baghdad and other cities to protest against the deal and supporters of Muqtada al-Sadr, the Iraqi Shia leader, have demanded that the government hold a public referendum on the issue. 

In the US, the plan has been criticised by Democrats who see in the proposed pact an attempt by George Bush, the US president, to dictate US foreign policy even after he is out of office. 

A majority of the Iraqi parliament has already written to the US Congress rejecting the long-term security deal unless it is linked to a requirement that US forces leave. 

On Wednesday, William Delahunt, a Massachusetts Democrat in the House of Representatives who opposed the US invasion of Iraq in 2003, released excerpts from the letter, which gave conditions for the security pact. 

"The majority of Iraqi representatives strongly reject any military-security, economic, commercial, agricultural, investment or political agreement with the United States that is not linked to clear mechanisms that obligate the occupying American military forces to fully withdraw from Iraq," the letter said. 

The signatures represented just over half the membership of Iraq's parliament, Delahunt said. 

'No threats on Iraq' 

Two Iraqi legislators testified to the House Foreign Affairs subcommittee, of which Dealhunt is chairman, saying that US troops should leave Iraq before talks on a long term security pact could be completed. 

The proposed 'security alliance' would create a
permanent US military presence in Iraq [AFP]

"I would like to inform you, there are no threats on Iraq. We are capable of solving our own problems," Nadeem Al-Jaberi, a co-founder of the al-Fadhila Shia political party, told the panel. 

He said he favoured a quick pullout of US forces. 

Khalaf Al-Ulayyan, a Sunni political leader and founder of the National Dialogue Council, said bilateral talks on a long-term security deal should be shelved until after US forces leave Iraq. 

"We prefer to delay until there is a new administration in the United States," he said, referring to the US elections which are due to take place in November. 

But official sources have said the US still hopes to reach a new security agreement with the the government of Nouri al-Maliki, the Iraqi prime minister, by July.

 

 

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Utusan Online, June 5, 2008 (30 Jamadilawal 1429)

Mustahil Anwar masuk UMNO?

KUALA LUMPUR 4 Jun - Setiausaha Pemuda UMNO, Datuk Abdul Rahman Dahalan menyifatkan dakwaan bahawa Penasihat Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR), Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim akan mengemukakan permohonan menyertai semula UMNO sebagai mustahil.

Beliau berkata, ini kerana UMNO tidak dapat menerima Anwar disebabkan perjuangannya dalam PKR selama ini yang tidak mengutamakan kepentingan kaum Melayu.

Beliau turut menafikan kemasukan bekas Ketua Angkatan Muda PKR, Mohamad Ezam Mohd. Noor ke dalam UMNO sebagai 'landasan kereta api' bagi bekas Timbalan Perdana Menteri itu kembali kepada UMNO.

''Kita kena sedar konsep UMNO dan PKR berbeza. Anwar sehingga hari ini membela perjuangan dengan caranya yang jauh berlainan dengan UMNO.

''Ezam masuk UMNO atas kehendak sendiri," katanya ketika dihubungi di sini hari ini.

Beliau diminta mengulas kenyataan Pengarah Institut Pengajian Etnik Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM), Profesor Datuk Dr. Shamsul Amri Baharuddin bahawa Anwar akan membuat permohonan menyertai semula UMNO.

Menurut beliau, ini kerana UMNO adalah satu-satunya wadah bagi membolehkan Anwar mencapai cita-citanya menjadi Perdana Menteri.

Sementara itu bekas Menteri Besar Selangor, Datuk Seri Dr. Mohamad Khir Toyo berkata, UMNO tidak boleh menerima kemasukan Anwar yang selama ini banyak memburukkan UMNO.

''Parti tidak boleh terima kerana beliau sendiri pengasas kepada parti pembangkang. Jangan lupa banyak perkara buruk yang telah Anwar buat kepada UMNO," jelasnya.

Comments :      Kalau Timbalan Presiden Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak,Naib Presiden Tan Sri Muhiyuddin Yassin,Naib Presiden Datuk Seri Muhd Ali Rustam,Ketua Pemuda Datuk Seri Hishamuddin,Ketua Wanita Datuk Seri Rafidah Aziz & Ketua Puteri Noraini Ahmad sudah menetang pa la?

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 June 5, 2008 (30 Jamadilawal 1429)

Dr Mahathir Mohamad

Thursday, June 5, 2008

Oil Price

(VERSI BAHASA MALAYSIA DI AKHIR ARTIKEL INI)

The price of crude oil has increased by 400 percent in the last three years. It follows that the price of products must increase, sooner or later. In other countries petrol prices had already increased. In the United Kingdom one litre of petrol sells for more than one pound sterling or RM7. In the United States it is about RM5.

That the price in neighbouring countries has gone up is shown by the rush to fill up by Thai and to a lesser extent Singapore vehicles.

The Government has now announced an increase in petrol price by 78 sen to RM2.70 per litre, an increase of more than 40 per cent.

I may be mistaken but there seems to be less vehicles on the road today. But obviously that is not all that will happen. All other consumer goods, services and luxury goods would increase in price.

The cost of living must go up. Put another way there will be inflation and the standard of living will go down.

Obviously our increase in petrol price is far less than in the United Kingdom or the United States. But our per capita income is about one-third of theirs. In purchasing power terms our increase is more than in the UK or the US.

The increase hurts but the pain is greater not just because of the increase percentage-wise is higher than in developed countries but because of the manner the increase is made.

A few days ago the Government decided to ban sale of petrol to foreign cars. It flipped. Now foreign cars can buy again. Flopped.

Knowing that in a few days it was going to raise the price and foreigners would be allowed to buy, why cannot the Government just wait instead of banning and unbanning.

But be that as it may what could the Government have done to lessen the burden on the people that results from the increase in petrol price.

In the first place the Government should not have floated the Ringgit. A floating rate creates uncertainties and we cannot gain anything from the strengthened Ringgit. Certainly the people have not experienced any increase in their purchasing power because of the appreciation in the exchange rate between the US Dollar and the Ringgit.

Actually the Ringgit has increased by about 80 sen (from RM3.80 to RM3.08 to 1 US Dollar) per US Dollar, i.e. by more than 20 per cent. Had the Government retained the fixed rate system and increased the value of the Ringgit, say 10 per cent at a time, the cost of imports, in Ringgit terms can be monitored and reduced by 10 per cent. At 20 per cent appreciation the cost of imports should decrease by 20 per cent. But we know the prices of imported goods or services have not decreased at all. This means we are paying 20 per cent higher for our imports including the raw material and components for our industries.

Since oil prices are fixed in US Dollar, the increase in US Dollar prices of oil should also be mitigated by 20 per cent in Malaysian Ringgit.

But the Government wants to please the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank and decided to float the Ringgit. As a result the strengthening of the Ringgit merely increased our cost of exports without giving our people the benefit of lower cost of imports.

This is not wisdom after the event. I had actually told a Government Minister not to float the Ringgit three years ago. But of course I am not an expert, certainly I know little about the international financial regimes.

I believe the people expect the increase of petrol price. But what they are angry about is the quantum and the suddenness. The Prime Minister was hinting at August but suddenly it came two months earlier, just after the ban on sale of petrol to foreigners.

If the increase had been more gradual, the people would not feel it so much. But of course this means that the Government would have to subsidise, though to a decreasing extent.

Can the Government subsidise? I am the “adviser” to Petronas but I know very little about it beyond what is published in its accounts. What I do know may not be very accurate but should be sufficient for me to draw certain conclusions.

Roughly Malaysia produces 650,000 barrels of crude per day. We consume 400,000 barrels leaving 250,000 barrels to be exported.

Three years ago the selling price of crude was about USD30 per barrel. Today it is USD130 – an increase of USD100. There is hardly any increase in the production cost so that the extra USD100 can be considered as pure profit.

Our 250,000 barrels of export should earn us 250,000 x 100 x 365 x 3 = RM27,375,000,000 (twenty seven billion Ringgit).

But Petronas made a profit of well over RM70 billion, all of which belong to the Government.

By all accounts the Government is flushed with money.

But besides petrol the prices of palm oil, rubber and tin have also increased by about 400 per cent. Plantation companies and banks now earn as much as RM3 billion in profits each. Taxes paid by them must have also increased greatly.

I feel sure that maintaining the subsidy and gradually decreasing it would not hurt the Government finances.

In the medium term ways and means must be found to reduce wasteful consumption and increase income. We may not be able to fix the minimum wage at a high level but certainly we can improve the minimum wage.

Actually our wages are high compared to some of our neighbours. The investors who come here are attracted not by cheap labour but by other factors, among which is the attitude of the Government towards the business community and the investors in particular.

From what I hear business friendliness is wanting in the present Government – so much so that even Malaysians are investing in other countries. There are rumblings about political affiliations influencing decisions. Generally Government politicians are said to be arrogant.

Malaysia is short of manpower. The labour intensive industries are not benefiting Malaysians. Foreign workers are remitting huge sums of money home.

The industrial policy must change so that high tech is promoted in order to give Malaysians higher wages to cope with rising costs of living.

The world is facing economic turmoil due to the depreciation of the US Dollar, the sub-prime loan crisis, rising oil and raw material prices, food shortages and the continued activities of the greedy hedge funds. The possibility of a US recession is real. In a way the US is already in recession. The world economy will be dragged down by it.

Malaysia will be affected by all these problems. I wonder whether the Government is prepared for this.

We cannot avoid all the negative effects but there must be ways to mitigate against them and to lessen the burden that must be borne by all Malaysians. I am sure the Government will not just pass all these problems to the people as the review of oil prices every month seem to suggest.

 

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The Star, June 5, 2008 (30 Jamadilawal 1429)

New ruling goes down well with Singaporeans 

JOHOR BARU: Singaporeans expressed relief at the new move to allow them to buy petrol without restrictions in the country.

Most of them did not mind paying the new price of RM2.70 per litre and hoped that the Government would continue with this policy as the last few weeks had been very confusing for them.

“I have been following the news closely and in the last few days there has been so much confusion,” said technician Jimmy Chow, 28.

“The newspapers in Singapore were giving different dates on when the ban will take effect. Some were saying June 9 and others June 19,” he added, referring to the initial ruling barring Singapore-registered cars from purchasing fuel within 50km of the border.

Chow added that each week, he entered Johor to eat, shop, wash his car and pump RM50 worth of petrol.

Chow, who planned to stop his trips to Johor if the 50km ban was imposed, said he did not mind paying the new price as it was still much cheaper than in Singapore.

Another Singaporean Rebecca Lee, 35, described the Malaysian Government’s move to scrap the ban as “a wise decision”, as there were many “holes” in the proposed ruling.

“I was worried as I travel to Johor several times a week to take care of my family business in town and it would be absurd if I have to return to Singapore or drive all the way to Kulai or Kota Tinggi to top up my car,” she said, and hoped that the Government would not change its mind again.

Malaysian Cho Pei Lin, 30, who has Singapore Permanent Residence, said that she was happy the Government decided not to continue with the ban, as it showed that it was willing to listen to public feedback.

Cho said she drove to Johor and Pontian every few weeks to visit relatives.

“I do not mind paying the new rate,” she said

 

Comments :       Kenapa pa la & shahrir samad menggubal polisi2 kerajaan Malaysia yang menguntungkan & menggembirakan Singaporeans? Bukankah ikrar(semasa angkat sumpah jawatan) & amanah sebagai pemimpin untuk kebaikan negara amnya & melayu khususnya(mereka pemimpin UMNO)?

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Uthusan Online, June 5, 2008 (30 Jamadilawal 1429)

Saya bersedia ke lembaga disiplin

Oleh NAZRUL AZIM SHARUDDIN

KUALA LUMPUR 4 Jun - Ahli Majlis Tertinggi (MT) UMNO, Datuk Seri Dr. Rais Yatim bersedia untuk dirujuk ke lembaga disiplin parti jika jawatan kuasa itu merasakan hak bersuara dan memberi pendapat adalah satu kesalahan.

Menurut Rais, sebagai ahli UMNO, beliau mempunyai hak untuk memberikan pendapat dan pandangan demi kepentingan parti.

''Pandangan yang diberikan itu adalah sebagai peringatan kerana sekarang ini terlalu ramai pemimpin 'musang berbulu ayam' dan saya tidak mahu UMNO terperangkap dan terdedah kepada bahaya tersebut,'' katanya ketika dihubungi Utusan Malaysia di sini hari ini.

Rais berkata, Lembaga Disiplin UMNO merupakan Jawatankuasa yang ditubuhkan untuk membincangkan soal-soal disiplin bagi ahli yang ingin merosakkan parti.

Beliau memberitahu, hak untuk bersuara dalam parti bukan merupakan tugas yang perlu diselesaikan oleh jawatankuasa tersebut.

''Lembaga disiplin lebih banyak hal lain untuk dibincangkan seperti kesalahan rasuah politik, mendustakan Perlembagaan, menjatuhkan maruah orang Melayu daripada membincangkan kesalahan hak bersuara,'' katanya.

Menurut Rais, beliau tidak merasakan bersuara dan memberi pendapat melalui akhbar itu akan memudarat dan melemahkan parti.

''Kami bukan budak-budak yang baru bermain keris,'' ujarnya.

Utusan Malaysia hari ini melaporkan Ketua UMNO Bahagian Bukit Mertajam, Senator Datuk Musa Sheikh Fadzir menggesa supaya Naib Presiden UMNO, Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin dan Rais dirujuk kepada lembaga disiplin kerana sering mempertikaikan keputusan parti dan meluahkan pandangan menerusi akhbar

Comments :      Adakah pa la, khairy jamaludin abu bakar,kamaludin abdullah(anak pa la),muhd taib & azim zabidi mahu menggunakan lembaga disiplin untuk menakutkan pemimipin UMNO yang berani memperkatakan mengenai dakwaan rasuah, tipu helah & penjualan keadaulatan negara?

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Uthusan Online, June 5, 2008 (30 Jamadilawal 1429)

Lantik segera pengganti Idris

KUALA TERENGGANU 4 Jun - Pergerakan Pemuda UMNO Terengganu meminta Presiden parti, Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi melantik Pengerusi Badan Perhubungan UMNO negeri itu secepat mungkin.

Ketua Penerangannya, Razali Idris berkata, perkara itu tidak boleh dilengahkan lagi agar usaha mengukuhkan parti di negeri itu dapat dilaksanakan secepat mungkin oleh pucuk pimpinan yang baru.

Katanya, Pemuda UMNO Terengganu tidak mahu melihat 'kecelaruan' sewaktu pelantikan menteri besar sebelum ini berulang dalam soal pelantikan Pengerusi Badan Perhubungan UMNO negeri kerana ia akan mencetuskan pelbagai spekulasi yang tidak menguntungkan parti.

"Secara tradisinya, Menteri Besar akan dilantik sebagai Pengerusi Badan Perhubungan UMNO negeri tetapi kami mahu pelantikan atau pemilihannya dibuat segera demi parti dan rakyat di negeri ini.

"Tidak boleh dilengahkan lagi kerana agenda memperkukuhkan parti perlu dilaksanakan segera, apatah lagi UMNO kini sedang berhadapan dengan cabaran semasa yang getir," katanya kepada Utusan Malaysia di sini hari ini.

Ahli Dewan Undangan Negeri (ADUN) Jerteh yang juga bekas Menteri Besar Terengganu, Datuk Seri Idris Jusoh pada 29 Mei lalu telah meletakkan jawatan sebagai Pengerusi Badan Perhubungan UMNO negeri selepas tidak dikekalkan menerajui kerajaan negeri.

Peletakan jawatan itu bagi menghormati keputusan Majlis Tertinggi (MT) UMNO berhubung pelantikan Menteri Besar Terengganu selain bagi menyelaras pentadbiran politik dan kerajaan negeri.

Pada masa yang sama, Menteri Besar, Datuk Ahmad Said menyatakan kesediaannya dilantik sebagai Pengerusi Badan Perhubungan UMNO Terengganu jika dikehendaki oleh pucuk pimpinan.

Razali yang juga Ketua Pemuda UMNO Bahagian Marang berkata, jika pemilihan jawatan ketua parti di peringkat negeri dibiarkan 'tergantung', ia sudah tentu membawa impak terhadap kepentingan UMNO.

"Itu yang kita tidak mahu kerana kita perlu faham bahawa Terengganu adalah negeri majoritinya Melayu dan pengaruh pembangkang juga tidak boleh dipandang mudah.

"Jika pelantikan jawatan tersebut lewat dibuat, saya bimbang ia akan memberi kesan tidak baik kepada parti, apatah lagi dalam suasana kita sedang giat mengembalikan keyakinan rakyat kepada parti pemerintah," ujar beliau.

Menurutnya, Pemuda UMNO Terengganu sangat peka terhadap perkara itu dan akan memberikan kerjasama padu kepada ketua parti yang bakal dilantik kelak.

Menurut beliau, tumpuan kini ialah bagaimana UMNO Terengganu yang sebelum ini dilihat 'tidak menentu' kembali kukuh melalui perpaduan serta kesepakatan ahli serta pemimpinnya.

"Memang tidak ada perpecahan ketara tetapi wajar ada tindakan susulan segera dalam memastikan kesinambungan perjuangan parti ini dapat diteruskan dengan berkesan," ujarnya.

Comments :    selagi pa la berlengah selagi itulah politik & pentadbiran Terengganu tidak stabil...sepatutnya pa la lebih bertanggungjawab & mengambil keputusan cepat untuk keabaikan rakayt & kerajaan negeri Terengganu... 

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Uthusan Online, June 5, 2008 (30 Jamadilawal 1429)

Terburuk dalam sejarah - Pembangkang

KUALA LUMPUR 4 Jun - Pemimpin parti pembangkang menyifatkan kenaikan harga petrol dan diesel pada kadar 40 peratus sebagai membebankan rakyat dan yang terburuk dalam sejarah negara.

Sementara itu, ganjaran memberi wang tunai kepada pemilik motosikal dan kereta pada akhir tahun tidak akan meringankan beban rakyat yang sebelum ini dibebankan dengan kenaikan harga barang-barang keperluan seperti beras, ayam dan tepung.

Setiausaha Agung Pas, Datuk Kamaruddin Jaafar berkata, pemberian RM625 setahun bagi kenderaan berkapasiti enjin sehingga 2,000cc serta trak pikap dan jip berkapasiti sehingga 2,500cc hanya menjimatkan RM2 sehari.

Menurutnya, beban rakyat dapat diatasi segera dengan menaikkan gaji kakitangan awam dan menetapkan gaji minimum RM900 seperti dicadangkan oleh Kongres Kesatuan Sekerja (MTUC), baru-baru ini.

"Lazimnya, apabila harga bahan bakar naik, kesan kepada kos kehidupan akan melambung dan inflasi meningkat,'' katanya ketika dihubungi Utusan Malaysia di sini hari ini.

Sebagai negara pengeluar minyak, kata Kamaruddin, kerajaan tidak sepatutnya menaikkan harga bahan bakar itu sebegitu tinggi walaupun ia adalah fenomena dunia yang tidak dapat dielakkan.

Beliau juga mengaitkan India yang bukan negara pengeluar minyak hanya menaikkan harga petrol sebanyak 10 peratus hari ini.

Ketua Penerangan Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR), Tian Chua berkata, kenaikan harga petrol dan diesel itu akan memberi kesan yang buruk kepada ekonomi negara.

Beliau menegaskan, sekiranya kemampuan rakyat untuk membeli menurun, maka negara akan mengalami pertumbuhan ekonomi yang negatif.

Justeru, katanya, apabila ini berlaku ia akan menjejaskan perusahaan kilang-kilang kecil serta peluang pekerjaan turut terjejas.

Presiden Persatuan Pengusaha Stesen Minyak Malaysia, Abu Samah Bachik berharap agar kerajaan menaikkan kadar komisen yang kini 9.5 peratus berikutan kenaikan harga petrol dan diesel sebanyak 40 peratus.

Katanya, ini perlu kerana kenaikan harga minyak itu menyebabkan mereka membeli bahan bakar itu dengan harga tinggi dan perlukan komisyen yang lebih

Comments :      Sememangnya pentadbiran pa la sebagai perdana menteri adalah yang terburuk dalam sejarah tanahair...tunku abdul rahman telah hilang singapura & pa la telah hilang pulau batu putih...namun zaman pa la rakyat merana..ekonomi merosot dan kerajaan berbohong..

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13. Fuel-dependent villagers need help, says SNAP

 

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NST Online, June 4, 2008 (29 Jamadilawal 1429)

US vessels on goodwill visitThe ship remains guarded while its sailors are on shore in a community relations exercise. — NST pictures by Asman Ibrahim.

 

GEORGE TOWN: Two United States Navy warships docked here yesterday for a five-day port visit.

While in town, the 340-odd sailors of the Ticonderoga class Aegis guided-missile cruiser USS Cape St George and the Arleigh Burke class guided-missile destroyer USS Halsey will help renovate a school or an orphanage and play football with the Royal Malaysian Navy.

The commanding officer of USS Cape St George, Captain Patrick Rabun, said it was his third visit to Malaysia but most of the sailors of both vessels were here for the first time.
The USS 'Cape St George' anchored in Penang.

"We are looking forward to the next few days, to see the sights and taste the good food Penang has to offer," he said.

This is the USS Cape St George's first year in the Pacific. It has a crew of almost 400 and carries two SH-60 Sea Hawk helicopters.

"This vessel has seen action in the Atlantic, the Mediterranean and the Europe theatre," Rabun said, adding that both vessels would head home to San Diego, California, in November.

The USS Cape St George, commissioned into the US Navy in 1993 is 172.8m long and has a top speed of more than 30 knots. It has a crew of almost 400 and carries two SH-60 Sea Hawk helicopters.


The USS Halsey, the second US Navy vessel to carry the name, was named after Fleet Admiral William "Bull" Halsey, the commander of the Western Pacific US forces during World War II.

Commissioned into the US Navy in 2005, it is 164.4m long, has a crew of 300 and also carries two Sea Hawks

 

Comments :        Zaman pentabiran pa la 5 tahun, pembunuh umat Islam di Iraq, Afghanistan & Somalia tentera Amerika dibenarkan melabuh (dan mengintip serta beri senjata kepada ejen2 mereka)sebanyak hampir 10 kali..22 tahun pentadbiranTun Mahathir langsung tidak dibenarkan

 

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NST Online, June 4, 2008 (29 Jamadilawal 1429)

Uproar over ruling against prayer, statue

 

IPOH: At the beginning of every Bharatanatyam performance, artistes of this famous South Indian classical dance pay obeisance on stage to a statue of Lord Nadaraja.

The Bharatanatyam was performed at the Taman Budaya on condition prayers to Lord Nadarajah were not carried out on stage as is the common practice at the start of the performance. — NST picture by Ikhwan Munir

This common practice is also carried out to invoke the deity's blessings so that the dancers perform well without any obstacle.

However, on Monday night, a group of Bharatanatyam dancers performed before a full gallery at the Taman Budaya public auditorium without the customary on-stage pooja (prayer) to Lord Nadaraja.

This was because the owner of the venue, the state Unity, Culture, Arts and Heritage Department, permitted the dance on condition they did not install a statue or portrait of the deity and offer their prayers on stage.

For the record, this is not the first time that dancers from the three Bharatanatyam schools of Nrityakalanjali, Natyakalamandir and Anandanarthana Choodamani in the state had performed at the venue.

In the past, the dancers were allowed to offer their prayers on stage, said P. Sasikumar, who acted as the spokesman for the three dance schools.

"This time we were not allowed because the department imposed this condition.

"This is ridiculous. The pooja is an integral part of the performance and has been practised for hundreds of years," he said before the start of the Bharatanatyam performance at Taman Budaya.

He said the practice of paying obeisance to Lord Nadaraja was important because the deity was worshipped as the king of dance.

In defence, the department said the organisers were informed beforehand of the conditions and chose to go ahead with the performance.

The department's public relations officer, Shaliza Azlin, said the organisers had agreed that the prayers would be performed backstage to respect the sensitivities of the audience, who also comprised Chinese and Malays.

"We did not stop them from doing the pooja. We did not want them to do it in public."

Shaliza said the same conditions had been imposed on other cultural groups.

Perak state assembly speaker V. Sivakumar, who was at the performance, said: "The prayer is very much part of the cultural performance and should have been allowed on the stage."

He said he would bring the matter up with the state government as well as his party so that such "intolerant behaviour" could be nipped in the bud before it became widespread

 

Comments :        Kenapa suratkhabar milik UMNO (dikuasai oleh kalimullah & khairy) memperjuangkan agar patung hindu disembah di bangunan kerajaan Taman Budaya auditorium? Sama-sama kita lihat sama ada MB Perak Nizar akan menyokong mereka atau Jabatan Budaya, Warisan...

 

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Utusan Online, June 4, 2008 (29 Jamadilawal 1429)

Saya tunggu tindakan Peguam Negara – Karpal

PUTRAJAYA 3 Jun – Pengerusi DAP, Karpal Singh masih menunggu sebarang tindakan daripada Peguam Negara berhubung dakwaan beliau menghina raja dalam isu pertukaran Pengarah Jabatan Agama Islam Perak (JAIP).

“Setakat ini tidak ada apa-apa perkembangan... saya masih menunggu dan terserah kepada Peguam Negara,'' katanya ketika dihubungi hari ini.

Karpal diminta mengulas perkembangan kes siasatan terhadapnya yang didakwa mempersoalkan bidang kuasa Sultan Perak dalam pertukaran Pengarah JAIP, Datuk Jamry Sury.

Pada 22 Mei lalu, Ketua Polis Negara, Tan Sri Musa Hassan berkata, polis telah selesai menjalankan siasatan terhadap Karpal dalam isu berkenaan dan kini menunggu keputusan Peguam Negara untuk tindakan lanjut.

Pada 5 Mei lalu, Karpal mempertikaikan tindakan Sultan Azlan Shah menitahkan Menteri Besar Perak, Datuk Seri Ir. Mohammad Nizar Jamaluddin menarik balik arahan penukaran Jamry yang disifatkan sebagai campur tangan istana dalam pentadbiran negeri.

Karpal yang juga Ahli Parlimen Bukit Gelugor, bagaimanapun, mempertahankan kenyataannya itu dan enggan meminta maaf walaupun dikritik pelbagai pihak.

Isu itu menimbulkan kemarahan banyak pihak yang kemudian membuat laporan polis terhadap Karpal serta mengadakan demonstrasi membantah tindakannya itu

Comments :      Kenapa peguam negara dibawah jabatan perdana menteri pa la & polis dibawah menteri dalam negeri syed hamid albar teragak-agak untuk mengambil tindakan mahkamah keatas kata2 derhaka & celupar karpalsingh serta DAP kepada Sultan? Adakah agenda mereka sama?

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BBC News, June 3, 2008 (28 Jamadilawal 1429)

Israel court condemns student ban

Graduation ceremony at the Gaza Islamic University, 2005

For talented students Gaza's education system has its limits

The Israeli Supreme Court has called on the government to reconsider its almost total ban on Palestinian students leaving the Gaza Strip to study abroad.

The court said the policy was harming prospects for future coexistence between Israelis and Palestinians.

This follows the reinstatement by the US state department of Fulbright grants to seven Palestinians in Gaza.

The scholarships had been withdrawn because Israel would not provided exit permits to the students.

Israel tightened its blockade of Gaza after Hamas seized power there a year ago, largely cutting off the territory from the outside world.

Petition

The Israeli Supreme Court heard on Monday a petition filed by Israeli human rights group Gisha on behalf of two Palestinian students whose requests to leave Gaza to study in Britain and Germany have been rejected by Israel.

Palestinian human rights groups in Gaza said hundreds of students would miss deadlines to pursue studies at universities abroad if Israel did not relax travel restrictions.

A member of the court hearing the petition said Israel's policy was harming "any chance of coexistence" between the Jewish state and its neighbours in Gaza.

The panel said the policy should be reviewed within two weeks, but the oral comments are non-binding on the Israeli government.

Human right groups and some Israeli politicians have described the policy of not letting the students out as "collective punishment".

Israel says that as long as Palestinian militants fire rockets from Gaza at Israeli towns, nobody - apart from the most urgent of medical cases - can leave.

The prestigious Fulbright scholarships are run by the US state department.

On Friday US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has promised to investigate the withdrawal of the scholarships.

"If you cannot engage young people and give complete horizon to their expectations and to their dreams, then I don't know that there would be any future for Palestine or, frankly, since I believe the two-state solution is so important to Israelis and Palestinians, to the people of that region who want to have decent lives," Ms Rice said.

 

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Aljazeera, June 3, 2008 (28 Jamadilawal 1429)

Israel to expand settlements

 

 

 

Israel's decision to construct new homes in East Jerusalem has enraged many Palestinians [AFP]

The Israeli government has announced the construction of about 900 new homes in East Jerusalem amid international criticism against its policy on settlement expansion.  

Ehud Olmert, the Israeli prime minister, on Sunday praised the plan to build new homes. 

The plan evisages building 763 housing units in Pisgat Zeev and 121 housing units in Har Homa settlement in Jabal Abu Ghaneim. 

Ban Ki-moon, the UN secretary-general, expressed his "deep concern" over the plan to build news homes.  

 

 

 

"The government of Israel's continued construction in settlements in the occupied Palestinian territory is contrary to international law and to its commitments under the road map and the Annapolis process," he said in a statement on Monday. 

Stoking tensions 

Dana Perino, a White House spokeswoman, explained why the US does not believe that more settlements should be built. She said new construction creates tension in peace talks with Palestinians.  

Perino said that the expansion of existing settlements in East Jerusalem is part of the problem as Palestinians feel that Israel is not serious about peace and that it  "is not acting in good faith".  

Meir Shitreet, the Israeli interior minister, defended the new settlement expansion by citing Biblical claims.

"Har Homa is part of Jerusalem. It's not a settlement. And sometimes people regularly forget Jerusalem is our capital, not since Camp David, but since King David, so that claims that they cannot build in Jerusalem is totally nonsense. No one in the government of Israel ever stop building in Jerusalem." 

But Palestinians living in the occupied territories differ. 

In video


Palestinian farmer defies Israeli settlement policy

Mohamed Elian, a farmer living in the well preserved village of Wadi Fakun which has lost half of its land since Israeli occupation, believes that Israeli decision to build new colonies means working harder.  

"Keeping the land planted would protect it from confiscation by the Israelis. That's why I have to stay here. Land titles mean nothing to them. You have to keep the land green to prove you're here." 

Israel has expanded settlements around Jerusalem since occupying it in 1967. 

This marks the fourth time Israel has announced a major construction project in occupied territory since the US-brokered Annapolis summit late last year. 

Saeb Erekat, the Palestinian senior negotiator, said Israel should choose between settlement expansion and peace. 

"We condemn the Israeli government decision to build new settlement housing units. This is a flagrant violation of the Annapolis process. This undermines our effort to continue with the peace process," he said. 

Salam Fayyad, the Palestinian prime minister, sent two official letters to the EU and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. 

In the letters, Fayyad said that the on-going Israeli expansion "terminate any chances for peace".

 

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NST Online, June 3, 2008 (28 Jamadilawal 1429)

MCA laments objection to scholarships

 

KUALA LUMPUR: The MCA is saddened by Umno Youth education bureau chief Ahmad Ikmal Ismail's objection to the Public Service Department's move for a fairer distribution of scholarships to non-Bumiputera students who wished to study abroad.

Ahmad Ikmal on Sunday reportedly said that Umno Youth was against increasing the PSD's scholarship quota for non-Bumiputera applicants from 10 per cent to 45 per cent or 900 places.

The remaining 55 per cent of scholarships or 1,100 places would still go to Bumiputera students.

In a statement yesterday, MCA Youth education bureau chief Wee Ka Siong argued that similar to public university applications, government scholarships should also be approved based on meritocracy.

He said the small number of scholarships for non-Bumiputeras was one of the major factors that had contributed to the country's brain drain.

"Experience shows that non-Bumiputera students who are denied government scholarships would often be granted scholarships in foreign universities based on merit.

"As a result, the students would be obliged to work and stay overseas upon graduation," said Wee, who is deputy education minister.

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Utusan Online, June 3, 2008 (28 Jamadilawal 1429)

Two-tier fuel pricing system bad, says Johor DAP 

JOHOR BARU: A two-tier fuel pricing system for foreign registered vehicles will adversely affect the economy of the city.

Johor DAP chairman Dr Boo Cheng Hau said such a move would inconvenience both foreigners and local businesses dependent on the Singaporean clientele.

“A Singapore ruling that requires its vehicles to have a three-quarter full tank before entering the country already reduces the number of foreigners who enter the city solely for petrol,” he said.

According to Dr Boo, besides increasing red tape, a two-tier system would also affect Malaysians holding Singapore permanent residency status who owned Singapored-registered vehicles.

“There should be uniform pricing,” he said during a press conference after visiting several traders in the city.

Johor DAP vice-chairman Norman Fernandez urged the Government to weigh the cost of restricting Singaporeans to unsubsidised petrol against the economic losses suffered by traders.

“We have to look at the big picture as the situation in Johor Baru is unique. Many businesses are very reliant on the Singaporean clientele.”

Meanwhile, Senai assemblyman Ong Kow Meng said that a two-tier pricing system would breach international free trade agreements.

“We will also be the laughing stock internationally if we implement the two-tier pricing system,” he said, adding that Petronas should instead pay for the subsidised fuel.

Comments :        Kenapa DAP memperjuangkan pemilik2 kereta Singapore? Kenapa DAP meminta Petronas untuk memberi subsidi2 kepada pemilik2 kereta Singapore? Kenapa DAP memperjuangkan stesen2 minyak bukan bumiputera sahaja? Adakah DAP mengambil arahan dari PAP Singapore?

 

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Utusan Online, June 3, 2008 (28 Jamadilawal 1429)

Curiga alasan Ezam

PUTRAJAYA 2 Jun - Datuk Seri Dr. Rais Yatim membangkitkan rasa hairannya dengan sikap terlalu mudah UMNO menerima kemasukan Mohamad Ezam Mohd. Noor berbanding penerimaan bekas ahli Parti Melayu Semangat 46 (S46) sebelum ini.

Beliau yang juga bekas Timbalan Presiden S46 berkata, kemasukan semula bekas Ketua Angkatan Muda Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) itu menimbulkan rasa curiga kerana ia berlaku secara tiba-tiba tanpa dirundingkan terlebih dahulu dengan Jawatankuasa Pengurusan parti.

''Saya dapat tahu Jawatankuasa Pengurusan parti yang diketuai oleh Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak serta dibantu oleh Naib Presiden, Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin tidak dibawa berunding terlebih dahulu, malah tidak dirujuk pun kepada Majlis Tertinggi (MT).

''Secara tiba-tiba sahaja satu pihak lagi begitu kuat mahu bawa masuk Mohamad Ezam.

''Ia sungguh berbeza dengan ahli-ahli S46 dulu kerana proses kemasukan ahli (ke UMNO) sahaja memakan masa sembilan bulan dan macam-macam aspek diteliti tetapi sekarang orang yang tempelak UMNO boleh diterima 'pada minggu depan'," katanya kepada Utusan Malaysia di sini hari ini.

Rais bagaimanapun yakin ahli-ahli MT yang akan bersidang selama dua hari di Shah Alam minggu ini akan membincangkan secara serius keputusan sama ada untuk menerima atau sebaliknya permohonan Mohamad Ezam dan beberapa bekas pemimpin muda PKR ke dalam UMNO.

Menurut Rais, beliau sebenarnya berasa curiga dengan sebab-sebab yang dikemukakan oleh Mohamad Ezam untuk menyertai semula UMNO.

''Dia pun sudah cakap 'lebih' (kononnya) hendak corakkan kepimpinan UMNO pada masa depan dan sebagainya.

"Justeru, MT perlu buat keputusan secara konsensus sebelum menerima dia dan rakan-rakannya," katanya.

Khamis lalu, Mohamad Ezam mengumumkan kembali kepada UMNO selepas mengisytiharkan keluar daripada PKR pada April tahun lalu.

Bekas Setiausaha Politik kepada penasihat PKR, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim itu bertindak keluar parti setelah kecewa dengan corak kepimpinan PKR yang dikatakan dikuasai secara eksklusif oleh golongan tertentu yang berkepentingan peribadi.

Comments :        Bukan Datuk Seri Rais Yatim sahaja yang ‘curiga’.  Kami ahli-ahli UMNO Selangor, bahagian Shah Alam pun berasa syak wasangka.  Kalau Anwar Ibrahim pun tak nak dan melepaskan Ezam mengapa kita yang kononnya kata pa la masih kuat mahu mengambil ‘reject’ PKR?

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The Star, June 3, 2008 (28 Jamadilawal 1429)

Time to move on after decision 

SINGAPORE: It’s time to put the Batu Puteh issue behind us and work on enhancing bilateral ties, especially getting Singaporeans to invest in Iskandar Malaysia, Malaysian High Commissioner Datuk N. Parameswaran said.

He said the issue over the island had never affected bilateral ties between Malaysia and the island republic.

“Definitely, the recent decision on the island will cause some fallout from some quarters, but with the issue closed, both countries should work towards improving ties, especially with regard to Iskandar Malaysia,” he told The Star.

“Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong has mentioned about the country’s willingness to participate in Iskandar Malaysia. Let’s see how that goes now, as Singapore’s participation is still low.”

On the issue of the boundaries and South Ledge – another rock outcrop south of Batu Puteh – Parameswaran said the technical committee would be convening soon to discuss the matter.

The International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruled on May 23 that Singapore had sovereignty over Batu Puteh or Pedra Branca, while Malaysia owned Middle Rocks.

Asked about a recent remark by former Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad that Iskandar Malaysia was a platform for Singapore to expand its sovereignty, Parameswaran said such remarks were baseless and that the issue did not arise.

“We have interests in Singapore, too, in banking, telecommunications, real estate and other industries. All these are mere investments to boost the economy,” he said, stressing that such remarks would not hurt bilateral ties or keep away investors.

Parameswaran said that investors would only react to comments from Putrajaya as these were the voices, which mattered the most in building bilateral ties.

During a recent gathering here, Dr Mahathir said the Iskandar Malaysia project was intended to lure Singaporeans and Malay land would be sold to them for 10 times its worth.

 

Comments :        Adakah Parameswaran (dilantik setelah pa la jadi PM) bekerja untuk Malaysia atau Singapore? Kurang ajar dia celupar berkata tidak apa untuk kompeni2 Singapore mengambil alih tanah2 melayu di Johor...Berapa ramai lagi pegawai Wisma Putra ejen negara jiran?

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Utusan Online, June 2, 2008 (27 Jamadilawal 1429)

Sabah kekal dalam BN - Karpal

 

KUALA LUMPUR 1 Jun - Pengerusi DAP, Karpal Singh yakin ahli-ahli Parlimen Barisan Nasional (BN) Sabah akan kekal dalam parti itu walaupun mereka terus-terusan 'diumpan' oleh pembangkang untuk melompat parti.

Menurut beliau, cita-cita Penasihat Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR), Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim untuk 'menawan' Sabah menjelang 16 September ini sekadar angan-angan.

Katanya, BN sedang giat menangani isu lompat parti sehingga ke peringkat akar umbi.

''Setakat ini, saya lihat Anwar sangat yakin. Adakah anda percaya cita-citanya akan tercapai?

''Secara ikhlas, saya tidak percaya ia akan berlaku. Sekarang BN memberikan mereka (ahli Parlimen) apa-apa yang diminta,'' jelasnya.

Karpal berkata demikian kepada pemberita selepas melancarkan buku Tiada Niat Untuk Membunuh di sini hari ini.

Buku itu ditulis oleh peguam T. Vijayandran yang didorong pengalaman beliau membela seorang pembantu rumah warga asing yang dijatuhkan hukuman gantung sampai mati kerana didakwa membunuh majikannya.

Karpal berkata, Perdana Menteri Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi telah berkunjung ke Sabah dan memberikan 'manisan' kepada ahli-ahli politik negeri itu.

Katanya, manisan yang dimaksudkan itu ialah 13 inisiatif sebagai 'hadiah' daripada Kerajaan Persekutuan kepada rakyat Sabah berikutan sumbangan besar negeri itu kepada BN pada Pilihan Raya Umum Ke-12 lalu.

Antara inisiatif itu termasuk memansuhkan serta-merta Jabatan Pembangunan Persekutuan Sabah selain pelantikan anak Sabah menjawat jawatan penting di universiti dan dalam kerajaan.

''Buat pertama kali di Parlimen, Speaker datang dari Sabah. Kedua-dua timbalan speaker juga datang dari Sabah dan Sarawak,'' katanya

 

Comments :        Adakah karpal singh menyokong pa la untuk terus menjadi PM? Agak pelik untuk pengerusi DAP untuk tidak menyokong rakan Pakatan Rk Anwar Ibrahim sebagai PM & sarankan bahawa pa la terus jadi PM..Adakah kerana DAP ikuti arahan PAP Singapore & Lee Kuan Yew?

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Utusan Online, June 2, 2008 (27 Jamadilawal 1429)

RNG cari usahawan bumiputera

Oleh daliza ariffin

SUNGAI BULOH 30 Mei - RNG Arrange (M) Sdn. Bhd. (RNG) menawarkan peluang perniagaan baru kepada usahawan bumiputera untuk bergiat dalam perniagaan pemasangan lapisan aluminium khas di bumbung yang menjadikan keadaan di dalam rumah mendinginkan dan selesa.

Naib Presiden RH Incorporation Sdn. Bhd. (RH), Mahfuz Omar berkata, buat permulaan, syarikat yang akan mengeluarkan RNG Thermal Shield untuk pasaran tempatan, akan melatih enam orang usahawan untuk program perniagaan berkenaan.

RH adalah syarikat bumiputera yang terlibat dalam kegiatan mengeksport aluminium khas itu.

RNG Thermal Shield pula adalah lapisan aluminium khas yang dilekatkan di bawah bumbung pelbagai jenis rumah bagi membolehkan ia mengekalkan kedinginan rumah berkenaan meskipun ketika cuaca di luar panas dan membahang.

''Program ini akan dimulakan di Selangor dengan membabitkan seramai kira-kira 11 orang usahawan kemudian diikuti dengan pengembangan ke Wilayah Persekutuan, Johor dan Kedah.

''Kami jangkakan dalam tempoh tiga tahun akan datang, semua usahawan yang terlibat dalam bidang ini akan terdapat di seluruh negara termasuk Sabah dan Sarawak,'' katanya kepada Utusan Malaysia, di Bukit Rahman Putra, di sini baru-baru ini.

Mahfuz menjelaskan, modal pusingan yang diperlukan untuk perniagaan tersebut adalah kira-kira RM50,000 dan Majlis Amanah Mara (MARA) ada menyediakan kemudahan pembiayaan itu.

''Kami akan mengadakan sesi pengenalan bagi mengenalpasti calon-calon usahawan yang berpotensi untuk dilantik menjadi mentee program ini bagi membolehkan mereka mudah mendapat pembiayaan daripada MARA.

Latihan''Selepas terpilih, mereka akan terlibat dalam aktiviti pemasaran dan latihan sehingga mampu berdikari mencari pelanggan masing-masing, bagaimanapun erja-kerja pemasangan, kakitangan RNG akan melakukannya,'' terang beliau.

Tambah Mahfuz, kilang RH yang terletak di Ipoh, Perak akan membekalkan produk kepada mentee-mentee berkenaan kerana kapasiti pengeluarannya adalah kira-kira 500,000 kaki persegi.

Kilang yang beroperasi sejak tahun 2003 itu kini mengeluarkan hampir 90 peratus aluminium khas itu kepada pasaran luar negaranya di Afrika, Australia dan Indonesia.

Mengulas lanjut mengenai RNG Thermal Shield itu, beliau berkata, bahan tersebut dipasang untuk sekali sahaja dan mampu bertahan lebih daripada 10 tahun.

Produk berkualiti buatan tempatan yang tahan lasak, anti kulat dan serangga serta bukan bahan penggalak kebakaran itu juga hanya dijual kira-kira RM3 sekaki persegi sahaja.

''Oleh itu, bagi sebuah rumah yang berukuran 20 kaki kali 70 kaki akan membelanjakan kira-kira RM3,500 termasuk upah pemasangan yang akan mengambil masa hanya beberapa jam sahaja, tetapi rumah sebesar banglo pula akan membabitkan masa selama sehari,'' ujarnya lagi.

Ditanya mengenai unjuran perolehan jualan syarikat dengan adanya aktiviti membangunkan usahawan itu, beliau berkata, tahun ini disasarkan perolehannya bertambah kepada RM2.5 juta.

Sumbangan daripada pasaran domestik pada tahun pertamanya pula diunjurkan naik kepada 10 peratus manakala bertambah kepada 25 peratus menjelang tahun akan datang.

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Utusan Online, June 2, 2008 (27 Jamadilawal 1429)

Saya tulis dalam blog kerana tidak dapat layanan media, Kata Dr. Mahathir

 

PETALING JAYA 31 Mei — Bekas Perdana Menteri Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad mendakwa bahawa beliau tidak lagi mendapat layanan sewajarnya daripada media arus perdana dan ini mendorong beliau menulis di laman blog.

"Saya terpaksa jadi blogger kerana saya tidak mendapat layanan daripada media-media perdana,” katanya.

Dr Mahathir menjelaskan bahawa blog merupakan salah satu medium alternatif untuk beliau menyuarakan pendapat berikutan terdapat sekatan terhadapnya yang dilakukan media tempatan.

"Saya tersekat dan tidak dibenarkan berucap. Ucapan saya juga tidak dibenar dilaporkan di dalam akhbar.

"Pun begitu, blog saya popular. Ramai yang baca. Kalau tidak masuk akhbar pun, orang masih boleh baca di blog saya,” katanya ketika berucap dalam program Suntikan Semangat Satria di sini hari ini.

Mengenai tindakannya keluar daripada Umno, Dr Mahathir berkata tindakannya itu bukan bertujuan untuk menubuhkan parti baru atau untuk mencipta platfom baru bagi kepentingan diri sendiri.

"Walaupun keluar daripada Umno, tetapi pada saya Umno dalam hati saya tidak mati,” katanya.

Beliau juga berkata tindakannya keluar daripada Umno bukanlah pertama kali dilakukannya.

"Ini bukan kali pertama. Bagi saya kalau orang tak nak saya tak apalah,” katanya.

Dr Mahathir mengulangi pendiriannya bahawa Umno yang kini diterajui Perdana Menteri Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi adalah sebuah parti yang tidak lagi memperjuangkan nasib orang Melayu tetapi digunakan untuk kepentingan individu tertentu

 

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Utusan Online, June 2, 2008 (27 Jamadilawal 1429)

Askar AS sebar Kristian di Iraq

 

WASHINGTON 30 Mei - Tentera Amerika Syarikat (AS) menyiasat seorang askar marin yang dituduh menyebarkan agama Kristian di Iraq dengan mengedarkan duit syiling bertulis sepotong ayat Bible kepada penduduk tempatan.

Marin berkenaan didakwa mengedarkan duit syiling tersebut kepada penduduk Iraq ketika mereka melepasi pusat pemeriksaan di Fallujah, kata pegawai AS.

"Pihak kuasa tentera telah melancarkan siasatan mengenai dakwaan itu dan ada bukti menunjukkan pembabitan seorang askar," kata jurucakap Pentagon, Bryan Whitman.

Menurut laporan McClatchy News Service, pada sebelah duit syiling itu tertera tulisan bermaksud "di manakah anda akan menjalani kehidupan akhirat?"

Pada sebelah lagi ialah potongan ayat Bible dalam tulisan Arab yang merujuk kepada ajaran Kristian kononnya Nabi Isa ialah anak Tuhan.

"Kami memberi perhatian penuh kepada kes ini," kata Komander AS di barat Iraq, Kolonel James Welsh.

Penganut Kristian hanya kira-kira tiga peratus daripada penduduk Iraq.

AS yang menempatkan askar di Iraq dan Afghanistan telah dituduh cuba menyebarkan agama Kristian kepada penduduk Islam Iraq dan menghina agama Islam.

Pentadbiran Presiden George W. Bush menafikan tuduhan itu, tetapi dimalukan oleh tindakan sebilangan askar AS.

Bush minggu lepas terpaksa memohon maaf dan berjanji untuk mendakwa seorang askar AS yang dituduh menjadikan senaskhah al-Quran sebagai sasaran latihan menembak di Iraq.

Mengedarkan atau bertukar-tukar duit syiling merupakan tradisi dalam tentera AS.

Duit syiling tersebut selalunya memaparkan lambang sesebuah unit atau cawangan tentera dan komander kanan mempunyai duit syiling mereka sendiri

 

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Utusan Online, June 2, 2008 (27 Jamadilawal 1429)

Semua nafi - Apa salah saya

 

KUALA LUMPUR 30 Mei – Ahli Parlimen Barisan Nasional (BN) Pasir Salak, Datuk Tajuddin Abdul Rahman berkata, beliau tidak pernah membawa sebarang pertelingkahan mengenai parti ke dada akhbar.

Sebaliknya kata beliau, Menteri di Jabatan Perdana Menteri, Datuk Zaid Ibrahim adalah orang yang memulakan segala pertelingkahan itu sehingga melibatkan media pada satu majlis di Kota Bharu pada 24 Mei lalu.

“Apa salah saya. Lagi pula takkan hendak berdiam sahaja selepas beliau menyebut nama saya, saya perlulah mempertahankan diri di Parlimen kemudiannya.

“Apa dikatakan oleh saya di Parlimen telah dipetik oleh pihak media, bukan saya panggil mereka untuk buat sidang akhbar bagi mengenakan Zaid,” katanya kepada Utusan Malaysia di sini hari ini.

Justeru beliau berkata, Zaid mungkin ‘calon’ paling sesuai untuk dihadapkan ke Lembaga Disiplin parti kerana memulakan segala isu itu.

Tajuddin berkata, tindakan susulan beliau hanya bagi mempertahankan dirinya dan tidak sama sekali untuk mendapatkan publisiti daripada mana-mana pihak.

Semalam, Setiausaha Agung UMNO, Datuk Seri Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor berkata, Zaid, Tajuddin dan Ahli Parlimen Jerlun, Datuk Mukhriz Mahathir mungkin dihadapkan kepada Lembaga Disiplin kerana menyalahi pekeliling berhubung larangan membangkitkan masalah dalaman parti di luar UMNO.

“Pekeliling mengenai larangan itu bukan sahaja telah diedarkan kepada semua Pengerusi Badan Perhubungan UMNO negeri dan ketua-ketua bahagian sejak sebulan lalu, malah ia turut dikuatkuasakan ke atas semua parti komponen BN.

‘‘Ia satu arahan melarang pertelingkahan parti dibangkitkan dalam media tetapi ketiga-tiga mereka ini melanggarnya dengan bergaduh macam budak kecil sehingga mencemarkan imej UMNO,’’ katanya.

Sebelum ini Zaid dilaporkan meminta BN mengambil tindakan terhadap Mukhriz dan Tajuddin kerana mengkritik kerajaan termasuk terhadap Perdana Menteri, Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi secara terbuka.

Tindakan itu mencetuskan kenyataan balas Tajuddin yang mempersoalkan kedudukan Zaid dan menggesa Perdana Menteri meneliti semula pelantikan beliau sebagai Menteri di Jabatan Perdana Menteri.

Semalam, Abdullah berkata, beliau tidak bercadang menilai semula pelantikan Zaid sebagai menteri.

Sebaliknya, tegas beliau, BN dan UMNO mengamalkan pintu terbuka kepada ahli untuk membuat teguran.

Semasa di Kota Bharu, Zaid meminta Jawatankuasa Pengurusan UMNO mengambil tindakan terhadap Ahli Parlimen parti tersebut yang menentang kerajaan dan Perdana Menteri secara terbuka.

Nama yang disebut Zaid ialah Tajuddin dan Mukhriz

 

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Utusan Online, June 2, 2008 (27 Jamadilawal 1429)

'Saya akan lawan habis-habisan'

 

KUALA LUMPUR 31 Mei - Ahli Parlimen Pasir Salak, Datuk Tajuddin Abdul Rahman menegaskan beliau akan menentang habis-habisan terhadap sebarang tindakan yang bertujuan untuk mendakwanya ke Lembaga Disiplin parti atas tuduhan bertelingkah di dada akhbar.

Tajuddin yang pernah dihadapkan ke lembaga itu sebelum ini berkata, beliau tidak mahu menjadi mangsa fitnah politik buat kali kedua seperti mana pernah dilaluinya beberapa tahun lalu.

Justeru, beliau berkata, sebarang tindakan disiplin seperti mana yang telah dibangkitkan oleh pihak pengurusan UMNO wajar dikenakan ke atas Menteri di Jabatan Perdana Menteri, Datuk Zaid Ibrahim dan bukan dirinya.

''Jika ada mana-mana pihak yang mahu saya didakwa atas kes ini, saya ingin nyatakan yang saya tidak akan menyerah. Saya akan lawan habis-habisan, saya akan pertahankan kewibawaan saya sebab memang saya tidak bersalah.

''Dalam kes ini, Zaid yang mulakan dahulu. Sekiranya UMNO mahu ambil tindakan disiplin, Zaid yang sepatutnya dikenakan terlebih dahulu dan bukannya saya," tegas beliau ketika dihubungi Mingguan Malaysia di sini hari ini.

Beliau mengulas kenyataan Panel Rayuan Lembaga Disiplin UMNO bahawa mereka yang dihadapkan kepada badan itu atas dakwaan melanggar disiplin, berisiko terlepas peluang bertanding sebarang jawatan pada pemilihan parti Disember ini.

Dalam pada itu, Tajuddin hairan mengapa dirinya menjadi sasaran oleh Zaid sedangkan ramai lagi Ahli Parlimen yang mengkritik kerajaan dan Perdana Menteri.

''Mereka itu juga perlu dikenakan tindakan. Bagi saya semua pihak perlu bersifat adil sebelum membuat sebarang tindakan atau keputusan,'' katanya

 

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Utusan Online, June 2, 2008 (27 Jamadilawal 1429)

Seperti kisah dongeng - Dr. M

 

PETALING JAYA 31 Mei - Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad mengingatkan UMNO supaya berhati-hati dengan tindakan bekas Ketua Angkatan Muda Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR), Mohamad Ezam Mohd. Noor yang menyertai semula parti itu.

Bekas Perdana Menteri itu berkata, tindakan Mohamad Ezam itu ibarat melompat parti dan mempunyai persamaan dengan cerita dongeng barat 'putera katak'.

Katanya, Mohamad Ezam bukan sahaja melompat parti demi kepentingan dirinya sendiri, tetapi mungkin dijadikan batu loncatan kepada Penasihat Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR), Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim untuk masuk semula UMNO.

Menurutnya, memandangkan sikap Mohamad Ezam yang sering melompat parti, ia amat bahaya untuk UMNO.

"Saya mengambil petikan kata-kata Pengerusi Sekretariat Perhubungan Media Pemuda UMNO, Datuk Sazmi Miah yang menceritakan mengenai sebuah kisah dongeng barat iaitu putera katak, katak itu apabila dicium akan bertukar jadi putera.

"Oleh itu, ada kemungkinan orang yang lompat parti akan lompat seperti katak sekali lagi,'' katanya.

Beliau berkata demikian sewaktu berucap di hadapan lebih 500 penduduk Petaling Jaya pada majlis yang dinamakan Suntikan Semangat Satria Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad di sini hari ini.

Turut hadir Bekas Pengerusi Kelab Penyokong Kerajaan Barisan Nasional (BNBBC), Datuk Ruhanie Ahmad dan Sazmi.

Dr. Mahathir turut memberi mengingatkan ahli UMNO supaya tidak memasuki parti pembangkang jika keluar parti kerana lebih baik mereka menjadi ahli bebas daripada menyertai pembangkang.

PilihanTerdahulu dalam ucapan beliau, Dr. Mahathir turut meletakkan sandaran kepada empat calon yang dianggap paling layak mengambil alih tempat Perdana Menteri, Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.

Mereka ialah Timbalan Perdana Menteri, Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak; Ketua UMNO Bahagian Gua Musang, Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah; Menteri Perdagangan Antarabangsa dan Industri, Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yasin dan Menteri Luar, Datuk Seri Dr. Rais Yatim.

Sementara itu, Dr. Mahathir memberitahu beliau tidak akan menyertai mana-mana parti atau menubuhkan parti baru selepas dua minggu keluar daripada UMNO.

Tegasnya, beliau sudah dua kali keluar daripada UMNO yang mana ia membuktikan dirinya tidak serik untuk menyertai parti itu.

"Cukuplah (tidak perlu masuk mana-mana parti atau tubuh baru), saya sudah ada platform saya sendiri iaitu sebagai bekas Perdana Menteri yang pernah memegang jawatan itu selama 22 tahun. Mana ada Perdana Menteri di negara ini yang pernah memerintah selama 22 tahun?

''Walaupun keluar daripada UMNO, tetapi pada saya UMNO tetap tidak mati dalam hati saya. Kalau orang tak mahu saya, tak apalah,'' katanya.

Ditanya mengenai gesaan Menteri Belia dan Sukan, Datuk Ismail Sabri Yaakob semalam yang mahukan anak lelakinya, Datuk Mokhzani supaya meletakkan jawatan sebagai Pengerusi Litar Antarabangsa Sepang (SIC), Dr. Mahathir berkata, ia terletak kepada kehendak Ismail.

Katanya, menteri berkenaan boleh keluarkan Mokhzani daripada SIC jika beliau berhasrat untuk berbuat demikian.

Mengenai seorang lagi anaknya yang akan diambil tindakan tatatertib oleh Lembaga Disiplin UMNO kerana lantang bersuara, beliau memberitahu, ia terpulang kepada pemimpin tertinggi untuk membuat keputusan

 

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Utusan Online, June 2, 2008 (27 Jamadilawal 1429)

Harap Ezam bukan 'hadiah kuda Trojan'

 

MUAR 31 Mei - UMNO berharap tindakan beberapa bekas pemimpin Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) menyertai semula UMNO adalah ikhlas dan bukan satu perangkap seperti 'hadiah kuda Trojan'.

Naib Presidennya, Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin (gambar) berkata, meskipun terdapat segelintir pihak yang beranggapan kemasukan semula pemimpin itu dalam UMNO sebagai menguntungkan parti namun beliau berharap mereka terbabit ikhlas apabila menyertai semula parti itu.

Tanpa menaruh sebarang syak wasangka terhadap penyertaan dalam UMNO itu, beliau bagaimanapun berkata, keputusan sama ada permohonan pemimpin-pemimpin itu diterima sebagai ahli hanya akan ditentukan oleh Majlis Tertinggi (MT) yang akan bersidang.

"Bagi saya, istilah 'hadiah kuda Trojan' hanyalah sejarah Roman suatu ketika dahulu namun semua ahli dan pemimpin parti perlu berwaspada agar ia tidak berlaku dalam UMNO.

"Permohonan beberapa pemimpin pembangkang untuk masuk UMNO semula bagi saya tidak menimbulkan kesangsian, namun mereka yang mempunyai rekod dalam parti perlu melalui proses biasa iaitu dibincangkan (dalam MT) sebelum diterima semula," katanya di sini hari ini.

Kuda Trojan bermaksud muslihat tentera Greek menghadiahkan kuda kayu Trojan berisi tentera yang akhirnya menawan bandar Troy.

Menteri Perdagangan Antarabangsa dan Industri itu ditanya mengenai tindakan beberapa pemimpin PKR termasuk bekas Ketua Angkatan Mudanya, Mohamad Ezam Mohd. Noor yang memohon untuk menyertai semula parti itu, baru-baru ini.

Menurut Muhyiddin, beliau sendiri ditanya oleh ahli-ahli UMNO mengapa parti itu begitu mudah menerima semula kemasukan bekas pemimpin parti pembangkang terbabit.

Katanya, ahli-ahli juga bertanya kenapa Mohamad Ezam diberi keistimewaan untuk menyerahkan sendiri borang keahlian kepada Presiden parti, Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.

"Ramai ahli UMNO yang memberikan reaksi berbeza berhubung isu ini, ada yang setuju, ada yang tidak setuju dan menyifatkan kita seperti sebuah pasar. Bagi saya, biarlah MT yang buat keputusan," katanya

 

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The Star, June 2, 2008 (27 Jamadilawal 1429)

Ku Li slams ex-gratia payment to judges

By IAN McINTYRE 

BACHOK: Veteran Umno leader Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah has slammed the recent cabinet decision to award former Lord President Tun Salleh Abas ex-gratia, saying the core issue remained unresolved as the Government “created one wrong in trying to correct another wrong.”

Describing the decision as an unprecedented bad move, Tengku Razaleigh said the Government should have convened a judiciary tribunal to re-hear Salleh’s case again instead of simply awarding an ex-gratia payment.

As such, he also said an apology can be forthcoming but it must wait until the proposed tribunal made its decision.

Under the Federal Constitution, judges are impeached by a special tribunal of judges, appointed by the Government. Such a tribunal found Salleh guilty of misconduct, and he was officially relieved of his position as Lord President in 1988.

According to Tengku Razaleigh, who is now offering to contest Umno's top post, the cabinet’s decision has sparked “another debate out there and is now seen as an attempt to embarrass people more than to right a wrong.”

Although, there is empathy for Salleh, there must be real justification to award the ex-gratia, he said after meeting a fraction of Bachok Umno division members here on Sunday.

He proposed that this would be best addressed by forming a new tribunal to re-hear the case.

In terms of the law, Salleh was removed by that tribunal’s decision and not by individuals or Government, Tengku Razaleigh said.

“Awarding the ex-gratia creates another problem as it would encourage others who may have been dismissed from the Government to also seek retribution in the form of ex-gratia payments,” he argued

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The Star, June 2, 2008 (27 Jamadilawal 1429)

Work as a team, Dayaks urged 

KUCHING: The Dayaks should work as a team to grab the many opportunities in the state’s second wave of development.

Chief Minister Tan Sri Abdul Taib Mahmud reminded them not to be split and neglect their duties.

The state had applied to the Federal Government to come up with development programmes to eradicate rural poverty, Taib said in his Gawai Dayak message read by his deputy Tan Sri Alfred Jabu over the radio.

More than one million Dayaks, who mostly live in longhouses in rural areas, celebrate Gawai.

Taib said the Sarawak Corridor of Renewable Energy (SCORE) launched recently would focus on the development of hydro resources to supply electricity to energy-intensive industries.

Besides the planned heavy industries, he said the state would also embark on large-scale estate development, like oil palm plantations.

“All these planned development projects will provide many jobs especially in the next 20 to 25 years,” he added.

Taib urged the people to pursue tertiary studies as the state needed many professionals and skilled manpower.

In a similar message, Sarawak Governor Tun Abang Muhammad Salahuddin urged the Dayaks to take care of their safety and that of their families when celebrating the festival.

He urged non-Dayaks to visit the Dayaks for the sake of brotherhood and goodwill.

The Head of State said Sarawak had lined up various activities that would involve all races as it celebrated its 45th anniversary of independence in Malaysia

 

Comments :        abdul taib can't even be bothered to attend RTM Sarawak & speak himself to the Dayaks for 'his' Gawai Dayak address to the Dayak people..Even Tuan Yang Terutama Tun Abang Muhammad Salahudin attended, give 'face' and gave his own speech to the Dayak people

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Aljazeera, June 2, 2008 (27 Jamadilawal 1429)

McCain urges further Iran sanctions

 

 

 

Speaking at the annual conference of the American-Israel Public Affairs Committee (Aipac) in Washington on Monday, he said Iran's "continued pursuit of nuclear weapons" posed an "unacceptable risk". 

 

 

 

McCain said the US should restrict Iran's ability to import petrol, impose financial sanctions on the Bank of Iran, and instigate worldwide visa bans and asset freezes. 

And he said if the UN Security Council did not increase political and economic sanctions on Tehran, the US should lead other nations in imposing multilateral sanctions. 

Western powers accuse Iran of seeking to obtain nuclear weapons through its nuclear programme; Iran says it is only for peaceful purposes. 

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the Iranian president, has also caused controversy with anti-Israel remarks, which he reiterated on Monday in a speech in Tehran. 

The "criminal and terrorist Zionist regime" would soon "disappear off the geographical scene", local media reported him as saying. 

Obama criticised 

McCain also warned the conference that the Iranian government could pass nuclear weapons on to one of its "allied terrorist networks" - groups such as Hamas and Hezbollah. 

"Armed as well with its ballistic missile arsenal, an Iranian nuclear bomb would pose an existential threat to the people of Israel," he said. 

McCain criticised Barack Obama, the Democratic presidential hopeful, for offering to hold talks with Iran, calling the proposal a "serious misreading of history. 

"Rather than sitting down unconditionally with the Iranian president or supreme leader in the hope we can talk some sense into them, we must create the real-world pressures that will peacefully, effectively change the path they are on," McCain said. 

"It's hard to see what such a summit with President [Mahmoud] Ahmadinejad would actually gain, except an earful of anti-Semitic rants and a worldwide audience for a man who denies one Holocaust and talks before frenzied crowds about starting another."  

Al Jazeera's Washington correspondent, Rob Reynolds, said McCain's comments at the Aipac conference were an attempt to contrast his more hardline stance on Iran with Obama's stated willingness to meet with Iranian leadership in a bid to woo US Jewish voters who are traditionally overwhelmingly Democrat. 

'Divisive' policies 

The Obama campaign responded swiftly to the remarks, saying McCain wished to continue the "divisive" policies of George Bush, the US president. 

"The United States and Israel cannot afford four more years of an unwillingness to change course," said Hari Sevugan, a spokesman for the Obama campaign. 

Both Obama and Hillary Clinton, his Democratic presidential rival, are to speak at the Aipac conference on Wednesday. 

Aipac, the most powerful pro-Israel lobby in the US, is formed from dozens of pro-Israel political action committees that draw a large part of their support from the Jewish-American community and provide funding to presidential candidates. 

Aipac also draws support from evangelical Christian groups.

 

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Press TV, June 2, 2008 (27 Jamadilawal 1429)

'US finances terrorists against Iran'
Mon, 02 Jun 2008 11:43:21

Iranian analyst, Pirouz Mojtahedzadeh

The US Central Intelligence Agency funds all terrorist groups against the Islamic Republic of Iran, an Iranian political analyst says.

All terrorist groups acting against the Islamic Republic take orders from the CIA, Pirouz Mojtahedzadeh, chairman of the London-based Urosevic Research Foundation, told IRNA.

"The US President George Bush tried to depict himself as the president of peace in the Annapolis conference (last November), but it seems the forgetful president gets excited about the bloodshed in the region, giving orders to his CIA operatives to corner countries like Iran," he said.

Earlier, the US president ordered the CIA chief to destabilize Iran. The US accuses the Islamic Republic of creating insecurity in Iraq, but Iran categorically denies the charges.

Hundreds of thousands of Iraqis have been killed or injured, with millions more displaced, since the US invasion of the country in 2003.

The analyst noted that the US allegations about Iran's role in destabilizing its neighboring country are not new, adding, "Washington is piling up pressure on Iran to cover up its blunders in the Middle East".

He said the UN Security Council resolutions against Iran's nuclear program have no legal basis, and stated that the 30-year long US sanctions against Tehran have not and will not bend the will of the Iranian nation.

The UNSC has so far passed three sets of sanctions against Tehran over its nuclear activities, which are routinely monitored by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

It is for the world public opinion to judge the US international policy, he said in conclusion.

 

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Press TV, June 2, 2008 (27 Jamadilawal 1429)

Hamas asks Arab states to forge Iran ties
Mon, 02 Jun 2008 09:20:40

Hamas Political Leader Khalid Meshaal

The Political Leader of Hamas Khalid Meshaal has called on Arab countries to forge stronger ties with the Islamic Republic of Iran.

Arab and Islamic countries should consolidate their unity and distinguish friend from foe, he said while addressing a ceremony held in the Syrian capital, Damascus, to commemorate the demise anniversary of the Founder of Iran's Islamic Revolution, the late Imam Khomeini.

He stressed the importance of achieving real reconciliation between Islamic countries.

Meshaal envisioned new prospects in the region, which promised the victory of the forces of resistance over enemies.

 

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Press TV, June 1, 2008 (26 Jamadilawal 1429)

Aoun lauds Iran's role in Lebanon
Sun, 01 Jun 2008 04:32:36

General Michel Aoun

Former general Michel Aoun, a senior Lebanese politician, says Iran assumed a 'constructive' in helping resolve the recent crisis in Lebanon.

In an interview with Mehr, the leader of the Lebanese Free Patriotic Movement said he has deep reverence for the Iranians.

"Iran certainly had a positive and constructive role in helping Lebanese factions to achieve an accord and we thanked this country for this positive role," Aoun said.

"I have a message of friendship and brotherhood for Iranians and I see them as lovers of Lebanon," he added.

Aoun expressed hope that the election of Michel Suleiman, who on Sunday was elected as the new president, would begin a new era in Lebanon.

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Press TV, June 1, 2008 (26 Jamadilawal 1429)

'US pact undermines Iraq sovereignty'
Sun, 01 Jun 2008 11:03:00

Former Iraqi premier Ibrahim al-Jaafari

Former Iraqi prime minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari has condemned the controversial Iraq-US security pact, describing it as a shame.

On Saturday, in a press conference Al-Jaafari said he had read and rejected the draft of the security deal and its articles four months ago.

Al-Jaafari, who announced a new party called al-Islah movement, described the pact as vague and solely in the interest of US forces.

He opposed to the presence of US-led occupation forces in Iraq for long term, saying the proposed pact infringes on Iraq's sovereignty.

The mandate of US troops in Iraq will expire in December 2008 and al-Maliki's government is under US pressure to sign a 'mutual security agreement' which would allow the long-term presence of US troops in Iraq.

The draft security agreement between the US and Iraq was prepared in June 2008 and signed in March and it will reportedly be finalized in early July.

There are currently about 150,000 US troops deployed in Iraq, which was invaded by US-led forces in March 2003.

The proposed pact has come under fire from religious and political leaders in Iraq.

Iraqi anti-American cleric Moqtada al-Sadr said the proposed pact was "against Iraqi national interests", calling on Iraqis to protest and demonstrate after every Friday prayers until the agreement is cancelled.

Iraq's most revered Shia cleric Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani also objected to the security accord and reiterated that he would not allow Iraq to sign such a deal with "the US occupiers" as long as he was alive.

 

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BBC News, May 30, 2008 (24 Jamadilawal 1429)

US chain drops 'terror scarf' ad

By James Coomarasamy
BBC News, Washington

Rachael Ray in a Dunkin' Donuts advertisement

Dunkin' Donuts said there was a "possibility of misperception"

The US chain Dunkin' Donuts has pulled an advert following complaints that the scarf worn by a celebrity chef offered symbolic support for Islamic extremism.

The online advert for iced coffee featured the well-known US television chef Rachael Ray.

She was wearing a black-and-white checked scarf around her neck that resembled a traditional Arab keffiyeh.

This fashion choice incensed at least one prominent conservative blogger, who said it evoked extremist videos.

The blogger, Michelle Malkin, called the garment "a regular adornment of Muslim terrorists appearing in beheading and hostage-taking videos".

Stylist's choice

Other criticism followed and the coffee and doughnuts chain has now decided to drop the advert.

 

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BBC News, May 30, 2008 (24 Jamadilawal 1429)

US army suicides at record level

US soldiers in Iraq

About a quarter of the deaths occurred in Iraq

The US army has said the number of suicides in the military last year was the highest since records began, with 115 recorded.

The year saw increased violence in Iraq and Afghanistan, and about a quarter of the suicides happened in Iraq.

The extension of deployments from 12 to 15 months added to the strain on soldiers serving abroad.

Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama called the figures a tragic reminder of the costs of the Iraq war.

The figure of 115 deaths in 2007 represents an increase of almost 13% over the number for 2006, an army source told the Associated Press.

A military official acknowledged that the wars were having an effect.

"Mainly it is the long time and multiple deployments away from home, the exposure to really terrifying and horrifying things, the easy availability of loaded weapons, and, of course, it's very, very busy right now," said Col Elspeth Ritchie.

 

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Utusan Online, May 30, 2008 (24 Jamadilawal 1429)

MMMM bantah kenaikan biasiswa bukan bumiputera 45 peratus

JOHOR BAHRU 29 Mei - Majlis Muafakat Melayu Malaysia (MMMM) tidak bersetuju dengan langkah kerajaan menaikkan kadar biasiswa Jabatan Perkhidmatan Awam (JPA) untuk bukan bumiputera kepada 45 peratus daripada 10 peratus mulai tahun ini.

Setiausaha Satu MMMM, Prof. Madya Datuk Zainal Abidin Borhan berkata, ini kerana kenaikan tersebut merupakan jumlah yang besar dan dianggap boleh menjejaskan hak dan faedah yang dinikmati oleh pelajar Melayu.

"MMMM berpendapat biasiswa perlu diberi kepada semua pelajar Melayu yang layak dan hak orang Melayu berkaitan itu tidak boleh diberikan kepada kaum lain," katanya ketika dihubungi Utusan Malaysia di sini hari ini.

Semalam, Menteri di Jabatan Perdana Menteri, Datuk Seri Mohammed Nazri Aziz berkata, biasiswa JPA untuk program ijazah di luar negara kepada bukan bumiputera dinaikkan kepada 45 peratus mulai tahun ini berbanding 10 peratus tahun lalu.

Mohammed Nazri berkata, secara keseluruhan sebanyak 2,000 biasiswa disediakan oleh JPA iaitu 1,100 untuk bumiputera dan 900 untuk bukan bumiputera.

Zainal Abidin berkata, kenaikan biasiswa untuk bukan bumiputera kepada 45 peratus tidak wajar kerana ia hampir menyamai kadar 50 peratus yang dinikmati bumiputera.

Katanya, tindakan itu menggambarkan kerajaan seolah-olah memberi layanan sama rata kepada kaum lain dalam pemberian biasiswa dan dikhuatiri tidak mustahil pada masa depan kadar itu menjadi sama.

Tegasnya, kenaikan itu juga bertentangan dengan peruntukan Perkara 153, Perlembagaan Persekutuan berkaitan dengan Hak-Hak Istimewa Orang Melayu.

"Sepatutnya pemberian perlu menggunakan sistem kuota bumiputera 65 peratus berdasarkan jumlah penduduk Melayu dan 35 peratus untuk bukan bumiputera," jelasnya.

Sementara itu di KUALA LUMPUR, Angkatan Belia Islam Malaysia (ABIM) menuntut penjelasan daripada Menteri di Jabatan Perdana Menteri, Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz mengenai langkah menaikkan biasiswa itu.

Setiausaha Agungnya, Khairul Anwar Mohd. Munir berkata, langkah itu amat memeranjatkan kerana dalam Perlembagaan Perkara 152(2) dan 153(3) menyatakan dengan jelas pecahan biasiswa sebanyak 90 peratus kepada bumiputera dan 10 peratus untuk bukan bumiputera.

Beliau turut mempersoalkan kewajaran langkah tersebut memandangkan peratusan penduduk bumiputera di negara ini adalah lebih tinggi.

''Kedua, taraf kemiskinan dalam kalangan bumiputera juga adalah lebih tinggi berbanding bukan bumiputera.

''Dan dalam konteks pembabitan bumiputera di dalam sektor profesional, bumiputera masih jauh ketinggalan khususnya di Sabah dan Sarawak," katanya dalam kenyataan di sini hari ini.

Khairul Anwar menambah, langkah seperti itu sama sekali tidak mencerminkan sebuah dasar yang dilaksanakan ke arah mewujudkan keadilan sosial di negara ini.

Menurutnya, dalam jangka masa panjang, keputusan itu hanya akan merugikan dan menyebabkan bumiputera terus ketinggalan

Comments :         Inilah nasib melayu...sudahlah perdana menteri & menteri kewangan pa la menjalankan polisi senyap memberi kebanyakan kontrak kerajaan & khazanah kepada syarikat2 bukan bumiputera...sekarang menteri JPM nazri aziz pulak ikut rentak DAP, MCA, Gerakan & MIC

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Utusan Online, May 30, 2008 (24 Jamadilawal 1429)

Larangan jual minyak di Johor tangguh 9 Jun

JOHOR BAHRU 29 Mei - Penguatkuasaan larangan menjual petrol dan diesel kepada kenderaan asing di semua stesen minyak di Johor Bahru dan Kulai ditangguhkan sehingga 9 Jun ini.

Namun, larangan yang sama di stesen minyak di utara dan pantai timur Semenanjung yang bersempadan dengan Thailand, kekal berkuat kuasa pada 2 Jun ini.

Menteri Perdagangan Dalam Negeri dan Hal Ehwal Pengguna, Datuk Shahrir Abdul Samad berkata, penangguhan itu bagi membolehkan kementerian memuktamadkan beberapa isu berkaitan.

"Kita tidak mahu menyusahkan orang ramai untuk membeli petrol dan diesel apabila larangan itu dikuatkuasakan.

"Antaranya, kementerian bercadang untuk mengecualikan larangan tersebut ke atas motosikal," katanya ketika dihubungi Utusan Malaysia di sini hari ini.

Isnin lalu, kerajaan menetapkan semua stesen minyak di sempadan Thailand dan Singapura dilarang sama sekali menjual petrol dan diesel kepada kenderaan asing yang sepatutnya dikuatkuasakan esok.

Langkah tersebut diputuskan dalam mesyuarat Jawatankuasa Menangani Inflasi yang dipengerusikan oleh Timbalan Perdana Menteri, Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak di Parlimen, Isnin lepas.

Ia membabitkan semua stesen minyak yang terletak dalam lingkungan 30 hingga 50 kilometer di sempadan Malaysia-Thailand membabitkan Perlis, Kedah, utara Perak dan Kelantan.

Shahrir berkata, penangguhan itu kerana terdapat masalah tertentu di Johor Bahru yang tidak timbul di Perlis, Kedah, utara Perak dan Kelantan.

Ditanya sama ada penangguhan tersebut disebabkan tekanan pihak tertentu, beliau bagaimanapun enggan mengulas lanjut mengenainya.

Shahrir bagaimanapun, mengesahkan beliau dan pegawai kementerian telah mengadakan perjumpaan dengan beberapa pengusaha stesen minyak hari ini berhubung penangguhan tarikh larangan tersebut.

Tanpa mendedahkan hasil pertemuan itu, beliau menambah, terdapat pihak mencadangkan supaya kerajaan mengenakan caj bagi kenderaan dari Singapura yang memasuki Johor untuk menambah hasil pendapatan negara.

Comments :         Kenapa Singapore diberi kelebihan & kelapangan sementara thail selatan(yang majoritinya Islam) di larang lebih awal shahrir samad...adakah apa2 kaitan dengan persahabatan peribadi & kewangan sharir samad dengan nanyang (tauke2 besar) & kerajaan singapore?

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Malay Mail, May 30, 2008 (24 Jamadilawal 1429)

Parliamentary Sketch > Youthful novice ridiculed


U-EN NG

DEPUTY Tourism Minister Datuk Seri Sulaiman Rahman Abdul Ta ib (BN-Kota Samarahan), the son of Sarawak Chief Minister Tan Sri Abdul Taib Mahmud, demonstrated in the House yesterday that youth alone was not necessarily an asset for a politician.

Speaking on behalf of his absent minister, the 39-yearold former chairman of RHB lurched from sentence to sentence, and often even word to word, in a speech that was matched only by his own dismal stutterings in the Senate a few days earlier.

To be fair, Tourism Minister Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said (BN-Penggerang) had no business leaving this section of the Supplementary Supply Bill debate in the hands of a consummate political and oratorical novice - knowing full well that Pas and PKR frontbenchers were still upset over her recent remarks in the House.

Indeed, the Opposition lost little time continuing its counterstrike: Did electoral vengeance motivate the minister’s decision to terminate tourism memoranda of understanding with Pakatan Rakyat states? Could the minister prove that the Kelantan government was responsible for not paying staff of the state’s Tourism Action Council? Failing to reckon with the fact that the deceptively mild Datuk Abdul Halim Abdul Rahman (Pas-Pengakalan Chepa) was once Kelantan Deputy Menter i Besar , Sulaiman’s ingenuous argument crumbled instantly under a relentless barrage of facts and figures.

And he really had only one argument against them, that of denial: “Oh no, the government wants to co-operate with all states for the betterment of Malaysian tourism.” This provoked instant ridicule.

Even Jeff Ooi (DAPJelutong), whose performance in the House so far has been disappointing, saw the opportunity to redeem himself by firing a well-timed broadside.

Sulaiman then proceeded to restate the minister’s controversial positions, obviously unaware that this would do nothing but benefit the Opposition. Salahuddin Ayub (Pas-Kubang Kerian) cried “lies!” with glee, and there was nothing Sulaiman could do about it.

The embattled deputy minister then elicited no sympathy by whimpering and producing the alarmingly unimaginative “but that’s wrong” - used about a dozen times against the Opposition in under a minute, hoping vainly that the "bullies" would leave him alone.

At last, he began gazing forlornly at the deputy chairman, Datuk Ronald Kiandee (the House was sitting as a committee then), and when no help came, Sulaiman began grovelling: “Oh, but if I were to answer these questions there won’t be enough time before lunch for me to finish.” Salahuddin was still crying “lies” from the other side, and was enjoying himself too much to stop. This seemed to put Kiandee in a mischievous mood, and he replied with a perfectly straight face: “But there’s time after lunch.” Sulaiman’s salvation came in the form of the alternate deputy chairman, Datuk Dr Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar, who realised after the break that the members were in for another long sitting - and so cut short the debate.

“You had better give them written replies,” Wan Junaidi said, and Sulaiman found some renewed confidence in himself.

Unfortunately he bungled again a few minutes later when, obviously elated by the end of the inquisition, he confused the word “written” for “oral” and told Opposition he would respond “secara lisan” (verbal reply). Hoots and jeers.

The first sitting of Parliament adjourned sine die yesterday.

The second sitting is scheduled for the end of June, at which time this sketch will resume.

 

Comments :         Sulaiman Abdul RahmanTaib telah diberi Dato Sri oleh ayahnya KM Sarawak Pehin Sri Taib(yang memaksa Setiausaha Kerajaan Negeri untuk meletakkan namanya dalam senarai pingat)..beliau langsung tidak endah untuk mendapatkan Datuk dahulu,hendak Dato Sri terus

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Press TV, May 30, 2008 (24 Jamadilawal 1429)

War-related birth defects in Fallujah
Fri, 30 May 2008 02:18:44

Three-year-old Fatima Ahmed

Families in Fallujah are calling for an investigation into the rise of birth defects after the US used phosphorus over the Iraqi city in 2004.

They have raised concerns about the weapons used by American forces in 2004, including constant bombardment with uranium depleted artillery shells and other depleted uranium ammunition- when Fallujah suffered the heaviest blitze following the overthrow of the Saddam regime of the entire war in Iraq.

Hikmat Tawfeeq, deputy chairman of the Fallujah-based human rights group Al-akhiyar said: "We have around 200 cases of deformities recorded by our society. Most of these cases are birth deformities which have arisen after the bombing of Fallujah."

Campaigners say officials are reluctant to speak out publicly because of US pressure but at Fallujah's children's hospital one doctor told Sky News in the past month she has seen one or two cases of birth deformities every day.

An opthalmologist said he deals with four or five cases of newborn babies every week suffering from some form of eye deformity.

At one of the cemeteries in Fallujah, undertaker Mahmoud Hummadi said he usually buries four to five bodies of newborns every day and most of them are deformed.

Fallujah today still bears the scars of a time when it represented the backbone of the Sunni insurgency - a power-base America decided it had to break.

April and November 2004 saw some of the heaviest bombardments of the war in Iraq, including the controversial use of white phosphorous.

Phosphorus over Fallujah in 2004


It is a highly flammable material which ignites when it comes into contact with oxygen, causing severe burns.

In a statement to Sky News the US military said it had used white phosphorus in Fallujah but primarily as a smokescreen and not as an incendiary weapon.

The families say doctors have raised concerns to them about what kinds of materials were used by the Americans in order to achieve their military goals.

Fatima Ahmed is three years old. Small and lifeless she barely moves, burdened by two heads on her tiny frame.

Her mother Shukriya says doctors have been unable to diagnose exactly what has caused Fatima's condition.

But her father Jassim, when asked who he held responsible for his daughter's condition, said: "It's because of the war - it's the flagrant aggression they launched against us. What they dropped in Fallujah God knows."

Comments :         Amerika & Britain menggunakan senjata2 uranium, kimia, fosforus & biolgical warfare keatas bukan sahaja penjuang2 Iraq tetapi juga penduduk2 awam Iraq..Sesungguhnya Amerika & Britain adalah negara2 paling kejam dalam sejarah (tetapi berlakon seperti hero)

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Press TV, May 30, 2008 (24 Jamadilawal 1429)

US slammed over Iraq child detentions
Wed, 21 May 2008 22:36:44

Washington sends Iraqi children to military detention units.

A rights group says hundreds of children held by US forces in Iraq should be given prompt access to lawyers and have their cases reviewed.

Human Rights Watch said on Wednesday US military authorities were holding 513 Iraqi children as of May 12 as imperative threats to security.

It noted since the March 2003 US-led invasion, the United States has detained 2,400 children in Iraq, including children as young as 10.

Child detainees were sometimes interrogated over days or weeks by military units in the field before being sent to main detention centers and had no real opportunity to challenge their detention.

A researcher for Human Rights Watch, Clarisa Bencomo, stated that vast majority of children detained in Iraq languish for months in US military custody.

"The US should provide these children with immediate access to lawyers and an independent judicial review of their detention," she said.

Human Rights Watch made the criticisms a day before the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child meets in Geneva to review US compliance with an international treaty on children in armed conflict.

Comments :         Kenapa tentera2 Amerika & Britain sungguh zalim menangkap & memenjarakan kanak2? Sepuluh tahun pun ada..Sesungguhnya kerajaan2 Amerika & Britain yang dikuasai lobby & media Yahudi sungguh kejam...Singapore termasuk 'alliance' ini dengan 1 kompeni askar...

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Press TV, May 30, 2008 (24 Jamadilawal 1429)

US embargoes cripple Syria aviation
Wed, 28 May 2008 20:18:15

Syrian Arab Airlines Boeing 747SP

Syria's Transport Minister has said US sanctions on Damascus have crippled the development of the national carrier, Syrian Arab Airlines.

"Syria can not place orders for new planes because of the US sanctions," which Washington imposed in 2004, Al-Baath newspaper quoted Yaarob Badr as saying.

"The Syrian fleet has diminished since the Boeing 727s and 747s were put out of service and (some) international flights suspended.”

Badr added the national airline (SSA) had to scrap an order for new Airbus planes in recent years because the European plane maker was unable to deliver documents demanded by the United States in time.

"The company is facing a difficult situation because the number of planes fell and it will be more difficult to start new flight routes. SSA will be forced to suspend some flights," Badr noted.

The United States initially slapped a string of economic sanctions on Syria in May 2004, including a ban on the export of certain goods to Damascus and a freeze of Syrian assets.

It extended the sections in April 2006 and widened them in February.

Earlier this month, President George W. Bush said he was extending the sanctions by one year after Washington accused Damascus of building a nuclear reactor with North Korea's help. Syria has however denied the charge.

Comments :         Amerika menekan ekonomi Syria (seperti Iran berani kerana benar lawan Yahudi) kenapa JPM akur kepada arahan kedutaan Amerika & Britain lalu menghalau syarikat2 Iran dari DSA 2008? Bukankah kita harus tolong sesama muslim & bukan tolong penekanan muslim?

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Press TV, June 29, 2008 (23 Jamadilawal 1429)

'US bribing Iraqi MPs to sign deal'
Thu, 29 May 2008 18:10:04

The US has offered bribes to Iraqi MPs to lure them into endorsing a security deal that critics believe would make Iraq a US colony.

Sources in Iraq's parliament told Press TV on Thursday that Washington has offered three-million dollars in bribe to the lawmakers who sign the "framework accord."

Under the agreement, the US would be allowed to set up at least 13 permanent military bases in Iraq and US citizens would be granted immunity from legal prosecution.

Iraqi lawmakers, however, vowed that they would never sign the agreement which would turn their country into 'a US colony'.

The accord has faced strong objections from religious and political figures inside and outside Iraq.

Iraqi Shia cleric Moqtada al-Sadr has also protested the deal, calling on the people to hold demonstrations after every Friday prayers against the accord.

The country's most revered Shia cleric Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani has formerly objected to the deal, saying he would not allow the government to sign such a deal with "the US occupiers" as long as he was alive.

Comments :       

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BBC News, May 29, 2008 (23 Jamadilawal 1429)

Marine 'lied' over Haditha deaths

US marines on patrol in Haditha

The incident took place in November 2005

A US marine lied to cover up a squad's killings of 24 civilians in Iraq's city of Haditha in 2005, a US prosecutor has said at the officer's court martial.

The prosecutor's comments came during opening statements in the trial of Lt Andrew Grayson in California.

Lt Grayson is charged with obstructing justice and making false statements in connection with the case. He rejects the allegations.

He is the first of three defendants to go on trial.

Four marines were initially charged with killing of the 24 unarmed Iraqi civilians, including women and children, in Haditha. Another four were charged with failing to investigate the deaths.

But five of the marines have now had charges dismissed.

'Photos deleted'

Lt Grayson lied to investigators to help cover up the killings in Haditha, prosecutor Lt Col Paul Atterbury told a seven-member jury at the court martial in Camp Pendleton.

Maliya Abdul Hamid, whose father and other relatives were killed in Haditha incident

The dead in Haditha included women, children and elderly men

The prosecutor also said there were key undisputed facts in the case: a roadside bomb on 19 November 2005 killed a marine and injured two others, and two hours later the squad's actions resulted in the deaths of the 24 Iraqis.

The US military at first reported that the Iraqis had been killed by that explosion, or in a subsequent gunfight with insurgents.

But Iraqi witnesses said the US troops shot dead five unarmed men when they approached the scene of the bombing in a car.

The troops were then accused of killing 19 other civilians in three houses nearby over the next few hours.

Lt Grayson is alleged to have instructed a sergeant to delete digital photographs of the incident from his camera.

He is charged with six counts of making false statements and obstructing justice.

Lt Grayson would also have had his charges dropped if he had accepted a plea deal and admitted that he covered up the killings, his lawyer said.

If found guilty, he could face up to 30 years in prison, forfeiture of all pay and dismissal from the Marine Corps.

Video footage

Despite the accusations, there was no full US investigation into what happened until January 2006, when video footage emerged of the aftermath, filmed by a local human rights activist. A subsequent investigation by Time magazine suggested that most of the dead were shot by marines after the bombing - and in March 2006 a criminal investigation was launched.

Comments :       

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BBC News, May 29, 2008 (23 Jamadilawal 1429)

Tutu: Gaza blockade abomination

Archbishop Tutu describes his feelings after visiting Gaza

Nobel peace laureate Desmond Tutu has called Israel's blockade of the Gaza Strip an "abomination".

He strongly condemned what he called international "silence and complicity" on the blockade, which he compared to the actions of Burma's leaders.

Speaking at the end of a two day mission to the area, the former archbishop said the humanitarian situation there could not be justified.

Earlier, 60 Palestinians were detained in an Israeli raid on northern Gaza.

Residents in the Beit Hanoun area were summoned to a local square by Israeli troops with loudhailers before dozens were taken away, witnesses said.

'International complicity'

Mr Tutu was in Gaza on a United Nations fact-finding mission into the killing of 19 Palestinians by Israeli shellfire in November 2006.

My message to the international community is that our silence and complicity, especially on the situation in Gaza, shames us all. It is almost like the behaviour of the military junta in Burma
 

Desmond Tutu

The former archbishop of Cape Town said the international community's "silence and complicity, especially on the situation in Gaza, shames us all".

Mr Tutu said conflicts were resolved through talking to enemies not friends.

He said his meeting with the deposed prime minister, Ismail Haniya, was an opportunity to tell the Hamas leader the firing of rockets into Israel was also a violation of human rights.

During his two-day visit, Mr Tutu met relatives of 19 civilians killed in the Israeli shelling of two houses in Beit Hanoun and is due to report his findings to the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva.

He condemned the incident as a "massacre".

Map

Israel says the Beit Hanoun deaths in November 2006 were a mistake during action to target areas used by Palestinian militants.

The Israeli military confirmed its pre-dawn incursion into Gaza on Thursday and said about 60 "wanted Palestinians" were being interrogated.

Armoured military bulldozers destroyed farmland during the incursion, witnesses told AFP news agency.

Israeli forces launch frequent attacks into Gaza

 

Comments :        

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Aljazeera, May 29, 2008 (23 Jamadilawal 1429)

Gaza Diary: Driving on cooking oil

 

 

By

Omar, a humanitarian worker, in partnership with Oxfam

 

 

 

 

Gaza's donkeys have now replaced automobiles as the local taxi service [GALLO/GETTY]

Gaza now smells of falafel.

The people here are transferring their used cooking oil into their cars to be used as fuel.

With the fuel shortage continuing due to the Israeli blockade, donkeys now have the word 'taxi' written on their behinds.

It is as if we have gone back to the Stone Age.

Nevertheless, I missed my niece's wedding because no donkey could carry me fast enough to arrive on time for the ceremony. I was upset that I missed an event so important for her.

Fuel and electricity cuts have forced me to collect rubbish from the streets; I burn it to cook my food.

I try to avoid plastics because the fumes are dangerous and they smell terrible. The type of food we buy now is that which cooks quickly. If not, you need enormous quantities of rubbish just to cook a decent meal. And there is a lot of rubbish on the streets of Gaza because the fuel shortages have forced the garbage collection trucks off the streets.

For the last five days we have only been eating rice as it takes little time to cook. It has replaced the primary staple of our usual meal – bread. Bakeries have closed down; without flour, wheat or gas for ovens, bakers have no choice.

Repeated incursions

There have been repeated incursions in Gaza, rockets being fired and helicopters constantly swarming overhead.

Four children and their mother became the latest victims of the violence. They were eating breakfast one morning last week when they were killed. I think to myself, what had this mother or her children ever done to be victims of this on-going violence? Surely, every child everywhere deserves to live in peace.

The Israeli government apologised for this but what does this mean when you are the husband and father who have lost your entire family?

My children are studying for their exams as they are coming up in the next few weeks. They are keen to do well and I took the last three days off to help them prepare. They were reprimanded the other day for not doing all of their homework. As this is unusual for them their teacher called me and asked 'is everything OK?'

I explained that their study time is quite limited; we have no light when night falls. No electricity, no candles, no gas for our lamp. I burn cartons from the street for a while in the evening so that the children have some light but this does not last long.

I use the light from my mobile phone, which I charge in the office during the day to get around at night. My child asked for a glass of water in the early hours one recent morning. Mobile in hand, I went to get it only to fall and smash the glass on my way up.

Getting a passport

Palestinians seeking medical attention are
allowed to cross the Gaza-Egypt border [GETTY]

We went to the Ministry of Interior on one of my days off to obtain a passport for our youngest child. Although we are blockaded, some people have managed to get out for treatment, others have been denied. But at least with a passport you have the chance of leaving.

If our daughter falls ill and needs specialised treatment and could not seek it outside of Gaza where it is no longer available, she would fall gravely ill or even die.

We paid the fees and got the photos taken but when I went to submit the application they turned me away because Gaza had run out of paper to print passport documentation.

But, I still consider myself fortunate in comparison to so many other people in Gaza.

Meeting Hamyd, a 36-year-old man in a refugee camp in Rafah the other day, reinforced this.

One bedroom

Hamyd has seven children and the entire family sleep in one bedroom. The walls are made of clay and asbestos. What Hamyd once thought was temporary accommodation has been his home for almost all his life and his children have only ever known this existence.

There is no fuel to operate the local well. Electricity cuts have meant that water is pumped only on for one day during the week. The World Health Organisation states that each person requires a minimum of 15 litres of water per person daily. Hamyd's family of nine people have 110 litres for an entire week.

Hamyd can no longer work because he is severely depressed - a result of living in Gaza.

His family is among the 650,000 people in Gaza who receive food from the United Nations Relief and Work Agency but even they had to temporarily suspend operations last week – and then again early this week – because of fuel cuts.

If the disruptions continue, how will people like Hamyd and his family survive?

 

Comments :      Sepatutnya pa la dihantar untuk hidup seminggu di Gaza untuk mengetahui keperitan hidup kerana kezaliman Israel..tetapi sebaliknya pa la masih & terus berbaik & mengikut telunjuk Singapore yang merupakan 'the only ASEAN country to have an Israeli embassy'  

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Utusan Online, May 29, 2008 (23 Jamadilawal 1429)

 

KHAIRY LIABILITI UMNO - MUKHRIZ

KUALA LUMPUR 28 Mei - Ahli Parlimen Jerlun, Datuk Mukhriz Mahathir berkata, Naib Ketua Pemuda UMNO, Khairy Jamaluddin adalah liabiliti kepada parti.

Beliau mendakwa, itulah persepsi ramai terhadap Khairy dan beliau bersetuju mengenainya.

''Saya kira betul, saya sendiri sebut kepada beliau dalam mesyuarat Exco (Pemuda UMNO Malaysia) bahawa rata-rata kalau kita tanya orang di kedai-kedai kopi lepas pilihan raya hari itu, antara sebab kita kalah ialah faktor Perdana Menteri dan faktor Khairy.

''Ini orang sebut secara terbuka,'' katanya dalam temu ramah yang disiarkan akhbar dalam talian, Agenda Daily.

Mukhriz berkata, beliau bersetuju bahawa Khairy adalah satu liabiliti kepada parti kerana campur tangannya dalam soal-soal penting seperti pemilihan calon-calon untuk bertanding.

''Selama ini pun orang bercakap tetapi kita biarkan. Kadang-kadang persepsi itu lebih penting daripada realiti,'' katanya.

Mukhriz ditanya apakah nasihatnya kepada Khairy dalam menghadapi persepsi itu dan beliau berkata, ia terpulang kepada Khairy termasuk dalam soal sama ada hendak bertanding atau tidak jawatan Ketua Pemuda UMNO.

Diminta pandangannya bahawa bila seseorang itu sudah dicap liabiliti kepada sesuatu organisasi maka dia harus menarik diri, Mukhriz berkata: '' Tidak juga, ini apa yang orang cakap, terpulang kepada empunya diri''.

Ditanya lagi pandangannya dalam soal ini, beliau menambah: ''Kita tak ada tempat dalam UMNO nak mengikut cara dia (Khairy).''

 

Comments :        Khairy bukan sahaja liabiliti kepada UMNO tetapi penggadai bangsa & negara...Banyak dakwaan bahawa beliau adalah ejen kerajaan jiran yang menggunakan kedudukannya untuk meletak labih banyak ejen2 asing di tingkat 4 Jabatan Perdana Menteri & khazanah nasio

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Berita Harian, May 29, 2008 (23 Jamadilawal 1429)

Permohonan Ezam sertai Umno perlu kelulusan MT: Muhyiddin

KANGAR: Permohonan bekas Ketua Angkatan Muda Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR), Mohamad Ezam Mohd Noor untuk menyertai Umno perlu mendapat kelulusan Majlis Tertinggi (MT) kerana beliau “ada rekod”, kata Naib Presiden Umno, Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin hari ini.

Katanya, MT perlu membuat pertimbangan itu kerana Ezam pernah meninggalkan parti dan menyertai pembangkang dan kini memohon menyertai semula Umno.

"MT mempunyai kuasa untuk menerima atau menolak,” katanya kepada pemberita selepas menyampaikan taklimat mengenai tata etika Umno kepada pemimpin Umno Perlis di sini hari ini.

 

Comments :        Betul juga kata Tan Sri..Kita perlu tahu-menahu apa sebab atau agenda Ezam untuk meyertai UMNO..Adakah kerana dia tebukti liabiliti kepada PKR atau pa la & khairy mahu mencari sokongan untuk diri mereka kerana semakin ramai pemimpin2 UMNO menetang mereka?
 

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Berita Harian, May 29, 2008 (23 Jamadilawal 1429)

Akar umbi Umno mahu kaji selidik sokongan kepada pemimpin, kata Mukhriz

TEMERLOH: Ahli Umno peringkat akar umbi mahu satu kaji selidik dilakukan berhubung sokongan kepada kepemimpinan parti itu sekarang, kata Exco Pemuda Umno, Datuk Mukhriz Tun Dr Mahathir.

Katanya, kajian itu boleh dilakukan dengan mengedar borang khas kepada ahli bagi membolehkan mereka menyatakan pendirian sebenar sama ada menyokong kepimpinan sekarang atau sebaliknya.

"Mungkin ramai ahli Umno yang ingin meluahkan perasaan mereka tetapi malangnya hak mereka itu dinafikan oleh pemimpin yang lebih mementingkan kedudukan mereka," katanya kepada pemberita selepas menghadiri majlis ramah mesra dengan anggota Pemuda Umno Kuala Krau, dekat sini, malam tadi.
 

 

Comments :        Kami harap pa la, khairy, azim zabidi, mat taib & reezal merican tidak lagi mengahalang & 'threaten' bahagian2 & cawangan2 UMNO untuk mengadakan EGM..kalau mereka terus mengahalang & menekan maka lebih ramai ahli UMNO akan marah & kemungkinan keluar parti
 

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Utusan Online, May 28, 2008 (22 Jamadilawal 1429)

Nilai semula pelantikan Zaid - Tajuddin

KUALA LUMPUR 27 Mei - Datuk Tajuddin Abdul Rahman (BN-Pasir Salak) meminta Perdana Menteri, Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi menilai semula pelantikan Senator Datuk Zaid Ibrahim sebagai Menteri di Jabatan Perdana Menteri.

Tajuddin menegaskan, tindakan Zaid yang menyerang secara terbuka di luar Dewan Rakyat terhadap ahli-ahli Parlimen Barisan Nasional (BN) yang dianggapnya sebagai penentang kerajaan merupakan perbuatan tidak bertanggungjawab.

Tambah beliau, tindakan Zaid itu yang turut menggesa BN serta UMNO mengambil tindakan terhadap penyokong-penyokong kerajaan merupakan perbuatan yang memalukan.

"Dalam kes saya, belum buat teguran dianggap telah menentang Perdana Menteri sedangkan sebagai ahli Parlimen, peranan kami ialah untuk menegur serta memberi pandangan membina kepada kerajaan," katanya.

Beliau berkata demikian ketika membahaskan Rang Undang-Undang Pembekalan Tambahan (2007) 2008 pada sidang Dewan Rakyat hari ini.

Tajudin membangkitkan perkara itu berikutan kenyataan terbuka Zaid di lobi Parlimen pada 24 Mei lalu mengenai tindakan ahli-ahli Parlimen BN seperti Datuk Mukhriz Mahathir (BN-Jerlun) dan Tajudin yang menentang kerajaan seperti disiarkan akhbar pada 25 Mei.

Beliau menambah, sikap Zaid ini amat mendukacitakan dan tidak melambangkan sikap menteri yang sepatutnya boleh menerima peranan yang dimainkan oleh ahli-ahli Parlimen.

''Saya ingin persoalkan berapa lama menteri ini telah berada dalam BN, berapa lama dalam UMNO, malahan semasa Pilihan Raya Umum Ke-12 lepas tidak berada di kawasan sebaliknya berada di luar negara.

''Berbanding dengan saya telah berada dalam BN selama 36 tahun dan berada dalam UMNO sejak dari muda serta sanggup mempertahankan parti hingga sanggup di tahan di bawah Akta Keselamatan Dalam Negeri (ISA)," katanya.

Sehubungan itu Tajuddin meminta Perdana Menteri menyemak balik pelantikan Zaid sebagai menteri kerana lebih ramai lagi pakar undang-undang dalam BN dan UMNO.

Beliau memberitahu, sebagai menteri, Zaid sepatutnya menerima teguran dengan positif dari pembangkang ataupun dari penyokong kerajaan.

Katanya, sekiranya penyokong kerajaan membuat teguran tidak bermakna menjadi pembangkang.

''Saya tidak semestinya bersetuju dengan rakan-rakan dalam perkara yang tidak membawa kebaikan kepada kerajaan, sebab itu saya meminta menteri tersebut menarik balik kenyataan tersebut.

''Minta maaf daripada saya mengenai kenyataan umum yang dibuat lepas," katanya.

Comments :       Adakah pa la melantik zaid ibrahim menjadi menteri untuk menjadi anjingnya yang menyalak kepada sesiapa yang menegur pa la & khairy?

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Utusan Online, May 28, 2008 (22 Jamadilawal 1429)

Jelaskan penggunaan royalti minyak

KUALA LUMPUR 27 Mei – Kerajaan diminta menjelaskan secara terperinci perbelanjaan wang hasil royalti minyak kepada Terengganu bagi memastikan ia dibelanjakan secara adil.

Saifuddin Nasution Ismail (PKR-Machang) berkata, berdasarkan statistik, dari 2004 hingga 2008 sebanyak RM7.4 bilion hasil minyak disumbangkan kepada Terengganu.

Bagaimanapun beliau mendakwa, untuk tempoh empat tahun itu, negeri berkenaan hanya menerima RM5.2 bilion.

“Ke mana perbezaan sebanyak RM2.2 bilion ini? Kita perlukan penjelasan,” katanya pada sesi perbahasan di Dewan Rakyat hari ini.

Katanya, perkara itu dibangkitkan supaya setiap ringgit wang hasil negara diagihkan secara adil.

Comments :        Kemana pergi berbillion2 wang hak rakyat terengganu?Kami harap menteri kewangan sejak 2004 pa la boleh menjawab dakwaan bahawa berbillion2 wang ihsan rakyat terengganu telah disalurkan kepada anaknya kamaludin, patrick lim, wan fathil (adik setiausaha pm)

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Berita Harian, May 28, 2008 (22 Jamadilawal 1429)

Agihan biasiswa JPA untuk bukan Bumiputera naik 45 peratus

KUALA LUMPUR: Agihan pemberian biasiswa Jabatan Perkhidamtan Awam (JPA) bagi Program Ijazah Luar Negara kepada pelajar bukan Bumiputera dinaikkan kepada 45 peratus daripada 10 peratus mulai tahun ini, kata Menteri di Jabatan Perdana Menteri, Datuk Seri Mohamed Nazri Aziz.

Beliau berkata sebanyak 2,000 biasiswa disediakan JPA iaitu 1,100 untuk pelajar bumiputera dan 900 untuk pelajar bukan Bumiputera.

"Pecahannya ialah 50 peratus untuk Bumiputera dan 45 peratus kepada bukan Bumiputera berbanding sebelum ini hanya 10 peratus sahaja diberikan kepada bukan Bumiputera," katanya ketika menggulung perbahasan mengenai Rang Undang-undang Perbekalan Tambahan 2008 (2007) membabitkan RM60 juta kepada JPA di Dewan Rakyat hari ini.  

Nazri berkata, memandangkan permohonan yang diterima untuk program itu sebanyak 15,220, dan 7,282 daripada pelajar yang memohon dipanggil temuduga, hanya mereka yang benar-benar menepati kriteria sahaja dipilih.

"Kriteria pemilihan ialah 70 peratus untuk akademik, 10 peratus kegiatan kokurikulum, 10 peratus latar belakang keluarga dan 10 peratus lagi temuduga," katanya. - Bernama

Comments :        Dengan desakan Gerakan, MCA & DAP perdana menteri pa la mengalah & tingkatkan pemberian biasiswa kepada bukan bumiputera(at the expense of bumiputera applicants)..kenapa pa la & UMNO tidak mendesak syarikat2 besar non-bumiputera beri kontrak kepada malay?

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The Star, May 28, 2008 (22 Jamadilawal 1429)

Dr M flies back to rousing welcome 

KUALA LUMPUR: Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad came back to a rousing and emotional welcome when he arrived here from Tokyo yesterday.

Shouts of Hidup Tun (long live Tun) reverberated as the former Prime Minister addressed and thanked the crowd with a loud speaker from the sunroof of a four-wheel-drive vehicle after he touched down at the Subang airport about 6pm.

Dr Mahathir, had recently quit Umno, the party he led for more than two decades. He was accompanied by his wife Tun Dr Siti Hasmah Mohd Ali.

Warm reception: Dr Mahathir speaking to the crowd from the sunroof of a four-wheeldrive vehicle at Subang airport Tuesday.

“Thank you. If I’m not wrong, when I was an Umno member before, the welcome that I received was no different than now.

“When I was an Umno member, I was not treated like one, so there is no difference in becoming a member or not,” he said to resounding cheers.

The crowd comprised mainly Umno branch leaders from Jerlun, Kedah to show support towards Dr Mahathir.

Dr Mahathir continued his scathing remarks against current party president Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi and accused him of being afraid of Singapore.

“I feel very sad as the Umno members and leaders now are no longer prioritising the party’s fight. Instead they are only fighting to retain Abdullah. Now, the impression is no loyalty to Abdullah means no loyalty to the party.”

 

Comments :       NST & RTM melaporkan hanya 300 orang hadir...Saya turut hadir dan lihat dengan mata sendiri bahawa tidak kurang dari 2,500 orang menunggu & menyahut Tun Mahathir Mohamad...

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Aljazeera, May 27, 2008 (21 Jamadilawal 1429)

US 'close' to Iraq military deal

 

 

 

Muqtada al-Sadr has called for protests unless the
government abandons the deal [AFP]

 

 

The US government is close to reaching an agreement with the Iraqi government over its long term military role in the country but will not seek permanent bases in the nation.  

Bush administration officials told Al Jazeera that they expect to finalise a deal by the end of July over the so-called Status of Forces agreement, or Sofa. 

The agreement would replace the current United Nations mandate authorising US troops to remain in the nation, which expires in December 2008.  

However, Muqtada al-Sadr, Iraq's influential Shia cleric, has called for mass protests on Friday unless the Iraqi government abandons the proposed deal. 

 

And last week Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, Iraq's most revered Shia cleric, also reportedly expressed his anger, saying he would not permit the Iraqi government to sign a deal with "US occupiers" as long as he lived.

 

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Utusan Online, May 27, 2008 (21 Jamadilawal 1429)

Why is Salleh avoiding issues, asks Dr M’s ex-political secretary 

PETALING JAYA: Lawyer Matthias Chang has refused to call for a Royal Commission of Inquiry to investigate the dismissal of former Lord President Tun Salleh Abas.

Instead, the former political secretary to ex-premier Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad accused Salleh of trying to divert from questions posed by him on the Internet earlier.

“Why is Tun Salleh avoiding the issues posed by my questions and diverting the issues by asking me to “lobby” for a Royal Commission?” Chang asked in a post on the blog site Rocky’s Bru (rockybru.blogspot.com).

“Tun Salleh should be transparent first and answer my questions,” Chang was quoted as saying in the article posted on Sunday night.

Chang was responding to a challenge thrown by Salleh to his critics that they call for a Royal Commission of Inquiry to investigate the 1988 judicial crisis instead of prolonging debates on the issue.

“Is it my responsibility to call for a Royal Commission when a tribunal convened by the King himself found him guilty of all the charges that was proffered against him?” Chang asked.

“He should be the one who should 'lobby' the government if he feels strongly that he has been unjustly victimised,” he added.

Among the questions Chang wanted Salleh to answer was whether the former Lord President had written two letters to the Yang di-Pertuan Agong before he was sacked in 1988.

Salleh issued the challenge on Sunday, when reacting to discussions about why he and other judges who were dismissed in 1988 were given an ex-gratia payment when two separate tribunals had found them guilty of misconduct.

One article, which discussed the issue was posted by Chang on bigdogdotcom.wordpress.com The article was entitled “Tun Salleh: Guilty or not guilty for judicial misconduct?”

Comments :      Adakah salleh abas, pa la & zaid ibrahim bercakap benar mengenai 1988? Benarkah salleh abas marah dengan kerajaan waktu itu kerana tidak memberi lesen/kontrak iakn laut dalam kepada anaknya? benarkah salleh abas meminati 'minuman' & 'betting' waktu itu?

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Berita Harian, May 27, 2008 (21 Jamadilawal 1429)

Pulau Pinang pula turut haramkan program Islam Hadhari

BUTTERWORTH: Pulau Pinang menjadi negeri Pakatan Rakyat kedua selepas Selangor bertindak mengharamkan sebarang program yang mempunyai kaitan dengan konsep Islam Hadhari.

Timbalan Ketua Menteri I, Muhammad Fairus Khairuddin, berkata kerajaan negeri sependapat dengan keputusan Kerajaan Selangor kerana konsep Islam Hadhari yang hanya mengelirukan rakyat, sama ada Islam atau bukan Islam.

Katanya, umat Islam hanya perlu beramal dengan berpandukan al-Quran dan Sunnah kerana ia tidak berubah dan sudah lengkap, selain bertujuan menjaga kesucian agama Islam.  

"Pendirian ini memang sudah lama kamia suarakan terutama selepas konsep itu diperkenalkan di negara ini. Selain tidak selari dengan Islam serta al-Quran dan Sunnah, istilah Hadhari juga salah mengikut tatabahasa Arab.

"Dalam bahasa Arab tidak wujud istilah Hadhari. Yang wujud adalah Hadharatul Al-Islamiyah yang bermaksud ketamadunan Islam," katanya ketika dihubungi hari ini.

Beliau mengulas keputusan Sidang Dewan Undangan Negeri (DUN) Selangor semalam yang mengharamkan sebarang program yang ada kaitan dengan konsep Islam Hadhari.

Berikutan keputusan itu, semua masjid dan surau di Selangor tidak dibenarkan mengadakan program, termasuk khutbah yang menyentuh atau ada hubung kait dengan Islam Hadhari.

Muhammad Fairus berkata, dengan keputusan itu, kerajaan negeri akan memastikan semua program keagamaan di negeri ini dibebaskan daripada sebarang pengaruh konsep Islam Hadhari.

Comments :      Sudahlah pa la gagal untuk memenangkan P Pinang untuk BN pilihanraya lepas sekarang P Pinang menolak Islam Hadhari pa la pula...

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NST Online, May 27, 2008 (21 Jamadilawal 1429)

Malaysia fifth biggest contributor to Singapore’s tourism

Zakaria Abdul Wahab, Bernama

About 53,000 Malaysians visited Singapore last month, making Malaysia the fifth biggest tourist-generating market for the island republic’s tourism industry.

The figure excluded Malaysians who travelled by land.

The other four visitor-generating markets were Indonesia which accounted for 131,000 visitors, China (107,000), Australia (63,000) and India (63,000), according to the Singapore Tourism Board (STB).

In its monthly report today, STB said these five top markets accounted for 51 percent of the 826,000 visitor arrivals to Singapore for the month.

It said April’s visitors represented a growth of 0.8 percent as compared to the same month a year ago and this was a new record for the month.

Factors contributing to the growth included travel and airline promotions, strong branding and marketing efforts promoting Singapore as a choice destination, it added.

STB said visitor days were estimated to reach 3.3 million days, an increase of 9.9 percent in comparison with April 2007.

It said Singapore gazetted hotels were estimated to reap S$186 million in room revenue, representing a growth of 30.1 percent versus April 2007.

The average room rate for last month was estimated to be S$254, representing an increase of 32.5 percent over April 2007.

The average occupancy rate for hotels was estimated to reach 84 percent last month, posting a 1.0 percentage point decrease over April 2007.

Revenue per available room grew by 30.9 percent to reach S$212 for April 2008, STB said

 

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The Star, May 27, 2008 (21 Jamadilawal 1429)

Dewan Rakyat: Motion to debate Batu Putih rejected

By ZULKIFLI ABD RAHMAN 

KUALA LUMPUR: Opposition MPs stood in support of a motion moved by Salahuddin Ayub (PAS-Kubang Kerian) in Dewan Rakyat on Tuesday to debate the loss of Batu Putih to Singapore.

Salahuddin Ayub (PAS-Kubang Kerian) had sought permission for the House to discuss the weaknesses of the Malaysian legal team in handling the case and the consequences to other overlapping claims by Malaysia and other outstanding issues with Singapore.

His motion was rejected by Speaker Tan Sri Pandikar Amin Mulia, saying that Malaysia had accepted the results on the island brought on by the International Court of Justice (ICJ).

However, Salahuddin, who used Rule 18 (3) (b) of the Standing Orders, protested against the ruling and all Opposition MPs stood up to support his call on Pandikar Amin to change his stand.

Pandikar Amin told Salahuddin that he had thought hard about the motion before reaching his decision.

"Everyone should agree that all of us should take a leaf (ambil iktibar) from the case.

"We should show our maturity in these kinds of situations.

"There's no need to debate this for over one hour or two hours and reach the same conclusion," Pandikar Amin added.

Comments :      Kenapa menghalusi & mendalami kelemahan pasukan mahkamah malaysia untuk pulau bati putih tidak boleh? Adakah kerajaan cuba untuk menutup campur tangan pa la dengan pejabat peguam negara & wisma putra? Banyak dakwaan ini 'melemahkan' kes malaysia di ICJ..

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Berita Harian, May 27, 2008 (21 Jamadilawal 1429)

Dr Mahathir dakwa kesal benarkan Abdullah menyertai semula Umno

SUBANG: Bekas Perdana Menteri, Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad mendakwa beliau menyesal kerana membenarkan Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi menyertai semula Umno, seterusnya bertanding jawatan dalam parti.

Bercakap kepada pemberita selepas pulang dari Jepun di sini, petang ini, beliau yang mengumumkan keluar parti 19 Mei lalu berkata, perjuangan ahli Umno sekarang lebih mengutamakan pemimpin tertentu, bukannya parti.

"Saya rasa amat sedih kerana Umno sekarang pemimpin dan ahlinya sudah tidak lagi utamakan perjuangan parti, sebaliknya hanya berjuang untuk mengekalkan Abdullah Ahmd Badawi.  

"Kononnya kalau tak setia kepada Abdullah bermakna kita tak setia kepada parti. Dia (Abdullah) lupa masa saya jadi presiden dulu, dia tak setia kepada saya, tapi saya tak tuduh dia tak setia kepada parti, sebab itu dia boleh balik boleh bertanding sampai jadi naib presiden dan timbalan presiden dan akhirnya presiden. Inilah orang tak tahu kenang budi," katanya

Comments :       Bukan sahaja pa la tidak kenang budi, polisi2 & kuasanya sebagai perdana menteri didakwa menguntungkan negara jiran (at the expense of kedaulatan negara),menguntungkan syarikat2 negara jiran (at the expense of syarikat2 tanahair) & melemahkan sistem syari

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Utusan Online, May 26, 2008 (20 Jamadilawal 1429)

'Jangan terlalu emosi'

 

KUALA LUMPUR 25 Mei - Ahli Parlimen Jerlun, Datuk Mukhriz Mahathir mengingatkan pihak yang tidak bersetuju dengan tindakannya mengkritik Presiden UMNO, Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi agar tidak terlalu emosi mendesak dirinya dipecat.

Beliau berkata, ini memandangkan desakan seumpama itu tidak akan membantu usaha mendekatkan golongan muda kepada UMNO kerana parti akhirnya dilihat sebagai tidak terbuka kepada kritikan.

''Apabila saya mengkritik pemimpin, ada pula tuntut saya dipecat. Atas apa alasan pun saya tidak tahu kerana Perlembagaan UMNO tidak pula mempunyai peruntukan sedemikian.

''Pada saya tak perlulah hendak emosi, lebih-lebih lagi kita sekarang bercakap hendak tarik orang muda menyokong UMNO tetapi kita pula bertindak sebaliknya,'' katanya kepada Utusan Malaysia di sini hari ini.

Beliau diminta mengulas laporan akhbar berhubung kenyataan Pemuda Perak yang menggesa Jawatankuasa Pengurusan dan Disiplin UMNO memecatnya kerana meminta Abdullah meletak jawatan sebagai Presiden parti dan Perdana Menteri.

Keputusan itu dinyatakan oleh Ketua Pemudanya, Zainol Fadzi Paharuddin setelah mengadakan mesyuarat khas dengan 16 Ketua Pemuda Bahagian Perak semalam.

Menurut Zainol, mesyuarat itu semalam turut menuntut pemimpin UMNO bahagian atau cawangan yang menyokong tindakan Mukhriz itu supaya keluar daripada parti.

Sementara itu, Mukhriz percaya keputusan Pemuda UMNO Perak yang dinyatakan oleh Zainol itu tidak pun mewakili suara ramai Pergerakan Pemuda di negeri itu.

Katanya, ini memandangkan beliau dalam masa yang sama turut menerima banyak sokongan daripada pemimpin Pemuda Perak.

''Ada yang menelefon sokong dan ada pula menghantar khidmat pesanan ringkas (SMS), jadi saya tidak beri perhatian sangat kepada laporan berkenaan. Itu pendapat beliau (Zainol),'' jelasnya.

Mengenai gesaan Zainol supaya mana-mana pemimpin Pemuda UMNO peringkat cawangan dan bahagian yang menyokongnya turut keluar parti, Mukhriz berkata, orang yang sedemikian hanya merosakkan parti.

''Inilah masalahnya bila ada di dalam UMNO yang berpandangan sebegini. Pada mereka tidak boleh tegur pemimpin, bila tegur dianggap menderhaka.

''Pada saya mereka ini tidak memahami sebenarnya antara mengkritik parti dengan mengkritik kepimpinan,'' ujarnya.

Mengulas beberapa pendapat mengaitkan bapanya, Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad yang membangkitkan isu orang Melayu sebagai antara langkah mendapat sokongan, Mukhriz berkata, perkara itu tidak harus timbul.

''Sebagai bekas Presiden UMNO, tentunya hal yang berkaitan orang Melayu tidak pernah ditinggalkan beliau.

''Pada saya apa yang dibangkitkan adalah satu kesinambungan sahaja, bukan ada tujuan yang lain,'' katanya

 

Comments :     Mengapa orang-orang kanan Hishamuddin & Khairy sungguh ghairah untuk menyerang Datuk Mukhriz Mahathir? Zainol Fadzi Paharuddin terkenal sebagai salah seorang kanan Hishamuddin..Khabarnya ramai dari 16 Ketua Pemuda Bahagian Perak tidak bersetuju dengannya

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Utusan Online, May 26, 2008 (20 Jamadilawal 1429)

'Saya kena bersuara demi UMNO'

KUALA LUMPUR 24 Mei - Naib Presiden UMNO, Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin berkata, beliau akan terus bersuara dan membuat teguran untuk memastikan semangat perjuangan dan keutuhan parti sentiasa berkekalan.

Katanya, dalam situasi yang agak sukar dan 'bahaya' seperti sekarang, beliau bersedia memberi pandangan dan sumbangan kepada parti.

Menurutnya, sebagai sebahagian daripada pemimpin UMNO, beliau melakukan apa yang difikirkan wajar dan berlandaskan pertimbangan yang waras dalam bertindak atas prinsip perjuangan parti.

''Saya bersedia memberi sumbangan dan pandangan terbuka. Sama ada ia sedap didengar, pahit didengar atau tajam didengar, itu soal masing-masing.

''Apa yang penting, saya mesti bersuara kerana dalam situasi agak sukar dan zaman 'bahaya', kita tidak boleh duduk selesa dan menganggap ini sebagai satu perkara biasa,'' katanya kepada pemberita di sini hari ini.

Beliau ditanya mengenai peranannya dalam parti selepas ketiadaan bekas Presiden UMNO, Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad yang mengisytiharkan keluar parti itu, minggu lalu.

Muhyiddin berkata, walau pun ada ahli kecewa dengan tindakan Dr. Mahathir, beliau yakin 99 peratus kekal dalam UMNO demi meneruskan perjuangan agenda Melayu dan Islam.

''Walaupun rasa kecewa Dr. Mahathir keluar UMNO, saya tak fikir ini akan menyebabkan satu exodus (penghijrahan) iaitu meninggalkan parti secara beramai-ramai.

''Saya percaya majoriti 99 peratus masih yakin bahawa UMNO adalah sebuah pertubuhan politik yang boleh memperjuangkan nasib Melayu dan Islam di negara kita,'' tegasnya.

Sehubungan itu, beliau berkata, sekiranya ada ura-ura sudah ada bahagian parti itu dibubarkan, ia kekal sebagai khabar-khabar angin saja jika tiada bukti.

''Kalau ada satu dua (yang keluar), cuma satu dua saja. Jutaan (ahli) lain tidak buat begitu. Itu realiti yang kita terima. Jangan nak keruh keadaan dengan memberi gambaran buruk,'' tegasnya.

Terdahulu, beliau menghadiri sesi taklimat tertutup dan soal jawab mengenai tataetika parti kepada UMNO Wilayah Persekutuan.

Ketika ditanya sama ada tataetika tersebut menyentuh tindakan Ahli Parlimen Jerlun, Datuk Mukhriz Mahathir mendesak Presiden UMNO, Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi meletak jawatan, Muhyiddin berkata:

''Tidak, itu soal lain. Daripada perspektif luas, ia memang tataetika, tetapi saya tak mahu berbincang mengenainya kerana ia soal spesifik. Mungkin bincang pada masa lain''.

Ditanya sama ada terdapat budaya dalam UMNO yang menyekat ahli-ahli daripada membuat desakan terhadap pemimpin, beliau berkata, UMNO adalah sebuah parti yang demokratik.

''Jadi kalau parti demokratik, setiap ahli berhak menyuarakan (pandangan) atau bersuara, cuma ada cara dan bahasanya. Ahli boleh menyuarakan kalau dia suka atau tidak suka,'' jelas beliau.

Katanya lagi, sekiranya ahli-ahli dikekang atau dikongkong daripada bersuara, ia memberi isyarat yang salah kepada orang-orang Melayu dan tidak akan menambah keyakinan mereka kepada parti.

''Mereka akan melihat UMNO sebagai parti yang tidak demokratik, parti terdiri daripada orang-orang 'yes man' sahaja atau parti 'pembodek' saja,'' ujarnya.

Sementara itu, ketika diminta mengulas dakwaan Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim untuk membentuk kerajaan pada September ini, Muhyiddin berkata, beliau tidak pasti bagaimana perasaan rakyat mengenainya.

Katanya, terdapat isyarat bercampur aduk berhubung dakwaan itu dengan terdapat sebahagian yang percaya dan sebahagian lagi meragui mengenainya.

Bagaimanapun, menurut beliau, dengan perakuan Ahli-ahli Parlimen Barisan Nasional (BN) yang menyatakan kesetiaan kepada parti, beliau tidak nampak hasrat Anwar akan tercapai.

''Kita kena terima kata-kata kesetiaan mereka dan jika saya menyatakan sebaliknya, orang akan kata kita tidak percaya orang-orang sendiri,'' katanya.

 

Comments :       Memang harapan kami ahli UMNO khususnya & orang Melayu amnya agar Tan Sri Muhiyuddin Yassin bersuara demi UMNO...Lewat ini Ta Sri, Tengku Razaleigh, Shafie Apdal & Mukhriz Mahathir berani bersuara...Kami yakin lebih ramai pemimpin akan tampil ke hadapan..

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Utusan Online, May 26, 2008 (20 Jamadilawal 1429)

Henti kritik Dr. M

JITRA 24 Mei - Pengerusi Badan Perhubungan UMNO Perlis, Datuk Seri Shahidan Kassim meminta anggota parti itu berhenti daripada terus mengutuk serta mengkritik Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad ekoran tindakannya keluar parti.

Beliau berkata, tindakan sesetengah anggota UMNO seperti bekas Timbalan Perdana Menteri, Tun Musa Hitam dan Ketua Pergerakan Wanita UMNO, Datuk Seri Rafidah Aziz yang menyelar bekas Perdana Menteri itu tidak akan membawa sebarang faedah kepada UMNO, sebaliknya akan mengusutkan lagi keadaan.

"Siapa Musa Hitam untuk kutuk Tun, begitu juga dengan Rafidah, saya harap mereka akan lebih bertanggungjawab dalam mengeluarkan kenyataan berhubung isu ini," katanya ketika ditemui pada majlis gotong-royong memperbaiki rumah penduduk miskin di Kampung Charok Bendang di sini hari ini.

Beliau berkata, apa yang perlu dilakukan sekarang ialah memujuk Dr. Mahathir supaya kembali menyertai UMNO dan mengadakan perbincangan dengan anggota parti bagi menyelesaikan isu itu dengan baik.

Selain itu, Shahidan juga mengingatkan orang luar supaya tidak mencampuri urusan dalaman UMNO kerana beliau percaya parti itu mempunyai cara tersendiri untuk menyelesaikan sebarang masalah yang timbul.

Shahidan berkata, beliau berharap Dr. Mahathir akan kembali berpegang kepada asas iaitu mendahulukan kepentingan parti melebihi kepentingan individu sambil berharap agar bekas Perdana Menteri itu akan ingat terhadap janjinya yang tidak akan menentang Presiden UMNO ketika melepaskan jawatan kepada Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi dahulu.

"UMNO Perlis akan terus menumpukan usaha untuk memperkasakan parti.

"Ia sangat penting kerana UMNO adalah parti yang berjuang untuk agama, bangsa dan juga negara. Jika UMNO lemah, bagaimana kita hendak teruskan perjuangan membela nasib rakyat," katanya.

- Bernama

 

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Utusan Online, May 26, 2008 (20 Jamadilawal 1429)

Mukhriz kekal ahli UMNO

KUANTAN 24 Mei - Exco Pergerakan Pemuda UMNO, Datuk Mukhriz Mahathir menegaskan, beliau tetap dengan pendiriannya kekal sebagai ahli UMNO dan akan berusaha melakukan perubahan dari dalam parti itu.

Mukhriz yang juga Ahli Parlimen Jerlun berkata, walaupun berhadapan dengan tekanan, keadaan itu tidak akan mengubah prinsipnya yang mahu berjuang 'menyelamatkan' UMNO daripada terus lemah.

"Saya dimaklumkan ramai juga (ahli UMNO) yang telah keluar parti mengikut langkah ayah saya.

"Saya bersama mereka dari segi objektif, tetapi kerana saya berjawatan dalam parti, mungkin lebih sesuai bagi diri saya sendiri untuk kekal dalam parti dan membuat perubahan dari dalam," katanya.

Mukhriz berkata demikian kepada pemberita ketika ditemui selepas menghadiri majlis perjumpaan dan mesyuarat tertutup bagi menjelaskan pendiriannya dengan Pemuda UMNO Pahang di sini hari ini.

Isnin lalu, bekas Perdana Menteri, Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad mengumumkan keluar daripada UMNO kerana hilang keyakinan terhadap kepimpinan presidennya, Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.

Dr. Mahathir yang juga anggota UMNO seumur hidup itu berkata, beliau hanya akan kembali menyertai UMNO selepas Abdullah meletakkan jawatan atau tidak lagi menjadi pemimpin negara.

Turut mengikut jejak langkah bekas Perdana Menteri itu ialah anaknya, Datuk Mokhzani Mahathir yang juga bekas Penolong Bendahari Pemuda UMNO.

Mukhriz berkata, siri penerangan beliau ke negeri-negeri termasuk Pahang bukan untuk meraih sokongan, tetapi bagi menjelaskan kenyataan-kenyataan yang telah dikeluarkan sebelum ini.

"Penerimaannya baik, sekali gus memberi dorongan untuk saya terus mendesak Perdana Menteri (Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi) berundur daripada jawatannya," ujar beliau.

Ditanya persediaannya untuk bertanding menjelang pemilihan UMNO nanti, Mukhriz berkata, walaupun belum mengumumkan secara rasmi jawatan yang akan ditandingi tumpuannya sekarang ialah jawatan Ketua Pemuda.

 

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Utusan Online, May 26, 2008 (20 Jamadilawal 1429)

Perlu hantar delegasi pujuk Dr. Mahathir

PULAU PINANG 23 Mei - UMNO diminta memujuk bekas Presidennya, Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad kembali semula menyertai parti itu kerana tindakan beliau berada di luar parti merupakan satu kerugian besar kepada orang Melayu.

Veteran UMNO, Datuk Seri Mohd. Yussof Latiff (gambar) berkata, delegasi tersebut boleh disertai oleh pemimpin tertinggi dan veteran UMNO dengan diketuai oleh Timbalan Presiden, Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak.

Menurutnya, tindakan itu tidak akan merugikan atau menjatuhkan martabat seseorang kerana selama ini orang Melayu berpegang pada adat yang cukup tinggi.

''Dr. Mahathir juga ada maruah tetapi tidak dinafikan sebagai manusia, beliau juga mempunyai kelemahan tetapi saya yakin jika UMNO berbuat demikian, beliau akan mengubah pendirian.

''Mereka perlu memujuk beliau kembali menyertai UMNO dan apa pun masalahnya ia perlu diselesaikan menerusi dalam UMNO itu sendiri,'' katanya pada sidang akhbar di sini hari ini.

Menurut Mohd. Yusoff, sebarang kenyataan atau tindakan yang dibuat Dr. Mahathir tidak boleh diambil mudah atau diperkecilkan kerana ia boleh mendatangkan kesan kepada masyarakat.

Dalam pada itu, beliau turut menggesa pemimpin tertentu supaya berhenti daripada mengeluarkan kenyataan yang boleh mencetuskan kekusutan dan mengeruhkan lagi keadaan.

''Hentikan kenyataan seumpama itu terhadap negarawan yang kita hormati kerana ia boleh merosakkan bangsa kita sendiri.

''Kenyataan daripada pemimpin yang mempunyai agenda masing-masing juga perlu dihentikan kerana ia boleh merosakkan kewibawaan Dr. Mahathir,'' ujarnya.

Pada masa sama, beliau juga berpendapat isu tersebut tidak perlu melibatkan campur tangan Yang di-Pertuan Agong, Tuanku Mizan Zainal Abidin kerana perkara tersebut perlu diselesaikan dalam UMNO sendiri

 

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Utusan Online, May 26, 2008 (20 Jamadilawal 1429)

PM minta rakyat terima keputusan ICJ

Daripada FAUZIAH AROF

TOKYO 23 Mei – Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi meminta semua rakyat Malaysia terutama penduduk Johor menerima keputusan Mahkamah Keadilan Antarabangsa (ICJ) yang memutuskan Pulau Batu Putih milik Singapura.

Perdana Menteri berkata, walaupun beliau sedih dengan keputusan tersebut tetapi menerimanya kerana ia dibuat melalui persefahaman bersama Malaysia-Singapura selepas kedua-dua negara bersetuju membawa pertikaian itu ke ICJ pada 1993.

Bagaimanapun, beliau melihat situasi menang-menang dalam keputusan tersebut kerana Malaysia diberi kedaulatan ke atas Middle Rocks sementara South Ledge pula tertakluk kepada wilayah perairan di mana ia terletak.

“Menang pun tak menang semua, kalah pun tak kalah semua. Itulah keadilannya. Saya tahu rakyat Malaysia terutama penduduk Johor akan ada yang emosional mengenai keputusan ini.

“Kita perlu ingat bahawa keputusan ini dibuat secara aman dan adil. Keadilan itu mestilah diakui,’’ katanya pada sidang akhbar di sini hari ini.

Mengulas keputusan ICJ mengenai kedaulatan Pulau Batu Putih hari ini, Perdana Menteri yang sedang melawat Jepun menegaskan, satu langkah segera akan diambil untuk memastikan kedudukan sempadan South Ledge yang belum ditetapkan pemiliknya.

“Kita akan mengambil tindakan-tindakan seterusnya untuk menentukan garis-garis sempadan di kawasan perairan berkenaan,” katanya.

Beliau yakin South Ledge adalah milik Malaysia.

Dalam pada itu, Abdullah memberitahu, beliau akan menghadap Sultan Johor, Sultan Iskandar Sultan Ismail untuk memaklumkan mengenai keputusan tersebut.

“Menteri Luar, Datuk Seri Dr. Rais Yatim juga akan menghadap sultan dan akan memberi penerangan kepada rakyat selepas ini,” katanya.

Ditanya sama ada beliau akan mengadakan pertemuan dengan pemimpin Singapura mengenai keputusan itu, Perdana Menteri berkata, tindakan tersebut tidak perlu dilakukan.

“Rais akan berjumpa rakan sejawatannya di Singapura untuk menentukan tindakan-tindakan yang akan diambil dalam perkara ini,” katanya.

Menjawab satu soalan yang mengaitkan keputusan tersebut dengan kepimpinan beliau, Abdullah berkata, beliau pasti selepas ini ada pihak akan mempertikaikan kewibawaannya.

“Ini perkara biasa. Dengan keputusan mahkamah itu, nanti ada macam-macamlah. Orang yang tidak suka kita akan marah kita.

“Tetapi saya ingin jelaskan bahawa pasukan yang membawa kes ini ke ICJ adalah pasukan yang sama semasa kita menang dalam kes Pulau Sipadan dan Ligitan dulu,” ujarnya.

Sehubungan itu, beliau merakamkan penghargaan kepada semua pakar dan pegawai Malaysia yang terlibat membuat persediaan membawa kes itu ke ICJ

 

Comments :       Kenapa kau menyuruh rakyat Malaysia baring & angkat tangan membiarkan kedaulatan negara dicabul..khabarnya bahawa JPM telah campur tangan dengan Peguam Negara & Wisma Putra dalam urusan kes mahkamah ini yang melemahkan kes negara..siasatan wajib dilakukan

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Utusan Online, May 26, 2008 (20 Jamadilawal 1429)

Win, lose or draw over Pedra Branca?

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Saturday, 01 December 2007 07:48am

©The Straits Times, Singapore (Used by permission)

• What each side is claimingPedra Branca
• Few Malaysians avidly following Pedra Branca case
• The Pedra Branca hearings: What next?

Senior Political Correspondent Lydia Lim, who covered the recent international court hearing in the dispute between Singapore and Malaysia over Pedra Branca, looks back on the case and ahead at the possible outcomes

THE year was 1979.
The global community was in the midst of negotiating new laws to govern the use of the seas and oceans.

The talks, involving representatives from some 160 countries, would culminate in 1982 with the signing of the landmark United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.
But Malaysia decided not to wait.
That year, in 1979, it went ahead to publish a map which extended its territorial sea limit to 12 miles (19km) from its coast.
Such limits mark out the sea area within which a state is free to enforce any law, regulate any use and exploit any resource.

Malaysia's move was a pre-emptive response, ahead of a key change set out in the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea. This entailed the expansion of a country's territorial waters from the traditional 3-mile limit to a new 12-mile limit.
The move came in response to shifting world opinion but would be formalised only in 1982.
Malaysia's new map of 1979 triggered official protests from seven of its neighbours, including Singapore, which was surprised to find Pedra Branca marked for the first time within Malaysian territorial waters.

Brunei, China, Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam also took umbrage, over other islands.
At stake were not just isolated islands in the Singapore Strait and South China Sea but the principle of how maritime boundaries between states were to be settled.
Malaysia acted unilaterally, without consulting any of its neighbours, and out of step with international law.
As Deputy Prime Minister S. Jayakumar noted before an international court last week: 'One map, seven countries affected.'
Malaysia's map set a worrying precedent.
It also marked the start of a long-drawn-out dispute between Kuala Lumpur and Singapore over sovereignty of a small rocky island at the mouth of the Singapore Strait.
A month in The Hague TWENTY-EIGHT years on, following several unsuccessful rounds of negotiations, occasional periods of tense exchanges through the media and at sea, and long stretches of inaction, the Pedra Branca dispute finally went before the International Court of Justice (ICJ) last month.
That was in itself an achievement for Singapore.
It has long championed the view that if negotiations make no headway, bilateral disputes are best referred to third-party adjudication or arbitration for settlement in accordance with international law.
As the start of the 12-day hearing before the ICJ drew near, a 30-strong Singapore team gathered in The Hague as a wet and windy November descended on the historic Dutch city.
They included veterans like DPM Jayakumar, whose involvement in the case stretched back to 1979, as well as legal officers who were still in primary school when the quarrel first broke.
During his 14 years as Attorney-General from 1992 to last year, current Chief Justice Chan Sek Keong led the legal team working on the case.
When appointed to head the judiciary last year, he agreed to the Government's request to continue acting for it until a resolution was reached.
Also on the team were Attorney-General Chao Hick Tin and Ambassador at Large Tommy Koh, who from 1980 to 1982 was president of the United Nations conference that resulted in the landmark Convention on the Law of the Sea.
Backing up the generals were the soldiers - support staff who included Foreign Ministry officers.
They took charge of logistics and made sure all were well fed and watered during their month away from home.
Also on board was the Maritime and Port Authority's chief hydrographer.
He had surveyed the waters around Pedra Branca for years and immediately smelled a rat when Malaysia produced in court a photograph that exaggerated the island's proximity to the Johor coast.
All were fiercely dedicated to the cause of retaining Singapore's sovereignty over what some of them fondly nicknamed 'The Rock'.
Ahead of the hearing, a minor drama occurred. A few days after several members of the team's advance party arrived in The Hague, a fire broke out in their hotel.
Like the other guests, the Singaporeans evacuated the five-storey building - but not before grabbing their laptops.

The young legal officers from the Attorney-General's Chambers were not about to let their years of hard work on the Pedra Branca case go up in smoke.
The fire, which turned out to be small, was quickly extinguished.
The Singapore delegation took over the hotel's largest suite and turned it into a command centre, equipped with computers, a library of law and history books, and a 'war room' where the lawyers and diplomats among them would spend long hours strategising and debating how best to put across their arguments.
As the 12-day hearing got under way, a handful of Singaporeans showed up at the ICJ's home in the century-old, red-brick Peace Palace, to watch the home team in action.
They included three Oxford University undergraduates who had sought permission from their tutors to be excused from lessons, then caught three trains to cross the English Channel and arrive just in time for Singapore's final rebuttals.
Law lecturer Eleanor Wong arrived a week earlier.
The case centred on the two states' opposing claims of sovereignty. Malaysia's claim rested on the argument that Pedra Branca - which it calls Pulau Batu Puteh - was part of the Johor Sultanate from the time of the sultanate's establishment in 1512.
By contrast, Singapore argued that the island was terra nullius - that is, it belonged to no one when Britain took lawful possession of it in 1847.
As Britain's successor, Singapore then maintained its title through a continuous exercise of state authority over the island for more than 150 years.
Singapore fielded eight speakers in all: DPM Jayakumar, CJ Chan, Attorney-General Chao, Ambassador Koh and four international counsel.
It was a slate showcasing diverse strengths and personalities.
The Deputy Prime Minister was calm, controlled yet forthright in his presentation, while the Chief Justice impressed with his mastery of the historical backdrop to the case.
Ambassador Koh, the team's most natural diplomat, disarmed both friend and foe alike with his smile and even, gentle tone.
Malaysia's team, twice the size of Singapore's, was just as diverse and included renowned foreign counsel. Leading the charge was the pugnacious Foreign Affairs Adviser to the Prime Minister Abdul Kadir Mohamad. He had led Malaysia to victory in a previous sovereignty dispute with Indonesia before the ICJ.
Watching the Singapore and Malaysia teams in action, Ms Wong was struck by how national character shaped the arguments on each side and the way counsel presented them.
'The Malaysians did well, in my view, to present a simple case... their points were presented consistently, repeatedly, with touches of folksy humour and some well-placed analogies.
'Singapore, on the other hand, came across as precise, detailed and serious-minded,' she says.
'Both felt authentic to me, and ultimately the judges will no doubt look past style to decide on the law and the facts,' she adds.
Back here in Singapore, there was a gamut of reactions ranging from the view that the case was much ado about nothing, to staunch support for those at the frontline of the legal battle to keep Pedra Branca.
Among the latter group was Mr Thomas Gan, 56, an operations officer at the HarbourFront Passenger Terminal.
He supported the Government's decision to invest much time, effort and money on fighting the case.
'Otherwise you may lose the case, the Malaysians will feel you are weak and they will claim that other things also belong to them,' he tells Insight.
'If something doesn't belong to Singapore, we will return it. But since it belongs to Singapore, we will not give up,' he adds.
For Malaysians as well, the outcome of the case is strongly tied to their sense of national pride.
Ms Lim Bee Hoon, 49, a secondary school teacher from Muar in Johor, says: 'I hope Malaysia eventually wins because this would instil some national pride into us and our children.
'Far too often, we're seen as Singapore's backward neighbour. It's about time we found our feet on the international stage.'
Associate Professor Joseph Liow of Singapore's Institute of Defence and Strategic Studies says for Singapore, the Pedra Branca case is about sovereignty, which is a fundamental issue, especially for a small state.
'Singapore's foreign policy has long been premised on opposition against the sudden redrawing of universally accepted geopolitical boundaries,'' he says.
Win, lose or draw
THE 16 judges of the ICJ are now deliberating over which state has sovereignty over Pedra Branca and two other maritime features - Middle Rocks and South Ledge.
The verdict is expected next year.
There are three possible outcomes.
Singapore wins, Malaysia wins or the court splits the three rock outcrops under dispute, and awards Pedra Branca to one state and the other two to the other.
Both governments have said they will accept and abide by the ICJ's decision, for which there is no appeal.
They have also underscored that the whole point of taking the dispute to the world court was to prevent it from festering into a sore that could infect otherwise healthy bilateral ties.
Analysts on both sides of the Causeway are optimistic that whichever side wins, the impact on ties will be minimal.
Datuk Seri Mohamed Jawhar, chairman of Malaysia's Institute of Strategic and international Studies, says the key will lie in how well both governments manage popular reactions to the verdict.
'The problems, if any, will arise from political groups, probably some non-governmental organisations and others,' he says via e-mail.
'I believe that both governments should do their best to manage the fallout. The party that wins the case must moderate exuberance among its citizens. The party that loses must moderate any resentment.
'Win or lose, I believe both sides will eventually get over it,' he adds.
That is, after all, what seems to have happened after the ICJ ruled in Malaysia's favour in its dispute with Indonesia over the islands of Sipadan and Ligitan.
Will the reaction be any different in Malaysia if Singapore wins?
Dr Ooi Kee Beng, a fellow at the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies here, says: 'There are certain elements in Malaysia who are bound to choose to see a defeat as the latest instance of creeping expansion on the part of Singapore, and as another case of Malay land being lost.'
But he adds that 'these make up only a small segment of Malay society'.
Dr Ooi also believes that the case is of greater importance to Singapore's government than Malaysia's.
'A defeat will be felt more strongly in Singapore than in Malaysia, mainly because the former is now the party exercising control over the islands.
'For Malaysia, a loss will just mean it tried its best to regain an island and failed,' he says.
What Malaysia tried to impress on the ICJ was that if it were awarded sovereignty over Pedra Branca, it would continue to respect Singapore's role as the operator of Horsburgh Lighthouse.
Responding to that point, Singapore stressed that its rights and activities with regard to Pedra Branca went well beyond those of a lighthouse operator.
'Singapore's rights in relation to Pedra Branca are the rights of a country having sovereignty over the island, not that of a lighthouse operator,' DPM Jayakumar said.
'Singapore's activities in relation to Pedra Branca go well beyond the operation of a lighthouse operator,' he added.
In other words, there is a big difference between running a lighthouse and exercising sovereignty over a strategically located island, no matter how small.
Sovereignty gives Singapore the right to maximise the island's location for its national interests, whether in defence or navigation, though DPM Jayakumar stressed that it would always do so in accordance with international law

 

tinyRedLeaf

DefaultToday, 01:18 AM

Originally Posted by OrangMelayu

It seems that Spore has lost so much in this case for its greediness.

I take great exception to that comment. The tussle began in 1979 because Malaysia unilaterally extended its territorial waters to include Pedra Branca, without first consulting Singapore. The context behind the sea border expansion is too lengthy to include here, but a good reference can be found at this website (which is Malaysian, by the way): http://www.malaysianbar.org.my/legal...a_branca_.html

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Utusan Online, May 26, 2008 (20 Jamadilawal 1429)

Cubaan Kit Siang gagal

KUALA LUMPUR 22 Mei – Percubaan Penasihat DAP, Lim Kit Siang (DAP-Ipoh Timur) untuk meminda usul menjunjung kasih titah Yang di-Pertuan Agong gagal apabila ditolak oleh Timbalan Yang Dipertua Dewan Rakyat, Ronald Kiandee yang dianggap satu perbuatan tidak sopan.

Kit Siang pada 16 Mei lepas menghantar notis kepada Yang Dipertua Dewan Rakyat untuk meminda usul menjunjung kasih dengan menambah perkataan berikut: ‘‘Satu Suruhanjaya Diraja ditubuhkan untuk menangani masalah pendatang tanpa izin (PATI) di Sabah yang menimbulkan kekhuatiran bahawa bilangan orang asing lebih ramai daripada rakyat Sabah selepas kenyataan-kenyataan yang dikeluarkan pada sesi perbahasan Penggal Pertama Parlimen Kedua Belas Dewan Rakyat.”

Tindakan Yang Dipertua Dewan Rakyat menolak usul tersebut menyebabkan Kit Siang hari ini menggunakan Peraturan Mesyuarat Perkara 31 dan 33 (3) bagi mendapatkan sebab-sebab usul itu ditolak.

Ronald yang mempengerusikan mesyuarat Dewan Rakyat menjelaskan usul itu tidak berkaitan dengan usul menjunjung kasih titah Yang di-Pertuan Agong.

“Cadangan pindaan yang dibuat oleh Lim Kit Siang (DAP-Ipoh Timur) melebihi daripada usul menjunjung kasih dan cadangan pindaan itu sepatutnya dibuat usul tersendiri,” katanya pada Sidang Dewan Rakyat hari ini.

Kit Siang yang tidak dapat menerima keputusan Ronald itu kemudian bangun dengan menegaskan ia tidak selari dengan penerimaan tradisi Dewan Rakyat sebelum ini dan juga tidak selari dengan amalan di United Kingdom, Australia dan India.

Tegasnya, usul menjunjung kasih merupakan usul dasar dan apa-apa perkara yang menyentuh mengenai dasar boleh dibincangkan di Dewan Rakyat.

Ronald sekali lagi memberitahu, bahawa adalah tidak sopan untuk meminda usul menjunjung kasih titah Yang di-Pertuan Agong

 

Comments :     Lim Kit Siang & DAP bukan sahaja kurang sopan tetapi juga kurang ajar kepada Duli Yang Maha Mulia Seri Paduka Baginda Yang DiPertuan Agong Tuanku Mizan Zainal Abidin...Daulat Tuanku!  

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Berita Harian, May 26, 2008 (20 Jamadilawal 1429)

Tiada diskriminasi kaum dalam pengambilan kakitangan kerajaan: Adnan

KUANTAN: Kerajaan Negeri Pahang tidak pernah mengamalkan dasar diskriminasi kaum berhubung pengambilan kakitangan di setiap jabatannya, kata Menteri Besar Pahang, Datuk Seri Adnan Yaakob.

Beliau berkata, kekurangan kaum Cina dan India yang bekerja di sektor awam adalah disebabkan kurangnya permohonan yang diterima daripada kaum berkenaan.

Kerajaan sedang berusaha sebaik mungkin bagi memastikan semua kaum mendapat peluang kerja di sektor awam, katanya semasa menjawab soalan Choong Siew Onn (DAP-Tras) pada persidangan Dewan Undangan Negeri di sini hari ini.  

"Jadi sekarang ini kerajaan di bawah kepimpinan Barisan Nasional sedang mencari kaedah sesuai supaya semua pihak berpuas hati, jika tidak semua pun, sebahagian besar,” katanya.

Kepada soalan tambahan Choong, Adnan meminta wakil rakyat dan pegawai daerah membantu menjayakan kempen menarik lebih ramai penyertaan kaum lain ke dalam perkhidmatan seperti tentera dan polis.

Kepada soalan Leong Ngah Ngah (DAP-Triang) yang mengatakan dasar kerajaan menghalang keseimbangan kaum untuk berkhidmat di dalam agensi kerajaan, Adnan berkata semua kaum diberi peluang sama rata untuk menyertai sektor awam.

 

Comments :       Mengapa tiada pemimpin yang menyoal & mendesak mengapa semua syarikat gergasi(seperti Genting, YTL, IOI, Public Bank)milik kaum cina yang mengaut untung di tanahair memberi semua kontrak/supply & jawatan tertinggi dalam pengurusan kepada kaum cina SAHAJA?

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Utusan Online, May 26, 2008 (20 Jamadilawal 1429)

Hasrat lebih 2,000 nelayan musnah

PENGERANG: Harapan lebih 2,000 nelayan di sini untuk menjejakkan kaki ke Pulau Batu Puteh, yang hanya kurang daripada 10 batu nautika dari Teluk Ramunia di sini seperti dilakukan lebih 20 tahun lalu kini hancur musnah.

Pengerusi Persatuan Nelayan Kawasan Pengerang, Abu Bakar Mohamad, berkata kebanyakan nelayan veteran yang masih turun ke laut mencari rezeki terlalu berharap dapat sekali lagi mendarat di pulau itu untuk memancing.

Katanya, harapan mereka untuk menangkap ikan di kawasan lubuk emas di Pulau Batu Puteh sudah tiada lagi dan nelayan terpaksa meneruskan kehidupan seperti biasa dengan kawalan yang mungkin lebih ketat daripada polis Singapura.  

"Apa lagi yang hendak dikatakan kerana Pulau Batu Puteh kini sah dimiliki Singapura. Kami reda dengan keputusan itu dan tidak ada sebarang rancangan untuk mengadakan tunjuk perasaan," katanya ketika ditemui di sini, semalam.

Beliau berkata, sebelum keputusan itu diumumkan petang semalam, beliau sudah mengingatkan kira-kira 1,500 ahli persatuan supaya sabar dan meneruskan kehidupan seperti biasa jika Malaysia tewas mempertahankan Batu Puteh.

Nelayan, Abu Bakar Abdul Rahim, 55, berkata sebelum Pulau Batu Puteh dikawal polis Singapura, beliau dan rakan nelayan lain sering singgah di pulau itu untuk memancing terutama di kawasan yang berbatu.

Katanya, kawasan itu banyak ikan terutama bawal, jenahak, kurau dan kerapu serta ikan sagai yang hanya boleh ditemui di kawasan laut dalam yang mempunyai batu karang.

"Seingat saya, sejak 20 tahun lalu, nelayan tidak dibenarkan singgah di pulau itu kerana ia dikawal. Jika sesekali kami terlepas sempadan, polis Singapura akan meminta kami masuk semula ke perairan Malaysia," katanya.

Seorang lagi nelayan, Nor Malik Abdul Rahim, 34, berkata pada zaman bapanya menjadi nelayan, Pulau Batu Puteh menjadi tempat berteduh kepada nelayan terutama ketika ombak besar dan ribut.

Malah, beliau berkata, ketika zaman remajanya, beliau sering mengikut bapa dan abangnya ke pulau itu untuk melihat rumah api dan memancing

 

Comments :       Inilah antara akibat buruk jika sebagaimana didakwa banyak pihak pa la telah campurtangan dengan Pejabat Peguam Negara & Wisma Putra untuk melemahkan kes mahkamah Malaysia yang membawa kepada kekalahan kepada Singapore..Kami harap suatu Suruhanjaya siasat

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The Star, May 26, 2008 (20 Jamadilawal 1429)

PAS unhappy with 'weak' arguments in Batu Putih case

By SIM LEOI LEOI

 

KUALA LUMPUR: PAS has voiced its dissatisfaction with the “weak” arguments forwarded by the Malaysian lawyers involved over the claim of Batu Putih in the International Court of Justice in The Hague.

Its vice-president Nasharuddin Mat Isa said the weak arguments had resulted in Malaysia’s sovereignty over the island being taken over by Singapore.

“There was a lack of evidence to prop up our claims. Singapore being awarded the island will certainly bring a lot of hardship for our fishermen in Johor waters.

“We had a weak team of lawyers to fight our case,” he told reporters Monday in the Parliament lobby here.

PAS, he added, would be explaining this issue to its members and rakyat all over the country.

Nasharuddin also said PAS youth chief Salahuddin Ayub would be tabling an attempt under 18(1) of the Parliament Standing Orders for an emergency motion on the issue.

On another matter, Pontian MP Ahmad Maslan urged the Government to move into another island, where Singapore still maintains a lighthouse, and develop it.

This was, he added to avoid “banana trees from fruiting twice” as Singapore could move to stake a claim on Pulau Pisang, located some 5km from the coast of Pontian, Johor.

“Why should Singapore be allowed to keep the lighthouse there? Wisma Putra told me that under the present agreement, Singapore is allowed to maintain the lighthouse as long as it is still being used and for as long as there are stars and a moon.

“But in this day and age, no ship uses a lighthouse and all of them now rely on global positioning system and radar to guide them. So what’s the use of the lighthouse?” he said.

The Government, Ahmad added, should develop the island into a tourist and recreation area.

“In fact, I have proposed for the island to be included into a national park nearby,” he said, adding that besides the lighthouse, Pulau Pisang - comprising four smaller islands - now housed some fruit orchards and two small houses.

 

Comments :        Saya ahli UMNO tetapi saya bersetuju & sama2 syak bahawa ada 'kelemahan' dalam penyampaian kes Malaysia di ICJ..adakah apa2 kebenaran dalam dakwaan bahawa pa la telah campur tangan dengan Pejabat Peguam Negara & Wisma Putra melemahkan kes negara? Siasat!

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NST Online, May 26, 2008 (20 Jamadilawal 1429)

Mukhriz: Zaid more loyal to PM

KUALA LUMPUR: Umno Youth executive council member Datuk Mukhriz Mahathir yesterday accused Datuk Zaid Ibrahim of being more loyal to the prime minister than to the party.

He said Zaid was showing loyalty to Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi "after being appointed a minister in March, despite not contesting the general election".

He was responding to comments by Zaid, minister in the Prime Minister's Department, who urged disciplinary action against anyone who was disrespectful to Abdullah and at odds with government policies.

Zaid said such opposition within the Barisan Nasional brought shame and did not reflect the stand of the people, Umno and BN.

Mukhriz also accused Zaid of carrying out the opposition's agenda of judicial and legal reforms.

Some of the reforms were proposed by the Royal Commission of Inquiry into the Lingam video clip, which recommended that Mukhriz's father, Tun Mahathir Mohamad, be investigated for rigging judicial appointments while he was prime minister.

On the call by Perak Umno Youth for him to quit for publicly calling for Abdullah to step down, Mukhriz said he would not do so.

"On what grounds does Perak Umno Youth want me to quit?

"Show me the Umno constitution where it says the president cannot be criticised," he said.

On Friday, Perak Umno Youth chief Zainol Fadzi Paharuddin called on the management and disciplinary committee to sack Mukhriz for pressing Abdullah to quit as Umno president and prime minister.

Zainol said Umno division or branch leaders who supported Mukhriz should also leave the party.

 

Comments :        Saya bersaksi bahawa saya melihat Datuk Zaid Ibrahim meminum arak secara terbuka & dengan penuh bangganya di restoran Zipangu, ShangriLa, Kuala Lumpur minggu lepas..Adakah 'kononnya' melayu begini diangkat pa la jadi menteri? Saya jemput Dat Zaid menjawab

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Aljazeera, May 26, 2008 (20 Jamadilawal 1429)

Carter: Israel has 150 atomic bombs

 

 

 

Israeli nuclear technician Vanunu was imprisoned for revealing Israeli nuclear secrets [GALLO/GETTY] 

 

 

The state of Israel has at least 150 nuclear weapons, Jimmy Carter, the former US president, has said according to reports in the UK. 

The announcement marks the first time a US president has publicly acknowledged the Jewish state's nuclear arsenal. 

Carter made the remark while responding to a question at the Hay-on-Wye literary festival in Wales in which he was asked how any future US president should deal with the Iranian nuclear threat. 

 

 

 

"The US has more than 12,000 nuclear weapons, the [former] Soviet Union has about the same; Great Britain and France have several hundred, and Israel has 150 or more," Carter said, according to a transcript of his remarks published by the festival. 

"We have a phalanx of enormous weaponry ... not only of enormous weaponry but of rockets to deliver those missiles on a pinpoint accuracy target."  

Carter also said that the US government should talk directly to Iran in order to persuade it to drop its nuclear ambitions.  

The US and other Western powers have accused Tehran of attempting to acquire nuclear weapons however Iran says its nuclear programme is purely for peaceful purposes. 

Hamas controversy 

His remarks come after the former US president caused controversy by holding talks with Khaled Meshaal, leader of the Palestinian movement Hamas, in Damascus, the Syrian capital, in April.  

The meeting led to criticism from Israel and the Bush administration.  

Hamas is listed as a terrorist organisation by the US, Israel and the European Union, and has not been invited to participate in US-brokered peace negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians. 

Israeli silence 

Experts have long maintained that Israel is the Middle East's only nuclear power, however the country has refused to confirm or deny the claim.  

Most estimates for the number of weapons are based on evidence leaked to the media by Mordechai Vanunu, an Israeli former nuclear technician, who said the Jewish state had between 100 and 200 weapons.  

Vanunu spent 18 years in an Israeli prison for disclosing nuclear secrets before being released in 2004.  

Other experts have said the number is as low as 60 or as high as 400.

 

Comments :      Memanglah polisi Amerika, Britain, Perancis, Jerman & Singapore agar negara2 Islam seperti Iran & lain2 tak boleh ada senjata...tetapi negara yang telah terbukti & berkali-kali membunuh orang awam seperti Israel dibiarkan malah diberi 'technical support'  

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The Star, May 26, 2008 (20 Jamadilawal 1429)

Husam wants PM to step down 

KOTA BARU: PAS vice-president Datuk Husam Musa has asked Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi to step down.

He claimed that Abdullah's weak leadership was leading the nation nowhere.

“It is the future of the country at stake and not just political parties. In this context, there is common ground for any leader to call for Abdullah to step aside,” he said.

Stressing that he was not interfering with Umno affairs, Husam said his call was being made in the interest of the nation.

“For the sake of national interests and the country’s future, Abdullah must consider stepping down,” Husam said after opening a seminar at Grand Riverview Hotel here yesterday.

He said while the Opposition might stand to gain from a weak leadership, the country would be in a state of a stalemate if leaders had to constantly call for a show of support or confidence.

“Real nation-building work gets affected,” he said.

Husma also urged Jerlun MP Datuk Mukhriz Mahathir to emulate his father Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad and leave Umno to become an Independent MP

 

Comments :        negara sudah tergadai (pulau batu putih & ekonomi dibeli negara jiran), bangsa sudah dilangsai (melayu semakin kebelakang)& agama diperlekehkan (syariah diserang bar council)..wahai abdullah bin ahmad,kaulah perdana menteri terburuk dalam sejarah tanahair

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Berita Wilayah, May 26, 2008 (20 Jamadilawal 1429)

No Pressure From Sarawak BN For Important Posts In Cabinet

KUCHING, May 26 (Bernama) -- The Sarawak Barisan Nasional (BN) government has never pressured the federal government for important posts, including the post of deputy prime minister, since joining Malaysia in 1963.

State Housing Minister Datuk Seri Abang Johari Tun Openg said Sarawak politics should not be seen in the same light as Sabah politics, as Sarawak BN stressed a policy of consultations to resolve any problem with the federal government.

"But I do not want to comment on Sabah politics. In Sarawak, there had been no trouble because whenever there was a problem with the federal government, we would not resort to an 'open war'. Instead, we negotiated to solve the problem," he told reporters here Monday.

Johari, who is also Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu (PBB) deputy president, said the Sarawak BN representatives had a certain political quality which endeared them to the people since independence.

He said there were Sabah and Sarawak politicians who aspired to become deputy prime minister, and this had been played up by the Pakataan Rakyat which promised this if it ruled the country.

"We have not been hasty (in wanting the DPM post)," he said.

On Saturday, Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) adviser Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said that some Sabah and Sarawak MPs were keen to cross over to the opposition coalition and would do so soon.

In the March 8 general election, Sarawak BN won 30 of the parliamentary seats in the state while the other seat was won by the DAP.

-- BERNAMA

 

Comments :        Mengapa Presiden & Timbalan Presiden PBB (tulang belakang BN Sarawak) tidak memperjuangkan hak2 & kepentingan Sarawak seperti pemimpin2 BN Sabah? Adakah sebabnya tan sri taib terlampau selesa & persahabatan mendalam dengan pa la? Mahukan anaknya jadi km?

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Berita Harian, May 26, 2008 (20 Jamadilawal 1429)

Kerajaan Selangor haram program berkaitan Islam Hadhari

SHAH ALAM: Kerajaan Selangor mengharamkan sebarang bentuk program yang mempunyai kaitan dengan Islam Hadhari mulai hari ini kerana tidak mahu konsep yang diperkenalkan Perdana Menteri, Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi dikembangkan di negeri itu.

Pengerusi Jawatankuasa Tetap Hal Ehwal Agama, Adat-adat Melayu, Infrastruktur dan Kemudahan Awam negeri, Datuk Dr Hassan Mohamed Ali, berkata selaras dengan arahan itu, semua masjid dan surau tidak dibenarkan mengadakan program, termasuk khutbah yang menyentuh atau ada hubung kait dengan Islam Hadhari.

Beliau memberi alasan konsep Islam Hadhari tidak diperlukan kerana ajaran Islam yang diamalkan umat Islam di negara ini sudah lengkap dan menyeluruh membabitkan semua aspek kehidupan manusia sejagat.  

"Kita tidak mahu konsep Islam Hadhari dikembangkan di negeri ini. Ini kerana, ajaran Islam yang kita amalkan sudah lengkap dan ajaran inilah yang kita mahu sandarkan untuk memerintah Selangor," katanya pada sesi penggulungan hari terakhir sidang Dewan Undangan Negeri (DUN) di sini.

 

Comments :        Pembawaan atau mahzab palsu pa la "Islam Hadhari" sudah mula terbongkar...kerajaan negeri Selangor merupakan satu dari lebih banyak lagi badan yang akan membongkar dakyah 'freemason' untuk menyesatkan umat Islam...malangya di bawa & di promosi oleh pa la

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Utusan Online, May 23, 2008 (17 Jamadilawal 1429)

Mukhriz perlu beri penjelasan

KUALA LUMPUR 22 Mei – Exco Pergerakan Pemuda UMNO, Datuk Mukhriz Mahathir tetap perlu memberi penjelasan kepada Jawatankuasa Pengurusan parti walaupun mendakwa kenyataan beliau mendesak Perdana Menteri, Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi melepaskan jawatan dalam parti dan kerajaan telah disalahtafsir.

Ketua Pergerakan Pemuda UMNO, Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Tun Hussein berkata, jika benar Mukhriz tidak meletakkan prasyarat akan keluar daripada UMNO Julai ini, Ahli Parlimen Jerlun itu boleh menjelaskannya kepada jawatankuasa tersebut.

“Jika Mukhriz kata saya telah tersalah anggap terhadap kenyataan yang dikeluarkannya dan beliau juga tidak berniat untuk mengugut Presiden atau ingin keluar parti, maka beliau boleh memberi penjelasan kepada Jawatankuasa Pengurusan UMNO.

“Saya akan lega sekiranya Mukhriz tidak mempunyai apa-apa niat kerana ketika kita semua bergerak sebagai satu pasukan dalam Pergerakan Pemuda UMNO dan pada masa sama ada pula yang tergamak keluar,” katanya ketika ditemui di pejabatnya di bangunan Parlimen di sini hari ini.

Semalam, ketika ditemui di lobi Parlimen, Mukhriz berkata, beliau sedia menghadapi sebarang bentuk tindakan yang bakal dikenakan oleh jawatankuasa itu.

Menurut Mukhriz, selepas menyatakan pendiriannya untuk kekal dalam UMNO tetapi mendesak Perdana Menteri untuk berundur kelmarin, beliau bersedia berhadapan dengan apa juga tindakan yang mungkin dikenakan ke atasnya.

Hishammuddin berkata, sebarang kenyataan berbaur ugutan atau cabaran sebenarnya tidak membantu mengukuhkan parti sebaliknya akan mengeruhkan keadaan

 

Comments :      Kenapa kau saja nak mengenakan Datuk Mukhriz Mahathir ni Hishammuddin? Kenapa kau mati-matian menyokong pa la yang telah memkompromi kedudukan bagsa, agama & negara? Adakah kena-mengena dengan bagaimana kau kompromi maruah bangsa dengan minta ampun kris?

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The Star, May 23, 2008 (17 Jamadilawal 1429)

Dr M: I’m offering alternative for Barisan

By MERGAWATI ZULFAKAR

 

TOKYO: Umno is preparing its own demise and that of Barisan Nasional if it continues to have Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi at the helm, former Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad said Thursday.

He also said that his son Datuk Mukhriz, who decided against following his move to quit Umno, might face “difficulties” staying on should Abdullah continue to be the president.

“Yes, Umno can consider me irrelevant. It is their funeral and not mine. Today the Barisan has been destabilised by Abdullah not being able to lead it to victory in the general election.

“Barisan, in some cases, has become irrelevant. Gerakan has become irrelevant, MIC could not win. All this was due to him. He not only destabilised Umno, he destabilised component parties and he destabilised Barisan,” Dr Mahathir told The Star Thursday in an interview here.

Dr Mahathir, who is here for a dialogue session at the Nikkei conference, said he predicted Barisan would be finished in the next elections if Abdullah continued to serve as Prime Minister.

Tokyo talk: Mahathir in dialogue with Kazuo Ogoura, president of the Japan Foundation, at the 14th International Conference on “The Future of Asia” in Tokyo. — AP

Asked if his move would provide PKR de facto leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim to take over the Government, Dr Mahathir said:

“I am offering an alternative which is less dangerous for Barisan. Instead of jumping to another party, I am telling them to form your own group which will be the determining force in Parliament.”

He added that if Abdullah did not go, he would be in the minority because the other had already left and he would have to give up his post as Prime Minister.

“If in that case Anwar wants to come in, this group will give support to Barisan and Barisan with a new leader can still go on to become the Government,” he said.

Earlier, at a press conference with the Malaysian media, Dr Mahathir was asked why he was being disloyal to Umno.

“If we are against the president, it does not mean we are against the party. We are misinterpreting things.

“If we look back at history, Tun Razak did not agree with Dato Onn Jaafar to open up Umno to other races. To Tun Razak, his disagreement did not mean he was being disloyal to Umno.

“The same goes when in 1969, the Alliance did not perform well in the elections and many criticised Tunku Abdul Rahman. Razak was clearly sympathetic towards his critics, including me.”

He also said that when Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah, Tun Musa Hitam and Abdullah challenged him when he was Umno president in 1987, he never accused them of being disloyal.

Asked if he was willing to meet Umno deputy president Datuk Seri Najib Razak, Dr Mahathir only had one question to ask Najib.

“I want to ask him whether he is loyal to the party or president? I just want to remind him of the Onn and Tunku cases where his father was clearly disloyal to the party leader.

“If Najib wants to say those who are not loyal to the president is also against the party, I want to remind Najib of what his father did back then,” he said.

Comments :      

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The Straits Times, May 23, 2008 (17 Jamadilawal 1429)

ICJ rules for S'pore on islet dispute with Malaysia

Pedra Branca is considered important for its strategic position and impact on territorial marine boundaries. -- PHOTO: REUTERS

THE HAGUE - THE International Court of Justice ruled on Friday in favour of Singapore in a 28-year sovereignty dispute with Malaysia over a tiny but strategic uninhabited island the size of half a football field.

'The court, by 12 votes to four, finds that sovereignty ... belongs to the Republic of Singapore,' Judge Awn Shawkat Al-Khasawneh said.

Singapore, which knows the islet as Pedra Branca argued that sovereignty had passed to it tacitly, having operated the Horsburgh Lighthouse on the island for more than 130 years without any protest from its neighbour.

As for the island's two rocky outcrops, the court ruled that sovereignty of Middle Rocks belonged to Malaysia, while that of South Ledge had yet to be determined as it fell within overlapping territorial waters.

The granite island is considered important for its strategic position and impact on territorial marine boundaries. It lies 7.7 nautical miles off Johor on the eastern approach to the Singapore Strait from the South China Sea.

The court found that the Malaysian sultanate-turned province of Johor had held the original title but had taken 'no action at all' regarding the island for more than a century.

Maritime disputes in Asia

Here are facts about some of Asia's maritime disputes.

NORTHWEST BORNEO - Malaysia and Brunei said last year they had reached a tentative pact to end a dispute over the ownership of two large oil exploration blocks off the northwest of Borneo in the South China Sea. The row has stopped deepwater exploration in the area.

... more

'The court concludes ... that by 1980 sovereignty over Pedra Branca/Pulau Batu Puteh had passed to Singapore,' Mr Al-Khasawneh said.

The dispute arose when Singapore protested in 1980 against a new Malaysian map of its maritime boundaries which claimed the islet for itself.

Years of bilateral talks failed to resolve the matter and the parties agreed to seek the intervention of the United Nations' highest court.

As for Middle Rocks, the tribunal found that original title to the feature should remain with Malaysia as the successor to the Sultan of Johor.

But South Ledge, a feature visible only at low tide, would now fall 'within the apparently overlapping territorial waters generated by the mainland of Malaysia, Pedra Branca/Pulau Batu Puteh, and Middle Rocks', said the judges.

'... the Court has not been mandated by the parties to draw the line of delimitation with respect to the territorial waters of Malaysia and Singapore in the area in question'.

'It is a win-win situation,' Malaysian Foreign Minister Rais Yatim told reporters after the court ruling, noting that both countries has received sovereignty of an islet.

He said the two countries would set up a committee to go through the judgement and come up with a solution regarding South Ledge.

Singapore welcomed the court verdict and said it did not expect any problems between the two countries.

'This will not affect bilateral relations. Malaysia and Singapore have showed through this process a good example to the rest of the region how such disputes can be resolved in a peaceful and amicable method,' Singapore's Deputy Prime Minister S. Jayakumar told reporters.

The Court's rulings are final and cannot be appealed. -- AFP

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DefaultICJ rules for S'pore on islet dispute with Malaysia - May 23, 2008 Friday, 06:32 PM


THE HAGUE - THE International Court of Justice ruled on Friday in favour of Singapore in its 28-year sovereignty dispute with Malaysia over the tiny uninhabited island of Pedra Branca. Ownership of the island's rocky outcrop- Middle Rocks- was given to Malaysia.

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DefaultMay 23, 2008 Friday, 08:09 PM


Thank you Dr Abdullah Badawi! Such a resolution would not have been possible under Dr Mahathir.

         

 

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