Saturday, June 30, 2007

LKY: Umno leaders trying to topple Pak Lah

with updates, Sunday 01 July:
AKJ in his blog The Scribe urges Umno members to be weary. LKY "... is creating suspicion among Umno leaders. He appears to be pitting the Johor Umno against the President."
Shar at OBE says he looks forward to Wisma Putra's response to the "Little Emperor".
Ron in Gerbang Ruhanie wonders if LKY was staging a reverse psychology warfare against Malaysians who oppose IDR.
SKThew has a posting, "Let the War begins".

We are still waiting for the first Umno leader/member to comment on LKY's remarks.

Original posting:
"On one side Pas is trying to topple the prime minister but when Umno leaders, particularly from Johor, are also doing the same, Singaporean investors must seriously ask themselves when this attitude will change and whether they welcome us in IDR." - Lee Kuan Yew.
Yes, Singapore's Minister Mentor is hitting out at us again. Not just at Johor but at Malaysia.

Despite all that the Abdullah Administration has done to woo the Singaporeans to the Iskandar Development Region, including forming a joint-ministerial committee, Kuan Yew is not impressed. In fact, he's told his people not to expect privileged treatment from Malaysia like the "generous treatment" accorded by China to investors from Hong Kong in Shenzhen province.
"Singapore cannot expect the same treatment form Malaysia."
That''s fine by me, but he didn't stop there. He went on to tell Singapore companies to evaluate whether their presence is welcomed at IDR as there are protests from among Umno leaders, especially from Johor.
"On one side Pas is trying to topple the prime minister but when Umno leaders, especially from Johor, are also doing the same, Singaporean investors must seriously ask themselves when this attitude will change and whether they welcome us in IDR," he saide in an interview with Singapore's Berita Harian. [Read the Bernama report here and the latest AP report dated 1 July 2007 here]
This is a very serious allegation. LKY is saying that Umno leaders, particularly from Johor, are trying to topple the Prime Minister. The PM is Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.

This is a very serious allegation, indeed.

Bloggers send cyber stalker to jail

6 months for harassing blogger. A virtual "Wanted" poster put up by London bloggers has led to the arrest of a "serial harasser" in what's probably the first such case in the world. Researcher Felicity Lowde, 41, had been harassing a London bomb survivor - a blogger - for 14 months, accusing her of "making a living off the backs of the dead". She has been sentenced to six months' jail in. Read the full story here.

I can think of some people here who have been harassing Malaysian bloggers lately ....

Friday, June 29, 2007

Najib mentioned in Altantuya's murder trial

updated:
Sunday 1 July 2007:
The DPM's press secretary said last night Najib Razak will not issue any statement with regards to a claim by a witness about a photograph that was not even produced in court. Tengku Sarifuddin Ahmad said it would prejudice the on-going trial if the DPM were to issue a statement. In the past, Najib has said he had never met and known Altantuya, and that statement stands.
The Bernama exclusive came in last night, here.
update 6.30pm
Our national news agency has not come up with the story. AP has it here [Najib Razak photographed with Mongolian victim, court told] a couple of hours ago, though.
NO such picture was produced in court, though.


original posting
Witness' account.
The DPM's name cropped up for the first time today. I was told that one of the witnesses spoke of having seen a photograph of Altantuya having a meal with the accused, Razak Baginda, and the DPM.
There will be updates here late but Bernama should have the story up by now.

Thursday, June 28, 2007

Rocky vs NSTP & 4 others - Inter-parte issues

28 June 2007. NSTP and 4 Others, including Hishamuddin Aun who has just recovered from a major bypass surgery, and my lawyer Nik Mohd Ikhwan agreed in the Judge's chambers this morning to defer the hearing of the plaintiffs' application for an inter-parte injunction against me. [The injunction is to stop me from writing stuff about NSTP and the 4. It became necessary after the plaintiffs failed to get an ex-parte injunction when they filed the defamation suit against me in January].
The Court has fixed 5 September 2007 to hear the application.

That will depend, of course, on the outcome of my application to strike out their case altogether, which has been scheduled for hearing on 7 August 2007.

Wednesday, June 27, 2007

MPs argue about GT gals' attire


Bikini or Hot Pants? Two of our YBs are giving Azalina a hard time. They want her to explain why her ministry allowed models clad in bikins to grace the Super GT Grand Prix.
Aza's parliamentary S. Vigneswaran told the Dewan Rakyat that those are not bikinis but hot pants. Also, he explained, it was an international event and the organisers had their conditions. Nonetheless, he will bring it up with the minister. [read Bernama's Sports Ministry taken to task over sexy girls]

If you can't see what the fuss is, TV Smith has more pics here to help you see what our two motor-enthusiast MPs, Hasni Mohamad (BN-Pontian) and Mohamad Aziz (BN-Sri Gading), saw.
Chindiana has pics here and some more here.

Tuesday, June 26, 2007

So, Eric Chia ain't a crook!

Acquitted. The former MD of Perwaja was accused of CBT involving RM76.4 million. I remember the high-speed car chase on the highway the day they decided to take him in. Today, the Sessions Court acquitted and discharged the 74-year old Eric Chia without calling for his defence.
Was the Prosecution's case that weak?
If Eric Chia is not a crook, who is?
And where did the RM76.4 million go?

update, midnight
Trial leaves him with broken family and no friends, Eric Chia says.
"Yes, I can move on with my life but what about my broken family. You don't have a family. How do you proceed with your life?" he said, adding that he had not seen his children for years.
Chia said that for him, Malaysia was his home and he would live and die here.
Chia said he also lost his friends when the trial began and some of his friends accused him of being a crook. [read the sad story on Bernama here]



Proton: How to sell a tall story [if you can't sell a car]


Bluffing the Backbenchers. Ailing national car manufacturer Proton this week holds a briefing for Parliament's backbenchers to explain why they've screwed up big time. The Board of Directors will impress upon the MPs that everyone is to blame but them. The MPs will, of course, believe them because to doubt them is to doubt the PM himself. And they'll be tasked to look at the bright side - Proton is now so "cheap" that VW will be happy to buy up that 51 per cent stake. In fact, an insider said the briefing is actually a campaign to convince the politicians that it will actually be a good time to do just that: sell off the national car to VW. [Tables taken from bigdogdotcom, who alludes here to a 60-page brief for the backbenchers].

p.s. And how to sell AirAsia. Screenshots has the story here, Citigroup: Sell AirAsia to take profit. A Sydney-based journo-blogger , Ganesh Sahathevan, says Bank Negara should investigate AirAsia for its accounting of deferred taxes. Read AirAsia's Double Standards.

IGP: I'm not angry, I'm not corrupt

Lies, says IGP. Musa Hassan said he is not bothered by allegations made by Malaysia Today that he was on the take. "..(the allegations) are false and I am not at all bothered by them," he said last night. The IGP does not want to discuss if he'll take a legal action against Raja Petra Kamaruddin for the postings. So far this year two bloggers in Malaysia have been sued for what they wrote.
Bernama's full story on the IGP:
KUALA LUMPUR, June 25 (Bernama) -- "I am not angry with all the accusations (hurled at me) because they are slander," was the response from Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Musa Hassan when asked about the allegations posted on a blogsite linking him to corruption.
Musa said it would be pointless for him to entertain the allegations because they were false and it was up to the people whether they wanted to believe them or otherwise.
"There are so many websites nowadays. Everybody can write what they want... globalisation... so let them (the people) evaluate," he told reporters when asked to comment on a report posted on the "Malaysia Today" blogsite which alleged that Musa was involved in corruption and had been influenced by heads of crime syndicates in deciding on the positions of senior police officers.
Musa declined to elaborate on the matter, saying that such wild allegations would not jeopardise his responsibilities as the chief of police.
"I don't want to talk... because they (allegations) are false and I'm not at all bothered by them because my genuine intention is only to improve the (police) force and ensure that all police officers and men discharge their duties well," he said.
Asked whether he was contemplating legal action against the blogsite and the author of the report, Musa declined comment.
He said his objective and mission when he was appointed to the top post in the force had never changed, particularly in the eradication of corruption.
"I never changed my strategy... and I'm still carrying out my responsibilities to improve the force, and the cooperation of the people is most necessary, particularly in helping me to improve the force," he said.

Monday, June 25, 2007

Rommel: I didn't mean to meddle


Thierry Rommel, the EU envoy under fire for anti-NEP remarks he reportedly uttered last Thursday, said he has no intention to meddle in Malaysia's internal affairs. He claimed that his remarks had been blown out of proportions and that as an ambassador he's always been looking into ways to better enhance relations between Malaysian and the EU.
Rommel was called in today by Wisma Putra to explain his statement, according to Bernama. [links later]

The Rommel-bashing begins

Defending Malaysia. After Najib's rebuke, we've now got Foreign Minister Syed Hamid Albar speaking in Rome that Wisma Putra will summon Thierry Rommel over the EU envoy's NEP slur. Our ambassador to Brussels Kamal Yan Yahya will meet EU officials to convey Malaysia's stance and after that, Syed Hamid said, Malaysia will then study the possibility of sending a protest note [here].
In KL, Hishamuddin Hussein, the Education Minister, called Rommel arrogant and excessive. He said Rommel overstepped his authority and a protest note should be sent to the EU [here].
The newspapers will now write their columns and editorials lambasting Rommel. Or will they wait for the PM to say something first? Will the MCA and Gerakan leaders also wait?

Pasquale does not defend the NEP in his hard-hitting against foreigners who have no respect for Malaysians and Malaysia's sovereignty. He is equally unsympathetic towards Malaysians who do not stand up to recent insults. He has a picture of Rommel not in Gestapo uniform. Read his posting Malaysia is a coward of the county.

Re-thinking (again) Malaysia

Media and Civil Society. When EU envoy Thierry Rommel criticized the NEP the other day, most of the major dailies and tv stations failed to report it. Was it self-censorship, did they all miss it, or were they told to ignore Rommel? But when the Deputy Prime Minister reacted to Rommel by telling him not to interfere in Malaysia's domestic policies, they all went to town with it. Was it because it's politically correct or were they told to front-page Najib?
How does such editorial conduct affect Civil Society?

This may be one of the hot issues that will be discussed at the Siri Pemikiran Kritis on "Re-thinking Malaysia" this Wednesday, 27th June 2007, at 8pm. It's being organised by the Bar Council and the Youth for Change, and the venue is the Bar Council auditorium in Leboh Pasar Besar, KL.

Two of the panelists are from All-Blogs: Ms Elizabeth Wong, who is also member of Suaram, and Jeff Ooi the Screenshots blogger. They'll sandwich the third panelist Paul Low, the secretary general of Transparency International Malaysia.

Saturday, June 23, 2007

Bio-med student, 22, missing

Update, Sunday 7pm
The girl is back home, safe and sound, according to the Star's on-line breaking news. Thank God.


PETALING JAYA: Student Siti Mariana Suhaimi, 22, who was reported missing since Friday night, has returned home, much to the relief of her parents.
The Kolej Universiti Teknologi Malaysia final year bio-medical student went missing after leaving her campus in Shah Alam for her boyfriend’s home in Klang on Friday night.
Her disappearance caused a frantic two-day search by her parents. They lodged a police report, sent out text messages to all their friends. Her missing person story was even covered by several online blogs.

The Star's updated story here.

Original posting:
Siti Mariana
. I have never met Capt Suhaimi Aziz, 47, but my heart goes out to him right now. He's out there looking for his 22-year-old daughter, Siti Mariana, who has been missing since Friday night. The Malaysia Airlines pilot lodged a police report at 4.15 am (Saturday) and hasn't stopped searching for his girl since. He has sent sms to all his friends asking for them to pass the message around and for people to look out for his daughter. One of his friends relayed the sms to me as I was having supper with my girls. I have just spoken to the Capt, to get more details about what happened. "I don't know what to do, except to pray and to keep looking," he said.

Siti Mariana was driving her metallic grey Kancil BHF 7472 on the way to meet her boyfriend in Klang between 7 pm and 8pm yesterday (Friday). Her last sms was to her boyfriend, sent after 6, telling him that she was on her way to pick him up. The final year bio-medical student at Kolej Universiti Teknologi Malaysia in Shah Alam never reached her boyfriend's place.

I pray that Suhaimi will find his girl, safe and sound.

EU envoy told off over NEP slur

"Do your job, Mr Rommel. And get your facts right." The Deputy Prime Minister is not amused by the EU envoy's unsolicited view on the "pro-Malay policy". Najib said as a diplomat, Rommel's job was to help enhance ties between his country and Malaysia but what he seemed to have done was on the contrary. Rommel also had his facts wrong about the NEP, Najib said.
Read Bernama's Don't meddle with Malaysia's domestic affairs, warns Najib.

Ironically, the national news agency did not have the story on Rommel condemning the NEP. None of the major newspapers had it, either. My original posting here was based on the report by foreign news agency AP, EU Envoy blasts Malaysia's NEP.

Vindicated Wee to hound Bank Negara Malaysia for inaction

BNM could have saved MBf. Lawyer-politician Wee Choo Keong waited 14 long years for his application to strike out an ex-parte injunction obtained against him by the now-defunct MBf Finance [read my earlier posting here].

Last week, Deputy Registrar Azwanida Affandi struck out the injunction against Wee on the grounds that:
1. It discloses not reasonable cause of action
2. It is scandalous, frivolous, vexatious, prejudicial and/or embarrassing
3. And/or is otherwise an abuse of the process of court
Justice delayed is justice denied, Wee said. From 1 March 1993 (the day he filed his application) till now, many things have happened: the MBf Finance CEO is dead, Anwar Ibrahim is no longer in power, and MBf Finance has now been brought under another bank.
Why did it take 14 years to decide on Wee's application?
I have to wonder because I am an interested party. The NSTP and 4 Others have filed a defamation suit against me for 50 postings on my blog and I have applied to strike it out. The NSTP and 3 Others have filed another suit against blogger Jeff Ooi and have obtained an injunction against him, and he has also applied to strike out the case. It's been more than half a year and many things have happened during the time.

Wee, I am happy to report, is not stopping here to set things right.
"Bank Negara must be accountable and must explain why it did not take any action on the complaints I lodged against the CEO of the MBf Finance, the late Tan Sri Loy Hean Heong. Had Bank Negara taken the necessary actions against Tan Sri Loy, today there will still be MBf Finance, but without Tan Sri Loy. Bank Negara has failed in its duty to protect the investing public. I shall pursue my complaints with Bank Negara."

Friday, June 22, 2007

Datuk K celebrated Altantuya's birthday?

NST's Datuk K. According to a new on-line news portal www.klpos.com, there is a Datuk K in the New Straits Times who may know Altantuya Shaariibuu quite intimately as this Datuk K was recently photographed celebrating her birthday with several other dignitaries, including a Datuk Seri N and a Datin Seri R.

I'll believe it when the people behind klpos publishe the picture or pictures of this Datuk K and Altantuya.

I also believe that such pictures, if they exist, should be handed over to the relevant authorities to help them with the on-going trial of Altantuya's grim murder.

Thursday, June 21, 2007

EU tells Malaysia off re NEP

Rommel says pro-Malay policy sucks. The EU's ambassador to Malaysia, Thierry Rommel, has openly criticised the New Economic Policy that favours the Malays. He described the NEP as discriminatory and amounts to protectionism. Rommel (I'm not sure if he's related to WWII's Erwin Rommel, the Hitler loyalist) stopped short of saying the NEP should be scrapped but, according to the AP report EU Envoy Blasts Malaysia's NEP, he told reporters separately:"We (in Europe) have bitten the bullet on a number of sensitive issues, why can't you?"However, if you read only Bernama, our national news agency, you'd think Rommel doesn't mind the NEP at all - Political will ensures success of Doha Round - EU Official.Rommel has set aside political niceties. I say we do likewise.

updates 22 June:
Big Dog calls Rommel "kurang ajar" and argues that foreign firms have continued to flourish in the last 37 NEP years. In addition, 80 per cent of local companies are listed on the stock market without having to meet the 30 per cent NEP requirements.
Freethinker is shocked and awed by the spin.

Ku Li's incomplete address

mykuli.blogspot.com
For the recent forum on the legacy of Tun Razak, the organizers invited Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah to deliver an address. However, Ku Li did not get to finish his prepared speech; he was asked to cut it short in order for the organizers to let Tun Musa Hitam say a word or two. A blogger in the audience was utterly disappointed: "Musa did not make preparations," he wrote here.
A weblog dedicated to the man who came closest to beating Dr Mahathir in an Umno presidential election has published the unfinished address by Ku Li here.
Among other things, Ku Li listed 6 reasons why the Malays are still lagging in terms of economic achievements despite the NEP:
1. Malays are not united
2. Their minds continue to be subject to indoctrination
3. In a crisis, they are reactive rather than proactive
4. They are losing the battle against corruption and other trappings of capitalism and wealth
5. Malay ministers are becoming increasingly apologetic
6. The Malays fail to capitalise their strength in terms of numbers to form a formidable business network

Singaporean in Exile

Ben, 30 years later. Met a childhood friend, 30 years later, early this week. For three days, he drank and ate lunch, mi rebus at Maria's, and dinner in the company of Malaysian bloggers Nuraina, Zorro, Big Dog, A Voice, Shanghai Fish, Galadriel, Rusdi Mustapha, and many others. In the early 70s, we were still listening hard to Things We Said Today and wondered if we'd meet Aubrey. We walked out of Maths during the GCE "O" Level in Jurong, Singapore, so that we can focus on Science! He answered to the National Service while I decided to cross the Causeway for my greener pasture. Three decades later, Ben is a man scarred by bad times and richer for life's experiences. The boy in him is still there. I suppose we are all like that.

Given the company, he was drawn to blog. Amir Hafizi personally helped him to get started. He has promised to share some stories and conspiracy theories about Singapore as he talks about his new world in Indonesia. He resides at www.pestben.blogspot.com

Wednesday, June 20, 2007

Cabinet's 3 steps to beat JB's crime

More cops, more cars, more hqs. The Cabinet approved today 3 immediate measures in response to reports of growing crime in JB:
1. Lease shoplots to establish three new district police headquarters [in JB Timur, Nusa Jaya, and Kulai] as soon as possible;
2. Deploy 400 more cops; and
3. Send 200 more patrol cars to the city
In case you are wondering, Nusa Jaya is Johor's new administrative capital, the nerve centre of the Iskandar Development Region. I am not certain of the crime rate in that place or if the measures are sufficient or if the situation in JB is as bad as reported.
But a blogger, in his posting earlier, advised Singaporeans to stay away from the IDR in view of the recent crime spree in JB. The IDR is meant primarily to atract Singapore investors.

Read Big Dog's Singaporeans, better stay away! and the Bernama's piece here on the Cabinet's move.

Malaysia's 4 million poor workers

RM290 a month. Newspaper reports tell us of record-breaking KLCI, billions in FDI, trillion-ringgit trade, and a PFI-powered economy. Come July 1, when the new government salary scale comes into effect, even the lowest-paid government cook will lifted off the poverty line".
"With the increase, the lowest basic salary (received by Grade N1 cooks) will be RM649.15 a month compared with RM480.85 before the increment. With fixed allowances, the lowest total monthly income will be RM1,024.15 compared with RM805.85 currently.
This lifts the lowest-paid civil servants off the poverty line, an issue which Cuepacs had raised several times. The poverty line is RM691 in the peninsula, RM888 in Sabah and RM765 in Sarawak." [Read the rest of the story here.]
Now the Malaysian Trades Union Congress tells us that 4 million out of the 10 million workers in the private sector still get paid below the poverty line!
"Basic wages of plantation workers remained below RM400 per month while collective agreements in the non-metallic mineral products industry provided wages between RM400 and RM550.
"Even in Johor Baru, where the cost of living is high, industrial workers are paid as low as RM390. Five-star hotels in Kuala Lumpur are paying a basic wage of RM290 per month to cleaners and waiters," said MTUC president Syed Shahrir Syed Mohd [www.syedshahir.blogsome.com]
The MTUC is demanding a RM900 minimum wage or it will go on a nationwide picket on Monday (June 25) unless they hear from the Prime Minister. [read the story here].

Tuesday, June 19, 2007

Jeff Ooi vs NSTP & 3 Others

KL, June 19: Screenshots blogger Jeff Ooi will have to wait another month at least for his application to strike out a defamation suit by NSTP and 3 Others to be heard. NSTP and the 3 filed the suit in January this year and were granted an intra-parte injunction that has been in effect ever since.
September 11 has been set for hearing Jeff's application to merge his case with mine. However, this will depend also on the outcome of my application to strike out the defamation suit filed against me by NSTP and 4 Others. They filed the suit against me in January but failed to obtain an intra-parte injunction against me.

Monday, June 18, 2007

Blogging: Indonesia 3 Malaysia 0

Third Indon minister blogs. Unspun, the Malaysian blogger in Jakarta, has the story here and wonders if Indonesia can offer to teach Malaysian Ministers to stay cool and consider blogs an opportunity rather than a threat.
The first Malaysian Cabinet Minister to blog? I can't imagine the prospects. Perhaps KJ, the son-in-law, after the next general elections?

Altantuya murder trial, June 18

update Bernama reports Karpal's application for Judge to withdraw from case rejected here.

Judge and lawyer are "distant relatives", says Karpal Singh.
The Shaariibuu family lawyer said Judge Mohammad Zaki Mohammad Yasin and the late wife of defence lawyer Hazman Ahmad were third-cousins. Therefore both the Yang Ariff and the lawyer should withdraw from themselves from the trial, Karpal said. [click here]
The trial was postponed on June 4 because the Attorney-General had decided to change the prosecution team at the 11th hour. [read here]

Sunday, June 17, 2007

Jeanne and Umno membership

Serani boleh? A recent Muslim convert sent me an sms asking me how was it that the Prime Minister's new wife, who is a Eurasian and not a Malay, could become an Umno member [read story here]. I could't answer the query so I forwarded it to a couple of die-hard Umno bloggers.
Any of you know?

Can't pay your civil servants?

If so, write in to us, Putrajaya tells Kelantan government. Well, I thought the pay rise announced by the PM recently (effective July 1) means all civil servants in all states will rejoice. It's not the case, it seems. Kelantan, which is under Pas rule, has limited financial resources and the Fed knows it. "They have no new sources of income besides relying on land premium and timber revenue," says Awang Adek, the deputy Finance Minister and a BN Member of Parliament from the state. Apart from Kelantan, other state governments did not face problems to pay the new salary, he adds, adding that this clearly reflected weaknesses of the Pas-run state government.

The campaigning has begun. Read the Bernama story here.

Rejecting labels on Islam

Moderate is less, says Karen Armstrong. According to Marina Mahathir, wh0 attended Karen Armstrong's talk in KL yesterday:
Dr Armstrong talked about the need for Muslims to reject labels imposed on them. Not only should they reject extremist labels but Dr Armstrong also said she disliked the term 'moderate Islam'. She argued that 'religion means extravagant compassion' and believes that in the West, 'moderate' means "let's have a bit less of Islam".

That's so basic, isn't it?

Happy Fathers' Day.

Saturday, June 16, 2007

Anti-Jeff Ooi

Anti-Jeff Ooi (1). The Screenshots blogger seems to have inspired a small guerrilla uprising in blogosphere whose mission is to defame him and put a stop to his blistering expose on the sms scam. See here and www.antijeffooi.com

Anti-Jeff Ooi (2). Jeff goes to the High Court in Jalan Duta to face a different set of opponents this Tuesday, 19 June 2007. His lawyers will argue the merits of merging his case with mine. We share lawyers and we are both being sued for defamation by NSTP and several of its officers, including Kalimullah Masheerul Hassan.
My own case was last heard on May 28 [here] and is due to be heard again early August.

Sufi's latest letter to Kali, unpublished

A day after I posted Kalimullah admits "it was incorrect" Sufi, Dr Mahathir's aide, sent this letter to the author of the farcical June 11 (2006) article seeking a clarification. It looks like the letter will not see print in the NST so I am reproducing it in full here. - Rocky's Bru, June 16, 2007.


Ybhg Datuk Kalimullah Masheerul Hassan

Deputy Chairman,

New Straits Times Press (Malaysia) Berhad
Balai Berita
31, Jalan Riong
59100 Kuala Lumpur

June 12, 2007


Dear Sir,

Re: Kalimullah admits "It was incorrect"

I refer to the above item that appeared in the blogsite rockybru.blogspot.com dated June 11, 2007 and I quote;

Kalimullah's June 11 legacy. Extracted, from court documents filed recently by Kalimullah Masheerul Hassan in his on-going suit against lawyer-author Matthias Chang:

"It was incorrect as I subsequently found out. And this issue was subsequently clarified in the New Straits Times."

The NSTP former Group Editor-in-Chief and now Deputy Chairman/Editorial Adviser made this admission in response to an Interrogatory filed by the Defendant asking Kalimullah whether what he wrote in the June 11, 2006 article in the Sunday Times about the meeting between the Prime Minister and Dr Mahathir in Japan was correct.

[Please read the "incorrect" article, Sunday Column: And who, really, is demonising whom?]

2. As I clearly recall, when the New Sunday Times (June 11, 2006) published the Sunday Column: And who, really is demonising whom?, authored by yourself, I had then written a letter to point out and clarify certain factual errors.

3. The paragraphs in the original article that became a point of contention to me were;

"The Prime Minister was in Japan shortly after the Malaysiakini article appeared and was told that Dr Mahathir wanted to come and see him.

Abdullah, in the midst of breakfast with aides and officials, immediately put on his tie and told the ambassador that he would go and see his ex-boss rather than let Dr Mahathir come down and see him.

Yet, less than two weeks later, Dr Mahathir invited the foreign Press to his office and lambasted Abdullah and his administration."

I had then pointed out that;

  • Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad did not seek an appointment with Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi while both leaders were in Tokyo attending the Nikkei Conference.
  • Dr Mahathir did not invite the foreign Press to, in the your words, "lambast Abdullah and his administration". The Press conference on June 7 was called to announce the Perdana Leadership Foundation's Global Peace Forum to be held from June 20-22.

4. The following day the New Straits Times published my letter although it did not apologise to Dr Mahathir. Instead, there was a footnote at the end of the letter which read:

(We have received many letters in support of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi. Because they express similar sentiments to the correspondence already published, we have decided to bring this subject to a close. — Editor)

5. Subsequently, Prime Minister Yang Amat Berhormat Dato Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, referring to the meeting with Dr Mahathir in Tokyo on May 26, 2006 was quoted by the New Straits Times (July 20, 2006) as follows;

"I did not ask him to come and see me. I went to meet him. As a gesture of friendship, just to exchange greetings," he said.

6. Following the PM's remarks, I again wrote to the NST pointing out that since the PM had given his version, it had then been proven beyond doubt that the unqualified and misleading statements contained and written by you and published in the Sunday Column (June 11, 2006) can only be read as intending to cast aspersion on Dr Mahathir. I had also said that given this development an unreserved apology was due to Dr Mahathir. Unfortunately, the NST found it convenient not to publish the letter, nor was an apology ever privately or publicly offered to Dr Mahathir.
7. Given the latest development as published in rockybru, I seek clarification to the statement
"And this issue was subsequently clarified in the New Straits Times."

8. I stand corrected. I do not remember having read anywhere in the NST or in the New Sunday Times of any clarification with regard to this issue. Unless of course my letter and the PM's statement is regarded as "clarification".

9. What I would understand as clarification is that if you, Datuk, as the writer and author of the original article had retracted your statement and offered an apology to Dr Mahathir for the misrepresentation of facts in a subsequent publication of the Sunday Column.

10. That I would understand and accept as clarification as I would be somewhat assured that your readers, not necessarily readers of the NST, would then be "informed" that what they had read in your column on June 11, 2006 was indeed a misrepresentation of the facts, and not true.

11. Unless and until that appears in the Sunday Column I do not consider the issue as "clarified".

Before I end, let me quote you a paragraph from the Sunday Column: Rumour and the Ugly Malaysian, that you had written dated Aug 7, 2005;

"This is a country of rumours. This is a country that has a large share of people ready to believe in anything, and this is a country where there is a larger proportion than norm of people who take delight in spreading vile rumours and slander ."


Regards,

Sufi Yusoff

Office of YABhg Tun Dr Mahathir bin Mohamad

Cc: Rockybru.blogspot.com

Friday, June 15, 2007

Malaysia sets up Task Force to check on websites

Bloggers beware. The NST's scoop Task Force to check on websites says the Cabinet on Wednesday had a lengthy discussion on the Internet before deciding to set up the task force to "study the need to regulate internet sites with pornographic and seditious content".
"The websites to be monitored are those which contain pornographic material and those, including blogs, which carry seditious material.
"These include blogs which post inflammatory content against other races or religions and not just blogs on politics or those which criticise the government, the source said."
I heard that the Task Force will come under the Prime Minister's Department, where the 4th Floor kids hide. I suggest they go SoPo-Central.blogspot to get started and not use this as an excuse to spend millions to get a new database started.

Read the NST story here.

UM is safe

Safe for now. In its reply to a Bursa query, Guocoland (M) Bhd offered no outright denial to a Business Times report [Guocoland in bid to develop UM land?]. Instead of killing the issue, it played with words:
GuocoLand (Malaysia) Berhad wishes to inform that currently, the Company has not made any bid to relocate University Malaya from Petaling Jaya to Sepang. As part of its normal business activities, GLM is constantly exploring opportunities to enhance shareholder value. Should such opportunities result in definitive agreements, the Company will make the appropriate announcement, where required.
Read its entire reply here and BT's follow-up story here.
Jalan Sudin has her take here.

Thursday, June 14, 2007

Kickdefella leaves All-Blogs


Sheih the Kickdefella. I opened his blog a while ago and learned that Sheih has decided to resign as a pro-tem committee member of the National Alliance of Bloggers over a cyberspace row over The Gremlin.
Sheih was there with Jeff Ooi and I from the start and his decision saddens me. But I am grateful to know that he will still walk with us.
See you soon, bro.

Wednesday, June 13, 2007

Universiti Malaya in Sepang

Better feng shui? It's an unconfirmed "sources" story, meaning that it could be bullshit or a rumour. But we all know better about rumours after the rumoured Jeanne-Abdullah's love affair turned out to be true, so we all forced to consider the likelihood of Universiti Malaya being shifted to Sepang, perhaps for better feng shui and rankings, and its existing site turning into a multi-billion RM real estate.
[Read the story Guocoland in bid to develop UM land? in Ruhanie Ahmad's blog].
If the PM okays this, betcha there'll be fresh attempts to build on prime sites such as Lake Garden and Zoo Negara.

Rethinking Malaysia tonight

Y4C and Citizen Nades. The Bar Council and the Youth for Change, or Y4C, kicks off its Siri Pemikiran Kritis II on "Rethinking Malaysia" at the Bar Council auditorium in Leboh Pasar Besar, KL, at 8pm. Tonight's session is on Planning Law - Corruption, Accountability and Transparency in Local Councils. Seasoned journalist R. Nadeswaran, who sort of specializes in this area, will be one of the panelists. Three more sessions after tonight's are scheduled for:
June 20 - Between Teh Tarik, KLCC and Starbucks: Are we a developed nation?
June 27 - Media and Civil Society
July 03 - Youth Roundtable: New Voices and New Visions for Malaysia
For more info, call Yeeling at 012 7355025 or go here.

Straits Times publishes AKJ's reply

Hsien Loong no talk cock, Janada. In a crisp response to an article by an article published by the Singapore Straits Times, blogger A. Kadir Jasin, a former NSTP group editor-in-chief, said he takes the Singapore Prime Minister's words on seriously, unlike the writer of the article [the son of a late former President of Singapore] who may have unwittingly described as "nonsense" his PM's statement on the controversial IDR joint ministerial meeting.
The ST published AKJ's letter almost in totality. Read Singapore Straits Times publishes my letter.

p.s. I was told that the office of Dr Mahathir, our former PM, sent yesterday a letter to Kalimullah Masheerul Hassan on his "incorrect" June 11, 2006 article.

Tuesday, June 12, 2007

Blogger vs Blogger

Wanted poster of an unwanted poster. Commenter (or poster, cyberstalker, pita) Monsterball, or real name SS Goh, may have gone too far with his antics as far as some bloggers are concerned. For three days in a row, two bloggers have struck back at the stalker.

1/ Shar101 vs Monsterball
Shar101 yesterday (Monday, June 11) put up a post and a poster on the guy, entitled just Gremlin, to let people know what he really thinks of Monsterball.
2/ Simon Wee vs Monsterball
The Right Approach blogger has put up two postings on this commenter:
i. "For those maligned by the infamous "monsterball" on Sunday, June 10 [click here]
ii. "Malicious "monsterball" and cyberspace defamation" today Tuesday, June 12 [read here]
3/ Hasrul Halid vs ES Chua
Police report. In another cyberspace tiff, blogger Hasrul Halid, who runs Surat Dalam Botol, has lodged a police report against blogger ES Chua. Read Hasrul's posting Hadiah Untuk ES Chua (A Present for ES Chua). ES Chua owns the blog Save the Ummah.

Monday, June 11, 2007

Kalimullah admits "It was incorrect"

Kalimullah's June 11 legacy.
Extracted, from court documents filed recently by Kalimullah Masheerul Hassan in his on-going suit against lawyer-author Matthias Chang:
“It was incorrect as I subsequently found out. And this issue was subsequently clarified in the New Straits Times.”
The NSTP former Group Editor-in-Chief and now Deputy Chairman/Editorial Adviser made this admission in response to an Interrogatory filed by the Defendant asking Kalimullah whether what he wrote in the June 11, 2006 article in the Sunday Times about the meeting between the Prime Minister and Dr Mahathir in Japan was correct.
[Please read the "incorrect" article, Sunday Column: And who, really, is demonising whom?]

READERS of this blog would remember that I have written quite a few times about the June 11 article. This article disturbed me as Kalimullah Masheerul Hassan's version of the events in Tokyo would make readers think of Dr Mahathir as ungrateful, vindictive and power-crazy. That is why I demanded time and again that Kalimullah corrected the "passages of untruth" - or lies, for short - in the article and apologised to Dr M and NST readers.

Till today, despite the repeated demands I made on this blog (which Kalimullah obviously read and probably still reads), neither the writer nor the newspaper has published an apology. I checked again with Dr Mahathir's aides and they do not agree that this issue has subsequently been clarified in the NST.

I hope with Kalimullah Masheerul Hassan's admission in the above-mentioned court documents, this long-standing issue can be clarified once and for all by/in the NST, and an apology profferred to Dr Mahathir and all readers of the newspaper.

Sunday, June 10, 2007

Samy does a Brenden Pereira?

Cabinet plagiarist. Blogger Bernard Khoo yesterday put up a posting Samy doing a Brenden Pereira? after one of his readers alerted him to the possibility that senior minister Samy Vellu may have committed plagiarism when he penned a poem for Abdullah and Jeanne.

Rats and Roaches

Not-so-royal alliance. Raja Petra Kamarudin, who broke the Abdullah-Jeanne story late last year, has come up with the second part of a chilling article alleging an unholy alliance between a Chinese syndicate and the Royal Malaysian Police.
The Part 2 dissects an eight-page Statutory Declaration made by one Assistant Superintendent by the name of Hong Kin Hock from the Operations Division of the Commercial Crimes Division in Bukit Aman.

Read The roaches are hurrying and the rats are scurrying.
Part 1 appeared on June 3: Malaysia's organised crime syndicate: all roads lead to Putrajaya.

Saturday, June 09, 2007

Not-so-smooth Operators

Kamal Khalid. Why did the 4th floor information chief call nearly 30 editors of the mainstream media to the Prime Minister's Department and dished out orders of what they can or can't report on the Abdullah-Jeanne wedding? [read my June 6 posting here].
A Voice claims to have the answers, which took the form of more questions. He leads us with his posting Arahan Kamal dan Risalah Norza terbongkar Ilusi Pak Lah which lead us spiralling into the world of crony capitalism and the infamous UN Oil-for-Food scandal that at one time implicated certain Malaysians linked to the present administration. The names Noni, Jeanne's ex-husband Othman, and KJ, among others, cropped up.

Norza Zakaria. Of the Risalah "bodoh" Norza, the blogger chides the amateurish attempt by the political secretary to the Second Finance Minister (Nor Mohamed Yakcop) to define - or redefine - Abdullah Ahmad by making the great Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad not so great in direct comparison.
I was told that book will be a collector's item as there won't be a reprint. Apparently, even the 4th Floor kids were shocked by the book's lack of finesse.

p.s. Like A Voice and Screenshots, I too spent quality time with Dr M yesterday when he welcomed our six Everest conquerers. I remember him saying that some people would cut your legs in order for them to look tall.

Bar Council slams "lame" A-G

Does the Attorney-General think that the Malaysian public is gullible? Lawyer Amer Hamzah Arshad, a member of the Bar Human Rights Committee, in an article on the 11th hour change of prosecution team in the Altantuya murder trial, which forced the trial's postponement to June 18, called Ghani Patail's explanation of the who episode "lame", and "disturbing", among other things.
"What could have probably been going through the AG’s mind when he made that statement? Did the AG realise that by making such a statement, he is indirectly casting aspersions towards the previous prosecution team as if they are unable to conduct the prosecution in a fair manner?"
Visit Elizabeth Wong for Amer Hamzah's For a fair trial? Click here for Ghani Patail's explanation and other lawyers' views.

Thursday, June 07, 2007

Shopping in Kathmandu?

Zam, Azalina and Everest politicized. Zainudin Maidin seems to have uncovered an attempt by a group of people "devoid of political capital" to hijack the Everest agenda from his Information Ministry [read here]. Calling it "politics of the lowest degree", Zam said this group of people had also accused Sports Minister Azalina Othman of having gone to Kathmandu for shopping! Read Azalina First Malaysian Cabinet minister at Everest base camp.

By the way, there will be a do at the Perdana Leadership Foundation in Putrajaya tomorrow [time: 10 am] to welcome home Malaysia's Everest heroes. Dr Mahathir Mohamad, who inspired Malaysia's first Everest conquest back in 1997, will be at hand to meet the climbers, including Marina Ahmad, the first Malaysian woman to conquer the world's highest peak.

Selling off Proton in New York

Die, Proton
9 June 2007:
"The attempt to kill Proton has succeeded".
Dr Mahathir Mohamad, who helped gave birth to Proton, said yesterday we are witnessing the killing of a national industry. The new management that took over after the sacking of Tengku Mahaleel by the Abdullah Administration has done everything to commit the murder and they will succeed, he said.
Read Saodah Elias' Mereka Berjaya Bunuh Proton.

Final update, 10pm

"... only rumour without substance". Proton shares rose by as much as 21 per cent today, closing 10 per cent up at the end of the day. By then, VW has described the Edge Financial Daily's report as "definitely wrong and only rumour without substance" [although he added that "We will have a round of talks soon"].
So VW has denied the report. Proton has denied the report. And Sime Darby has denied the report. Only Khazanah's Ahmad Shahizam Shariff did not answer his mobile phone. See Bloomberg's report here.

update 5pm
Sime Darby has denied taking up a stake in Proton but share prices of the (still) national carmaker surged till the end of trading on news that VW will take up 51 per cent in a new company that will hold Proton's assets, R & D facility, and the priced Lotus.
Bernama has the story here.


Original posting
And the winner is ...
VW and Sime Darby will figure in Khazanah Nasional's desperate attempt to save the dying national carmaker that it was entrusted to "save" from the previous administration which, with the benefit of hindsight, wasn't doing too badly at all!
The Khazanah No 2 man has been in New York the whole of this week to tie up loose ends. An agreement is to be signed today [here].
And the loser is ...




When I fall in love, it's for ever ...


Quotable quotes from a "happy Prime Minister".
Pak Lah speaks to reporters about falling in love again and the wedding Saturday.
“How can it not be meaningful? That is God's will. A woman completes a man.”

"God has created in your heart many spaces for different people that you can love as much as you want."

“Endon's pictures will remain where they are. I will never forget her. Those are lasting memories."

“A happy Prime Minister can do a lot of good work. I'm not saying I've not been happy so far, but I'm happier with a companion now.”
And despite Kamal Khalid's directive [here] to the mainstream media editors not to refer Jeanne Abdullah as a janda or the late PM's sister0in-law, The Star printed what Pak Lah said:
Asked when he first knew Jeanne and how long they had known each other, Abdullah said:
“Maybe at least 20 years. She is actually part of the family. She is Kak Endon's sister-in-law. She was married to her younger brother but they separated more than 15 years ago.”
Read the complete Star article here. Bernama also has the story PM says Jeanne and him compatible.

Wednesday, June 06, 2007

Brown-out on Pak Lah's wedding



The Don'ts. Now, you won't believe this! Editors from the mainstream media were summoned for a briefing on the wedding just now. Briefing by 4th Floor info chief, Kamal Khalid.

The instructions, in a nutshell:
No run-up stories on the wedding. No interviews with Nori, KJ, relatives, close friends..No reference to Jeanne as a "janda" (divorcee) or Pak Lah's biras (in-law). Use only releases by the PM's department or the PM himself. No Press to wait outside Sri Perdana this Saturday. Event for official media only..

Perdana wedding

[pix from Malaysiakini]
9 June 2007. The Cabinet is expected to announce it in a while that Abdullah Ahmad Badawi and Jean Danker will wed this Saturday.

The akad nikah will take place at Sri Perdana, the PM's official residence. (By invitation only).

Jean is 54.

Congratulations, Mr Prime Minister and Mrs PM-to-be.

Tuesday, June 05, 2007

Late Singapore President son says Malaysians paranoid

Globalisation = Singapore-Malaysia consultative committee on IDR.
If you are a Malaysian and you oppose to the joint ministerial consultative body for the Iskandar Development Region (which is in Johor, Malaysia, the last time I checked), it means you fear globalisation. Or so said a son of a late former President of Singapore.
Going by this logic, A. Kadir Jasin the blogger and former GEIC of NSTP is a Malaysian who fears globalisation, wrote Janadas Devan in a June 1 article in the Singapore Straits Times. Going by this logic, millions of Malaysians "genuinely fear globalisation".
"So how is it possible for someone like Mr A. Kadir Jasin, a former group editor-in-chief of Malaysia's New Straits Times Press, to suggest that the Malaysia-Singapore JMC (Joint Ministerial Committee) may affect Malaysia's sovereignty?
"It cannot possibly be because he thinks Mr Lee's (Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong) use of the word 'consultative' means that the JMC will be a bilateral 'operations council'.
"Mr Kadir, a crisp writer in English, is too smart to believe such nonsense.
"But he, like many other in Malaysia, have raised this canard because, one, it carries a political percentage on the ground, and two, because they genuinely fear globalisation. The ridiculous fuss over the JMC's purpose is a stand-in for a generalised fear tht the policies that must be put in place to ensure the IDR's success will threaten entrenched privileged domestic groups......".
I didn't want to give any space to the provocative remarks but, well, we Malaysians should know. I hope Kadir sends his response to the Singapore Straits Times. Whether the Singapore government's mouthpiece, which used to employ Kalimullah Masheerul Hassan and Brenden Pereira, will publish Kadir's response in full is something we'll have to wait and see.

Read Straits Times Says We Fear Globalisation.

Monday, June 04, 2007

The Bahasa Melayu is dead! Long Live Bahasa Melayu!

It's Bahasa Malaysia (again). The operative word is "again". How many times, from Tun Razak's days, have we changed our reference to the national language from Bahasa Melayu to Bahasa Malaysia and back to Bahasa Melayu? I think we even settled for neither and briefly called it "Bahasa Kebangsaan" during the 70s.
What's our problem, really? And Screenshots has a point, why are we doing it so quietly that only The Star and Sin Chew Daily had the story today? [click here]
Zam said the Cabinet had decided on this switch to Bahasa Malaysia in April and has just been quoted by Bernama here as saying that he was disappointed that the media are still referring the to Bahasa Melayu. Read also the Star's front page here.

Sunday, June 03, 2007

Altantuya's trial begins



7pm news update: The A-G is unprofessional, Anwar says.
The former DPM described as "irresponsible" the decision by the Attorney General's Chamber to change the prosecutor team at the 11th hour, considering the importance and significance of the trial.

"Doubt has also been cast when one of the defence lawyers, Zulkifli Noordin, has to withdraw from the case. His statement proved that there was interference by third party that compromised his ability to prepare for the trial. Malaysia has to understand that the Altantuya case also put Malaysian judiciary on trial."

Read also Screenshots' update, Blow it up.

update lunchtime, June 4: The trial has been postponed, according to Bernama here.
Also read:
A Voice's Altantuya's Murder: Stop Speculating, Let the Court Decide; Damian Yeo's Mother of All Trials; Linken Lim's All Eyes on Razak Now

Original posting
Blogger bigdogdotcom has put up a post on Altantuya's murder trial, which begins tomorrow. It's a high-profile case that will see three men - two of them cops and one a political adviser - accused of the murder that shocked a nation.
I have left a comment under the posting, as a reminder also for myself.

Read Altantuya's Murder Trial Begins: Reality vs Fiction.