CAUGHT WITH PANTS DOWN, S'gor BN rushes to pass 'land-grab' buck to

CAUGHT WITH PANTS DOWN, S'gor BN rushes to pass 'land-grab' buck to
each other
Written by Tony Pua



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It is so hopelessly hilarious to see how UMNO Selangor leaders
scrambling to disclaim responsibility and knowledge over their role in
the state land grab scandal.
We have on Tuesday exposed a 87,188 square feet of land which was
given to UMNO Subang at dirt cheap nominal prices in Ara Damansara in
2004. This piece of land has since been developed into a 200-unit
Suria Damansra Condomium launched in 2006. This condominium is worth
an estimated RM90 million based on today's prices.
UMNO and MCA state assemblymen, Abdul Shukor Idrus and Wong Koon Mun
had explained during the last state assembly sitting that the land
they received on the cheap were used for the community, such as
kindergartens or public community halls.
We had called on them to explain where exactly is the kindergarten and
the community halls in this 87,188 sq ft of land. This is the first of
the 24 parcels of land which we will expose as a clear cut case of
abuse of power and corruption by the Barisan Nasional government
during their reign from 2000 to 2008.
Caught with their pants down
Having been caught with their pants down, UMNO leaders are now
fumbling to deny their complicity in the land-grab, and blame other
UMNO leaders.
When contacted by the press, Subang Umno division chief Muhammad
Bushro Mat Johor, said there is no such land in possession of Subang
Umno. "No, there is not even a single piece of land listed in Subang
Umno's asset list since I became the division chief," he said. However
when pressed with evidence, the Paya Jaras assemblyperson pointed that
any query on the land is best directed to the previous division chief.
However, the previous division chief, Datuk Mokhtar Dahlan when
queried, then passed the buck to Kelana Jaya Umno acting chief Yahya
Bujang. He claimed that although it was Subang UMO which received the
land, "the land was handed over to Kelana Jaya Umno after a
constituency re-delineation exercise in 2004."
Unfortunately, and coincidentally, Yahya Bujang is out of the country
and is hence unable to respond immediately to the allegations. Datuk
Mokhtar Dahlan had disclosed however, that the land was originally
intended for the construction of UMNO Subang's Division Headquarters.
It is a clear admission that BN had abused its powers to benefit the
interest of its component parties.
At the same time, the Opposition Leader in Selangor Datuk Satim Diman
pleaded ignorance when queried and responded that said the matter
should be referred instead to Umno Selangor secretary Datuk Mohd Zin
Mohamed.
Mohd Zin, then with great finesse , responded that he "needs some time
and will respond in due time after his researcher gathers more
information on the allegation."
Biggest disappointment: Total silence from Najib
The passing the buck game cannot be any more comical than the above.
UMNO knows that they've been caught red-handed putting their hands
into cookie jar, and no one wants to accept responsibility for robbing
the people's land for their own profit.
The biggest disappointment for all Malaysians, and particularly
Selangorians, is the fact that the Prime Minister has remained
steadfastly silent on the above issue, despite his insistence that
UMNO has "transformed". Datuk Seri Najib Razak who is also the
Selangor UMNO Chief must get his house in order by explaining the land
grab scandal and accepting responsility for UMNO's sins. He must make
amends for UMNO's corrupt policies of the past be returning all such
ill-gained profits to the state government for the benefit of the
rakyat.

Tony Pua is the DAP MP for PJ Utara

10 Reasons Why Malaysians Shouldn't Be Worried About The Doomsday Prophecy

By FARAH HARITH (farah.harith@malaysiandigest.com)

Friday, 21 December 2012 14:44

FOR what seems like already an eternity, the world has been abuzz with talk of the ancient Mayan prophecy that the world is set to end on Dec 21, 2012.

Doomsday preppers across the world have been fortifying their bunkers, stockpiling food and generally going a bit cuckoo over it. Top 10 lists on ‘what to do before doomsday’ are also in abundance all across the internet.

At Malaysian Digest, we prefer to see it as a ‘cup being half-full’ situation, instead of the other way around. After all, if doom is imminent, why sweat the small stuff? Let’s take a look at the burdens that WILL be taken off your weary shoulders should the Mayans have the last laugh.

10. Debts? What Debts?

Filepic: Flanagan

Have another 20 years to pay for that nice condo in Bandar Seri Damansara? Recently refinanced your car? How about that pesky PTPTN loan which never seems to end? Well, this is one reason why doomsday can come as a relief. All monetary debts wiped clean, whatever loans you’ve amassed in your adult life will go bye-bye birdie. No more worrying about your salary depleting every month due to settling your bills, your money’s all yours now. Oh wait, that means no more salaries too…oh well, moving along.


9. Getting The Latest Smart Phone Won’t Matter Anymore

Filepic: Gudjonsson

Admit it. You can’t bear the thought of holding your oh-so-outdated iPhone 5 in your hand, not when your smarmy colleague is parading his iPhone 5s in front of everyone, courtesy of a shopping trip in the US. With doomsday here, there’s no more fretting about keeping up with the latest gadgets, about which fruit you’re opting for, Apples or Berries. No standing in long lines waiting to lay your hands on the newest Samsung, which will be dated in three months. Go on, heave a sigh of relief, you’ve earned it. Of course, this also means you can stop worrying about what to tweet about next..


8.  Supplementary Relief

Filepic: www.bztoons.com

Here's one husbands nationwide will rejoice over. The end of days means you won't have to deal with your wife's credit card bills anymore. You will no longer face the month-end stress of opening your mail and facing the reality of her latest shoe, clothes, make-up hunting expedition at the mall. All husbands who have had the misfortune of issuing their wives with the much dreaded 'supplementary card' will definitely find this a much welcome situation.

7. Goodbye, Relationship Woes

Filepic: nwso.net

Ever find it hard to resist your 'happy' friends' efforts to make everyone around them 'happy' as well? Just because they appear to have found bliss in married life, they find the insane urge to drag everyone around them into it as well, hence the birth of that awful man-made creation: the blind-date. So for the single ones, you now finally have a solid reason to avoid any more blind date set-ups from your happily married friends.


6. No More KL Traffic

Filepic: funny-games.biz

In KL, traffic jams are about as common as a politician holding a press conference, and almost as annoying. Anyone who lives in the Klang Valley will understand the mental and physical stress one faces during the long commute to the office; which is, the very act of commuting itself. That modern act of self-inflicted torture ie sitting behind the wheel in gridlock while chewing your fingernails as the clock winds down to that extremely important appointment, will soon be non-existent. Tailgaters, double parkers, Mat Rempit, boy racers; all these phenomenon will soon be nothing but a distant memory.


5. Go On, Yell At Your Boss

Filepic: Guggiedaly's Blog

Anyone who has ever worked or is currently in an employer-employee situation as a lowly bottom-feeder has, at one point or other, felt the rising urge to yell at their superiors. If the Mayan prophecy holds up its end of the bargain, you can finally march into your boss’s office, say 'Go to hell' and not worry about the repercussions. Of course, we hold no responsibility if the prophecy turns out to be false and you’ll have to sheepishly ask for your job back the next day.


4. Who Will I Vote For in The Election? Who Cares?

Filepic

Over the last couple of years, the whole of Malaysia has been speculating on when the 13th General Election will take place. With the mandated time reaching an end in just a few months, the speculations is reaching fever pitch levels. So here’s one thing we can stop agonizing over. No more election dates. Most importantly, no more trying to figure out who on earth to vote for.

3. No More AES? A-Okay

Filepic: Sodahead

We can finally stop bickering about AES! Whether it’s good, it’s bad, it enriches the few, it’s unfair…well, it’s gone. This also works for all those unpaid council summons that you’ve secretly stashed in your glove compartment; they’ll soon be history.

2. Reality Bites

Filepic: roflrazzi.com

The number two reason pretty much speaks for itself. No more reality means no more reality TV shows. Annoyed at why the Kardashians command attention on TV? Or why people even enter The Bachelor / Bachlorette? Well, we can finally be done with surgically-enhanced celebrities trying to convince us, through the TV screen, that the fight they're having with their spouses is real and not scripted. Turning on the television will be less cringe-worthy. But then again, there won’t be any more TV either.

1. But You Know, Just In Case..

And the number one reason, the king of  them all, the Godfather of all top 10 countdown list reasons, the big kahuna of why you shouldn't be worried about the Mayan doomsday prophecy is: You don't want to look stupid when December 22nd comes along.

In the event the Mayans were wrong, check in with Malaysian Digest at 7.12pm for a special treat.

--mD

http://www.malaysiandigest.com/opinion/201791-10-reasons-why-malaysians-shouldnt-be-worried-about-the-doomsday-prophecy.html

Corruption index: Malaysia’s ranking keeps sliding

Thursday, 01 December 2011 23:57 Siti Radziah Hamzah 

Fernandez says although the decline for the last two years is marginal but the lack of improvement in Malaysia’s CPI ranking is a cause for concern (pic: Shiddieqiin Zon)

Malaysia’s Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) has worsened for the third year running, sliding to 4.3 in 2011 from 4.4 recorded in 2010 and is significantly lower than the government’s benchmark of 4.9, according to Transparency International Malaysia (TI- M).

The country’s ranking also declined to 60 out of 183 countries this year from 56 out of 178 countries in 2010.

“Although the CPI decline for the last two years is marginal (0.1 for 2010 and 2011), the lack of improvement in Malaysia’s CPI ranking is a cause for concern. TI-M therefore reiterates our call to the government to show strong political will in the fight against corruption, notably ‘grand corruption’,” said TI-M’s secretary-general Josie M Fernandez in a statement yesterday.

New Zealand, Denmark and Finland were ranked the least corrupt nations in the world, while Somalia, North Korea and Myanmar were the most corrupt.

TI-M said Malaysia’s Corruption Barometer (CB) results were about the same as last year’s as 40% of the public perceived that corruption levels have stayed the same over the past three years and will remain the same for the next three years. It said police and political parties have been identified as the most corrupt institutions, with the police as the most frequent recipient of bribes in the past 12 months.

The CB is a measure of the public perception of corruption.

However, the percentage of respondents who had paid bribes has encouragingly plummeted from 9% in 2010 to 1.2% this year. In addition, almost 50% of the respondents continued to believe that the Malaysian government was effective in fighting corruption.

http://themalaysianreserve.com/main/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1087:corruption-index-malaysias-ranking-keeps-sliding&catid=36:corporate-malaysia&Itemid=120

2012 Corruption Perceptions Index: Malaysia Up 6 Spots From Last Year

Thursday, 06 December 2012 09:32

THE National Key Result Areas' (NKRA) anti-graft initiatives have made an impact, with Malaysia improving its standing in the 2012 Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) when it shot six spots up to 54th position from last year's 60.

It was a marked improvement from 2011 when the country fell four places down from 2010's 56th position.

In releasing the index figures yesterday, Transparency International-Malaysia (TI-M) revealed that out of the 176 countries involved in the CPI survey last year, Malaysia also ranked third among Asean countries, ahead of Thailand, Philippines and Indonesia.

The three countries ranked 88th, 105th and 118th respectively.

Singapore, which was placed third in the world, was the top anti-graft performer in Asean, followed by Brunei at 46.

Malaysia scored 49 out of 100, with 0 being the most corrupt and 100 corruption-free.

The country's anti-corruption initiative also received another boost with the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) revealing yesterday that it had achieved an 80 per cent prosecution rate between January and November this year, a jump from last year's 75 per cent.

At the media conference to release the CPI figures, TI-M president Datuk Paul Low praised the government's commitment in combating graft, saying that Malaysia was the only country in the world brave enough to include the CPI as part of its Key Performance Index.

"The improvement is good, it was expected. We believe it was because of the ETP (Economic Transformation Programme), GTP (Government Transformation Programme) and NKRA (National Key Results Areas).

"The efforts of Pemandu (Performance Management & Delivery Unit) and MACC have borne fruit... of course there have been issues, but it has been fruitful.

"Acknowledgement has to be given to the government which has undertaken various initiatives to combat graft. We hope it will grow in the years to come," he said.

NKRA anti-corruption director Ravindran Devagunam said the establishment of 14 special Sessions Courts in February last year had expedited prosecution cases.

TI-M,  Low said, called on the authorities to take bold measures to combat corruption in the country.

"Law enforcement institutions such as the MACC and police, as well as the judiciary, should be strengthened to gain public trust," he said at the press conference also attended by TI-M’s former president Tan Sri Ramon Navaratnam.

Low also felt that Malaysia should introduce a Freedom of Information Act as practised in Sweden and Norway. They were placed second and fifth in the world in the 2012 index.

However, in March, Information, Communications and Culture Minister Datuk Seri Dr Rais Yatim told Parliament that the ministry had no intention of introducing the law as Malaysia already practised its tenets.

TI-M also urged authorities to tackle systemic corruption by focusing on specific sectors.

Under the NKRA programme, combating corruption is among the seven key areas of priority for the government. It was launched by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak in 2010.

- Hana Naz Harun & Ashraf Hafizuddin / New Straits Times

http://www.nst.com.my/top-news/big-strides-in-war-on-graft-1.182099

http://www.malaysiandigest.com/news/36-local2/186371-2012-corruption-perceptions-index-malaysia-up-6-spots-from-last-year.html

AES and ugly Malaysians

Tuesday, October 16, 2012

AES and ugly Malaysians

There has been much said about the AES. Truth is Malaysians don't respect the law.

Now that the AES which seems unlikely to be manipulated is now in service, Members of Parliament who are supposed to be lawmakers are trying to protect those who flout traffic law. Shame on them, I say.

What kind of message does this send out?

Yesterday, MCA Public Services and Complaint department head Datuk Seri Michael Chong caught a red light 'beater' red handed, and yet there are still those who are up against arms on the AES. The man who beat the lights had knocked into a motorcyclist, and fortunately according to Michael there were no serious injuries.

This stems from the root that Malaysians do not respect the law. It also does not help the case that traffic policemen are quick to jump out of bushes to catch seat belt dodging drivers.

How is it that once Malaysians cross the border into Singapore, and they become traffic abiding drivers but once the crossed back to Johor, they become instant road bullies?

The problem lies with the way we go on about our day to day affairs. Some throw rubbish out knowing that unless they are caught, it is ok. That gradually grows into beating the lights, and driving way over the speed limit. It certainly does not help that there are VIP's out there setting bad examples.

So who is to fault then? With MPs like Ipoh Timur and Seri Gading making claims that a law imposing system like the AES is 'hurtful' for the taxpayers, then are they insinuating that we do away with the need to enforce laws altogether?

If systems such as these have proven to be successful in enforcing traffic laws, then I say go ahead, after all it is supposed to make our streets safer.

http://muststopthis.blogspot.com/2012/10/aes-and-ugly-malaysians.html

Who’s in charge of Malaysian democracy?

Who’s in charge of Malaysian democracy?
 November 13, 2012 Nov 13 ―

 It has been psychologically proven that it is human instinct to attribute anything bad to one’s surrounding. For example, if I baked a cake and it failed for whatever reason, I would instinctively and firstly seek out the problem from the ingredients that I’ve used, or a bad oven, or the recipe. It will usually take a while before I would acknowledge that the failure was due to a mistake on my part, or maybe, that I simply lack the necessary skills. Again, note that the aforesaid relates to human instinct.

 One may acknowledge personal fault at a later point, but the first reaction would always usually be to seek the problem in one’s surroundings. So, coming back to the topic ― what is Malaysian democracy?


To break the question down a little ― where does Malaysian democracy take place? The first answer to this would be that it is exercised at the ballot box. The second answer to this may be that it is exercised when there is a protest. But is that all there is to Malaysian democracy? Surely, its exercise cannot be so occasional.

 Yet, if Malaysians have been exercising their right to democracy, why and how have we been subject to a degenerating regime for the past 50-odd years?

 We speak of change, but our concept of change can only materialise at the ballot box. In other words, we can only change once every five years. What about protests? Must democracy only happen when a group of people decides to take the people’s voice to the streets? And say, if no one decides to rally up the people, is our only other option for change at the ballot box?

Is representative democracy our only option? Our reaction to this degenerating regime would instinctively be the fact that our leaders are lacking in competence, and that it is their fault that we are in the position that we are in. But, tying this back in with the opening paragraph of this article ― is this really the case?

 Is Malaysia degenerating because of what our leaders are doing to us? Or are we degenerating because of what we fail to do? In a situation where the Malaysian leadership does not change, what other option do we have?

 A simple analysis of our leadership structure will show that there are several avenues for the lay Malaysian to be involved in our country’s policy-making decisions. All of us have been allocated one member of the state legislative assembly and one Member of Parliament to speak on our behalf at the different levels of government. With this in sight, participatory democracy becomes far more feasible.

Opinions of local communities can simply be gathered and submitted to the leader that the community has voted in. Contrasting this to our former idea of democracy, this other option for continual accountability would seem more manageable and therefore feasible. Putting the effect of the aforesaid into perspective – what this means is that the needs and wants of local communities for specific policies will be heard by the designated leaders.

There will be a clear request from the voters of the constituencies to hold their leaders accountable to. And depending on what the leader says or does in reaction to these requests, local communities can then decide on what else to do – should the leader respond favourably to the request, the community would have reason to be satisfied with his leadership; and should the leader decide to not respond to the request, the community can properly seek out the reasons for such decisions and correspondingly take further action or make the necessary assessment of his leadership.

 The important point, therefore, is this: that by doing so, communities will be able to measure the performance of their leaders, and leaders will be able to measure the specific needs of their communities. In relation to communities – they will then be able to determine how and why the leader has succeeded or failed; and in relation to leaders, they will then know whether or not they have failed. As to the latter, should the leader be put in the realisation that he has failed his community, he will likewise be put in the lingering realisation that his future as a leader may come to an end.

 In short, we can only say that one has failed to fulfill our request when there has been a request made in the first place. Malaysia, there is a need to depart from our unrealistic and immature ways of putting the onus on our leaders to gauge our interests and needs when we to not take the personal responsibility of voicing them out in the first place. Democracy is a two-way communication. It is a continual two-way communication. Malaysia, we say that this is our country.

 It’s time to start acting as we claim. * The views expressed here are the personal opinion of the columnist.

Malaysia activists decry leniency for child rapists

Malaysia activists decry leniency for child rapists (08-29 17:29)

 Malaysian child protection activists called for a legal review after two men convicted of having sex with minors were allowed to go free in recent weeks. Chuah Guan Jiu, 22, was freed on probation Monday after a court in the northern city of Georgetown found him guilty on two charges of statutory rape of his girlfriend when she was 12 years and 10 months old, AFP reports.

 The release came weeks after national tenpin bowler Noor Afizal Azizan, 21, was freed on a good behavior bond, following a successful appeal against a five-year jail sentence for having sex with a 13-year-old girl.

The bowler, who was 19 at the time of the offence in 2009, had pleaded guilty but a Court of Appeal ruling reportedly said “public interest would not be served if Noor Afizal was sent to jail as he had a bright future''. The Georgetown district court similarly said it considered Chuah's future as he was a young first-time offender, The Star newspaper reported. Chuah's lawyer Yusuf Idris argued the sex was “purely consensual'' and his client was not educated on the law having dropped out of school at 14, ``and did not know about the offence''.

“The victim did agree in court that she gave consent and was in love with the accused,'' he told AFP. Child rights activist Hartini Zainudin, who runs the NurSalam crisis center, said the penal code should be reviewed immediately to ensure children are given the protection they require. “How can consent by a child, 12 years old, be a mitigating factor?

I'm speaking as a child activist, who's just horrified at the implications... on future cases and the message we're sending out to perverts and pedophiles,'' she told AFP. Child protection NGO Voice of the Children also criticized the rulings. “Is a good behavior bond the right sentence for a then 21-year-old man who had sex with a 12-year-old girl, who has barely entered puberty?'' said VoC chairwoman Sharmila Sekaran in a statement.

 “Malaysia determined the age of consent at 16 years for a reason. The statutory rape law was enacted to protect young girls. The court needs to consider the nine-year age gap.'' People also expressed outrage on social media such as Twitter.

``What the courts have effectively done in these 2 cases is lower the age of statutory rape from 16 to 12,'' one user posted Tuesday.

 Statutory rape in Malaysia is punishable by a maximum jail sentence of 20 years
and whipping. http://www.thestandard.com.hk/breaking_news_detail.asp?id=24115&icid=4&d_str=20120820

Being told to remove their trousers by teachers – students confessed that he wasn’t wearing any underwear

Being told to remove their trousers by teachers – students confessed that he wasn’t wearing any underwear JOHOR BAHRU – Their crime?

Uploading a video clip of themselves on YouTube after finishing their SPM exam paper. Their punishment? Being told to remove their trousers by teachers, even after one of the students confessed that he wasn’t wearing any underwear. In addition, they subjected the students to 700 push-ups as well as multiple slaps, kicks and punches by three teachers, Harian Metro reported.

 The incident is believed to have occurred last Monday, when the students had just returned to their dormitory at 5.30pm after spending time at a nearby shopping mall. When they returned, they were confronted by three teachers. It is alleged that the teachers were angry at the students for uploading a video of themselves on YouTube after completing their SPM mathematics paper.

 The roughly three-minute clip, uploaded on Nov 5, had depicted the antics of the students blowing off steam after their exam paper by copying a skit by a popular reality TV program. A father to one of the students, who only wished to be known as Amir, 47, described the teachers’ actions as overboard, and did not even appear to be educational in nature.

 “I was told of the incident by the father of a fellow student. As a result of trauma from the incident, my son has now become withdrawn,” he said. He said he first noticed behavioural changes in his son when the family visited him at the school last Thursday. He said the son acted out of the ordinary and was non-communicative throughout the visit. Amir said he was disappointed by the teachers’ actions, which he claimed was unprofessional and based on emotions.

 “Granted, teachers have the authority to punish students, but it should be within reason. Going overboard can lead to stress which can affect students emotions and performance of the students, who are sitting for their SPM,” said Amir, who hails from Kulaijaya. Amir said he has watched the video clip and felt it contained neither sensitive material, nor did it tarnish the school’s name in any way. He said he didn’t understand why the teachers lost their cool when the students were merely “releasing stress.”

 “I’m disappointed. It wasn’t enough that they dished out such humiliating punishment, but the teachers also threatened to blacklist the students SPM certificates if they told their parents about this,” he said. Amir lodged a report on the incident at the Sentral police station yesterday. “I want justice for my son and I hope the police as well as the relevant authorities will investigate this,” he said.

 Meanwhile, Deputy Education Minister Dr Mohd Puad Zarkashi, when contacted, said his office was still awaiting a full report of the incident. “We will, however, investigate these claims so we can carry out further action,” he said. - mD

 http://www.kualalumpurpost.net/being-told-to-remove-their-trousers-by-teachers-students-confessed-that-he-wasnt-wearing-any-underwear/