Parliament News

The political war to shape ‘intellectually weak’ Malaysian university students

2008-12-13T10:12:00.002+08:00

NST (11/12/08): The Malaysian education “systems” (note the enhanced plurality) are a primeval sub-division for contiguous political power play in that students are not allowed to join political parties but can be politically active and run for student office. As pawns and lab rats for socio-education engineering, they are perfect foil for politicians of all stripes bidding to push their parochial agendas.

The continuing battle to ensure dominance of languages to the grudgingly bitter acceptance of English as a crucial medium of instruction to the balkanisation of vernacular teaching guarantees that education, in whatever form necessary, is the hotbed of a nervous political war to shape the minds and mindsets of the young, in this case anyone generally below 23-years-old, the age where most students on a linear progression in life graduates from universities.

Nothing is taken for granted when it comes to our children’s education. While the focus is always on the sacrificially aggressive parents with no qualms of mortgaging their homes to pay for their child’s expensive education, very little attention is paid on their kids’ foetal political growth. The perception is that the Universities and University Colleges Act, 1971 had successfully blunted political growth while the child is still on a fixed studying programme.

Nevertheless, political activism in higher education is an exponential battlefield, the invasion coming from all sides of the well-intentioned to the eclectically-intent political parties to the body with the most extreme views. However you cut it, universities are a pervasive dreamscape of political manipulation and in the attitudes of politicians with the highly infectious doctrines, there is no better avenue than to influence and shape a youngster’s hungry curiosity for knowledge, expression and rebellion, as long as their learning curve is bent towards the politician’s ideology and demagoguery.

Kids from six years on to teenagers of pubescent innocence to those with the juvenile angst, and then to the seriousness of college humdrum and mind-boggling competition, are subtly exposed to the realpolitik of how they should be taught the basics of alphabets, maths, science and life in a multitude of languages and dispensatory control. Case in point is the Chinese educationists’ threat to hold street protests if the Government continues teaching Science and Maths in English and the Malay educationists who insist on teaching the two subjects again in Bahasa Melayu.

Officially, our students must be taught basic information from approved syllabuses but unofficially, the incessant drilling of political doctrines is widely intrusive. Some political parties have successfully drummed up abundant support among students as the cesspool for future support, votes and even candidacy.

It would be fair to assume that not every student is susceptible to this aspect of political inducement, just the ones with the hardiest rebellious streak while the rest are content with earning their degrees unobstructed, perhaps learn a trick or two in academic acumen and then proceed to join the distressing rat race amid the severe global economic doldrums.

This had been the mantra for students for all those 37 years since the UUCA was conceived, and it is also why the troublesome Datuk Tajuddin Rahman (BN-Pasir Salak) rose today in the House to label undergraduates as “intellectually weak”, not because of their busy politicking schedule, but because they are, not to put a fine point to it, “plain lazy”.

While debating the Universities and University Colleges (Amendment) Bill 2008, here was how he dazzlingly characterised the “intellectually weak”: "They don't go to the libraries and pursue additional knowledge to improve their minds. They are even lazy to read reference books as it is in English. They said it is difficult, gives them a headache. They only went for exams equipped with knowledge obtained from the lecture hall.”

And how did he arrive to this tenuous verdict? Tajuddin based his abrasive remarks on interviewing undergraduates for employment in his company. "Many had little general knowledge simply because they did not read enough," he lamented while somehow acknowledging that as political activists, our students need no prodding.

"I am not saying politics is not important. I am saying they should concentrate on improving their minds first. This country needs engineers, accountants, industrialists, entrepreneurs," he asseverated.

Does politics have a correlation between academic excellence and a dolt of a student who nevertheless has high political ambitions? The Oxfordian Khairy Jamaluddin (BN-Rembau) does did not think so, contending that there should not be double standards. He even espouses the ideal situation where the Government allows opposition parties to be active in local universities.

If this is the ideal that Khairy is advocating, then it may be academic: political parties have long penetrated universities to expand their doctrinal base. The students’ rebel rousing protests against exotic female singers performing in their campuses can be regarded as proof of these parties’ triumphant reach.

But Malaysian educators might consider Tajuddin’s brazen raking of our college boys and girls through the coals as obnoxious. Are they so I-Robot like that they are capable only of reading notes provided by lecturers or procured at tutorials as a means to progress?

However, truth be told, even if it is spewed by politicians of Tajuddin’s ilk who are in need of buckets of mouthwash in lieu of his earlier scatological escapades in the House, it is one of the more damning observations a politician can inject during an inflective moment when the whole Malaysian education system is in peril of gross mistreatment by political marauders, opportunists and instigators looking for the next populist issue.

But, ingratiating politicians aside, Tajuddin’s point should be contemplated as an indictment of the whole education system where rote learning, memorising and question spotting has bubbled into a vibrant industry where knowledge, understanding and enlightenment is as unthinkable as imploring our children to play professional sports.

Tajuddin’s allegory is actually unoriginal and unsurprising: children have over the years been reduced to simply attending school and universities to only pass examinations and earn degrees. That’s why books on literature and the great knowledge have become historical dustbins. And that is why workbooks to pass examinations flourish commercially, championed and pitched by principals and teachers with an eye on their next commission.

Malaysia upholds ban on student political activity

MySinChew (12/12/08): Malaysia's Parliament has amended a law to allow university students to join social groups but still bans them from political parties, a restriction slammed by critics Friday (12 Dec).

Lawmakers approved the amendments to the Universities and University College Act late Thursday (11 Dec) to allow students to become members of social and other groups outside campus.

But they left untouched a clause that bans students from joining political parties, illegal groups or any other organizations that the government specifies. The law also states that students are not allowed to express support for any political party.

The amendments need to be approved by the Senate and king before taking effect, but these steps are usually formalities.

"In many ways there is more freedom now, except that they cannot join political parties or express support for them. But they can express their views," said Rozaid Abdul Rahman, an aide to Higher Education Minister Khaled Nordin.

Ridzuan Mohammad, coordinator of a coalition of eight student groups that campaigned for the act to be repealed, said the ban on political activities leaves students reluctant to speak up for fear of disciplinary action.

"Those changes are cosmetic," said the 22-year-old Universiti Malaya education student. "We want the UUCA to be abolished."

Government officials have argued that the law _ introduced in 1971 to quell student unrest _ is necessary so students concentrate on their studies and don't get influenced by politicians.

Opposition politicians voted against the amendments to the law, which they say restricts freedom of expression and fundamental human rights.

"It's strange to say this is an improvement," said Tian Chua, a lawmaker with the opposition People's Justice Party. (And from Google)

Tajuddin may get the stick

2008-11-30T00:56:00.001+08:00

Malay Mail (28/11/08): Psychoanalysts say overreaction is a trait exhibited by children. But if you follow this argument, then you would be at a loss trying to explain the behaviour of our politicians, some of whom are, figuratively speaking, older than the hills.

When children misbehave or conduct themselves badly, adults advise or chide them to try to get them to mend their ways. Most grow out of their difficult years, but some of our politicians, unfortunately, may still be children trapped in adults’ bodies.

Whether he is one of them is subject to debate, but one thing is for sure: Datuk Tajuddin Abdul Rahman (BN-Pasir Salak) is ultra-stubborn.

Having earned many colourful nicknames, among them keturunan lanun (descendent of pirates), from his peers and foes alike, Tajuddin, who came under heavy fire for uttering the word "b******" in parliament recently, yet again showed his defiance to calls for gentlemanly conduct in the august house.

Repeatedly warned by speakers and deputy speakers in the past for his penchant for vulgarities and crude behaviour, the menacing parliamentarian yesterday remained true to form as he raised his voice, volleyed abuses interjected with sexual innuendos.

It was too much to bear, even among his Barisan Nasional colleagues, as both backbenchers and opposition rallied to keep such unparliamentary behaviour out of the House.

This prompted Deputy Speaker Datuk Dr Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar to announce that a decision would be made against Tajuddin for uttering remarks deemed suggestive in nature to Dr Mujahid Yusof Rawa (Pas-Parit Buntar) in the Dewan Rakyat on Wednesday.

Noting that some MPs had gone overboard in using harsh language and unparliamentary words, Wan Junaidi said he would discuss with his colleague Datuk Ronald Kiandee, the Deputy Speaker in charge on Wednesday, and Speaker Tan Sri Pandikar Amin Mulia before making a ruling.

"I was not in the House at that time. I did not watch the proceedings on the monitor and was not aware of what had happened. But I have been informed about it. And I feel sad that this has been done by an MP," Wan Junaidi said.

"However, I can’t make a decision in haste. I will discuss it with Kiandee. But, from the information I received, it was indeed disappointing that such words were used," he said, adding he would also check the Hansard.

Earlier, Fong Po Kuan (DAP-Batu Gajah) said that Tajuddin had used sexually offensive language against Dr Mujahid when he (Mujahid) was debating a motion tabled by Teo Nie Ching (DAP-Serdang).

"Pasir Salak has always been using harsh words. Yesterday (Wednesday), he insulted another race. And then, he used words which berbau lucah (have sexual connotations). How can we let him repeatedly tarnish the (reputation of) Parliament? Stern action must be taken against him," said Fong.

"Why does he continuously insult the Dewan and the MPs and gets away scot-free? Please make a decision to protect the good name of the Dewan."

Fong was supported by M. Kulasegaran (DAP-Ipoh Barat), who called for Tajuddin to be suspended from the Dewan under Article 26(1)(h) of the Standing Order.

He said if action was not taken against Tajuddin, the House would be practising double standards because when "Gobind Singh Deo (DAP-Puchong) used disrespectful words and he was thrown out," Kulasegaran said.

Chong Chieng Jen (DAP-Bandar Kuching) said he witnessed the incident on Wednesday and saw Kiandee "shaking his head in disgust".

"What Tajuddin did was humiliating."

Datuk Seri Wilfred Bumburing (BN-Tuaran), who supported the call, said BN MPs also viewed the matter seriously. As a long-term MP, he felt the MP must be of a "higher standard" and uphold their dignity.

The episode unfolded on Wednesday during a motion to dock RM10 from Education Minister Datuk Seri Hishamuddin Hussein’s salary when it turned into a shouting match with Tajuddin calling Kulasegaran "k*****".

Opposition MPs demanded Tajuddin immediately withdraw the derogatory term, with Azmin Ali (PKR-Gombak) protesting to Kiandee that Tajuddin was up to his offensive name-calling tricks again and deserved a strong telling off. Kiandee agreed and asked Tajuddin to withdraw his inflammatory word.

"I don’t want to. Why is he (Kulasegaran) allowed to say anything he wants? He is the one who’s kurang ajar (uncouth)," said the unfazed Tajuddin, which earned him a reprimand from Kiandee and a rebuke from Datuk Muhammad Aziz (BN-Sri Gading).

Tajuddin withdrew the derogatory word he hurled at Kulasegaran but the peace was only momentary.

A short while later, while Azmin was following-up on the RM10 ringgit motion against Hishammuddin, Tajuddin sprang to his feet and interjected Azmin’s criticism as biol (stupid).

Azmin blurted out his annoyance: "This is too much. If it is only once or twice, it is forgivable, but everytime he opens his mouth, he has no respect for anyone."

After prompting Kiandee to order a withdrawal, Tajuddin retracted but showed no remorse.

"OK la, the good, smart... and interesting YB Gombak. I withdraw the word biol," he said.

The altercations overshadowed the sexual innuendoes he earlier uttered while Dr Mujahid was speaking.

This had not escaped Yong’s attention as she yesterday expressed her disgust with Tajuddin’s suggestive remarks.

"His actions have affected the name of Parliament. Before this, he had used abusive words and this had hurt the people's sentiment. Are you going to allow him to repeatedly abuse the sanctity of Parliament?" she asked.

During the entire speech by Dr Mujahid, Tajuddin kept interrupting to be allowed to interject, uttering remarks like masuk, tak masuk lagi, tak bagi masuk, main tepi saja, bila nak keluar air dia!

And Dr Mujahid, innocently kept saying tunggulah, nantilah and sabar lah, belum lagi.

Doing good by PAS

2008-11-08T09:28:00.003+08:00

Dr Siti Mariah Mahmud, a first-time Member of Parliament (Kota RaJa) and a central committee member of PAS, represents the new dynamic progressive voice of the Islamic party. She spoke to Rathi Ramanathan on issues ranging from women’s issues, the NEP and homosexuality.

TheSun: You were a practising medical doctor. When and what made you turn to a political career with PAS?
Siti Mariah: I was a practising doctor for less than three years before I joined UKM as a lecturer, in pre-clinical science. I still do a bit of clinical work like diagnosing hypertension, diabetes etc.

I joined as an ordinary member of PAS in 1993 but only became politically active in 1997 when I resigned as a lecturer from UPM. I chose PAS because of my religiosity and Islamic tendencies. Islam is a way of life, so understanding of politics is one thing, but the party reflects Islamic values. All in my family are PAS members, including my mother who rose to be deputy chief of the Muslimat (women’s wing).

Interestingly, there are more women drawn into politics through PAS. Did your husband object to your joining PAS?
My husband is also a PAS member. I waited until the youngest of my six children started Standard One before I made the decision to be politically active in 1997. Before that I also had a full-time job.

Do you miss being a doctor?
I do miss it as I love seeing patients. But a doctor’s job is demanding and my priority was then with my family. I was also helping my husband run his business before being elected MP.

As a first time Member of Parliament, how are you finding public life? How has it affected your life and how are you coping?
I hardly have time for the family. I have to reschedule the time with my family due to my parliamentary and constituency demands. But I am enjoying these new demands because I love meeting people. Furthermore, I no longer have to worry about earning an extra income as there is more financial independence when you are an MP and it gives me the flexibility to check in on the family business when I need to but I have delegated my duties to my daughter.

PAS appears to be reinventing itself. What can you tell us about the party’s progressive agenda?
It has a progressive agenda. Islam is a universal religion. In the last 10 years of engagement with the various sectors of society, we have found that Islam has been propagandised. However, when we took time to explain the universality of Islam and that Islam protects all and gives rights to all, we found non-Muslims to be very receptive.

Race is not an issue as Islam is the overarching banner which is why we have created a new slogan – PAS for all – which communicates the message that we will fight for everyone’s right. However, PAS is an old party ... now 50 years old and we have a wide spectrum of members with intellectual and economic capacities. Our grassroots are mainly Malay rural folk and now urban and lately, we have attracted non-Muslims, too.

We have been toying with the idea of having non-Muslims, especially the younger generation of Indians as members for the last ten years. We know we cannot be the main and dominant party without the non-Muslim support. They also want us to consider extending membership to them. Our own members consist of old-timers and non-progressives who fear that if we have non-Muslims as members our Islamic agenda will be diluted and we have conveyed that fear to our non-Muslim supporters.

How have you attracted urban support?
It has been through our openness toward new ideas. When it comes to Islamic knowledge and understanding of politics, the urban members are more exposed, well-read, and intellectually stronger compared to our core rural supporters. But we still have to keep in mind our core supporters. They believe Islam is a way of life but in terms of knowledge, we base our interpretation on the Madinah (Medina) model. But we have to adapt accordingly so we have intellectuals who do this and this process in turn has attracted the urbanites.

So would you say the road to a progressive agenda and to re-invent PAS is based on getting the non-Muslims on board or the reforms have to happen before wooing the non-Muslims?
I think it has to be both. You must engage the non- Muslims and also maintain your core supporters. Right now the non-Muslims are prepared to join us and have expressed that they are happy to just join as members. However, they would not have the full rights as standing members and cannot join party ranks.

The head of the party will always be a Muslim and the ulamah will also have a final say in policy matters even if we did allow non-Muslims in as members.

Our decisions are based on the Quran and the Sunnah and we do not make decisions without lengthy debate which needs consensus building. The party head can use veto powers but even before that, he must have consensus.

For example, our Hindraf supporters, because they don’t belong to a party machinery, have a harder time accepting changes and understandably want to see instant improvements. So we worry also that there may be some tension within the party should they join.

The status quo is that we would rather work on the basis of accepting our members as equals and at the same time educate our non-Muslim aspirants on our party struggle. If our core members can accept this then we will allow non-Muslims into our party, otherwise, there will be conflict.

Is one of area of contention the Hudud laws?
Hudud law is only the criminal part of Islam. Until and when people can understand those laws, we will not implement them. There remains a lot of ignorance surrounding Hudud laws as we were never given the opportunity to explain. Hudud laws would apply to only criminals and the process of law is still the same as any other, only the final punishment differs. As Muslims we have to believe in the ultimate law of God and make sure it can function.

It is not unlike what women’s groups and the civil society underwent when lobbying for the rape laws. Without proper guidance and education, there was a lot of resistance.

We will need also to engage academicians and experts on jurisprudence before we implement the laws and then we need to train lawyers, too. Furthermore, as a member of the Pakatan, we also have to ensure that the other parties also accept the Hudud laws.If we cannot convince them, how would we be able to convince the rakyat? It is not on the top of our agenda as uppermost in our list is social justice and the welfare of the people.

How large are the progressive voices within PAS?
The progressive voices are evident in the middle ranks and they are now large, and growing.

Let’s talk about the progressive agenda of women’s rights and gender equality. What efforts has PAS made towards this end?
Islam itself guarantees women’s rights but it is the practices that are not in line. As far as women’s rights are concerned, we have no problem with the methodology. We do need to understand husbands’ rights and wives’ rights. And, if we are talking about rights, we also have to talk about responsibilities.

In PAS, these things are clear, and we do not agree with the position that the party is gender biased. It is up to the women in the party to chart their role in this society.

It is how you quote the laws as the principles are there but lawyers, jurists have to interpret them in a way that is just for both men and women.

On the issue of polygamy, men talk about it as their right, but it is not. There are clear conditions that must be satisfied and women can refuse to allow it. If we were to remove polygamy now, women would be the victims as many marriages are not even registered. So the focus in our view is on enforcement. Are these men in fact getting their wives’ permission?

Polygamy would not be widespread unless women have consented to it. That is why polygamy is not about your right ... it also concerns the right of the family. So we need women and men to understand the laws and issues surrounding polygamy.

Is PAS engaging Sisters (SIS) in Islam?
Unfortunately, not actively. I think it is because of their image that there are problems in engaging them. SIS have done wonderful work, it is just their approach. Customs and traditions are difficult to overcome. We have our ulamah who think in a certain way. Sometimes progressive ideas are perceived to come from the West and when they fail to succeed in engaging these, the ulamah become defensive.

Are you and other women in the Muslimat (women’s wing) pushing for a progressive agenda for women?
We are focusing on the role of women, yes. Ten years ago women in PAS generally were happy not to be in the front line but that view has shifted. We played an active role and demanded, in subtle ways and pushed for ourselves to participate politically, for example, in elections.

Now we are witnessing PAS women candidates in the front line but we do not support the idea of quota, because we believe these candidates must be capable as much effort has been made in training them not to feel inferior. If we see women who are capable, we push them forward. We have seen steady progress. For example, in previous elections only 11 women were fielded and in the 2008 elections, that number rose to 13. At the state level, we have ensured that in both Kelantan and Kedah executive councils women are represented.

Is there a ceiling for women in PAS?
Yes, one day, but in my life time, perhaps as high as vice-president, not president. The party is not ready for that kind of change.

You are a member of the steering committee on the Coalition Against Health Care Privatisation? Can you explain what the coalition intends to focus on?
We have to press on with the "health for all" agenda and we want to protect our public health sector so that it is accessible to all citizens and non-citizens. There are new forces like health tourism which have negatively impacted on the delivery of quality health services as more doctors are drawn to higher salaries in the private sector. The extending of private wings in public hospitals is also a big worry as it cannot but have an impact on the quality of healthcare services when doctors will be overworked.

While we understand that health tourism brings in foreign exchange, we would prefer to focus on paying the doctors and paramedics better wages, fees.

What is PAS’s position on HIV and homosexuality? Shouldn’t the Health Ministry be concerned about sodomy laws that prevent men having sex with men to come forward for prevention, testing, care and support?
HIV is just like any other disease. It can easily move into an epidemic stage. Sad to say, PAS has never actively engaged itself with people living with HIV and the homosexuals. But we don’t support the Health Ministry’s position regarding distribution of condoms.

The reason being, we worry that values are not being addressed and certain sexual practices become a norm and these practices will flourish.

Religion is a powerful tool for behavioural change and should be part of the HIV response. We only focus on harm reduction programmes without trying to change their values. Our experience has been that religious leaders are only engaged at the end and made use of.

So you are saying you are not involved in the policy formulation and that any consultation is tokenism?
Yes. Only when they want us to talk about our perspective, is our position and viewpoint asked. We don’t have a committee looking into issues of HIV, AIDS and sex workers for example unlike other areas like poverty eradication. When NGOs and other civil society groups involve us in their consultation we will direct our resources and information so that PAS can be better informed.

However, it is clear that there is no active attempt to impart religious values. NGOs will call it indoctrination. But we need to impart values and at the same time, hold their hand. When one focuses on helping sex workers, you must also offer them real informed choices and the right support services to get them out of sex work permanently.

Would it be because of the fear of further stigmatisation that NGOs have been reluctant to engage religious leaders and PAS members?
We have to train our people. For myself, there is no problem as being trained as a doctor I can hold anyone’s hand. Engagement will help us to be less judgmental. We are less judgmental now than in the past because we are engaging. We want to hear what these groups have to say. I don’t blame them from staying away and fearing PAS. For example, religion does not allow me to shake hands with men and non-Muslims when I visit my constituency but I compromise by using a glove as I know there is little time to educate them on this. After the elections, by engaging non-Muslims and talking to them they now accept why I cannot salaam them and they accept it and respect my principles. Even the issue of entering a Hindu temple ... there is nothing haram about me going into a Hindu temple but as a politician I worry because of the backlash from Muslims. However, now my Indian constituents do understand me.

So PAS can never accept homosexuality?
We accept the people but we cannot accept the act. Our focus is getting them to come back to the straight path. When we engage them, our aim is to correct their values. Whether we succeed in their rehabilitation or not is not our responsibility. We give them the option of listening to our message.Whether you change or not is between you and God.

What is PAS’s position on the NEP? Many would argue it is a form of institutionalised racism? Would you agree?
Initially, it was not like that when it was developed on the premise of narrowing the income gap between the Malays and non-Malays and to eradicate poverty irrespective of race and religion. But yes, it has developed to become institutionalised racism. While Malays have benefited, it is the Indians now who are impoverished.

So NEP led to the poor condition of the Indians?
Yes, but I would not just blame the NEP but also the MIC leaders who have not brought up the Indian issues to the forefront. That is the role of leaders just as Umno has been strong in advocating for the Malays.

While PAS’s position, however, is to reform the NEP, my personal position is that it being a form of institutionalised racism it is difficult to reform and must be dismantled because it is so entrenched. We have to start afresh with a new affirmative action for all who need it.

Do you support the idea of a system that leans towards a safety net based on income levels?
The government has already extended its safety net programme but it has to be more than that. I have already raised in Parliament for a separate fund to be set aside so that one child per family is given the opportunity to go to university. We have learnt how powerful education can be in lifting families out of poverty. Also, we need poverty eradication to be more targeted so MPs can help families directly and not have to refer the needy to two or three ministries. PAS would also lend its support for an Anti-Discrimination Act to protect all who are discriminated based on race, religion, gender. Discrimination is happening not just at the public sector but the private sector as well. There is so much fear that if the NEP is dismantled, the Chinese and Indians will not hire the Malays. This legislation is aimed at protecting all and alleviating such fears.

What is PAS’s position on human rights?
We believe in social justice and basic political and civil rights, freedom of expression, assembly, but it must be contexualised within collective rather than individual rights. The bottom line with the Islamic struggle is whatever we do, Islam is to be respected and we can practise our religion and if we are suppressed we will fight it. It is our duty to convey and spread the Islamic way of life. We do not coerce people to follow Islam. However, the principles of participation is encouraged through lengthy debates. We never come out with a position without a debate among all party ranks. We believe change has to come from the top and the bottom.

Tan Lian Hoe attacked by BN colleague

2008-10-23T23:52:00.001+08:00

Courtesy of Media Rakyat

Fracas in Parliament

2008-10-21T02:58:00.001+08:00

Courtesy of Darul Bayan

Budget debate: Where is the minister?!

2008-10-21T02:53:00.001+08:00

Courtesy of Wancitcat

2009 Budget or history paper?

2008-10-21T02:42:00.002+08:00

Courtesy of Darul Bayan

ISA and human right

2008-10-21T02:39:00.001+08:00

Courtesy of RealXone13

Lim says he has evident AG abuses power

2008-10-21T01:56:00.002+08:00

Courtesy of PAS Kemaman

Only lip service for Sabahan

2008-10-21T01:49:00.001+08:00

Courtesy of PAS Kemaman

Parlimen 16/10/08

2008-10-19T22:44:00.003+08:00

(Courtesy of Media Rakyat)

Parliament 15/10/08

2008-10-18T08:48:00.002+08:00

(Courtesy of Media Rakyat)

Parliament 14/10/08

2008-10-18T08:40:00.003+08:00

(Courtesy of Media Rakyat)

Parliament 13/10/08

2008-10-18T08:25:00.002+08:00

(Courtesy of Media Rakyat)

Parliament 13/10/08 (Maybank)

2008-10-18T08:17:00.002+08:00

1,774 ATM personnel involved in UN peacekeeping missions since 2000

2008-08-19T03:32:00.002+08:00

Bernama (18/8/08): A total of 1,774 Malaysian Defence Forces (ATM) personnel have been involved in United Nations (UN) peacekeeping missions since the year 2000 until now, the Dewan Rakyat was told Monday.

Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak said of the number, 1,185 personnel were involved in peacekeeping duties while the other 589 as mission observers or staff officers.

Najib, who is also Defence Minister, said during the same period, 10 ATM peacekeepers were injured while three died.

He said the ATM's involvement in the missions was beneficial to the nation and also the ATM peacekeepers.

"Our involvement is seen as branch of our foreign policy, that is to help other nations that are facing internal or external conflicts. This benefits us in terms of image and clout.

"From the angle of the men participating in the missions, Malaysia being a peaceful nation, it gives them invaluable experience as they have to deal with real situations of conflict. This also helps improve their professionalism," he said when replying to a question from Razali Ibrahim (BN-Muar).

To a question from Siti Zailah Mohd Yusoff (PAS-Rantau Panjang) on the compensation scheme in case of injuries or fatalities, Najib said all ATM personnel partaking in UN peacekeeping missions were well covered.

"In the case of Cpl Jun ak Sang, who died in Lebanon recently, the total compensation received by his family was in excess of RM500,000," he said.

Govt to open public debates

2008-08-19T03:28:00.002+08:00

NST (18/8/08): The Information Ministry will not stifle efforts to organise public debates so long as suitable issues are chosen, said its minister Datuk Ahmad Shabery Cheek.

He said the issues chosen should not contravene the Constitution and the principles of the Rukun Negara and must not cause the peace to be threatened.

“The ministry believes a more open atmosphere (to discuss issues) is good to expand the thinking of Malaysians in facing the challenges of globalisation,” he said in a written reply to a question from Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang (PAS-Marang) in the Dewan Rakyat today.

Hadi had wanted to know if the government would expand the scope of such debates following the one held between Ahmad Shabery and Parti Keadilan Rakyat advisor Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim recently on the latest round of fuel price hikes.

Ahmad Shabery said Radio Televisyen Malaysia (RTM) would also continue to air debate programes like “Bersemuka Dengan Media”, “Blog”, “60 Minit Bersama Menteri”, “What Say You”, “Fast Forward” and others based on need to give politicians, non-governmental organisations representatives and academicians to state their views on subjects of interest to the public. (Bernama)

No-confidence motion rejected (videos)

2008-07-14T21:01:00.001+08:00

No-confidence motion rejected, Opposition MPs walk out

2008-07-14T13:13:00.000+08:00

The Star (14/7/08): Speaker Tan Sri Pandikar Amin Mulia rejected an emergency motion of no-confidence against Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi and his Cabinet, which prompted a walkout by Opposition MPs.

The motion was filed by Opposition Leader Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail last Thursday.

It was filed as a non-voting motion under Standing Orders 18 (1) and (2).

The motion was rejected in the Speaker's chambers under Standing Order 18 (7). Dr Wan Azizah was informed via a letter.

The matter was not brought up in Dewan.

The motion was rejected by the Speaker due to the "wrong choice of words."

The Opposition MPs walked out after their appeal for him to review his decision was rejected.

Pakatan Rakyat leaders said they were disappointed with Pandikar Amin's rejection of their emergency motion.

They also condemned the police roadblocks across the city, saying the action was "unjustifiable."

Opposition files no-confidence motion against PM, cabinet

2008-07-12T09:10:00.001+08:00

The Edge Daily (11/7/08): After weeks of threatening to do so, the opposition led by its leader Datin Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail has submitted a motion of no confidence against Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi and his cabinet.

Accompanied by other Pakatan Rakyat leaders, Wan Azizah filed the emergency motion under Standing Order 18(1) and (2) at the Dewan Rakyat Speaker’s office in parliament at about 3.45pm yesterday.

Dewan Rakyat Speaker Tan Sri Pandikar Amin Mulia has up to 24 hours to decide whether to allow the motion to be debated on Monday. Even if the motion is allowed, it is unlikely to cause the government’s downfall because members of parliaments are not required to vote on motions filed under Standing Order 18(1) and (2).

At a joint press conference with DAP supremo Lim Kit Siang and PAS secretary-general Datuk Kamaruddin Jaafar later, Wan Azizah said Pakatan Rakyat filed the motion because the people’s confidence in the government’s integrity had been eroded.

She alleged that the Barisan Nasional achieved a slim victory due to the “manipulation” of the Election Commission and “lies”.

“The price of oil was suddenly increased after the general election although the deputy prime minister had promised not to do so during the launch of the BN manifesto. The states governed by Pakatan Rakyat are also marginalised and this shows BN’s attitudes against the spirit of democracy and federalism,” Azizah said.

She also said BN members who rejected their irresponsible leaders were threatened and forced not to speak up.

Among others, she said, the people had been affected by crises such as the increasing prices of oil, food and other basic necessities, erosion of confidence in the police, attorney-general and the judiciary, rise in crime rates and corruption.

On why Pakatan Rakyat submitted the motion now, Azizah said it was to allow MPs to discuss the matter as the situation in the country had gotten worse after the general election.

Kit Siang said the debate itself would provide an opportunity to gauge the level of confidence that the people had in the prime minister.

“That is why I think this opportunity should not be missed,” he added.

When approached by the press later, Pandikar said he would mull over the matter before deciding on whether to allow the motion on Monday.

On chances for the motion to be allowed, he said: “I don’t know. I still have a few days to think about it. I still haven’t read the motion.”

Under normal circumstances, those who proposed an emergency motion would know the speaker’s decision within a day as to whether the motion was rejected in chamber or brought to the House and rejected there, he added.

Pandikar also said there would be no voting on the motion even if it was allowed and he did not know the effect it would have.

Pressed further on the effect of the motion, he said: “I don’t know how to answer you because the question doesn’t make any sense to me. How to have the motion accepted if there is no vote? Read between the line. Exercise that mind.”

Lack of proper drainage causing floods, hardship

2008-07-11T12:17:00.000+08:00

NST (11/7/08): As a first-time member of parliament, every day is a learning process for me as I try to seek solutions to the many problems faced by my constituents in Kuala Selangor.

I also learnt a lot while raising suggestions and proposing changes on national issues in the Dewan Rakyat.

One of the main issues in my constituency is the need for proper infrastructure. There is poor drainage that guarantees flooding in various parts of Kuala Selangor. This causes great hardship for my constituents.

I have a special squad of 65 volunteers who help my constituents affected by the floods. I'm very grateful for their assistance and hard work.

There are also some parts in Kuala Selangor where the roads are not very well lit and are full of potholes. This has caused many fatal accidents.

I hope to resolve this problem soon with help from the relevant agencies and authorities.

I'm also concerned about the youth in my constituency, many of whom are unemployed.

I have initiated some training and motivational activities for them. I have also encouraged them to get involved in small businesses. So far the response has been very encouraging.

In the next few years, I would like to see progress in Kuala Selangor in terms of economic development and quality of life of my constituents.

I believe in helping my constituents, no matter what their religion, race or political beliefs. I do not believe in discrimination, that is not what I stand for.

My involvement in politics is because I genuinely want to make the nation a better place for everyone. (Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad)

Dewan Rakyat: Speaker: Decision on Monday

2008-07-11T10:18:00.002+08:00

NST (11/7/08): Dewan Rakyat Speaker Tan Sri Pandikar Amin Mulia yesterday said he would decide on Monday on an opposition motion of no-confidence in the prime minister and cabinet.

Pandikar Amin said he would need a few days to consider the motion filed by opposition leader Datin Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail.

"Let me think about this. I have not even read the contents of the motion yet."

Wan Azizah, accompanied by Pakatan Rakyat members, submitted the motion under standing order 18(1), which allows for a debate, but no vote to be taken.

For the motion to be allowed, it has to meet three criteria -- it must be urgent, specific and involve public interest.

In her motion, Wan Azizah called on the house to move a motion of no-confidence in Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi and his cabinet.

Ministers have said a vote could not be called due to the government's solid majority in the Dewan Rakyat.

When told that the motion would not result in a vote, Wan Azizah said the opposition was working within what was allowed by Parliament's standing orders.

"It is another step to highlight the problem being faced by the country. Things are getting worse, particularly for the poor and something has to be done about it," she said.

Pas secretary-general Datuk Kamaruddin Jaffar said the motion was part of the Pakatan Rakyat's continuing effort to exert pressure on the government within the context of parliamentary rules.

DAP adviser Lim Kit Siang said he hoped the motion would be allowed as it would gauge the government's state of preparedness.

"The people are now faced with several crises such as high fuel prices, increasing cost of food and basic necessities, eroding public confidence in the police, attorney-general and judiciary, and the increase in crime and corruption," Wan Azizah said.

She claimed the Barisan Nasional's victory in the election was achieved through manipulation of the Election Commission.

She also claimed that the BN MPs who stood up against "irresponsible" behaviour of the coalition's leadership were threatened and forced to keep quiet, leading to a crisis in confidence in Abdullah's leadership and his cabinet.

On June 23, the Dewan Rakyat had endorsed the government's policies against inflation in a division, easily defeating what was billed as a proxy vote of confidence in the leadership.

No-confidence notice filed

2008-07-11T10:13:00.001+08:00

The Star (11/7/08): In an unprecedented move, the Opposition has submitted a notice to the Dewan Rakyat to debate on an emergency motion of no-confidence against Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi and his Cabinet.

Opposition Leader Datin Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail filed the motion at the Speaker’s office at 3.45pm, accompanied by other Pakatan Rakyat leaders including PKR vice-president Azmin Ali, DAP adviser Lim Kit Siang and PAS secretary-general Datuk Kamaruddin Jaafar.

Speaking to reporters later at the Parliament lobby, Dr Wan Azizah said she filed the emergency motion under Standing Orders 18 (1) and (2) because the situation in the country had “worsened”, especially for those in the poverty and low-income brackets.

“We have to discuss the matter because of what’s happening at the moment. We want to highlight the country’s politics, economics and the situation of the rakyat, particularly with the sudden increase in fuel prices.

Emergency motion: Dr Wan Azizah holding an envelope containing the notice to debate a motion of no-confidence as she and other Opposition MPs make their way to the Speaker’s office yesterday.

“We have met with the Speaker to explain our reasons and we will leave it to him to decide on whether to allow the motion,” she said, adding that the motion would also heighten the feeling that the country needed a change.

Dr Wan Azizah said the motion would also show voters what Pakatan Rakyat was doing for its voters under Parliamentary procedures.

“We are also speaking on behalf of the MPs on the other side who agree with us,” she said.

Previously PKR de facto adviser Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim had said that the Opposition would not seek a no-confidence vote against the PM.

If allowed by the Chair, the motion, which is filed under Standing Orders 18(1) and 18(2), will be heard and decided on Monday.

No vote will be taken as the motion would only be debated.

The SAPP pointman clears the political minefield for the Pakatan Rakyat army to advance

2008-07-10T23:50:00.001+08:00

NST (10/7/08): It is now diaphanously settled that when the Sabah Progressive Party – for all the inflation of its Lilliputian political ambitions – threatened to file a House motion of no-confidence against the Prime Minister on June 23, it surreptitiously acted as a “pointman”, a platoon scouting for the greater army sympathetic to the Sabahans’ anti-Federal grievances, assessing and testing the battleline ahead for landmines, ambushes and potential dangers lurking in the unseen shadows of the national political discord.

The months of Pakatan Rakyat’s teasing and cloying superseding the epiphanous March 8 Polling Day, that they will push the motion for a vote of no-confidence against Datuk Seri Abdullah Badawi, has finally ascended, the all-important document submitted by the PR generalissimo to Tan Sri Pandikar Amin Mulia at his Parliament House office at 3.30pm today.

It can be inferred that the SAPP had acted on behalf of Pakatan Rakyat, sauntering about the House and in Sabah with their trash talk that they have the means to file the motion themselves when in reality, they detonated political landmines scattered along the path while searching for the means and ways for PR to slide the motion of such disruptive nature into a genuine political debate instead of creeping about in the gutters of rumour, speculation and promise.

Of course, the Barisan Nasional, with its tremulous majority and a Speaker not known to be generous in allowing motions of such magnitude, will ensure that the motion will be defeated come Monday as soon as Opposition Leader Datin Seri Dr Wan Azizah Ismail finishes her last utterance of her filing, on whatever grounds the Speaker wishes to adduce. The Pakatan Rakyat MPs will no doubt stand chagrined and mewl indignantly towards the Speaker for disallowing a debate on the motion which could lead to a demand for a careful count of hands.

It matters not if the motion filed under Standing Order 18 (1) and (2) can be converted into a main event of a heavyweight contest. Now that the Pakatan Rakyat has taken over battle strategy and operations, the minor tactic of deploying the SAPP is now concluded, the two-MP party nothing more than an irrelevant little fly on the wall. The real issue now is whether PR has succeeded in cajoling the shifty Sabahans into throwing their lot for the Opposition to trigger either a collapse in the BN Government or force the PM to call for a snap general election. Even that is a still a long shot.

MPs had barely survived the “skirt-chasing” incident where a female member of the Press became the news, censured for wearing a skirt deemed risqué, when word spread in the late morning that Dr Wan Azizah will file the motion. Once confirmed, Dr Wan Azizah, resplendent in a green outfit and flanked by the all-male senior chieftains of PKR, DAP and Pas, marched to the Speaker’s office and filed the motion, which reads: “That this honorable House assume a no confidence towards the leadership of the Prime Minister of Malaysia and his Cabinet in carrying out the nation’s administration due to the erosion of the people’s confidence towards the Government’s integrity.”

This time and unlike the SAPP’s insipid overture two weeks ago, this is not a David trying to sneak in a fortuitous slingshot towards Goliath’s head. This time, Goliath will meet his match and the mouth-watering prospects next week of a titanic altercation in the House is real while nationwide awe at such a heady development already reverberating.

In the Press conference minutes later, Dr Wan Azizah repeated the Opposition mantra on why they were hell-bent on filing the emergency motion even though the earlier prospect of such motion was, at best, teasing and cloying. But the way the PR chief characterised the motion was quirky: there is a motion of no confidence against the PM and his Cabinet but the PR is “not” seeking a voting in the process.

“We are not seeking a no-confidence vote,” her refrain went. “We are not hoping for a change in Government but to have our voices heard.” And why now and not, say, weeks before? “Because the situation in the country had worsened. This motion is simply to seek a change within the existing situation,'' she avouched, with half an eyeball acknowledging the immaculate timing of a groundswell of resentment that favoured PR.

At best, the reason for the no-voting process was simply the PR being disingenuous, knowing that a vote plays into the hands of the BN, with their natural 140-82 majority. Right after the March 8 polls, the Opposition scooped an unprecedented haul of 80 parliamentary seats and dented the BN’s two-thirds Parliamentary majority, if not its pride and ego.

From there, the idea of wresting the Federal Government from the BN and forming a brand new Federal powerhouse was a question of scrabbling the numbers of their own 82 against that 140, delicately deducting a disconcerting figure of 30-odd seats that Sabah BN was peddling as political poker ante if their Faustian demands for better Peninsular representation and big budget funding was as good as a Nigerian bank collateral caper.

Then the PM decided to call the Sabahans' bet and allocated huge development funds and other pledges, thus diffusing the PR’s strategy. Then came the debilitating fuel price hike bouncing against the slew of statutory declarations pounding on the BN leadership but alleviated by a sodomy charge against Anwar Ibrahim. However, the moral momentum seemed to pivot to the PR, which tapped a growing unrest in the populace, especially the working class with diminishing purchasing power and a big chunk of beef against the Government.

When Wan Azizah characterised the motion as another step in the Pakatan Rakyat effort to highlight the people’s problems and the motion was how the PR worked within what was allowed by the Parliament's standing orders, she revealed a PR gameplan for the ultimate powerplay. "The people are now faced with several major crises such as high fuel prices, increasing cost of food and basic necessities, eroding public confidence in the police, attorney general and the judiciary, and the increase in crime and corruption," she revealed.

Then came her nominal slash and burn of alleged BN improprieties – polls won through manipulation, backing out of its election manifesto of not increasing fuel prices and brushing aside the five PR states as “stepchildren”, threats against BN MPs who criticised "irresponsible" behaviour of the coalition's leadership. That the PR is using the motion within the realm of democracy, as admitted by Dr Wan Azizah, is another indulgent move in the bigger scheme of things, the people’s suffering a convenient prop in the PR’s “movie-making” endeavour.

If you were a betting person, you could distinguish the filing of the motion today as another ante upped in a long-running political poker game, the table money mountainous. Nevertheless, the crucial stakes on the table are very deceiving: Pakatan Rakyat may be holding the best hand but they may not necessarily win everything. The house of BN still looks to possess the toughest “poker face” and the ballsiest nerve to counter with a bigger bet that could either regain its losses…or break the bank.

Encore! Encore! And the 2nd Finance Minister reappears for a return performance

2008-07-10T23:45:00.001+08:00

NST (9/7/08): What merits a return engagement to the House? An oratorical command performance by a Minister or an MP so bewitching that it pressed members to screech for more? An articulation of the issues so stirring that it provokes hard the intellect and the demand are for seconds? Or perhaps a Ministerial response replete with a myriad of unanswered questions that agitated MPs from both sides of the political partition into mewling for an encore?

Whatever was the compulsion for Second Finance Minister Tan Sri Nor Mohamed Yakcop to invent history by returning to the House to answer for a second round? What was it in his first cycle of responses that could not fully encase all points raised during the rancorous debate on the Ninth Malaysia Plan Mid-Term Review?

Yesterday, MPs felt justified in demanding Nor Mohamed return to reply to points raised: Wee Choo Keong (PKR-Wangsa Maju) complained about the 2nd Finance Minister’s abruptness in concluding his winding-up speech. Dr Puad Zarkashi (BN-Batu Pahat) suggested too many questions were left unanswered. Azmin Ali (PKR-Gombak) was most diplomatic in his request to the Speaker to petition the Minister back into his House seat, relishing perhaps another salvo of combative comeuppance against the Minister after a previous clash on the issue of the Maybank purchase of Bank Internasional Indonesia.

Soon after, Speaker Tan Sri Pandikar Amin saw nothing anomalous in the MPs' request but rightly stressed that the Minister had every right to ignore the request. That was the signal for Nor Mohamed to re-appear, to his credit, for his encore, his intrepid recoil to confront not just the unctuous Opposition but also the bawling brethrens among his BN vanguard.

Regardless of the motives of the petitioners, nothing like this had ever happened before today’s coming together of Barisan Nasional and Pakatan Rakyat MPs. And it should rightfully be recognised as one of their greatest bipartisan endeavour, notwithstanding the BN’s bitter denunciation of appointments of BN operatives to the Penang/Selangor Governments on the basis of professionalism.

In the realms of controversy, this would fit nicely as the second that was triggered during the MTR phase, the first being the Opposition’s boorish walkout on June 30 to protest Datuk Seri Najib Razak presence as the Minister to clarify points on the Prime Minister’s MTR speech. That evening’s walkout stomped on grounds that Najib had defiled Westminster and Commonwealth conventions that made his ministerial statement improper.

In the 2nd Finance Minister’s monotonic delivery of his Ministerial response, the words he spouted were deliberate and spartan, and it won’t weigh down on listeners to collapse in frolicsome ecstasy in the manner a firebrand Dr Martin Luther King Jr would. If brevity should be the mother of all languid House responses, then Nor Mohamed Yakcop would have embraced this concept with a singular mindfulness. But perhaps he overdid it. The MPs certainly craved for more.

At 11.45am, before he took on all comers again, Nor Mohamed expressed the dilemma he was wedged in to make this second engagement, worrying that he would "eat" into time rendered to other Ministers. "I am of the opinion that the House is a good place to discuss government policies and obtain feedback from members, regardless of party. However, at the same time, I need to respect my fellow ministers. We have 19 other ministries that have yet to wind up their debates and we are very short of time," he said.

Not to put a fine point to it but Nor Mohamed made it painfully clear that he did not want it to be a precedent. However, the Honourable Minister may want to read into the MPs’ minds who, no doubt, will giddily exploit this redux as a means to jolt attention into wresting answers from very reluctant Ministers.

So, while Nor Mohamed proceeded with replies that were not forthcoming yesterday, MPs leveraged this opportune moment with a new set of queries that dived squarely into the Government's measures in restructuring the fuel subsidy system that literally drove Malaysians bonkers since it was instituted last month.

One way to bring back some sanity to motorists already burdened by the higher cost of living was a tiered subsidy system to ensure a more effective direct disbursement of subsidies, as proposed by Fauziah Salleh (PKR-Kuantan). She suggested cards be issued to individuals and tailored according to their financial status and needs.

Surprising or not, the Minister agreed that Fauziah’s was a very good suggestion. “I assure members that the Government is in discussions with the relevant parties towards implementing it,” he said, the monotone pronounced as he narrated the necessary measures the Government has to implement but cannot for now, because they do not have the appropriate data system in place for immediate implementation of Fauziah’s proposal.

Azmin, to his gratification, did get another face-off time with Nor Mohamed as he called for the Government to devise ways to help Malaysians with a difficult debt burden as the credit crunch prodded by the higher fuel price hikes looms.

“The government has already discussed with banks on the possibility of extending the repayment period and reducing the monthly installments for existing home loans. The banks have been quite receptive to this suggestion. By extending the repayment period, the monthly installments can be reduced and effectively gives the people more money to be used as disposable income," the Minister was competent to answer.

All encores do come to a glorious end no matter how desperate the audience demands for more, so Nor Mohamed decided that lunch break was as a good time as any to end his return engagement. MPs howled for more answers but the Minister would have none of it. Nor Mohamed did agree to have one more encore but at the lobby and for the media, as he defended his organisation of answers, unsatisfactory as it may seem to the MPs.

Not to be outstripped by the still whining MPs, Nor Mohamed persisted that his replies were adequate given the multifarious questions that he had to field. “Time was limited in answering all of them,” he explained. “I have no problem returning but what's important is to ensure that Government policies are fully understood by the people.”

“This is the opportunity for me to explain in detail,” he said, the monotone even more pronounced. “Although there were interruptions from the Opposition, I find members accept my explanations."

The 2nd Finance Minister finally intimated that despite the encumbrance of the issues, especially those tied to the subsidies; it was the MPs who were unable to understand the magnitude of the subject’s gravity, which was his way of saying that some MPs, the Opposition possibly, must do more reading, understanding and familiarity of economics.

He also didn’t say it but he may have implied that MPs should acquire the book “Economics for Dummies.”

Opposition MPs file motion of no confidence against PM

2008-07-10T23:41:00.002+08:00

NST (10/7/08): Pakatan Rakyat Members of Parliament, led by MP for Permatang Pauh and PKR president Datin Seri Wan Azizah Ismail, filed a motion of no confidence against the Prime Minister and his Cabinet after months of making the threat. The motion, filed under Section 18 (1) and (2) of the House Standing Order, was passed to Speaker Tan Sri Pandikar Amin Mulia at his office in Parliament House at 3.30pm. The Speaker promised to give full consideration to the motion but it has been understood that the motion will be rejected after it is read on Monday.

However, Dr Wan Azizah is not perturbed by the reality that the motion will be rejected.

"The idea of filing the motion is to highlight the people's grievances against the Barisan Government," she told a packed Press conference at the Parliament lobby flanked by MP for Ipoh Timor Lim Kit Siang and Pas secretary-general Datuk Kamaruddin Jaafar.

"The filing is also a direct reaction to the major crises afflicting the people like the burdensome fuel price hike, food prices and basic needs and the people's eroding confidence towards the police, Attorney-General's office and the judiciary, and the aggravating crime and corruption rate."

Lim hoped the Speaker will allow the motion to be debated and voted. "It is an opportunity to check the level of confidence this Government has which we feel has deteriorated."

Kamaruddin said the motion was needed to highlight the suffering of the poeple caused by policies of the Government.

Dr Wan Azizah said the motion will also speak for supporters and members of the BN too afraid to voice out against their leadership.

Opposition file motion of no-confidence on PM

2008-07-10T22:52:00.002+08:00

Bernama (10/7/08): The opposition Thursday handed a motion of no-confidence on the leadership of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi to Dewan Rakyat Speaker Tan Sri Pandikar Amin Mulia at his office at Parliament House, here.

The motion was handed over by Opposition Leader Datin Seri Wan Azizah Ismail together with 14 Members of Parliament (MPs) from the opposition parties representing the Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR), PAS and DAP.

When met by reporters after handing over the motion, Wan Azizah, who is also PKR president, said the motion was under Standing Order 18 (1) and (2) which reads "That the august House takes a resolution of no-confidence in the leadership of the YAB Malaysian Prime Minister and his cabinet ministers in the governance of the country because of the erosion of public confidence in the integrity of the government."

Wan Azizah said the motion was filed following the move by the government to raise the price of fuel recently although the government had promised before the 12th general election that it would not do so.

She said this had resulted in a crisis of confidence in the Prime Minister and his cabinet ministers.

"The people are facing major crises such as the escalation in the prices of fuel, food and essential goods, as well as the increasing erosion of people's confidence in the police, Attorney-General and the judiciary as well as the rising crime rate," he said.

Wan Azizah hoped the motion would be accepted and debated by the Members of Parliament.

Meanwhile, Pandikar Amin said he would study the motion before deciding whether to accept or reject it.

"I have two or three days to study the motion and will announce my decision on Monday," he said.

Nearly 5000 entry permits given to foreign spouses since 2004

2008-07-10T22:48:00.001+08:00

Bernama (10/7/08): The Home Ministry has approved 4,776 entry permits to foreign spouses from 2004 until May 2008, the Dewan Rakyat was told today.

Deputy Minister Senator Wan Ahmad Farid Wan Salleh said of the number 1,130 permits were approved for foreign husbands and 3,646 were for foreign wives.

"Each application will have to go through procedures like security screening and interview. The time taken to process the application will depend on the quality of information provided," he said in reply to a question by Datuk Seri Tiong King Sing (BN-Bintulu).

Tiong wanted to know the number of entry permits given to foreign spouses since 2004 and efforts taken to improve the processing of applications.

He said unlike social passes which need to be renewed, entry permits were given only once and would only be revoked if the holder commits an offence.

The authorities also needed five years to verify the authenticity of marriages before the applications for entry permits could be considered.

Tiong had asked why foreign spouses need to renew their permits annually and wanted the government to simplify the application procedure.

Wan Ahmad Farid told Dr Lo' Lo' Mohd Ghazali (PAS-Titiwangsa) that other than security screening and interview, the applicants for Malaysian citizenship and entry permit must speak fluent Bahasa Melayu and that the information provided would have to be verified for national security reasons.

"We admit that it is a slow process but it is done in the name of national security as the country's sovereignty must be protected."

The deputy minister added the issuance of citizenship to foreigners was a privilege and not a right.

DAP and PAS’s loyalty to Anwar under scrutiny following sodomy allegation

2008-07-10T17:13:00.002+08:00

NST (10/7/08): Ever since Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) advisor and de facto leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim was accused of sodomy by his former aide, the leaders of the two other opposition parties in the coalition pact basically agreed that the issue be settled through legal means.

However, there have been no indications that they have accepted the allegation to be unfounded.

Hence, the question arises as to how far the DAP and PAS would remain loyal to PKR in Pakatan Rakyat (PR) if Anwar is found guilty of the offence in the court of law.

The loyalty of PKR leaders and members towards Anwar, meanwhile, cannot be denied as the party had emerged out of the struggle to free Anwar 10 years ago when he was faced with the first sodomy allegation and abuse of power when he was still in Umno and the deputy prime minister then.

PKR information chief Chang Tian Chua, in a press interview, not only acknowledged the members’ loyalty to Anwar but also their readiness in facing those who tried to stifle the party’s struggle.

He, however, did not deny that presently only PKR appeared to be at the forefront and facing the onslaught.

“No matter how difficult it is, we will overcome it,” said Tian Chua.

Firmly refuting that PKR was in a leadership crisis following the latest sodomy allegation against Anwar, he was confident that DAP and PAS were together with PKR over the issue and that PR was still strong. “As a pact, we are strong. But we are confronted with a very big challenge now,” said Tian Chua.

Behind those firm words of commitment, DAP and PAS’ loyalty towards Anwar and PKR have not actually been tested and their clearly different political ideologies may pose Anwar as a liability to the struggles of PKR’s opposition partners.

DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng, for instance, when asked about the matter, said that so far there had been no change in DAP’s policy towards PR.

But his refusal to comment further on the sodomy allegation against Anwar and its impact on PR could be felt as trying to evade the issue.

To an earlier press query, he said the allegation should be resolved through the country’s legal system as “what is right, will still be right and what is wrong, will still be wrong”. But statements by PAS leaders on the issue have clearly shown that the party is loyal to the opposition pact “for the moment”. “We are still with Pakatan Rakyat. Whether he (Anwar) is guilty or not, that’s a question we will deal with later,” said PAS Youth chief Salahuddin Ayub.

PAS secretary-general Datuk Kamarudin Jaffar also admitted that the cooperation was for the time being because in future they would have to go separate ways according to their own plans.

“Right now there are no internal issues (in PR) related to current developments. But in future, we will move forward in line with our own party’s struggle,” he said.

So, it appears that the partners in the coalition front have their own agenda and plans although they now collectively enjoy public support.

As political analyst Prof Datuk Dr Zainal Kling put it: “The people’s support will determine whether Pakatan Rakyat can weather the controversy involving Anwar as a coalition pact, or distance themselves from PKR.” “To me, Anwar’s credibility among PKR members is not affected as based on past experience, he had cleared himself of the earlier allegation. So they regard this again as slander.

“However, there may be doubts in the minds of the public, who may regard this as ’sandiwara’ (drama) or an excuse on the part of the PKR leader. It must also be remembered that although Anwar was eventually cleared of the charge by the court there were evidence which the court did not dismiss (which indicate that homosexual activities did take place), so people might believe this (the allegation).” The former dean of the Arts and Social Science Faculty of Universiti Malaya also agreed that the statements made by leaders of PKR’s partners in the PR indicated that they did not reject the possibility that the latest sodomy allegation could be true.

“Their (DAP and PAS) loyalty to Pakatan Rakyat depends on the outcome of the investigations, the court hearing and judgment. If the decision is negative for Anwar, I believe it will eventually have a negative impact on PKR and society at large,” he opined.

Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia lecturer, Prof Dr Mohammad Agus Yusoff, also believed that the latest controversy surrounding Anwar would not affect cooperation among the three PR partners for the time being.

Instead, he said, this was an opportune time for the opposition front to portray an image of solidarity against what they might claim as abuse of power by the government.

“Even if the decision in the end is negative for Anwar, support for PR will depend on public perception so to whether the investigations, trial and judgment are transparent and fair.

“If not, it will only serve to strengthen the opposition as they are now together in fighting against what they claim as abuse of power by the government.” Moreover, he added, DAP and PAS leaders were now seeing the second sodomy allegation against Anwar as personal rather than having to do with the party.

Mohammad Agus said the latest controversy had little impact on public support for PR as it still benefited from the current economic situation due to the oil price increase, by offering hope that things would change if they came into power.

“Although that hope cannot be fulfilled yet, it is enough for PR to gain public support and sympathy while it is confronted with a moral issue,” he added.

But he agreed that the opposition pact would not remain in the long term because of their different ideologies, especially between PKR and PAS, when it came to Malay politics.

“PKR sees its politics as people’s politics, while PAS’ politics is religious politics and protecting Islam is its priority.

“PKR practises what we call minority mentality, where they depend too much on the support of other races although in reality the Malays do not have to do this as they are the majority race in the country,” he said .

Whatever the outcome of the latest controversy involving Anwar, what is clear is that PR has never come out to state that their cooperation would be a long lasting one.

In fact, prior to this, leaders from PKR’s two partners in the PR were rather quiet on Anwar’s plan to topple the Barisan Nasional government by Sept 16, the latest, and replaced by PR, indicating their doubts about the realisation of the plan.

As Lim Guan Eng had said: “That (the plan), you have to ask Anwar. I am of the opinion that anyone has the right to plan.”

Four state water bodies to be corporatised by year-end

2008-07-10T17:10:00.000+08:00

The Edge Daily (10/7/08): The corporatisation exercise of four state water authorities - in Negri Sembilan, Pahang, Kedah and Perak - is expected to be finalised by the end of this year, said Energy, Water and Communications Minister Datuk Shaziman Abu Mansor yesterday.

Replying to a question from Mohd Nasir Zakaria (Padang Terap-PAS) in the Dewan Rakyat, he said a similar exercise in Perlis and Federal Territory of Labuan is expected to take place by the middle of next year.

"As for several other states which have already privatised their water services, they are negotiating with the concessionaires in the respective states in order to go into the licensing regime," he said.

Shaziman said the government would like to enhance the efficiency and competency of the water service in all states through the restructuring of the water industry.

"The ministry believes that the monitoring method through licensing regimes is suitable for enhancing the operations of water entities in each of the states," he added.

To a question why the process of corporatisation was going very slowly, Shaziman said it took a long time because the government has to ensure that the water industry is well-managed and is beneficial to the people.

Meanwhile, Plantation Industries and Commodities Minister Datuk Peter Chin Fah Kui said the prospects of the cocoa industry in the country were still bright despite the perception that Malaysia's cocoa has poor demand in the world market due to its acidic content.

Answering a supplementary question from Prof Dr P Ramasamy (Batu Kawan-DAP), he said the price of dry cocoa seed in the world market at RM9,000 per tonne has shown that "the price is still good".

"Unfortunately, we don't have enough production for the industry in Malaysia. That's why we encourage farmers to replace old trees with good seeds in the future," he said.

MAS cutting cost to remain afloat, says Lajim

2008-07-10T17:06:00.000+08:00

Bernama (10/7/08): Malaysia Airlines (MAS) can still afford to operate despite the surging global fuel price as the national carrier had embarked on cost-cutting measures to tide over with rising operational expenses, the Dewan Rakyat was told Thursday.

Deputy Transport Minister Datuk Lajim Ukin said MAS had reduced flight frequency to non-profitable sectors such as from Kota Kinabalu to Tawau from six to four flights a day.

He was replying to a supplementary question from Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad (PAS-Kuala Selangor) on MAS' survival in the face of skyrocketing fuel prices.

To the original question from Datuk Abdul Rahman Dahlan (BN-Kota Belud) on the price war between MAS and AirAsia, Lajim said the price competition between the two airlines was healthy as it benefited passengers.

He said passengers had many options now to decide on their choice of travel.

RTM's prerogative to decide on guests for its programmes, says Shabery

2008-07-10T17:01:00.001+08:00

Bernama (10/7/08): Radio Televisyen Malaysia (RTM) has the right to decide on whom to invite for live programmes or recordings aired by its radio and television stations, Information Minister Datuk Ahmad Shabery Cheek said Thursday.

He said RTM practised an open policy and gave coverage to all menteris besar and chief ministers based on the news value, be it for news programmes or talkshows.

"I myself, as information minister, have not been called for a live interview up to now, meaning that I leave it to RTM to do whatever it deems fit," he said in reply to Ahmad Kassim (PKR-Kuala Kedah) in the Dewan Rakyat.

Ahmad Kassim wanted to know whether RTM would give air time to menteris besar and chief ministers of states ruled by Pakatan Rakyat to explain their policies to the people.

Ahmad Shabery said he believed in the same principle and RTM was willing to invite parties which it felt were suitable for a particular programme, including leaders from opposition parties.

"The question of when to invite does not arise. I leave that to RTM," he said, citing as example that in the recent issue on fuel price increase the MP for Kubang, Salahuddin Ayub of PAS, was invited for the debate with the relevant minister.

"Not only was he invited but the reporter from Harakah (the PAS organ) was also invited to ask questions but an hour before the programme the Harakah (repoter) did not turn up, no representative was sent. It was Harakah that was unprofessional, not RTM," he said.

Asked whether RTM would telecast live the debate between him and Parti Keadilan Rakyat advisor Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim on the fuel price increase on July 15, he said it was organised by news portal Agenda Daily and not RTM.

To a question from Datuk Lilah Yasin (BN- Jempol) on what powers the Information Minister had on private television stations which were viewed as not giving coverage to Barisan Nasional menteris besar and chief ministers in their 8pm news, he said the private radio and television stations were not under the control of the Information Ministry.

However, he said, they should use their wisdom in accordance with the set guidelines in formulating programmes for airing.

Minister gives unprecedented second reply to same question

2008-07-10T12:51:00.001+08:00

The Star (10/7/08): Second Finance Minister Tan Sri Nor Mohamed Yakcop made history in the Malaysian parliament after he became the first Cabinet member to return to the House to deliver a reply for a second time.

The minister, who had replied to points raised on his portfolio on Tuesday, had to return due to “popular demand” from MPs, including Dr Mohd Puad Zarkashi (BN - Batu Pahat), Azmin Ali (PKR - Gombak) and Khalid Abdul Samad (PAS - Shah Alam).

Nor Mohamed's move, which was allowed by Speaker Tan Sri Pandikar Amin Mulia, was heckled by other MPs.

He started off his reply this time around by saying that he was willing to come back and explain the Government’s policies and also listen to suggestions and criticisms.

However, Nor Mohamed said he also did not want to create a precedent with his appearance for the second time in the House, noting that 19 other ministers were supposed to present speeches after him.

Later in the lobby, Nor Mohamed denied that his first reply had been inadequate, forcing his return.

“My answer on Tuesday was adequate. Just that there wasn’t enough time,” he said.

Earlier, Datuk Mohamed Aziz (BN - Sri Gading) complained to Pandikar Amin that Nor Mohamed’s return disrupted the Dewan’s schedule and that replies from other ministries should have been given priority.

Pandikar Amin said Nor Mohamed wrote to the Dewan secretary to say that he was willing to come back and reply again.

“There is nothing to stop him from coming back and continuing with his answer. I didn’t make a ruling to call him back. It was what some of the MPs wanted.

Lim Kit Siang (DAP - Ipoh Timur) said this was the first time a minister had returned to the house to reply for a second time.

Govt has not finalised Pos Malaysia fee

2008-07-09T17:53:00.001+08:00

The Edge Daily (9/7/08): The government has not finalised the fee to be paid to Pos Malaysia Bhd for handling the fuel subsidy cash rebate payout to motorists, Second Finance Minister Tan Sri Nor Mohamed Yakcop said, refuting rumours that the company would get 1% of the total payout.

"We are still negotiating for a reasonable fee and we will inform the House of the amount paid to Pos Malaysia," he said in his winding-up speech on the debate on the Ninth Malaysia Plan Mid-Term Review in the Dewan Rakyat yesterday.

Nor Mohamed was replying to Dr Hatta Ramli (Kuala Krai-PAS) who said he heard that Pos Malaysia may get a 1% commission amounting to RM50 million a year from the total payout of RM5 billion.

Nor Mohamed explained that Pos Malaysia was selected to implement the cash rebate payout as the company had 686 branches nationwide with computer systems linked to the Road Transport Department.

To date, Pos Malaysia had paid out RM839.6 million in cash rebates to 1.8 million motorists, he said.

The minister also said that the government was expecting to distribute up to RM6.13 billion in cash rebates to motorists who paid their road tax between April 1, 2008 and March 31, 2009.

"This amount would be provided to Pos Malaysia in stages and the government would only extend the amount paid out by Pos Malaysia. Not one sen more," he said.

On how long the government would maintain the cash rebate policy, Nor Mohamed said the mechanism would be reviewed after the first year.

He also refuted an allegation by Wee Choo Keong (Wangsa Maju-PKR), who claimed that the ECM Libra Financial Group was involved in the cash rebate payout. "ECM Libra is not involved at all. This is a fact that can be checked," he said.

Nor Mohamed said the government's subsidy bill could increase to more than RM30 billion this year from RM8.8 billion last year due to the hike in crude oil prices.

"In this situation, the government needs to make a decision - which can either be a popular decision or a responsible one," he said. The government, Nor Mohamed said, was aware that it would be criticised no matter what decision it took.

"The trust that we hold is not only for the 27 million people (of Malaysia) now," Nor Mohamed said. "We are also responsible for the future generations. As such, the government has to find a mechanism (to reduce the fuel subsidy)."

Parliament: Nuke lab will fend off accusations

2008-07-09T16:51:00.001+08:00

The Star (9/7/08): The setting up of the Nuclear Monitoring Laboratory will help fend off accusations that Malaysia is using nuclear for anything other than friendly purposes, such as the development of nuclear weapons.

Deputy Science, Technology and Innovations Minister Fadillah Yusof told Dr Che Rosli Che Mat (PAS - Hulu Langat) that the construction of the laboratory was proposed in the interest of the country.

"The facility will ensure that activities on the use of nuclear and radioactive material in the South-East Asian region will be mainly for peaceful purposes.

"It will also act as a check and balance mechanism to fend off any baseless claim on the use of nuclear in our country," he said in Dewan Rakyat on Wednesday.

Fadillah told Datuk Seri Dr Jamaluddin Jarjis (BN -Rompin) that this was because Malaysia had the intention to eventually use nuclear for electricity generation.

"For this to happen, we need to get the world's approval that we are using it for energy and not to build nuclear weapons. Having this laboratory will prove our commitment," he said, adding that besides this, the facility could also offer nuclear forensic services to other countries.

For example, Fadillah said, it would be able to trace the source of a sample of nuclear material.

"Only five countries in the world are allowed to export nuclear material - China, United States, Britain, France and Russia. Nuclear material from anywhere else is considered illegal and thus is probably used for other purposes," he said.

Fadillah said Malaysia was the first country among many, including within Asean and the Organisation of Islamic Conference, to be given the trust by the International Atomic Energy Agency to have such a facility.

"The facility will have use of technology that is controlled. The presence of this laboratory will also help to enhance the human capital development in sensitive and sophisticated technology in a controlled manner," he said, adding that the ministry was currently conducting a feasibility study for such a facility.

"Malaysia's Atomic Energy Licensing Board has also asked the Government permission to appoint the IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency) as a consultant for the study," said Fadillah.

So far, the Government had identified two sites in Pahang and Malacca for the facility.

"The Pahang state government has offered their land for free in Rompin," he said.

Chor: Showing butt not our way

2008-07-09T11:30:00.000+08:00

The Star (9/7/08): It is not the Malaysian culture to show one’s backside, Deputy Home Minister Datuk Chor Chee Heung told the Dewan.

“It is a foreign culture to do so but not Malaysian,” he said, referring to the concert at the rally to protest the fuel price increase at the Kelana Jaya Stadium on Sunday where a rock singer showed his behind to the audience.

To a question by Dr Mohd Puad Zarkashi (BN - Batu Pahat) on why the police did not take action to stop the rally, Chor said it was a rally organised by PKR.

Dr Mohd Hatta Ramli (PAS - Kuala Krai), the organising chairman of the rally, then quickly said they had controlled the situation well and the police’s help was not necessary.

Royal commission motion dismissed

2008-07-08T19:48:00.002+08:00

The Star (8/7/08): The Dewan Rakyat on Tuesday dismissed an emergency motion filed to request for a royal commission to be set up to probe allegations made against politicians, the Inspector-General of Police and the Attorney-General.

The emergency motion filed by Salahuddin Ayub (PAS - Kubang Kerian) was dismissed in chambers but Salahuddin raised it in the Dewan Rakyat.

In the motion, Salahuddin asked for a Royal Commission to be set up to investigate allegations made against Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak, his wife Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, Tan Sri Musa Hassan and Attorney-General Tan Sri Abdul Gani Patail.

Deputy Speaker Datuk Dr Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar, who was presiding then, said the motion was rejected in chambers as the case of Raja Petra Raja Kamarudin filing his statutory declaration (which implicates Rosmah in the Altantuya Shaariibuu murder case) was being investigated by the police at the moment.

Dr Wan Junaidi added that the police were also investigating the report lodged by Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan who alleged he was sodomised by PKR de facto leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.

On the third case, Dr Wan Junaidi said the Anti-Corruption Agency is investigating the report lodged by Anwar against the IGP and Abdul Gani.

"We do not want to turn this into a media trial," said Dr Wan Junaidi.

More ways to help Malaysians face rising oil prices

2008-07-08T19:46:00.001+08:00

The Star (8/7/08): The Government is working on other mechanisms apart from offering the fuel rebates to Malaysians to face the onslaught of rising global oil prices, Second Finance Minister Tan Sri Nor Mohamed Yakcop said.

Among them was the creation of a fuel purse of up to RM3,000 for MyKad holders.

He advised that it was very important that the country practised financial discipline and efficiency to protect the livelihood of Malaysians from external financial problems.

He added that contingency plans have to be made if the oil prices were to rise up to US$200 (RM658) per barrel by the end of the year from US$145 (RM477) per barrel now.

Nor Yakcop said the RM625 subsidy rebates programme was introduced as an immediate measure to reduce the financial burden on Malaysian motorists.

He explained that the Government had analysed that about six months were needed to implement a comprehensive plan to reduce the financial burden to both the Government and the public in the wake of the global oil price increases.

"However, things happened too quickly and the oil prices began to shoot up.

"Time was getting short and we decided to introduce a repayment system (rebates) to motorists as an immediate measure to cushion the impact of the reduction in fuel subsidies.

"The Government is now studying whether to extend the fuel rebate period or implement other systems in place of the rebate payment, which is implemented from April this year to March 2009.

"There is no move to raise petrol and diesel prices until the end of the year despite the rising global oil prices," he said Tuesday in winding up the debate in Parliament on behalf of his ministry on the Mid-Term Review of the Ninth Malaysia Plan.

He said the Government had paid a total of RM8.8bil in fuel subsidies last year, adding that the amount would have to be raised if nothing was done to counter the oil price increases.

Nor Yakcop said the Government could have implemented popular measures to reduce the fuel price burden on the population, but decided against them to protect future generations.

He added the Government would face a lower credit rating and stricter financial regime if the country decided to borrow large sums of money to lessen the impact of the rising oil prices.

"We cannot be borrowing from the IMF, which is regarded as an Ah Long, and we have to surrender our sovereignty to them," he said.

Nor Yakcop also said it would be bad if the Government was to take all the profits gained by Petronas and used them to help the present generation of 27 million Malaysians at the expense of the company, which would lead to strategic and financial losses for Petronas in the future.

"Petronas had contributed RM332bil to the country since it was formed in 1974.

"If the Government takes all of its profits since 1974, Petronas will only have RM160mil to invest, which is inadequate.

"The future generations will also not receive any benefits at all from the gains received by Petronas," he added.

Nor Yakcop said the ministry was still in discussions with Pos Malaysia Bhd on the charges that the Government would pay the company to offer fuel rebates to motorists, adding that no commission is paid to the company for giving the rebates to each eligible motorist.

He said a total of RM839.6mil in fuel rebates had been paid out to 1.8 million eligible motorists since the campaign had been introduced from June 4.

Eligible motorists could get RM150 to RM625 in rebates from Pos Malaysia Bhd's 686 branches nationwide, he added.

"The Government is providing RM6.13bil in stages to Pos Malaysia to hand out the rebates to the applicants," he added.

To a question from Wee Choo Keong (PKR-Wangsa Maju), Nor Yakcop denied that ECM Libra or any other private entity had a stake in the payment of the fuel rebate scheme being carried out by Pos Malaysia.

Nor Yakcop also informed Dr Mohd Hatta Ramli (PAS-Kuala Krai) that Pos Malaysia didn't receive commissions from its involvement in paying fuel rebates to motorists.

Pants pulled down: Organisers to probe incident

2008-07-08T01:00:00.001+08:00

The Star (7/7/08): The organisers of Sunday's fuel hike protest rally at the Kelana Jaya Stadium will investigate the incident in which a rock singer pulled down his pants midway through his performance.

Organising chairman of the rally, Dr Mohd Hatta Ramli (PAS - Kuala Krai) PAS treasurer, said "a post mortem" would be done on the episode.

Declining to comment on the matter further, he said the rally was considered a success as it went on well despite being given warning by the police for not applying a permit for it.

“It’s the first time we have held a protest a stadium. It is different from street protests. They had a chance to listen to speeches from various leaders, including the NGOs,” he said at Parliament Lobby Monday.

“We hope we have sent a strong message to the government and Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi and hope to get immediate response from them, in the next few days.

Dr Hatta also did not rule out street demonstrations if the government did not reply.

Selangor Menteri Besar Tan Sri Khalid Khalid (PKR - Bandar Tun Razak) said he was thankful to the Selangor police where the rally was held without a glitch.

He said the Opposition did not intend to bring this same protest to the Parliament.

On the rock singer who showed his boxer shorts after pulling down his trousers, Khalid said he hoped the matter would be closed as soon as possible.

“The manager of the singer has come to apologise to the organising committee on Sunday night,” he said.

Khalid also said he was thankful to PAS supporters for not protesting over the issue.

“I feel that the singer has to be sensitive and not to act over board as the crowd is from various cultures and ethnicities.

But Hatta hails rally a success

2008-07-08T00:51:00.001+08:00

Malaysiakini (7/7/08): Although some quarters view the ‘one million people’ protest as a failure, Coalition Against Inflation (Protes) coordinator Hatta Ramli has insisted that it was a ‘success’. (Full report)

PR MPs stage walkout

2008-07-08T00:43:00.001+08:00

The Edge Daily (30/6/08): Pakatan Rakyat (PR) Members of Parliament (MPs) staged a walkout from the Dewan Rakyat today to protest Speaker Tan Sri Pandikar Amin Mulia’s decision to allow Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak to speak on the Mid-Term Review of the Ninth Malaysia Plan (9MP).

While in the Dewan Rakyat, DAP supremo Lim Kit Siang, supported by other Pakatan Rakyat members, pointed out that it would be a misuse of Standing Order 14(1)(i) to make a ministerial statement on his support for the mid-term review.

“He should have make the statement when he seconded the motion last week,” Lim said, adding that it was misuse of standing order.

Meanwhile, Mahfuz Omar (PAS-Pokok Sena) questioned whether the government was admiting that Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi had missed out some points when he presented his speech on the mid-term review last Thursday by allowing Najib to provide further explanations.

In response, Pandikar said it was his discretion under the Standing Order as the Speaker to allow Najib to make the speech and told the MPs who disagreed with his decision to submit a motion to the parliament on the matter.

PAS wants a parliamentary debate

2008-07-08T00:36:00.000+08:00

The Star (10/6/2008): PAS handed over a memorandum to the Dewan Rakyat Speaker yesterday, requesting a special Parliament session to debate the fuel price hike and its effects on the people.

PAS Youth chief and chief whip Salahuddin Ayub said the party hoped that the would consider the request and grant one or two days for the session.

“For the sake of the rakyat, we hope the Speaker will call for the special session early next week,” he said, adding that there would be a peaceful walk from Kampung Baru to the KL Convention Centre on June 13 in protest against the price hike.

Salahuddin handed the memorandum to Parliament administrator Datuk Kamaruddin Mohamed Baria.

Week of shockwaves and drama for Malaysian politics

2008-07-08T00:30:00.000+08:00

The Star (6/7/08): Shockwaves pounded the Dewan Rakyat one after another starting with a sodomy allegation and ending with a statutory declaration on Altantuya Shaariibuu’s murder.

There was so much action on the side that the debate on the Mid-Term Review of the Ninth Malaysia Plan was sidelined as many MPs tried to get the latest updates.

The week started with everyone asking the whereabouts of PKR de facto leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim following the sodomy allegation against him. Many were also asking who the accuser – 23-year-old Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan – was.

Anwar's wife, Opposition Leader Datin Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail (PKR-Permatang Pauh) and daughter Nurul Izzah Anwar (PKR-Lembah Pantai) were much sought after by the media.

Inside the Dewan, Anwar also caused a stir when Gobind Singh Deo (DAP-Puchong) mentioned his name when he tried to ask a supplementary question on housing.

An argument between Gobind Singh and Speaker Tan Sri Pandikar Amin Mulia took place and Gobind Singh ended up being kicked out of the Dewan for two days.

It was Monday and the drama had only just began.

At the end of Question Time, just when Dr Wan Azizah was scheduled to debate on the Mid-Term Review, Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak stood up to table a ministerial statement.

Lim Kit Siang (DAP-Ipoh Timur), citing Standing Orders, protested, saying it was an unprecedented move for Najib to speak as the Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi had tabled the motion on the Review the previous week.

Lim said that anything that Najib wanted to say should have been done when supporting the motion then.

Pandikar Amin replied that the Malaysian Parliament had its own House rules and allowed Najib to speak.

Opposition MPs then staged a walkout as Najib went on to explain the government’s social restructuring policies.

Dr Wan Azizah, who was outside the Dewan with the rest, did not get to debate and it was Datuk Ibrahim Ali (Independent-Pasir Mas) who spoke – for more than one hour.

Meanwhile outside Parliament house, a group of PKR supporters and several NGOs who wanted to meet Dr Wan Azizah, ended up having a shouting match with security personnel when they were denied entry.

The next day turned out to be hectic again as news emerged that Anwar had left the Turkish Embassy the evening earlier.

The highlight of the day was the meeting concerning Anwar's safety between Abdullah and Dr Wan Azizah at his office in Parliament building.

There was other activity as well as S.A. Vigneswaran, who quit as MIC Youth chief days earlier, met Umno Youth chief Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Tun Hussein while MIC president Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu met Najib.

Inside the Dewan, Pandikar Amin announced that Gobind Singh visited him in his office to apologise and therefore the episode between them was closed.

But Gobind Singh returned to Parliament and denied making any apology.

“I have no reason to apologise, I have done nothing wrong and there is no need for me to apologise,” he said, showing no remorse.

This riled several MPs, who tried to refer him to the Rights and Privileges Committee.

While tension was mounting inside the Dewan, in the lobby the press waited for Abdullah and Dr Wan Azizah’s meeting to be over.

In the end, the journalists had to split up to attend Abdullah's press conference and Dr Wan Azizah's – as both held them at the same time.

On Thursday, Parliament was again hit by the shock wave of private investigator P. Balasubramaniam’s statutory declaration linking Najib with murdered Mongolian translator Altantuya Shaariibuu.

Mahfuz Omar (PAS-Pokok Sena) latched on to the piece of breaking news in his debate and received jeers and shouts from the backbenchers.

However, he caught the attention of MPs resting in the lounge as many rushed to the TV screens to listen.

It really was a hectic week, very unlike the usual sittings.

The Dewan Rakyat sits again tomorrow.

Mahfuz raises latest allegation against Najib in Parliament

2008-07-04T12:57:00.000+08:00

The Star (4/7/08): PAS information chief Mahfuz Omar has gone where angels fear to tread and brought up the latest allegation by a private investigator against Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak in his debate at the Dewan Rakyat at 4.30pm.

The Pokok Sena MP, who had earlier been criticising the Government’s policies on the control of fuel prices, took many MPs by surprise when he raised the issue at the tail end of his debate.

This prompted Deputy Speaker Datuk Dr Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar to remind Mahfuz that “his time was up” while some of the backbenchers took to heckling him.

Touching on the ministerial statement delivered by Najib on Monday to further explain the social restructuring policies under the Mid-Term Review report, Mahfuz said this was equivalent to a “no-confidence’ motion against Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.

“His (Najib’s) wife has been implicated in the statutory declaration by Raja Petra Kamarudin, which claimed that she was present during (Mongolian translator) Altantuya (Shaariibuu)’s murder.

“And the latest allegation by private investigator P. Balasubramaniam in his own statutory declaration that Altantuya had been promised US$500,000 commission from the sale of a submarine – what about all these statutory declarations? How is the investigation into all these claims going to be?” Mahfuz asked.

At this point, someone was heard shouting that “just because it’s a statutory declaration, this doesn’t mean it’s the truth”.

There were also jeers for Mahfuz not to fitnah (slander) and a slow rumble of disapproval could be heard from among the backbenchers.

He only sat down after Wan Junaidi repeatedly told him his debate time was over.

Tackle social ills, PAS rep tells Govt

2008-07-04T12:54:00.001+08:00

The Star (4/7/08): Barisan Nasional Government led by Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi should adhere to his Islam Hadhari concept by eradicating social problems in the country, Siti Zailah Mohd Yusof (PAS – Rantau Panjang) said.

She said the Government should not just concentrate on physical development, but do more to enhance spiritual development.

“The Government should limit the granting of licences for night-clubs and entertainment outlets in the Klang Valley, which have become the places for youths to hang out.

“We are also sad over the many divorce cases, mostly involving the Malay community,” she said when debating the mid-term review of the Ninth Malaysia Plan.

She added that the Government should do more to enhance the quality of family education programmes because many children have become victims of divorce.

Siti Zailah said that at least eight women were reportedly raped daily in the country.

“The existing laws, which are weak, should be amended and the country should return to the tenets espoused in the Quran to deter criminal acts.

“What is the use of the Government talking about working to turn Malaysia into a developed country when the crime rate continues to increase,” she added.

In a written reply to Nga Kor Ming (DAP - Taiping), Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Mohd Johari Baharom said the Government had allocated a total of RM428mil to build mosques and surau as well as RM8.1mil to build churches and temples.

The Government spent RM3.93mil for Hindu temples, RM3.16mil for other temples and RM1.6mil for churches.

Such allocation for 2009 and 2010 would be determined by the government later, he said.

Since 1991, he said the Prime Minister had allocated RM1mil for physical development of churches and temples and RM1mil for Hindu temples from 2000.

Melodrama ends as statutory declarations ignite the possibility of winning Olympic gold

2008-07-03T22:19:00.003+08:00

NST (2/7/08): After three days of melodramatic dissidence between MP for Puchong Gobind Singh Deo and Speaker Tan Sri Pandikar Amin Mulia that fixated the easily excitable MPs, the House may have been “converted” into a soundstage for the set of Law & Order: Dewan Rakyat for a fourth scintillating day of juicy squabbles but it was not to be. And for good reason.

The excitement today throbbed outside the confines of Parliament House, hijacked into the realm of the national political psyche by that master impresario himself, Anwar Ibrahim. He held court at the PKR HQ, surrounded by officials, supporters, loyalists and supplicants, in revealing a private investigator’s statutory declaration that contained incendiary revelations on the state of the political domain, which Anwar claims, is reeling from crises of confidence, inflationary worries, party in-fighting, leadership and anything that could swing public perception to back his bid for the Premiership.

Back to the House, the routine and the prosaic was reinstalled, until Mahfuz Omar (Pas-Pokok Sena), at the tail end of his colourful description of all things inadequate and hopeless about the Mid-Term Review, interpolated the very thing that Anwar was creaming elsewhere for all its worth.

Perhaps it was the titillating nature of the subject or its graphic debauchery, but Deputy Speaker Datuk Wan Junaidi Tunku Jaafar somehow didn’t spring into action to defuse Mahfuz from heckling away, seeing that the topic had detoured from anything resembling a Mid-Term Review thing. And surprisingly, neither did the BN backbenchers howl in protest.

So Mahfuz had a free run until Wan Junaidi decided to halt the Pas information chief, on the account that his 20-minute Hyde Park-styled rap was up. That didn’t matter. Mahfuz bulldozed his way to mouth off more of statutory declaration contents, ignoring twice warnings from the Deputy Speaker and a snipe from Ibrahim Ali (IND).

Nobody always knew the stance or direction the irascible Ibrahim would take in his intercalation of debates, especially those between the Government and the Opposition, but in this case, he came to the rescue of the people implicated in the statutory declarations. “It’s only a statutory declaration. Don’t ‘fitnah’,” was his succinct snipe.

When Mahfuz began to break away like a runaway train, Wan Junaidi had had enough. He muted Mahfuz’s microphone while the Pokok Sena MP yapped his way into a state of audibility only the MPs surrounding him could make out. Realising that his microphone was silenced, Mahfuz stopped talking and sat down with a sheepishly satisfied look.

But by taking away sensationalism out of the debates, the extraordinarily ordinary came in its place to allow lesser known MPs the chance to argue economic points of the MTR. Loke Siew Fook (DAP-Rasah) must have burnt many midnight oils to bring forth his legwork but it didn’t court controversy until he impregnated his speech with the charge that Umno committed the folly of eroding Malay trust with the inept implementation of the New Economic Policy.

Loke’s charge throttled the perennially choleric interjector Datuk Tajuddin Rahman to blast back, sans Speaker permission as always, as he accused Loke of egging away Malay fortitude, pride and rights with the DAP’s known disavowal of the NEP. Loke refused to back down, insisting that the DAP respected the NEP’s policy of raising the socio-economic status of “poor Malays and bumiputeras”, just as long as it wasn’t done the Umno way. Tajuddin laughed off Loke’s stance, scorning it as “insincere” but the argument lapsed there and then.

But there was another salient point Loke raised that subtly hit the nerve of the national psyche – the inability to maintain punctuality. He complained that the public transport the Government built was fine for its engineering marvels, especially the train services between Seremban and Kuala Lumpur, but he could not stand for its continual delays, unlike the services in other developed countries where the train arrives “not a minute early and not a minute late.” That’s hitting the nail on the head for tardy Malaysians’ fondness for flagrant time keeping.

Loke proposed that the transport authorities hire a German consultant to work out the snags in six months while he flushes the public transport inefficiencies out of its drowsiness. “If the German fails in six months, then you can sack him and if you continue to fail to improve the system, then the Transport Minister should resign or be sacked,” he said.

It was a golden moment for Raime Unggi (BN-Tenom) to highlight the plight of his home state Sabah for the inequalities and neglect it suffered for decades but he decided to use it on a national issue – the Olympics, specifically questioning why the Government should award RM1 million each to Malaysian athletes who score a gold medal in next month’s Beijing Olympics.

“This would only produce materialistic athletes who no longer strive to win medals for the sake of the country,” he reckoned. “The original intention of international sports meets, including the Olympics, is to produce athletes who bring glory to the country they represent.”

Raime argued that the huge incentive may pamper the victorious athlete and let slip a dip in form. Instead of cash, it was better to send the promising athletes for overseas training. Raime’s visionary foresight is praiseworthy only for his confidence that long before it becomes moot, a Malaysian athlete can actually win an Olympic gold medal!

If a Malaysian could actually WIN a gold medal, then he or she deserves the avalanche of accolades in profitable or glorious terms. He or she should also be made a Prime Minister for a day as the ultimate reward and signed legal decrees or award contracts for projects of whatever his or her heart desires.

Win it first, in any way possible or at any sacrificial cost, then let’s talk about being pampered into becoming materialistic morons.

Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia working together to stabilise NR prices

2008-07-03T20:18:00.001+08:00

Bernama (3/7/08): The government is cooperating with key natural rubber (NR) producing countries, Thailand and Indonesia, to stabilise the supply and demand of NR in the world market.

Deputy Minister of Plantation Industries and Commodities, Senator A. Kohilan, said the cooperation among the three major producers suppling over 80 percent of the world's NR, has resulted in positive sentiment on the price.

"Under the Supply Management Scheme, the three have agreed to control their exports in the long run to bring about a better balance between supply and demand to stabilise the price," he said at a question-and-answer session at the Dewan Rakyat here Thursday.

Kohilan said this in reply to a question from Datuk Wan Abd Rahim Wan Abdullah (PAS-Kota Bharu) on the steps taken by the government to ensure high NR price in the world market.

He said in the event of an abrupt fall in the price, the three countries had agreed to reduce exports in the short term through the Agreed Export Tonnage Scheme.

Kohilan said the ministry has also implemented various programmes to increase the earnings of the smallholders.

Ministry seeks to raise salaries, allowances of prisons staff

2008-07-02T20:53:00.002+08:00

Bernama (2/7/08): The Home Ministry has applied to the Public Service Department for an increase in the salaries, allowances and incentives of officers and staff of the Prisons Department to adjust them with those of the police force, Deputy Minister Datuk Chor Chee Heung said today.

He said there was a vast difference in the salaries of prisons officers and police officers though both were categorised as being in high-risk jobs.

“For example, the new basic salary for a Grade KX17 prisons officer is RM827.94 while a police officer in a similar grade earns RM1,100, he said when replying to a question from Nasharudin Mat Isa (PAS-Bachok) in the Dewan Rakyat.

Chor said the government was also considering providing housing to prisons staff so that at least 80 per cent of them enjoy this facility.

Replying to a supplementary question, from Khairy Jamaluddin (BN-Rembau), he said there were 14,809 foreigners in prisons throughout the country. He said this large number of foreigners also contributed to the congestion in prisons which held altogether 37,446 inmates.

Chor said the total number of prisoners was 28 per cent in excess of the ideal capacity of prisons in the country, thus causing the congestion. "Under the parole system and through the building of new prisons, we can ease the congestion," he said.

Parliament: Witness protection Bill almost ready

2008-07-02T20:49:00.003+08:00

The Star (2/7/08): The Government has completed the first draft of the Witness Protection Bill, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz said.

He added the Bill was supposed to be tabled during this Parliament session.

"However, there are many issues that needed to be settled first before the Bill is presented to the Cabinet for official approval and sent to the House.

"The Government stands by its commitment to ensure that this Bill will be tabled during this session," he told Mohd Azmin Ali (PKR-Gombak).

Nazri said the Prime Minister had announced recently four measures to deter corruption and instil the people's confidence in the country's institutions and anti-corruption efforts.

"The third measure is that the Bill, which is being drafted now, will include comprehensive laws which will provide protection to both whistle-blowers and witnesses," he added.

Nazri told Dr Mohd Puad Zarkashi (BN-Batu Pahat) that the Anti-Corruption Act could use the contents of poison-pen letters as a basis for investigations on wrong-doings.

"But the letters cannot be used in the courts as evidence," he added.

Youth associations must be re-registered

Youth associations already registered under the Societies Act 1966 must be re-registered under the newly-gazetted Youth Associations and Youth Development Act 2007.

Youth and Sports Minister Datuk Ismail Sabri Yaakob said all youth associations, whether they were already established or newly-formed, have until December to register.

He also said the most significant requirement stated in the new Act was that the age of leaders of youth organisations should not exceed 40 years.

"As of July this year, the ministry had received 417 applications, of which 212 were approved while 29 were rejected because they were based in Sabah and Sarawak, which don't come under the purview of the Act.

"The Ministry expects to receive 1,500 applications by the end of the year," he told Datuk Ismail Muttalib (BN-Maran).

Ismail said the number of racial-based umbrella youth associations comprised six Malay associations followed by Chinese and Indian associations with four each.

Asked why there were quite a number of associations which had not registered themselves with the ministry, Ismail said many of the main stakeholders of the associations had yet to register because they were above 40 years old.

Ismail Sabri said a 12-month window has been given to the youth associations (from the date the new Act came into force in December last year) to register to give the older leaders time to hand over the leadership to younger ones during their annual general meetings.

Nga chided for asking too many questions

Speaker Tan Sri Pandikar Amin Mulia chided Nga Kor Ming (DAP-Taiping) for asking too many supplementary questions during Question Time.

In his original question, Nga had asked Deputy Education Minister Dr Wee Ka Siong whether there were 131 Chinese schools which were classified as unsafe.

Dr Wee gave a comprehensive reply on the ministry's efforts to rehabilitate Chinese and other national-type schools, while also denying the allegation that there were 131 Chinese schools classified as unsafe.

However, in his supplementary question, Nga took a few minutes to ask Dr Wee four questions, which raised the ire of backbenchers and brought the attention of Pandikar Amin.

"I've told all of you (MPs) many times not to make speeches and have debates during Question Time, and it's clear you are not listening to my advice," he added.

Pandikar Amin told Dr Wee to limit his reply to Nga's query on whether the widow of a teacher Chan Boon Heng, who fell to his death when the floor of a school in Kedah collapsed in 2005, had received compensation.

To this, Dr Wee said he would have to check the matter and submit a written reply to Nga to avoid any misunderstanding.

Earlier, Dr Wee said national-type schools which needed repairs must be confirmed first through an inspection process conducted by the Public Works Department before funds are allocated to carry out the repair works.

"We have checked the ministry's records and we found that there aren’t 131 Chinese schools that had been classified as dangerous.

"However, ministry officials will visit schools which need repairs to ensure that money is channelled to finance repair and rehabilitation work," he said.

Dr Wee also told Mohd Nor Othman (BN-Hulu Terengganu) that students of Chinese and Tamil schools which had low enrolment would be transferred to bigger schools.

Review salaries of Prison Dept officers

The Prisons Department has asked the Government to review the salaries and emoluments paid to department officers, Deputy Minister Datuk Chor Chee Heung said.

He added that civil servants had been given a pay rise on July 1 last year, in which Prison Department officers received an average raise between RM274.49 and RM829.73 each.

Chor said there is a slight difference between the pay scale of Prisons Department and police officers.

For example, the new basic pay scale of a prisons officer in the KX17 grade is RM827.94 compared to a police officer who receives RM1,100.

"The Ministry has asked the Public Service Department to make a review of the prisons officers salary and introduce incentives and allowances such as RM200 for control and prevention unit officers because their duties involved higher risks," he told Nasharuddin Mat Isa (PAS-Bachok).

Chor added the ministry was seeking increased incentive allowances for officers taking care of prisoners with serious diseases and new housing for at least 80% of all officers.

He told Khairy Jamaluddin (BN-Rembau) that there are now 37,446 prisoners in the country's prisons, which is 28% more than capacity.

Chor said the parole system, which was introduced recently, would help to settle the problem of overcrowding in the prisons.

Bank Islam, BSN given RM50m allocation for housing loans

Bank Islam Malaysia and Bank Simpanan Nasional have been given an allocation of RM50mil to provide loans to house buyers from the low-income group to buy low-cost houses, Housing and Local Government Minister Datuk Ong Ka Chuan said.

He added these buyers, who didn't have adequate qualifications to ask for ordinary housing loans, could submit their applications to the two banks to buy their houses.

Ong told Dr Siti Mariah Mahmud (PAS-Kota Raja) the Government was aware of the difficulties faced by the lower income group in buying low-cost houses.

Their problems could be solved by applying for the RM50mil loan facilities offered by the two banks, he added.

Ong also said that as of March 31, a total of 30,072 squatters have been moved to people's housing projects (projek perumahan rakyat) implemented by the ministry.

"The squatters are required to pay only RM124 in monthly rental.

"There is no risk of their houses being seized or auctioned due to non-payment of rental because they are only renting from the Government," he added.

Ong told Datuk Halimah Mohd Sadique (BN-Tenggara) that among the problems faced by the ministry in helping to overcome the squatter problem was the lack of census data on the number of squatters.

"We also need to study the right locations to build low-cost housing for them.

"Many of the squatters also want to stay near their workplaces," he added.

Pakatan Rakyat MPs stage walkout

2008-07-02T20:45:00.000+08:00

The Edge Daily (1/7/08): Pakatan Rakyat Members of Parliament (MPs) staged a walkout from the Dewan Rakyat yesterday to protest against Speaker Tan Sri Pandikar Amin Mulia’s decision to allow Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak to speak on the Mid-Term Review of the Ninth Malaysia Plan.

Pandikar said it was his discretion under the Standing Orders as the Speaker to allow Najib to make the speech, and told the MPs who disagreed with his decision to submit a motion to parliament on the matter.

DAP supremo Lim Kit Siang (Ipoh Timur-DAP), supported by other Pakatan Rakyat members, pointed out that it would be a misuse of Standing Order 14(1)(i) to make a ministerial statement on his support for the mid-term review.

“He should have made the statement when he seconded the motion last week,” Lim said, adding that it was misuse of a standing order.

He said they walked out in protest because there was no respect for the standing orders.

“This has never happened. It was very clear the DPM didn’t use his opportunity to support the mid-term review last Thursday, and now he wants a second bite of the cherry. It is unparliamentary and unacceptable. We will present a motion to review the Speaker’s decision on this matter and also on suspending the Puchong MP for two days,” Lim said.

He said any ministerial statement should have instead touched on Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, who was taking refuge in the Turkish Embassy because of fear for his personal safety. “That is an urgent matter. Not an extra explanation on the mid-term review. That is ridiculous,” he said.

Pakatan Rakyat MPs kept interrupting Najib, who was trying to deliver his speech, with various points of order until they finally decided to walk out in protest.

As they were walking out, the deputy prime minister could be heard quipping that it was “better” without the opposition MPs in the House.

In his speech, Najib elaborated on the third thrust of the 9MP, which involved strategies to overcome socio-economic inequality in a constructive and productive manner, to avoid misinterpretation by any party.

“The approach taken under this thrust is to reduce the imbalances among ethnic groups, between rural and urban areas and among regions. I would like to explain that the implementation of strategies under this thrust will not exclude opportunities to other groups,” he said.

Mahfuz Omar (Pokok Sena-PAS) asked if the government was admitting that Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi had missed out some points when he presented his speech on the mid-term review last Thursday by allowing Najib to provide further explanations.

Opposition leader Datin Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail (Permatang Pauh-PKR) questioned why was there a need for Najib to add further explanations to the mid-term review.

“The review by the PM finished before 1pm last Thursday. They had time until 5.30pm,” she said. The House went into a recess until Monday right after Abdullah had presented the review.

Non-stop dribbling challenge set for Malaysia Book Of Records

2008-07-02T20:42:00.000+08:00

Bernama (8/6/08): A total of 864 youths took part in a gruelling 12-hour football dribbling challenge for 87km around the capital to make their way into the Malaysia Book of Records today.

Each contestant took turn to dribble the ball for 100 metres from the starting point at Titiwangsa Lake Gardens through Jalan Tun Razak, Jalan Sultan Ismail, Jalan Tun Sambathan, Merdeka Square and Jalan Ipoh before ending their feat at Titiwangsa Lake Gardens.

The event, the first of its kind here, was organised by a soft drink company, Permanis Sdn Bhd.

Speaking to reporters after launching the event, Member of Parliament for Titiwangsa Dr Lo'Lo Mohd Ghazali said the dribbling challenge inculcated team spirit besides being fun.

"It improves the stamina, commitment and mental strength of the participants," she said.

Singer Faizal Tahir showed his prowess being the first contestant to dribble the ball.

The event is expected to end at about 9pm.

Nasharuddin puts down steps taken by Government

2008-07-02T10:26:00.001+08:00

The Star (2/7/08): The recent government measures to stem the economic fallout due to the rise in world oil prices are weak and unacceptable, Nasharuddin Mat Isa (PAS – Bachok) said.

He said the Government had not been listening to the worries stated by the people on the hardship they were facing following the recent hike in fuel prices.

For example, Nasharuddin said the Mid-Term Review of the 9th Malaysia Plan (9MP) had not taken into consideration the recent rise in global oil prices.

“What is the value of development to be paid for with RM230bil when the low-income groups and the government servants cannot enjoy this wealth and are living from hand-to-mouth daily?,” he said.

“The Prime Minister had stated that the recent measures to raise fuel prices couldn’t be helped due to pressure from outside forces.

“For us, this reasoning is weak and negative.

“We are sure that the Government can do something better than this. Unfortunately, it has not been listening to the people.

“In fact, more people will hold a protest this Sunday to express their unhappiness on the situation,” Nasharuddin added in his speech during the debate on the Mid-Term Review of the 9MP.

Nasharuddin also questioned why the country was contributing money to the Commonwealth Endowment Fund in conjunction with the 100th anniversary of the Commonwealth when the money could be used to finance the repair of schools.

He also questioned how much was given to the fund.

Fury, suspension and a walkout

2008-07-02T10:18:00.002+08:00

Malay Mail (1/7/08): Speaker Tan Sri Pandikar Amin Mulia, who has long been threatening to erupt in fury at Members’ indiscipline, finally invoked Rule 46 of Parliamentary Standing Orders yesterday to suspend Gobind Singh Deo (DAPPuchong) from the House for two days.

The first-term backbencher had taken a swipe at the government’s handling of the latest Anwar Ibrahim affair, and did so during a completely unrelated supplementary question on abandoned residential housing projects.

“This is a matter of security,” Gobind began, but got no further than “just as Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim” before general mayhem broke out on the government benches.

Gobind was allowed to continue but insisted on the rather pompous Malaysian habit of preceding every question with a century-long speech masquerading as a preamble.

Pandikar Amin swiftly lost patience, amidst much wailing and gnashing of government teeth, and made the Sergeant-at-Arms escort Gobind from the House, A deceptive calm then descended as Members, chastened by the experience, sought politely to dispose of Question Time as quickly as possible.

Mahfuz Omar (Pas - Pokok Sena) managed to ask a tricky question about Petronas’s expenditure on the Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra (MPO) and Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department S. K.

Devamany (BN-Cameron Highlands) tried his best to wriggle his way to safety.

“The MPO represents a part of Petronas’s corporate social responsibility to provide recreational activities and facilities to meet a part of society’s many demands today,” he told an incredulous opposition.

“And as a country of diverse peoples, including expatriates, these facilities offer a choice to those who enjoy the live performances of a world-standard symphony orchestra.” The opposition was rumbling, and Devamany wisely went on to state the good the MPO had managed to do in the years since its foundation: It had assisted 1,000 local musicians and 110 youths (as part of the Malaysian Philharmonic Youth Orchestra), and had encouraged 30 new orchestral compositions.

Humbug, thought Mohd Azmin Ali (PKR-Gombak): “In Venezuela, where they have a similar programme of using oil money for music, they have hundreds of community orchestras involving thousands of Venezuelan youths.

“How then does the MPO compare?” he demanded, but Devamany was saved by the bell. Pandikar Amin directed him not to answer as time had run out, and Azmin had allegedly strayed from the original question anyway.

The deceptive calm then vanished like morning mist.

Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak, who had appeared in his seat some minutes earlier, was given the floor to make a ministerial statement seeking to “clarify” a point in the Prime Minister’s Mid-Term Review of the Ninth Malaysia Plan (delivered last Thursday).

Lim Kit Siang (DAP-Ipoh Timur) rose on a point of order before Najib managed to utter his first line, and demanded to know the grounds on which Najib now held the floor.

A half-hour long argument then ensued, during which Lim and opposition leaders maintained that such a move would compromise parliamentary standards beyond redemption, and to which Pandikar Amin retorted that the decision was his, and that nothing could be done about it It should be noted, however, that at no time did the Speaker attempt to eject Lim for being cantankerous. That would have been disastrous, and Pandikar Amin managed to remain relatively calm.

At one point Najib, mistakenly thinking the coast to be clear, rose to continue — only to have to sit down again under a barrage of points of order now issuing from several opposition Members.

Government backbenchers were restive and tried some tentative booing, but something was brewing on the opposition frontbench: Azmin kept nodding assent at his colleagues. Notes were passed. Pas frontbenchers were getting excited (a rare thing), and Karpal Singh (DAP-Bukit Gelugor), the father of Gobind, was assaulting the chair with quotations from the House of Commons rulebook that appeared insuperable.

Again Pandikar Amin relied on his interpretive powers under Rule 99 of the Standing Orders, and finally the opposition rose as one and walked out of the House.

This had the unfortunate effect of leaving the floor open, after Najib’s statement, to Ibrahim Ali (Ind- Pasir Mas) who thanked the absent opposition for the sterling opportunity to present an hour-long harangue about everything ranging from higher education to the price of potatoes.

The rest of the day proceeded quite normally.

Ahmad Husni: 18 GLCs performing well

2008-07-02T09:48:00.003+08:00

The Star (1/7/08): earnings from the 18 government-linked corporations have increased 91% from RM10bil in 2004 to RM19.1bil in 2007 since the programme to transform them was launched.

Deputy Finance Minister Datuk Ahmad Husni Hanadzlah told Saifuddin Nasution Ismail (PKR – Machang) that following this increase in earnings, the GLCs had also given out more dividends.

“Dividend payout rose from RM4.9bil to RM9.5bil. Total market capitalisation of the 18 GLCs in the stock market has also risen by 58% or RM85bil since 2004.

“The companies have managed to achieve 76% of the indicators under the key performance index,” he said.

To a supplementary question from Datuk Ismail Kassim (BN – Arau), Ahmad Husni said a department had been set up specifically under Khazanah Nasional – the investment arm of Finance Ministry – to monitor the performances of the various GLCs.

He also said there were four phases under the programme to transform GLCs and the full benefit of this would only take place in the last phase, scheduled between 2010 and 2015.

Deputy Minister in Prime Minister’s Department S.K. Devamany told Mahfuz Omar (PAS – Pokok Sena) that the Petronas Philharmonic Orchestra would give expatriates in the country an opportunity to enjoy world-class performances.

“The orchestra has also held various workshops and forums to cultivate our own musicians’ skills.

“Some 1,000 local musicians have taken advantage of these workshops to hone their skills and marketability,” he said.

Inter-city train service passengers to increase by 12.5 percent

2008-07-01T11:20:00.001+08:00

Bernama (30/6/08): The number of passengers for the inter-city train service is expected to increase by 12.5 percent a year, and cargo load for the goods train service by 5.6 percent a year, within 30 years upon completion of the double-track railway project.

Transport Minister Datuk Ong Tee Keat said this was based on a study by AGN Research Associates, which found that the project was a strategic action to increase capacity and meet the country's transportation needs in view of the anticipated increase in traffic volume from 2008 until 2037.

"The study by AGN encompasses economic, engineering and environmental aspects, and other matters related to train service," he said in response to a question from Roslan Shaharum (PAS-Bukit Gantang) in the Dewan Rakyat Monday.

He said the study on the effectiveness of the proposed dual track railway project was conducted by two consultant companies -- KL Consult Associates Sdn Bhd for the Seremban-Tanjung Pagar sector and Gabungan Jurubina Sdn Bhd for the Ipoh-Padang Besar sector.

He said based on the study, the increase in Keretapi Tanah Melayu Berhad (KTMB)'s passengers and goods was due to the increase in income elasticity of demand for travel, from 1.076 to 1.15 percent, as well as as a five-fold increase in the per capita income of residents in Peninsular Malaysia in 2037.

The study also found that the increase in population and economic activities between 2008 and 2037 would increase the volume of goods and number of passengers, he added.

To meet the increase, Ong said, the government had allocated RM792 million, which included RM100 million for the purchase of five sets of electric multiple units (EMU) with each containing four coaches, RM68 million for the purchase of 24 passenger coaches and RM624 million for 13 electric train sets (ETS), with each set having six coaches.

Opposition stages walkout

2008-07-01T11:15:00.002+08:00

The Star (1/7/08): In A day of high drama in Parliament, the Opposition staged a walkout after the House allowed a ministerial statement by Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak.

The statement – which was to explain the Government’s social restructuring policies under the Mid-Term Review (MTR) report of the Ninth Malaysia Plan – was not listed in the Order Paper and took many MPs by surprise when Najib stood up at the end of the question and answer session.

Mass exit: Opposition Leader Datin Seri Dr Wan Azizah Ismail leading Opposition MPs as they walk out of the Dewan Rakyat yesterday.

The statement provoked a chain reaction from the block as one Opposition MP after another stood up on Point of Order objecting to it.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi had last Thursday tabled a motion on the MTR report.

Before Najib had gone beyond reading a few words of the statement, Lim Kit Siang (DAP – Ipoh Timor) stopped him, demanding to know if he was participating in the debate or if he was delivering a ministerial statement.

When Najib said that he was delivering a statement, Lim commented that this was very “unusual” as any explanation should have been given by Abdullah himself during the tabling.

However, despite Speaker Tan Sri Pandikar Amin Mulia saying that the House was allowing the statement under Standing Order 14 (1), Mahfuz Omar (PAS – Pokok Sena) stood up to contend that if that was so, then Abdullah had failed in “adequately explaining the government’s policies during the tabling earlier”.

“Any such explanation should have been done then. Why are you taking up our debate time?” he demanded, to which Pandikar Amin replied that Mahfuz could bring up this same concern during his debate on the motion later.

The Speaker clamped down on further protests by Lim, adding that under Standing Order 99, his decision was absolute.

“Standing Order 99 should not be used as a justification for every decision by the Chair. If that is so, what’s the point of the Standing Orders?” Lim said.

When Lim insisted on pressing this further, Pandikar Amin told him to put in a request with the Chair for a motion if he was unhappy about his decision.

The Speaker continued to ask Lim to put in a notice for such a motion despite the party stalwart complaining that it was “meaningless to do so”.

“I have put in several notices but none ever came up,” Lim said, adding that Najib’s statement should be considered as a speech to second Abdullah’s motion and that it was abusing Standing Order 14.

After Salahuddin Ayub (PAS – Kubang Kerian), Dr Dzulkifli Ahmad (PAS – Kuala Selangor), Tian Chua (PKR – Batu) and Mahfuz had stood up in succession amidst grumbling from the backbenchers to get on with the statement, Pandikar Amin said his only agenda was to “protect the Chair.”

“So, please help me to protect it. What’s wrong with allowing the statement if it’s for the interest of the rakyat?

“If Yang Berhormat is dissatisfied or feels this is wrong, you can hit out all you want during debate,” he said.

At one point, when Karpal Singh (DAP – Bukit Gelugor) raised the Standing Order, Pandikar Amin said he would no longer entertain any more arguments after hearing from the former as “he is a famous lawyer”.

To Karpal Singh asking if Abdullah had “made a mistake” in his tabling earlier as a ministerial statement was only allowed in England for this purpose, the Speaker said the Malaysian Parliament had its own House rules.

“Under the Standing Orders, Yang Berhormat, one has to leave the Dewan quietly,” he said as a parting shot as the Opposition bloc stood up en masse to walk out of the proceedings.

In the lobby, Lim said it was unparliamentary and unacceptable of the Speaker to allow Najib to explain further on the Ninth Malaysia Plan.

“This proves that there is an internal problem within Umno, despite the fact that both Najib and Abdullah have been said to be on good terms.

“We will bring up a substantive motion to scrutinise the Speaker’s decision on this,” he said.

Lim added that such an incident had never taken place in the House before, and was a sign of disrespect to the laws of Parliament.

Tian Chua said the Speaker had broken the Parliament convention just to accommodate the “differences” between Najib and the Prime Minister.

“Furthermore, the Speaker refused to explain his decision. This could set an inappropriate precedent,” he said.

Shabery: SAPP members shouldn't follow Yong

2008-06-30T23:17:00.002+08:00

Daily Express (24/6/08): Sabah Progressive Party (SAPP) Members of Parliament (MPs) were voted in on the Barisan Nasional (BN) ticket in the March 8 election and as such should be more responsible and uphold BN discipline, said Information Minister Datuk Ahmad Shabery Cheek.

He said it was not the BN way to question its leadership.

"Like in a family, it is not right for a member to talk bad about the family to outsiders, what more to cooperate with enemies of the family just because they promised better things.

"If the SAPP MPs feel they need to serve the people, they have no other choice but to remain in BN. They must take a different path from their own leader, who has gone against the BN top leadership," he told reporters at Parliament lobby, Monday.

Ahmad Shabery, who is also Kemaman MP, said SAPP MPs must make a stand whether to accept their leader's action or respect the wishes of the people for them to serve under BN.

SAPP President Datuk Yong Teck Lee recently announced that the party had lost confidence in the leadership of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi and that its two MPs, Datuk Eric Majimbum (Sepanggar) and Datuk Dr Chua Soon Bui (Tawau), would support a motion of no-confidence against Abdullah in Parliament.

However, when asked about the presence of the two MPs in Parliament, Ahmad Shabery said: "I have yet to see them."

Dewan Rakyat Deputy Speaker Datuk Dr. Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar had said to date, the Speaker's office had yet to receive any notification about a motion of no-confidence against the Prime Minister.

Meanwhile, the passage of a motion on the increase in the price of fuel and other goods in the Dewan Rakyat Monday, is a reflection of the strong support by Barisan Nasional (BN) members towards the leadership of Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi and the Government.

Shabery said the motion, which was passed through block voting - with 129 members voted for and 78 against - was a very important motion and could be regarded as a vote of confidence on the Government and the PM.

"We are grateful as majority of members of the House supported the motion. This does not mean the Government don't care for the people because if this motion is not approved, the Government will bear huge costs and may run into debt.

"This shows that BN is still strong and solid and will remain so until the next election."

Commenting on proposal by PAS MP for Shah Alam, Khalid Abd Samad, that tender be opened to foreign oil exploration companies, Ahmad Shabery said it was an unpatriotic proposal.

Meanwhile Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Minister Datuk Shahrir Abd Samad, when met by reporters, said Petronas was still the oil company which had contributed immensely to the country's revenue.

He said the tabling of the motion was to give the chance to the Dewan Rakyat to garner support from the opposition members to come together and tackle whatever challenges facing the country.

Opposition MPs walk out in protest over Najib's 'speech'

2008-06-30T23:14:00.002+08:00

Bernama (30/6/08): Opposition members of parliament (MPs) on Monday walked out of the Dewan Rakyat citing violation of the standing orders when Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak was allowed to add more details to last Thursday's speech by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi when tabling the mid-term review of the Ninth Malaysia Plan (9MP).

Most of these MPs stayed away until Najib had completed his speech. Independent MP Datuk Ibrahim Ali (Pasir Mas) did not join the walkout, saying the move was unwise.

The walkout took place in less than an hour after Puchong MP Gobind Singh Deo was suspended from the house for two days after he had raised an unrelated matter -- the issue of the sodomy allegation against Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) advisor Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and his seeking refuge at the Turkish Embassy -- when asking a supplementary question during Question Time.

When Najib stood up to deliver his speech, which was further explanation to the motion on the mid-term review of the 9MP tabled by Abdullah, Lim Kit Siang (DAP-Ipoh Timur) objected by saying that the procedure was unusual because it was the norm for a motion to be debated after it was tabled.

Speaker Tan Sri Pandikar Amin Mulia dismissed Lim's argument and said Najib should be allowed to give the additional details.

At this juncture, Mahfuz Omar (PAS-Pokok Sena) asked whether the prime minister's speech was not clear enough.

Lim said Najib should give the additional details by participating in the debate like the other MPs.

He had the support of several other MPs, including Chua Tian Chang (PKR-Batu), Salahuddin Ayub (PAS-Kubang Kerian) and Karpal Singh (DAP-Bukit Gelugor).

When the Speaker insisted on Najib giving his speech, the Opposition MPs walked out of the house.

RM2.3mil for ministers' offices in Parliament

2008-06-30T23:09:00.000+08:00

Malaysiakini (30/6/08): The government has defended the decision to continue with the Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra (MPO) being funded by Petronas, the state-owned oil company.

Deputy Minister in Prime Minister's Department, SK Devamany said that not many companies in the country which could well-afford to sponsor its musical programme.

"This initiative by Petronas should be emulated by other companies in the country," he told Mahfuz Omar (PAS-Pokok Sena) during the oral question session. (Full report)

Opposition MPs walk out on Najib

2008-06-30T23:06:00.001+08:00

Malaysiakini (30/6/08): Opposition parliamentarians today staged a walkout from the Dewan Rakyat to protest against Deputy Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak's ministerial statement that elaborated on the 9th Malaysia Plan mid-term review.
MCPX

They were protesting against Speaker Pandikar Amin Mulia for allowing Najib to provide details left out by Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi in his mid-term review speech last Thursday.

The opposition MPs argued that Najib's ministerial statement was against the standing order and parliamentary convention. (Full report)

No plan to abolish Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra

2008-06-30T22:55:00.002+08:00

The Sun (30/6/08): The government has no plan to abolish or reduce the expenditure cost of the Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra (MPO) although the Opposition MPs claimed it does not benefit the masses, especially the poor.

Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department K. Devamany said the MPO was in line with the government’s holistic development approach and part of Petronas' social corporate responsibility (CSR).

"As a country with multi-racial community and expatriates, this facility provides an alternative to those interested in live performances of international-level symphony orchestra. Apart from raising the image of the country, the fine arts of classical music can instil discipline among society," he told Mahfuz Omar (PAS-Pokok Sena) in Parliament today.

Mahfuz said during this time of crisis, such programmes did not benefit the people in general but Devamany said it has helped for example, in creating 1,000 local musicians who had taken part in MPO's instrumental programme.

Azmin Ali (PKR-Gombak) then compared with a similar orchestra in Venezuela which, since 1975, had trained more than 600 youths from poor families and set up 125 youth orchestras, 57 children orchestras and 30 adult orchestras, whereby 90% of them were from the poor.

"If it is about CSR, why is Petronas' profit not also enjoyed by the majority of poor children but only circled among the elites?" he asked.

However, Speaker Tan Sri Pandikar Amin Mulia said Devamany did not have to answer as it was already time for debate.

How very ‘British’ of the Opposition MPs to walk out on Najib

2008-06-30T22:39:00.000+08:00

NST (30/6/08): First Gobind Singh Deo (DAP-Puchong) was ordered out of the House by the House Speaker for stridently quibbling over relevancy to tenuously tie Anwar Ibrahim with a supplementary question about housing, then his tribe of Oppositionists, led by his mentors Lim Kit Siang (DAP-Ipoh Timor) and his father Karpal Singh (DAP-Bukit Gelugor), stage crafted a wholesale walkout of DAP, PKR and Pas MPs to discompose the House over a procedural feud whether the Datuk Seri Najib Razak can speak or not.

While Gobind was fuming outside the House for his unceremonious ejection, the full complement of the Opposition MPs decided to join him in equal fulmination – perhaps to get back at House and Barisan Nasional for red-carding Gobind – by protesting the Speaker’s decision to permit the Deputy Prime Minister to make a ministerial statement on the Mid-Term Review of the 9th Malaysia Plan tabled by the Prime Minister on June 26.

So what’s the big beef about such a mundane procedure? It would seem that it had something to do with Malaysia’s former colonial master’s ways and means on House conduct and propriety. At best, the walkout was could be pictured as niggardly pedantic and at worst, it bordered on boorish formalism.

Although Speaker Tan Sri Pandikar Amin Mulia invoked Standing Order 14 (1) (i) greenlighting Najib to table his ministerial statement, the Opposition MPs wasn’t buying into it, resolutely contending that any correction or addition should be brought forth by the PM. Najib counterargued that he was tabling the ministerial statement because he seconded the tabling of the Mid-Term Review.

It would seem the procedure approved by the Speaker had a contentious consequence – it defiled Westminster and Commonwealth conventions, making Najib’s ministerial statement improper. The whole walkout was for that reasoning?

Kit and Karpal were quick and attentive to alert the Speaker that Najib’s initiative was “hostile” to British propriety. In good form, Kit produced an overblown criticism of the Speaker’s approval – that it tantamount to “reckless disregard of parliamentary practices, procedures and rules.” Najib, he countered, was allowed to misuse the Standing Order.

"He should have made all the remarks he wanted to when he was seconding the Mid-Term Review. Not now. It should have been done immediately. He is trying to have a second bit at the cherry. This is a gross abuse of parliamentary standing orders," Kit charged. “It sets a most dangerous precedent that the government front-benchers can abuse the standing orders at their whim and fancy. It is being perverted to accommodate Najib.”

Kit went on to contend that the proper subject for ministerial statement would be the Government’s position on Anwar Ibrahim, who at the time of this writing, had left the Turkish Embassy after holing up overnight as a precaution against death threat.

The Speaker, unperturbedly, invoked Standing Orders 43 and 99 to make his decision final, challenging dissatisfied MPs to table motions to contest it. In his blog, Kit indicated that substantive motions will be submitted to review the Speaker’s alleged misuse of Standing Orders and also to steer attention to Gobind’s ejection.

Soon after, Mahfuz Omar (PAS-Pokok Sena) launched a leading question to Pandikar Amin, asking the Speaker if he was admitting that the PM had erred when he tabled the MTR on Thursday. "Are you saying that the PM's speech was incomplete?" he said but Pandikar Amin refused to take the bait of Mahfuz’s fishing expedition.

But from there on, all of Pandikar Amin’s efforts to instruct Najib to start addressing the House fell into a vortex of Opposition whirlpool where at one stage, Dr Dzulkifli Ahmad (Pas-Kuala Selangor) told the Speaker he must offer a good reason for allowing Najib floor time. "You have not told us a reason for allowing this. Give us one good reason," beseeched Dr Dzulkifli.

Pandikar Amin ignored the Opposition’s escalating entreaty and still repeated his call that Najib proceed, only for Karpal to interfere as he quoted the British House of Commons convention and practice that if anyone should be allowed to make a ministerial statement, it should be the PM. "That is the House of Commons practise. Should not the Prime Minister be making the statement?" Karpal asked.

It was probably exasperating for Pandikar Amin to sound like a broken vinyl record but he duly repeated his earlier statement that he was using his discretion to allow Najib floor time. "I look at the conventions in Commonwealth countries when I make my decisions. Not just one country. I have to think of everyone's interest," he sighed.

Sensing finally that the Speaker, putting his authoritative weight on the issue, was not going to budge, the Opposition finally relented and waited for the Speaker to instruct Najib to speak. However, when Najib rose to begin his address, Kit, like the great tribal chief that he is, signalled his braves to walk out of the House, muttering that it was pointless to stay inside the House.

Predictably, the BN backbenchers reacted to the affront with loud jeers but the Pakatan Rakyat MPs refuse to be drawn into a reaction and walked out silently, smiling and grinning at the contrived procedural fuss they had triggered.

Opposition MPs walk out of Parliament

2008-06-30T22:34:00.001+08:00

The Sun (30/6/08): Opposition MPs staged a walk-out after a 30-minute argument over the Speaker's decision to allow Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak make a "ministerial speech" to elaborate on the 9th Malaysia Plan (9MP) mid-term review (MTR).

At the start of debate time in Parliament today, the House was told that the government was making a statement and Najib stood up and said he wanted to elaborate on the motion tabled by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi on Thursday (June 26), specifically on the government's strategy to restructure the society.

Before he could proceed, Lim Kit Siang (DAP-Ipoh Timur) asked whether Najib was taking part in the debate or making a statement as it is "unusual" for such a statement to be made.

Speaker Tan Sri Pandikar Amin Mulia then explained Najib was only making "an additional explanation to the facts made in the speech of the Prime Minister" and it was not against parliament order.

Mahfuz Omar (PAS-Pokok Sena) then asked does this mean Abdullah was not fully prepared when delivering his speech, saying: "This means the Prime Minister was not able to give a clear explanation. He should be prepared with his facts and everything. Why take from our time to debate now?"

Pandikar Amin said it was not for the MPs to debate whether Abdullah was prepared or not but for him to decide whether Najib's speech violates the Standing Order or not and he had decided it was not.

Lim stood up again saying: "This is unusual and unparliamentary. He (Najib) had missed the opportunity to argue his points when seconding the Prime Minister’s speech, so now he wants to compensate for it."

Pandikar Amin disagreed and quoted a point in the order which says Speaker’s decision is final but Lim quickly said the Speaker should not simply use the order to justify all his decisions because parliamentary practices must also be observed.

The Speaker said if Lim was not satisfied with his decision he can bring the matter up as a motion but Lim said it would be meaningless if the Speaker later decides not to accept the motion to be debated.

The exchange continued with Pandikar Amin insisting that his decision is final and saying Lim can bring a motion if he is not satisfied with the latter asking for a guarantee that his motion would be accepted by the House later.

Salahuddin Ayub (PAS-Kubang Kerian), Tian Chua (PKR-Batu) and Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad (PAS-Kuala Selangor) also stood up a few times to support of Lim.

Karpal Singh (DAP-Bukit Gelugor) then raised a point of order, saying according to the House of Common Practice, a ministerial statement can only be made to correct an error in a statement made in the House.

"So, where was the error in the Prime Minister’s speech. He should clarify it, not another minister," he added.

Pandikar Amin disagreed with him, saying it was a matter of interpretation and he also had studied all relevant parliament laws and according to his interpretation, the ministerial statement by Najib was proper and according to order.

When Karpal and Lim tried to argue further, the Speaker started on his lecture, saying: "I shall not jeopardise the authority given to this chair. I really wish to create a world-class parliament here. Please listen to the Speaker.

"In the House of Common, as soon as the Speaker raised from his seat, everyone kept quiet. But here, if I were to interject too much, I will be criticised. I do my job to my utmost. Please."

He then asked Najib to continue but Lim was still not satisfied and tried to interrupt the speech but when it was not entertained by the Speaker and Najib, he said he wanted to leave the House and all other opposition MPs followed suit.

Najib then continued with his speech, saying: "Thank you. It is much easier without the Opposition in the House."

In the lobby, Lim said all Pakatan Rakyat (PR) MPs had walked out because what happened did not adhere to the Standing Order.

"This is unacceptable, unparliamentary and we will table a substantive motion to re-study the decision of the Speaker and also the decision to suspend Gobind Singh (DAP-Puchong) for two days," he said.

MPO part of Petronas's social responsibility says deputy minister

2008-06-30T16:08:00.001+08:00

NST (30/6/08): Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, S.K. Devamany, said the establishment of the Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra (MPO) is part of Petroliam Nasional Bhd’s (Petronas) social responsibility to provide recreation to meet needs of a certain segment of society.
He said setting up the MPO was also in line with Petronas’ aspiration and its holistic development approach which combined business with science, technology and the arts.

“As a multi-racial country which has also an expatriate population the MPO will allow the people an opportunity to enjoy the symphony orchestra of international standard with their families or friends,” he said at a question-and-answer session at the Dewan Rakyat here today.

Devamany said this in reply to a question from Mahfuz Omar (Pas-Pokok Sena) on whether the government planned do away or reduce the expenditure of the MPO.

He said MPO has also organised various programmes to train local musicians play orchestra music and unearth and encourage composers under the MPO Forum for Malaysian Composers.

“Under the Malaysian Philharmonic Youth Orchestra programme, MPO aims to encourage and train young musicians and under the Schools’ Concerts programme, it aism to improve the music skills of the students,” he said.

Teachers the key to truly 'smart' schools

2008-06-30T10:32:00.004+08:00

More urgent measures are needed to make national schools
the preferred choice for pupils of all races.

The Mid-Term Review of the Ninth Malaysia Plan restated the government’scommitment to make national schools the school of choice for all Malaysians. That will take much more than the proposals stipulate, writes Chok Suat Ling.

NST (30/6/08): Attracting Malaysians of all races to national schools is turning out to be a persistent thorn in the flesh for the Education Ministry.

Several assertive attempts and rousing statements later, the results on the ground are hardly palpable. The Mid-Term Review of the Ninth Malaysia Plan revealed that the enrolment rate of Chinese and Indian pupils in national primary schools last year was only six per cent and 40 per cent, respectively.

Recognising the importance of increasing the enrolment of pupils from the various ethnic groups in national schools, several recommendations were made to enhance their appeal.

Unfortunately, nothing substantially new or innovative was offered in the review. It will take more than adequate information and communication technology facilities in classrooms, technological training for teachers and improved teaching and learning methods to bring in the pupils.

Indeed, if these are the measures the ministry is relying on, it will only be skimming the surface of the problem. Consequently, it would be unrealistic to expect tangible results by the end of the 9MP period.

The problem stems from the perception that national schools do not offer a quality of education as high as Chinese schools, or that they are Malay (and thus, by extension, "Islamic"), or that teachers are not adequately skilled or up to desired standards.

The characteristically slow implementation of educational policies and worse, the flip-flops in decisions made and enforced, have not helped.

It has been argued that the teaching of Science and Mathematics in English has helped make national schools more attractive. Consequently, reversing it would be imprudent.

The government has said it would wait for the Primary School Assessment Test (UPSR) results at the end of the year before deciding whether to revert to Bahasa Malaysia the teaching of the two subjects.

An educationist says the ministry cannot use the UPSR as a yardstick: "It is absolutely the wrong barometer."

He says pupils, especially in vernacular schools, cannot be expected to perform well in both subjects in the upcoming UPSR.

"They are adjusting, especially the teachers. In Tamil schools, for instance, of the 7,800 teachers, fewer than 500 are trained to teach in English."

For several years since the introduction of the policy, Tamil schoolchildren have averaged only 30 per cent passes in their school tests for both subjects, he notes. If the ministry uses the UPSR results as the basis for its decision, it would a foregone conclusion that the policy will be reversed.

"That would be a shame because there is essentially nothing wrong with the policy," he says. "It just needs more time to mature. The weak link here is the teachers, not the policy."

Kamariah (not her real name), a Science teacher in a primary school in Petaling Jaya, admits that her command of English could be better. She struggles to teach in English but is keen to learn and does not mind pointers, even if they come from her pupils.

"I am very open with my pupils about my command of the language. I told them they should correct me if I make a mistake and they do. I once pronounced the word 'stomach' as 'store-much' in class and a few students diplomatically told me the correct pronunciation."

She points out that despite the initial difficulty, many teachers like her are finding things easier now. "We are adapting and getting used to teaching in English. But now, there's talk that we may go back to the way things were before. It is very disruptive. All the time we spent attending courses will be wasted."

Introducing Mandarin and Tamil in national schools would undoubtedly help bring in more Chinese and Indian pupils, but this has not materialised in most schools.

The excuse is either there are not enough pupils, or no available teachers. Ironically, Arabic, which is not the mother tongue of Malaysians, is compulsory for Muslim pupils, and even non-Muslims in some schools. This despite some schools acknowledging a shortage of teachers for the subject.

Mursyid Ikhwan says his son in Year One scored only 23 per cent for Arabic in the first-term test. "Most of his classmates failed the subject, too. Imagine, these children are barely able to form sentences in Bahasa Malaysia or English but are already subjected to a completely new language."

The Mid-Term Review also stipulated that the J-Qaf programme, which involves Arabic, khatam Quran (memorising the Quran), jawi and fardhu 'ain (basic religious knowledge for Muslim students), will be expanded to all schools nationwide. This is disconcerting when scheduling and the availability of teachers have yet to be sorted out.

The review mentioned that national schools will be made "smart" via the establishment of Internet centres. This commitment, while praiseworthy, does not address a more pertinent issue: how schools can evolve from institutions that merely use a lot of information technology to ones with a "smart" way of teaching and learning.

For schools to be "smart" in the intended sense of the word, the entire education system would need to be less focused on examinations and academic achievement.

Says Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia lecturer Azizah Yaacob: "Smart schools are about letting go of the old ways of teaching and giving more autonomy to students."

What is indisputable is that teachers are the most important element in making national schools the preferred choice. Laudably, this was acknowledged in the Mid-Term Review.

In seeking to attain the target of a 25 per cent complement of graduate teachers in primary schools and 100 per cent in secondary schools by 2010, the right sort of people must be drawn into the teaching profession -- those who want to be teachers; not those who have to be.

Bachok member of parliament Nasharudin Mat Isa thinks teacher training should be intensified as there is ample room for improvement in producing teachers of high calibre. "Something is obviously wrong with national schools for the non-Malays to have abandoned them."

Parliameny is not a joke?

2008-06-28T17:42:00.003+08:00

Opposition not impressed

2008-06-28T17:32:00.001+08:00

The Star (27/6/08): Lim Kit Siang (DAP – Ipoh Timor) said the Ninth Malaysia Plan should have been drafted to re-inspire Malaysians after the March 8 political tsunami.

“The Government is supposed to understand the needs of the people and lead them towards new economic heights but I don’t think it has been able to fulfil that,” he said.

Opposition leader Datin Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail (PKR - Permatang Pauh) said the mid-term review was nothing new because the Barisan Nasional government was contradicting itself when implementing its policies.

“The Prime Minister said he had to raise the prices of fuel and gas, but that it would not burden the lower income group.

“This is just not possible,” she said.

Dr Wan Azizah said she understood that the subsidy system was not sustainable in the long term but there were other ways of cutting the subsidy.

“It can be carried out in stages. We are an oil-exporting country and therefore, we can manage it better,” she said.

Tan Seng Giaw (DAP - Kepong) said the Government should carry on with projects such as the Penang Outer Ring Road (PORR) in its move to improve the public transportation system.

“I don’t understand why the PORR project has been delayed when the Government keeps emphasising that it wants to upgrade the public transportation system whereby RM30bil has already been allocated for that purpose,” he said.

PAS secretary-general Datuk Kamaruddin Jaffar (PAS-Tumpat) said the mid-term review was far below expectations.

“We expect the Prime Minister to come out with concrete and new proposals to solve the pressing economic problems and hardships the rakyat is facing, stemming from the rising costs of food and other stuff.

“This had been made worse by the Government’s decision to raise petrol and diesel prices to record levels - at 41% and 63% respectively,” he said.

Oil price hike

2008-06-28T17:30:00.003+08:00

Govt may review freeze on registration for Class F contractor

2008-06-28T17:24:00.003+08:00

Bernama (26/6/08): The Entrepreneur and Cooperative Development Ministry is studying the effectiveness of a freeze in the issuance of new Class F licence, implemented in April 2005, and may reopen its registration in the future.

Minister Datuk Noh Omar said the move was necessary at the time as the number of contractors had outnumbered projects offered by the government.

He said there were 31,847 Class F contractors registered with the Contractor Service Centre (CSS) until June this year compared with 35,500 in April 2005.

"The government did a review on Class F contractors in January 2006 and had so far revoked the licences of 3,399 inactive contractors," he said in reply to Liang Teck Meng (BN-Simpang Renggam) at the Dewan Rakyat.

Noh said the contractors were assessed based on whether their accounts were active, had obtained jobs, submitted quotations, attended courses organised by CSS and had no records of abandoning projects given to them.

"Other wrongdoings include sub-contracting jobs and acting as agents to earn commission. Some of them were blacklisted," he said.

Noh also said the ministry had set up a working committee to encourage genuine joint ventures between Bumiputera and non-Bumiputera contractors as the efforts to harness them since 11 years ago had not been successful.

"The result was not very encouraging... only 11 genuine joint venture companies were be formed. We hope the non-Bumiputera can assist their Bumiputera counterparts and not merely take them in 'Ali Baba' ventures," he said in reply to Dr Siti Mariah Mahmud (PAS-Kota Raja).

On the Entrepreneur Development Institute (Insken), he said RM117.54 million had been spent to create 150,000 new entrepreneurs and upgrading the expertise of another 25,000 under the Ninth Malaysia Plan.

He said until April, 792,508 entrepreneurs had repaid RM5 billion out of RM10.3 billion in loans disbursed by agencies under the ministry.

Pakatan Rakyat may test the constitution to build their shelved Penang projects

2008-06-28T17:21:00.001+08:00

NST (26/6/08): It was static to the ears of Penangites, a white noise of dread when the reality came crashing in that the RM2 billion Penang monorail and the RM1.5 billion Penang Outer Ring Road projects didn’t merit a mention for the much-needed funding. The Penang projects were not people friendly, the Prime Minister demurred in his speech at the House this morning when he laid out the Mid-Term Review of the Ninth Malaysia Plan when he sought an extra RM30 billion to boost a variety of other people-friendly projects. On a lesser impact, the proposed administrative centres in several states were also scratched.

Based on the figures provided by the PM, the bulk of the extra funds, at RM10 billion, will go to the economic corridors, the ones he touted the most among the many initiatives he made since the took over in 2004. But in these times of soaring oil prices, global security threats and problems in food production that for some states meant starvation, the Penang Government may be well-advised to not aggravate the shelving of the two projects by making a meal out of the zero funding.

Any gripes that the Pakatan Rakyat Government and the Penangites have, no matter how justified and excusable, cannot compare to the needling problems of the lower income group in simply surviving on monthly piecemeal basis, as the thrusts of the Mid-Term Review demands.

So what if there is no monorail to gallivant around the island and so what if the is no Penang Outer Ring Road -- a new expressway in connecting George Town to Gelugor in the south, near Penang Bridge and to Tanjung Bungah in the north – which would simply urge motorists to endure more years of bad congestion. At least the Second Penang Bridge project gets the nod but at the great disadvantage of higher construction cost, perhaps as high as 60 per cent if speculative reports are to be believed.

The overall economic picture in the meantime would not be high-defined perfection but a blank transmission for the Penang Government, who may have banked too much on the two projects to stimulate the state’s economy and grease the wheels of two its most profitable industries – tourism and all that is produced in the free trade zones.

But was the Feds’ motive in shelving the two projects not done out of political repudiation? That they had to salvage for lost pride after the majority of Penang voters’ power inured themselves that DAP’s Lim Guan Eng would make a far more endearing Chief Minister than BN’s Tan Sri Koh Tsu Koon in toppling the BN State Government on March 8?

The Deputy Prime Minister, in realising the negative backlash to the shelving of the two projects mean, came out strongly, denying that the projects’ shelving was a form of punishment to Penangites who voted for the Opposition. "It is not a question of punishing anyone. Essential projects will continue to be implemented whether the states are under BN or not," he insisted.

The government, Najib asserted, was forced to defer some projects after conducting a re-evaluation but it did not mean that they are cancelled. “They can be implemented when the situation permits," Datuk Seri Najib Razak told a Press conference in Parliament after Abdullah tabled the Mid-Term Review outline.

“When the situation permits” is the operative sentence to act. On one hand, the people of Penang may have to brace perhaps for more years of patience for these projects to come around but for the political climate going against them notwithstanding, the book on the projects may be closed for good, unless the voters suddenly decide in five years to return the BN to power and ease the Feds hardball stance.

But they are not waiting. There are strong murmurs that the Pakatan Rakyat Government is not leaving the “lost of ideal funding” for these two projects to providence or any justification that their needs are not “people-friendly”. The PR, arguing in principle that the BN lost of way among the plebiscites was the primary reason why they lost far too many seats on March 8, is determined not to be dragged that way too if they fail to get these projects moving. Some would say that getting the projects done at all cost would be their flagship election issue five years from now.

The business savvy among the PR crowd may now be thinking of alternative and independent means to raise funds for the two projects. That’s what it is: a mere lack of funding rather than lack of resolve, resourcefulness and some third party angel investors willing to fork out a cool RM3.5 billion in a coterie of investments and soft loans.

But Najib seemed to have anticipated this economically subversive thinking. When he was asked whether Penang could carry out the deferred projects on their own, Najib pointed the issue as a matter subject to the Federal Constitution. “You have to decide whether it is under the state or federal list. Secondly, if the state want to borrow (a loan), they still need permission from the federal government," he said in underscoring the Federal Government’s stand.

Perhaps that was why DAP supremo Lim Kit Siang (DAP-Ipoh Timur) seemed nonchalantly blasé in his reaction to the PM’s Mid-term review speech – he may have already this legal onslaught in his mind and in saying it out loud and likely to speak on behalf of his fellow oppositionists, especially from Penang, brushed aside the loss of funding as “nothing much exciting.”

So, it may soon boil down now to the Penang Government’s temerity to challenge the Federal Government in what may be a landmark constitutional battle to make the Federal Constitution favour them. The Penang Government’s argument may revolve around the fact that land and water is a state prerogative and anything that is grown, built, planted, dug or shifted on Penang soil is their business and their business alone.

So would that make Najib’s pointer moot? Perhaps not. The moment the Federal Government sniffs something amiss, like contractors suddenly making a beeline to excavate earth and plant huge foundations, a court injunction would quickly come down hard to stop all construction work.

Would that deter the Penangites? Not those hardy pugilists from the DAP, Pas and PKR with the cojones of bull fighters. They will slug it out, with their Queen’s Counsels and their brigade of local lawyers salivating at the thought of arguing this unique case in court, knowing that the legal concurrences may swing with them.

Government gives priority to OIC countries to expand trade to non-traditional marts

2008-06-28T17:18:00.001+08:00

Bernama (26/6/08): The government always gives priority to Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC) countries in its strategy to expand exports to non-traditional markets.

Deputy International Trade and Industry Minister, Datuk Liew Vui Keong, said Malaysia's trade with OIC countries has increased every year since 2003.

He said the amount in 2003 was RM46.1 billion, 2004 (RM61.6 billion), 2005 (RM70.1 billion), 2006 (RM83.8 billion) and 2007 (RM95.3 billion).

"Until April this year, trade with the grouping has touched RM36.1 billion," he said during the question-and-answer session of the Dewan Rakyat here today.

Liew said this in reply to a question from Dr Mohd Hatta Md Ramli (PAS-Kuala Krai) regarding Malaysia's trade with OIC countries during the period when the country held the presidency of the organisation (2003-2008).

He said the government has set up branch offices of Malaysia External Trade Development Corp and Malaysian Industrial Development Authority in Dubai to tap the market and investment opportunities in the Middle East

"The government has also established bilateral ties with OIC members by signing various agreements, undertaking trade missions and investments in United Arab Emirates and promotional activities to strengthen trade with them," he said.

Iskandar Malaysia draws RM33b investment

2008-06-28T17:15:00.001+08:00

The Edge Daily (26/6/08): The Iskandar Regional Development Authority (IRDA) has registered investments totalling RM33 billion or 70% of the RM47 billion target set for Iskandar Malaysia under the Ninth Malaysia Plan, said Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Tan Sri Amirsham A Aziz.

“This figure is derived from contractual agreements, and not memoranda of understanding (MoU), with the IRDA,” he said in his reply to questions from Dr Mohd Puad Zarkashi (Batu Pahat-BN), Tony Pua (Petaling Jaya Utara-DAP), Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad (Kuala Selangor-PAS), Khalid Abdul Samad (Shah Alam-PAS), Datuk Nur Jazlan Mohamed (Pulai-BN) and Hamim Samuri (Ledang-BN).

Amirsham said six foreign companies from the UAE, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Lebanon have invested in Iskandar Malaysia.

They include Kuwait Finance House, Aldar Properties PJSC, Mubadala Development Company, Millennium Development Company, Damac and Limitless Dubai.

Local investors include UEM Group, Telekom Malaysia Bhd, Tenaga Nasional Bhd, Tradewinds Bhd and Lido Boulevard.

“All investments, be it local or foreign, are required to follow all policies and regulations set by the federal and state governments. This will be monitored continuously by the state government and IRDA,” Amirsham said.

He also told the House the total investment included RM4.3 billion from the government for infrastructure development while the rest were from the private sector and government-linked companies.

On the rights of landowners, Amirsham assured the lawmakers the government would protect the rights of landowners in all development corridors.

“No landowner will be forced to sell their land, but it must be noted that they are free to sell their land on the willing-buyer and willing-seller concept,” he said, adding all matters related to sale of land in any corridor were under the purview of the state government concerned.

To a supplementary question, Amirsham said efforts were underway to improve security in the Iskandar area.

He said the government has approved an allocation for more police officers and crime prevention in the area.

“We are also negotiating with a joint committee in Singapore for feedback and to encourage Singapore to avoid describing the IRDA or Johor as unsafe,” he added.

Some 'isms' to brighten up the day

2008-06-28T17:07:00.003+08:00

Malay Mail (25/6/08): Proceedings in the House yesterday were mostly overshadowed by what was happening outside at the lobby or, rather, what was not happening (see accompanying analysis), but Members were unfazed at Question Time since the cameras were rolling anyway.

Khairy Jamaluddin (BNRembau), fresh from his scrape the day before, rose on a question of corruption to rail against the Selangor government.

“Lord Acton said power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely,” he began. “My question is: What is the result of the Anti-Corruption Agency’s (ACA) investigation into the corruption scandal involving the Selangor Menteri Besar? “Is this good governance? And what makes matters worse is the fact that the officer being investigated was suspended for two months yesterday, and has since resigned because he has no faith in the Menteri Besar.” Amidst thumping on the government benches, the words “ECM Libra” and “Avenue Capital ” issued from somewhere in the vicinity of Datuk Ibrahim Ali (Ind-Pasir Mas) and rang throughout the House.

(In 2005, Khairy was involved in a controversial merger of financial houses ECM Libra Capital Bhd and Avenue Capital Resources Bhd a government- linked company - but was cleared of any wrongdoing by the Public Accounts Committee on Aug 10 last year. On Aug 12, Khairy disposed of his interest in ECM Libra, but his name is still frequently mentioned in connection with that issue.) Selangor Menteri Besar Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim (PKR-Bandar Tun Razak) was present in the House yesterday but responded to Khairy’s attack with a shrug, probably for the better since he has proven himself barely capable of stuttering his speeches in the House.

Khairy then had to give way to Datuk Seri Mohd Nazri Aziz (BN-Padang Rengas) who provided a perfunctory answer on behalf of the Prime Minister that proved to be of no account.

Things livened up considerably, however, when Khalid Abd Samad (Pas-Shah Alam) rose on a point of order after Question Time ended.

Referring to his speech the previous day, in which Khalid said Petronas was being subsidised by the people, the first term parliamentarian reported that he had since been censured by Information Minister Datuk Ahmad Shabery Cheek (BNKemaman).

“The minister says that I made a traitorous statement.

In my speech yesterday (debating his brother’s motion on the price increases) it appears that my proposals were interpreted as an attempt to betray our national interests and to hand over our natural resources to foreign oil companies.

“This is a ‘tipuisme’ and ‘keliruisme’ (‘cheatism’ and ‘confusionism’).

‘Isms’ championed by the Barisan Nasional,” he declared, ridiculing the pseudo-intellectual habit of adding “isms” to every other word.

Barisan members, to their credit, began shouting wildly and matters went swiftly out of control despite Deputy Speaker Datuk Wan Junaidi Tuanku Ja’afar’s impassioned speech, just moments before, for better Parliamentary standards.

Once order resumed, the House settled to debate various sleep-inducing Bills (the most interesting one, dealing with revisions to judicial pensions, was postponed).

At lunch, however, MPs became disconcerted by the lack of media attention given to them outside the chamber. A delegation of Kuala Lumpur MPs trotted up to the Media Centre, only to discover that the Press boycott included them as well.

Women, Family and Community Development Minister Datuk Dr Ng Yen Yen (BN-Raub) also sent her staff to the Press room to determine why no one was interested in her, and the Information Ministry was forced to postpone the launch of its website “to a date yet to be determined”. (U En-Ng )

Opposition pledges yet infulfilled

2008-06-28T17:00:00.002+08:00

IPS (26/6/08): Even as the Anwar Ibrahim-led opposition Peoples Alliance coalition celebrates 100 days in office this week with huge rallies across the country, the public euphoria that brought them into power is beginning to cool off as people tighten their belts in the face of a slowing economy and escalating cost of living. Demands are rising for the opposition to implement their pledges.

It is clear now that it was easy to make election pledges, but next to impossible to fulfil some of them, especially the promise to lower the price of petrol to pre-2004 levels --world price then was about 20 dollars a barrel. The price of oil is now hitting 150 dollars a barrel.

In 2004, pump prices in Malaysia were under RM0.92, but today the price is RM2.70 and set to rise to RM3.20 by yearend.

"I cannot understand how Mr. Anwar is going to lower pump prices when world price is set to cross 200 dollars by year end," said a University of Malaya economist who declined to be identified, for fear of repercussions. "I think he has to tell his legions of supporters soon that petrol prices will only rise and not drop because the commodity is limited but usage is increasing," the economist told IPS.

For the opposition -- which captured five states and won 82 of the 222- seats -- the issue is pressing.

"As the opposition we promised the sky to win but as the government now we have great difficulty to deliver because we don’t have the power, our power to effect change is limited," opposition lawmaker Tian Chua told IPS. "But we are doing our best and the people understand it... they are with us," he said.

Many are still in a state of shock having been transformed overnight from "street fighters" battling police to lawmakers. The size of the victory and the suddenness of the transformation took everybody by surprise.

Voters who believed the opposition rhetoric and voted for change to see their lives transformed for the better are increasingly unhappy that change is slow to arrive.

"We want an end to corruption, we want accountability and transparency, we want redistribution of wealth and we want to see equality for all races," said R. S. Thanenthiran, national co-coordinator of the Makkal Sakthi or People Power movement that helped to bring the disparate opposition into power. "The era of blaming the previous governments for all the ills in the country is over and people want the new leaders to deliver," he said. "But they are still trapped in the old mentality," he told IPS in an interview. "They are the government now and they have to deliver."

A key opposition challenge is how to satisfy rising expectations which are fuelled by opposition rhetoric and rising cost of living -- on Jun. 5 there was a 41 percent hike in petrol and 61 percent hike in diesel prices.

Before the fuel hike the country’s poverty rate -- calculated by a household income of RM800 -- was 3.7 percent of the population, or 27 million people. After the fuel hike, and resulting massive jump in cost of living, the government is proposing to a new "lower income" category who earn RM2,000 and below. Nearly 25 percent of the population will fall under this new category of "low income earners".

The new definition covers only expenses for food, clothes, rental, utilities, transport, communication, health and education, former banker turned government minister for special functions, Amirsham Aziz told parliament on Jun. 24.

"Many among the former middle class are now falling into the lower income category and they are fearful and looking to the opposition political parties for deliverance," said S. Sivananthan, a senior official with the Malaysian Trade Union Congress, an umbrella body for private sector unions. "Clearly the former boom years are turning into lean years and people are angry at the sudden lost of status," he said.

The opposition Peoples Alliance is made up of three disparate political parties and has yet to formulate a single, holistic agenda to raise wages and household income and redistribute national wealth -- the key demands of the people.

Instead the former opposition is resorting to distributing sugar, rice and cooking oil to the poor and so doing are fuelling higher expectations for more handouts. "A comprehensive and workable scheme of measure to beat inflation and raise income is not in place yet," Sivananthan told IPS. "Populist measures like free rice are temporary measures and will raise expectation without solving the root cause which is low wages."

The difference between the three political parties that make up the Peoples Alliance is also a contributing factor in the failure to offer a comprehensive common agenda. While PAS, a Muslim fundamentalist party, wants a greater role for Sharia in the five opposition ruled states, the secular, Chinese-based Democratic Action Party supports defending the secular constitution and stopping the advance of Islam in a multi-ethnic secular society. Anwar and his Peoples Justice Party -- Malay-led but nominally secular -- is left sandwiched between the two feuding foes and drained by the constant need to keep the peace.

Increasingly public attitude toward Anwar is unfriendly, seeing him as pre- occupied more with grabbing state power by toppling Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi and less on alleviating the real problems the masses face. In fact, Anwar, who controls 82 seats in parliament, is preoccupied with secret negotiations to persuade government backbenchers to defect to his side. If he can get 30 lawmakers to defect he says he can topple Abdullah and form the next government without facing the voters for a fresh mandate.

Many of his own colleagues are openly against "buying" political opponents to make up the numbers because that may cause national instability, and put the Peoples Alliance at the mercy of the defectors whose loyalties will always be questioned. "It is also unethical… we should work at representing the people in parliament, act as an efficient check and balance on the federal government and go for a new mandate," said veteran opposition lawmaker Karpal Singh. "I am against using defectors to topple the government," he told IPS.

Many lawmakers also feel the future of the Peoples Alliance lies in addressing fundamental problems, and on populist measures like distributing food and cooking oil. Nevertheless the opposition victory has given the people fresh hopes that the new government is for them, and in their interest will be not hijacked by the rich and powerful.

After an initial huge jump in expectations and optimism the mood is now "cautious but optimistic" for the Peoples Alliance, partially because people still have grievances with the former National Front governments and their arrogant ways. But, experts warn, these are still the first 100 days and public mood could change dramatically unless the former opposition now in government put aside their differences, abandon populist measures and come together to tackle the real issues - which are poverty, low wages, rising cost of living and lack of social mobility (Baradan Kuppusamy).

More cracks in Abdullah's crumbling facade

2008-06-28T16:37:00.003+08:00

Asia Times (26/6/08): These are trying times for Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi, who after a sub-par showing in the March general elections now faces opposition both from inside and outside his Barisan Nasional (BN) ruling coalition.

Many political analysts speculate his administration will not last the year as the opposition Pakatan Rakyat alliance ramps up its efforts to either poach parliamentarians from the BN into its camp or secure a no-confidence vote in parliament.

The latest blow to coalition unity came on June 18, when two parliamentarians from the Sabah Progressive Party (SPP), a small coalition member from the north Borneo state of Sabah, said they would support a planned no-confidence motion on June 23 against the prime minister. Such a no-confidence motion would have required advance notice and in the end, no vote was put to the house.

But another opportunity arose the same day when a politically sensitive vote on a recent government-ordered reduction in fuel price subsidies, which resulted in a 41% hike in pump prices, was put to parliament. Ruling coalition officials had been on tenterhooks in the run-up to the vote and heaved a sigh of relief when it was passed with a 129-78 majority.

Nonetheless, 11 BN parliamentarians failed to show up for the crucial vote, among them the two disaffected SPP parliamentarians. A report on the SPP's website on the same day said that, since June 18, its leaders had been advised by "friendly parties" not to underestimate "the risky consequences and likely threats" to the party and its leaders.

The legislative endorsement for Abdullah's fuel price hikes has not dampened speculation that his government could yet face a vote of no confidence if, in the coming months, enough members of parliament defect to the opposition Pakatan Rakyat, or People's Alliance. At the same time, opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim has indicated that there are enough parliamentarians who would be willing to defect to his side by September 16, the date commemorating the formation of the Malaysian federation in 1963.

The ruling coalition currently has a 140-82 majority over the opposition alliance in terms of numbers of parliamentarians, while the opposition alliance is looking for at least 30 coalition members to defect in its bid to seize power. It is believed that Anwar is in particular targeting parliamentarians from the states of Sabah and Sarawak, which are rich in natural resources, including oil and timber. The ruling coalition includes 24 parliamentarians from Sabah and 30 from Sarawak.

Opposition leaders are also believed to be courting disgruntled members of Abdullah's United Malays National Organization (UMNO), which currently has 79 seats in parliament and Anwar was formerly a member.

Many in Sabah and neighboring Sarawak feel aggrieved by what they see as the marginalization of their states in the Malaysian federation. The two entities, along with Singapore and Malaya, merged to form Malaysia in 1963, though Singapore left the federation two years later. Now, Sabah and Sarawak are widely viewed as just two among the federation's 13 states, even though they were previously granted special administrative concessions in recognition of their distinct character.

Apart from the disgruntled Sabah and Sarawak parliamentarians, Abdullah also has to contend with a rival within UMNO, Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah, who is bidding to challenge him for the party presidency in December. He also has to deal with the scathing pot-shots lobbed at him by his prime ministerial predecessor, Mahathir Mohamad, whose critical blog postings have received widespread attention.

Moreover, Abdullah has to lug the political baggage that his deputy, Najib Razak, brings along. On Tuesday, the parliamentary speaker rejected a motion by veteran opposition parliamentarian Lim Kit Siang to discuss the latest allegations surrounding the murder of a Mongolian woman, whose body was blown up with explosives in a remote area in 2006.

Popular blogger Raja Petra filed a written declaration in the high court last week alleging that Najib's wife and two others - an acting colonel and his wife - were at the scene on the night of the murder. A close associate of Najib's, Abdul Razak Baginda, and two police special operatives already stand accused in court in the ongoing murder trial. But Raja Petra's sensational allegations point to higher-ups who have not yet been brought to court.

Abdullah said he doesn't believe that either Najib or his wife were involved and has denied Raja Petra's allegation that he had received a written report from military intelligence over the murder. Najib, for his part, has denied that he and his wife were involved in the murder. "Everything that is written is a total lie and fabrication," he said on Wednesday. "It's total garbage."

Anwar in the wings

Meanwhile, various civil society groups and the youth wings of opposition parties are planning a massive protest against the oil price hike on July 5, when organizers hope - somewhat ambitiously - to gather a million aggrieved Malaysians in the heart of the capital Kuala Lumpur. Government crackdowns on street protests staged by aggrieved Hindu groups last year were one factor in UMNO's disappointing electoral performance in March, analysts have said.

All the while, Anwar Ibrahim lies in wait for the opportune moment to make one final push to seize power for the opposition alliance. In that connection, all eyes are focused on what happens next in Sabah. Through its actions last week and its defiance of the ruling coalition, SAPP has tapped into a current of discontent after having toed the party line for years.

The party sees the current moment as a window of opportunity to achieve greater autonomy for Sabah, which despite its considerable oil resources only receives 5% in royalties from the national government. It is a perennial source of political discontent in the state, which has large pockets of poverty in its interior areas, and the small party now seems keen to renegotiate those terms for its future political support. Anwar has already promised the oil-producing states that he would raise their royalty to 20%.

A recent report on the SAPP's official website said, "The momentum for us to recover our autonomy, get 20% oil royalties and return of Labuan [an island off Sabah now regarded as a federal territory] would be lost. Unfair federal laws, excessive taxes and structural imbalances in the economy will remain entrenched. Sabah will remain the poorest state subservient to the central leadership. Labuan bridge, poverty eradication and rural development will remain elusive. Racial politics and wasteful monopolies will continue as usual."

Abdullah has tried to cajole the Sabahans by scrapping the Federal Development Department - an intermediary for federal funds allocated to the state - and with the appointment of a local Sabahan as the vice chancellor of the University Malaysia Sabah. His government has also set up a cabinet committee to look into the large number of illegal immigrants - a major source of discontentment among Sabahans. Najib has said that the government will soon launch a major operation against illegal immigrants.

But those moves are likely to be too little too late for many Sabahans to maintain their political support to the BN. As the political temperature rises, Abdullah has also bid to soften the blow caused by the removal of oil subsidies.

For instance, the government has started to pay out cash rebates amounting to 625 ringgit (US$192) to each car owner across the country. And in an apparent nod to the call for more political openness, his administration has allowed the opposition Harakah newspaper, run by the Islamic Party, PAS, to publish twice a week - its original frequency - instead of once a fortnight as was the case until now.

But that was quickly forgotten this week as new administrative rules restricting reporters' access to the lobby of parliament provoked an angry reaction among mainstream media journalists, prompting them to boycott several press conferences held by politicians in parliament. And with higher oil prices hitting the livelihoods of all Malaysians, it seems unlikely the pressure on Abdullah - and the ruling coalition - will ease any time soon (Anil Netto).

Lobby ban leads to boycott

2008-06-28T16:25:00.003+08:00

Malay Mail (25/6/08): Lobby correspondents were yesterday appalled by Parliamentary officials’ decision to bar journalists from the lobby, which has been for decades one of the chief points of contact between the Third and Fourth Estates.

The move comes on the heels of an order, issued on June 20, to limit Press representation to five each per agency.

Citing concerns about “chaos ”, Deputy Speaker Datuk Wan Junaidi Tuanku Ja’afar told an outraged Lim Kit Siang (DAP-Ipoh Timur) that the decision to remove the Press from the lobby was reached by a consensus of himself, Speaker Tan Sri Pandikar Amin Mulia and Deputy Speaker Ronald Kiandee.

“I visited the House of Commons (in London) and never once witnessed the same kind of chaos there,” he said, “and likewise (there was no disorder) when I attended Congress in the United States, the Western Australian Parliament in Perth, and the Federal Australian Parliament in Canberra." The government backbench thumped their support, and several MPs, notably Datuk Lilah Yassin (BN-Jempol) and Datuk Dr Mohd Shahrom Osman (BN-Lipis) shouted for Lim to sit down and not waste the House’s time with what they apparently considered to be a trivial matter.

Within minutes, however, the Barisan backbench provided journalists in the chamber a startling display of Parliamentary conduct when mayhem broke out during a point of order raised by Khalid Abdul Samad (Pas-Shah Alam).

Datuk Tajuddin Abdul Rahman (BN-Pasir Salak), responding to jibes from N. Gobalakrishnan (PKR-Padang Serai), shouted repeatedly at the latter to “go drink toddy” - a remark that in the last sitting occasioned some humour, but today had decidedly confrontational overtones.

Wan Junaidi was unable to impose within the House the order he would have liked to see outside in the lobby, and MPs spent considerable time hurling insults at each other in a display of decorum very far from the idea of a “first-world parliament” that has lately been bandied about.

Given the lobby ban, the Press ordered a general boycott of all corridor reportage -- such as lobby correspondence had become -- and victims of the voluntary action included Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak and other ministers, as well as opposition MPs.

Clearly, no one expected an immediate retaliation from the parliamentary correspondents: Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Seri Mohd Nazri Aziz described himself as a mere intermediary in the matter between parliamentary authorities and journalists.

Some MPs, however, would have none of it. A few minutes before the House reconvened after lunch, 15 members of the Barisan Backbenchers Club, led by Datuk Bung Mokhtar Radin (BN-Kinabatangan), removed the cordon around the lobby.

Bung Mokhar’s reasoning was thus: Parliamentary administrative authorities had not informed backbenchers of the Press restrictions, and the Sabah MP said he saw no reason now to inform the same authorities of the barrier’s removal.

As a matter of principle, however, the Press still refused to cross the now imaginary boundary. Besides, an official decision from the authorities was still wanting.

Minutes later in the House, Pandikar Amin got himself into a long and heated argument with Karpal Singh (DAPBukit Gelugor), Fong Po Kuan (DAP-Batu Gajah) and others who sought an explanation for the controversy.

Ignoring the issue of the cordon, Pandikar Amin claimed that media agencies were not instructed to limit their representation in Parliament, and that letters had been sent to editors merely to seek their views on the matter.

He also cited security issues and the difficulty security staff apparently had in establishing the identity of journalists in spite of mandatory identification tags issued by the Information Department, and strict procedures on entering the building.

These reasons may have satisfied Members in the House, who subsided back into a dry debate of a Bill to amend the Labuan Offshore Financial Services Authority Act.

The question of principle, however, remained: Parliamentary authorities had cited a desire to impose “first-world parliamentary standards” that required an end to the “chaos” of reporters asking difficult questions of Ministers and parliamentarians.

This concern is both misguided as well as inimical to the democratic practices of the same first-world parliament we are trying so desperately to achieve and, if the conduct of MPs in debate yesterday morning was any measure, standards of conduct ought first to be observed within the House, rather than in the lobby.

Parliamentary reportage exists not merely to repeat the carefully vetted official statements of our leaders, but also to evaluate and comment on their views in the interest of the public; that much should be obvious to even the least politically astute.

Access to elected representatives for this purpose is a fundamental necessity to any informed democracy, and while news agencies can certainly request statements from Ministries and the offices of other politicians, access to public information, and the opinions of government and opposition leaders, is a fundamental duty, as well as the basic right, of every journalist. (U En Ng)

Now, media barred from Parliament lobby

2008-06-28T16:13:00.000+08:00

The Star (25/6/08): In another move that has journalists infuriated, the Parliament administration slapped a ban on them entering the lobby.

More than 100 representatives from various media organisations were allowed at a small corner, where press conferences are normally held.

The journalists retaliated by reporting only on events in the House while boycotting events held at the lobby. These included one press conference by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi and two meetings by Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak.

Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department in charge of Parliament Affairs Datuk Seri Nazri Abd Aziz was quick to response: “I am the intermediary between the legislative and the executive, I am not involved.”

Out with the red tape: Barisan MPs removing the tape that cordoned off journalists from entering the Parliament lobby area on Tuesday.

On Friday, the Parliament administration faxed a notice to media organisations after 5pm on a new measure - limiting the number of pressmen covering Parliament to five at any one time effective from Monday. It cited security reasons.

Yesterday, red tape was used to cordon off the lobby with security guards stationed in the area. Only non-press members and civil servants were allowed in.

Pressmen, thus, only had access to the cafeteria, the small corner for press conferences and the Speaker’s office. They had none to the lounge meant for MPs, the cubicles for ministers, the bridge linking the lobby to the next building where the Prime Minister’s Office is located, mobile post offices and ATM machines.

In the House, some MPs fought for the journalists. Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng (DAP - Bagan), for instance, raised the matter with the Chair, saying the ban did not reflect on freedom of press nor showcased the institution as a “first-world Parliament”.

“Restricting them to a corner like that will make it troublesome to get explanations from the ministers on the various government policies.

“I feel the House is not according proper respect to its role,” he added.

To this, Deputy Speaker Datuk Dr Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar told Guan Eng that the Chair had discussed the matter after the previous Parliament meeting.

“We decided there should be more order in the lobby,'' he said, promising to bring the matter up with Speaker Tan Sri Pandikar Amin Mulia and deputy Datuk Ronald Kiandee. An announcement is expected either today or tomorrow.

He, however, disagreed with Guan Eng that the ban be revoked while the decision was still pending.

Later at about 3pm, Pandikar Amin said he was awaiting replies from editors on the number of reporters required at Parliament. “If five reporters are not sufficient and they need 10, then I need them to explain to me why,” he said.

“There are people who are out to gain political mileage on this issue.

“I may not be popular in this matter,” he said to Guan Eng, Lim Kit Siang (DAP - Ipoh Timor), Karpal Singh (DAP - Bukit Gelugor) and the other MPs who had raised the matter.

Karpal Singh said in his 26 years as MP, he had yet to witness such restrictions.

Kit Siang said the ban made it seem as if reporters were dangerous animals. “This has made the Malaysian Parliament a world news item. We want an open Parliament.”

Datuk Mohamed Aziz (BN-Sri Gading) later interrupted the debate on the Labuan Offshore Financial Services Authority Bill by bringing up the issue.

“Point of Order. Which rule is being referred to block journalists from covering (Parliament)? In 50 years this has never happened.

“Their work is affected,'' he added.

President of the National Union of Journalists Malaysia Norila Mohd Daud said: “The action is unprecedented and has only outraged journalists and media practitioners.”

She said the new ruling appeared to be puzzling and irrational.

Boycott Timeline

9.30am: Reporters arrived at Parliament lobby to discover that red tapes were used to cordon off the main part of the lobby and there were security guards around.

Reporters, photographers and camera crew were only allowed to at a small corner where press conferences used to be held. Lim Guan Eng (DAP-Bagan) was at lobby and spoke to reporters separated by the red tape.

Consensus reached among pressmen to boycott press conferences held at the lobby.

10.30am: When Salahuddin Ayub (PAS-Kubang Kerian) and Khalid Abd Samad (PAS-Shah Alam) expressed their intention to hold a press conference at the lobby, many refused to attend.

10.40am: Photographers, cameramen and journalists left their “working equipment” such as cameras, voice recorders and notebooks on the floor as a sign to stop covering news events at the lobby.

11.30am: After being told that all press members had suspended their work outside the Parliament chamber, Edward Jules, an aide of Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Dr Rais Yatim said he respected them and would convey the information to his boss.

However, he returned a few minutes later with Dr Rais and held a press conference, which was only attended by a few official media such as Bernama and RTM.

Opposition MPs Lim Guan Eng (DAP-Bagan) and Tian Chua (PKR-Batu) decided to issue written statements through their aides instead of speaking directly to the press after realising that most reporters were going on “strike”.

But when Ipoh Timor MP special assistant Lim Swee Kuan wanted to distribute some press statements at the media centre, two security guards prevented him from doing so.

“They told me that staff like us are no longer allowed to give out statements and only MPs have the right to do so.

“I then asked them where the directive came from and they told me that ‘we have it in black and white’,” he said.

Noon: Lim Lip Eng (DAP-Segambut), Tian Chua (PKR-Batu), Nurul Izzah Anwar (PKR-Lembah Pantai), R. Sivarasa (PKR-Subang) and Jeff Ooi (DAP-Jelutong) were present at media centre to give their statements but the press told them that the ban is on.

Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak’s meeting at noon involving the Barisan Nasional management committee meeting held at the committee room was only covered by Bernama.

2.15pm: A group of Barisan Nasional backbenchers marched through the lobby and announced business as usual for all press members by removing all barricades that restricted the movements of reporters.

Barisan Nasional Backbenchers Club deputy chairman Datuk Bung Mokhtar Radin said they did not consult the Parliament administration, nor did they get permission from the Dewan Rakyat Speaker before removing the barricade.

Najib’s second meeting – the Cabinet committee on sports development – was also covered only by Bernama.

3pm: Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi’s meeting on palm oil was covered only by Bernama.

3.30pm: Women, Family and Community Development Minister Datuk Dr Ng Yen Yen, who sent two aides to the media centre to look for press coverage on her 100th day in the ministry, was told “No press coverage at the lobby.”

A big aye for government

2008-06-28T14:51:00.004+08:00

The Edge Daily (24/6/08): The much-anticipated drama on Barisan Nasional’s (BN) motion in parliament to endorse its efforts to restructure the fuel subsidy scheme and combat inflation fizzled out as the opposition failed to get any backbenchers from the ruling party to vote against the motion.

After a six-hour debate, the motion to support the steps taken by the government to ease the burden of the people as a result of the hike in fuel, food and commodity prices was passed via block voting. The government garnered support from 128 members of parliament (MPs) as opposed to the opposition’s 78 votes.

The opposition was hoping to garner support from some members of the ruling party to thwart the motion, which effectively would be deemd as a vote of no confidence against Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.

The optimism of the opposition was sparked by the decision of a BN component party — Sabah Progressive Party (SAPP) — last week to move or support a motion of no-confidence against Abdullah in relation to the subsidies on fuel and food. Surprisingly, SAPP’s two MPs were conspiciously missing from the sitting yesterday.

In a related development, SAPP president Datuk Yong Teck Lee claimed that the duo were intimidated and hence could not attend the session. Earlier in the day, Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Minister Datuk Shahrir Samad moved the motion, setting the stage for the long-drawn debate.

In a move to protest against the petrol price hike, opposition MPs, (from left) Chua Tian Chong (Batu-PKR), N Gobalakrishnan (Padang Serai-PKR), Zulkfili Nordin (Kulim Bandar Baharu-PKR) and Hee Loy Sian (PJ Selatan-PKR) cycle to parliament yesterday.

Among those who spoke were Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng (Bagan-DAP), Khairy Jamaluddin (Rembau-BN) , Ibrahim Ali (Pasir Mas-Independent) and Khalid Samad (Shah Alam-PAS), who incidentally is the brother of Shahrir.

After hours of hearing the views from both sides, Deputy Speaker Ronald Kiandee asked the House to vote on the motion via voice.

At this juncture, Azmin Ali (Gombak-PKR) stood up to protest but was told to sit down.

Kiandee got the House to vote and declared the motion passed based on the strength of voice.

However, Azmin protested saying the process was unfair. He subsequently invoked Standing Order 46.6. By then Speaker Tan Sri Pandikar Amin had taken over the chair and allowed the call for bloc voting, which the BN won convincingly.

(Voting by voice is determined by the loudness of MPs’ voices while voting by bloc is determined via ballots with individual MPs casting their vote which is collected by designated leaders. Bloc voting is not a secret as each bloc leader would know how the individual MPs cast their vote.)

Although the bell was rung, there weren’t any MPs who ran into the hall as most were already seated. The notable absentees were the two SAPP MPs — Datuk Dr Chua Soon Bui (Tawau-BN) and Datuk Eric Enchin Majimbun (Sepanggar-BN) — Tan Sri Rafidah Aziz (Kuala Kangsar-BN), Tengku Azlan Sultan Abu Bakar (Jerantut-BN), Tiong Thai King (Lanang-BN), Datuk James Dawos Mamit (Mambong-BN), Federal Territory Minister Datuk Zulhasnan Rafique (Setiawangsa -BN), Raime Unggi (Tenom-BN), Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Rais Yatim (Jelebu-BN), Datuk Seri Mohd Radzi Sheikh Ahmad (Kangar-BN), Minister in Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Ahmad Zahid Hamidi (Bagan Datuk-BN), Nurul Izzah Anwar (Pantai-PKR), Chow Kon Yeow (Tanjong-DAP), Gobind Singh Deo (Puchong-DAP) and another unidentified Opposition MP.

Earlier, Shahrir had tabled the motion in accordance to Standing Order 27(3) where he had explained the oil subsidy restructuring purposes and the various measures, such as rebates for cars and motorcycles that the government had taken to ease the people’s burden after the 41% and 63% increase in petrol and diesel prices, respectively.

The Opposition MPs took the government to task for not sharing Petronas’ wealth with the people. Lim reiterated his call for Petronas to give each poor household RM6,000, which would amount to RM30 billion.

“The money given to the people would result in fiscal stimulus effect as they would spend the money locally and help generate local economy,” said Lim who also continued to question the gas subsidy given to the independent power producers (IPP).

Khairy said the country faces the twin crises of restructuring of economic base and allocation of scarce resources.

He and Azmin traded barbs when he (Khairy) claimed that some of Petronas’ decisions were made while PKR’s de-facto leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim was in the Cabinet.

Khairy also defended Petronas’ executives using private jet to travel to its operations overseas. Earlier in the debate, Lim had questioned the need for Petronas to own a private jet when it should instead fly on MAS.

“Petronas will use MAS if it has flights to Sudan and Khazakstan,” said Khairy.

Ibrahim (Pasir Mas-Ind) brought up the issue of the connection between ECM-Libra and Pos Malaysia and whether Pos Malaysia stood to gain RM6 for every RM625 rebate for car disbursed.

Khalid (Shah Alam-PAS) said the motion was merely an academic exercise since the government had gone ahead to raise fuel prices without any consultation with MPs from both sides.

In winding up, Shahrir said the gas subsidy cost was part of the agreement that Tenaga Nasional Bhd would bear the costs instead of the IPPs.

It gave RM56.8 billion to the federal government while the states received RM4.7 billion in royalty. Shahrir also said Petronas’ output in 2007 was 661,000 barrels per day (bpd), of which 305,000 bpd were exported.

He said 36.6% of Petronas’ revenue comes from its overseas operations.

Shahrir also clarified that Petronas does not own any private jet but leases one when needed.

On the issue regarding Pos Malaysia, he said: “I asked the Second Finance Minister and he said Pos Malaysia was paid according to actual costs. It has already explained to the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) that during the restructuring of Avenue Capital and its connection with ECM-Libra, Pos Malaysia has gone on to become a GLC (government-linked company).”

No plans to make voter registration compulsory

2008-06-28T14:49:00.000+08:00

Bernama (25/6/08): The government has no plans to make voter registration compulsory as the system in practice is conducive and not burdensome to the people.

Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Datuk Seri Mohamed Nazri Abdul Aziz said if voter registration was made mandatory, it would involve enforcement of the law and could cause problems for the people.

"Compulsory voter registration will be in violation of Article 5 of the Federal Constitution with regards to personal liberty and is against democracy as practised in this country," he said in reply to Datuk Abdul Halim Abdul Rahman (PAS-Pengkalan Chepa) in the Dewan Rakyat here today.

Mohamed Nazri said the government also believed that the high number of registered voters, comprising 73 percent of citizens who were eligible to vote, indicated the people's awareness on their right to vote as provided for in the Federal Constitution.

In addition, he said, the Election Commission (EC) was always holding roadshows and setting up tables for voter registration at shopping complexes to encourage people to register as voters if they had not done so.

"So, I would like to stress here again that we do not want to force people (to register as voters) as the decision is theirs, whether to be a voter or not. We gave the people that choice."

On voters who had died, Mohamed Nazri said the EC carried out a review regularly to remove their names from the voter list for updating purpose.

Hush in lobby after media ban

2008-06-28T14:43:00.003+08:00

The Star (25/6/08): The lobby at Parliament House had always bustled with activity, but yesterday it was silent. Journalists were barred from the main part of the lobby, and were only allowed access to a small corner of the area.

Surprised pressmen were greeted by red tape cordoning off the lobby as they entered Parliament yesterday morning.

Security personnel standing guard told reporters that they had been issued a directive to keep the press away from the lobby.

As a sign of protest, the journalists refused to attend any of the press conferences held yesterday.

MPs were also taken by surprise.

Salahuddin Ayub (PAS – Kubang Kerian), Khalid Abd Samad (PAS – Shah Alam) and even Women, Family and Community Development Minister Datuk Dr Ng Yen Yen tried to hold press conferences, but their requests were politely declined.

Committee meetings chaired by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi and his deputy Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak and Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Dr Rais Yatim’s press conference were only covered by national news agency Bernama and RTM.

Sensing the frustration of the pressmen, the Barisan Nasional Backbenchers Club members decided to take matters into their own hands and remove the barricade.

Club deputy chairman Datuk Bung Mokhtar Radin said they did not consult the Parliament administration, nor did they get permission from the Dewan Rakyat Speaker.

“The administration did not inform us of the ban, so we need not tell them we are removing the barricade,” he said.

R. Sivarasa (PKR – Subang), Tian Chua (PKR – Batu), Nurul Izzah Anwar (PKR – Lembah Pantai), Jeff Ooi (DAP – Jelutong) and Lim Lip Eng (DAP – Segambut) went to the media centre to give press conferences but were turned down.

Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Datuk Zaid Ibrahim said he believed the press should have the right access and facilities to be able to carry out their duties properly.

“If they don't get the right access to the right information, then they will not be able to do a proper job, which will be worse.

“I think the Government and its relevant agencies should talk to the press. But, I urge the press to not boycott. Try to be patient. You all have an important duty to do,” he said yesterday.

July 29 For Mention of warrants of arrest against accused in illegal assembly

2008-06-28T14:39:00.001+08:00

Bernama (23/6/08): The Session's Court here Monday fixed July 29 for mention of the warrants of arrest on nine people, out of 10 accused, who failed to attend Monday's hearing on a charge of participating in an illegal assembly at Parliament building in December last year.

They are Kota Damansara Member of Parliament Dr Mohd Nasir Hashim, 61, PAS Youth deputy chief Nasrudin Hassan, 38, PAS Muslimat (women's wing) chief Nuridah Mohd Salleh, 47, PAS treasurer Mohd Hatta Mohd Ramli, 52, Titiwangsa Member of Parliament Dr Lo' Lo' Mohamed Ghazali, 51, Ang Hiok Gai, 51, Mohamad Sabri Sapiai, 32, Hashim Awang, 37, Azira Arifin, 34, and Mohd Badilah Muda, 33.

Ang, Nuridah and Mohd Nasir were said to be at the court earlier, but left due to some confusion and misunderstanding.

However, judge Fathiyah Idris ordered the warrant of arrest against Mohd Nasir be revoked when he attended Monday's hearing after his counsel, Mohd Radzlan Jalaludin, contacted him.

All the accused are alleged to have committed the offence at the exit road of Parliament building, Jalan Parlimen, at 11am on Dec 11, 2007.

Passage of motion proof of strong support towards Abdullah

2008-06-28T14:36:00.000+08:00

Bernama (23/6/08): The passage of a motion on the increase in the price of fuel and other goods in the Dewan Rakyat Monday, is a reflection of the strong support by Barisan Nasional (BN) members towards the leadership of Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi and the government.

Information Minister Datuk Ahmad Shabery Cheek said the motion, which was passed through block voting -- with 129 members voted for and 78 against it -- was a very important motion and could be regarded as a vote of confidence towards the government and the prime minister.

"We are grateful as majority of members of the House supported the motion. This does not mean the government don't care for the people because if this motion is not approved, the government will bear huge costs and may run into debt.

"This shows that BN is still strong and solid and will remain so until the next election," he told reporters at the parliament lobby Monday.

Commenting on proposal by PAS MP for Shah Alam, Khalid Abd Samad, that tender be opened to foreign oil exploration companies, Ahmad Shabery said it was an unpatriotic proposal.

Meanwhile Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Minister Datuk Shahrir Abd Samad, when met by reporters, said Petronas was still the oil company which had contributed immensely to the country's revenue.

He said the tabling of the motion was to give the chance to the Dewan Rakyat to garner support from the opposition members to come together and tackle whatever challenges facing the country.

Malaysia's government wins first test of strength in Parliament over fuel price hike

2008-06-23T22:49:00.001+08:00

AP (23/6/08): Malaysia's government won a vote in Parliament Monday on its decision to raise fuel prices, passing its first test of legislative strength after being mauled by the opposition in general elections.

The victory will be seen as a vote of confidence in Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi's ruling National Front coalition, including his highly unpopular June 4 order to raise gasoline prices by 41 percent and diesel prices by 63 percent.

Parliamentary speaker Pandikar Amin Mulia announced that a nonbinding motion to support the price hike was passed in a vote after a daylong debate in the 222-member house.

Pandikar said: "129 legislators supported the motion and 78 opposed. Therefore the motion is passed." He did not say how many members abstained or how many were absent.

A loss of the vote would not have brought down the government or overturned the price hike. But it would have been a major embarrassment for Abdullah, who has faced calls from his own party members to step down for returning the Front to power with a vastly reduced majority in the March 8 elections.

The opposition had hoped to turn it into a vote of no confidence, but the government was never in danger of losing such a vote unless ruling party members turned against Abdullah. The National Front has 140 lawmakers against the opposition's 82.

"This is a victory vote that oppresses the people. We regret it," said Salahuddin Ayub, a lawmaker of the opposition Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party.

The vote also eases fears that Front lawmakers would abandon Abdullah and defect to the opposition led by former Deputy Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim.

"There is no question about Front MPs wanting to jump over to the other side," said Nazri Abdul Aziz, a Cabinet minister.

During the debate, Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Minister Shahrir Abdul Samad defended the fuel price hike.

"The government was forced to make the unpopular move of hiking fuel prices but it has not neglected its social responsibilities," he said.

After the government drastically reduced decades of subsidies, the pump price of gasoline price went up to 2.70 ringgit a liter (US$3.20 a gallon) - still cheaper than in most countries in the region.

Shahrir said the subsidy system was inefficient.

"As we move towards becoming a developed nation our subsidy system needs to be restructured gradually to ensure that our economy is really efficient and competitive," he said.

The opposition rejected the argument.

"We feel that the government does not really understand nor realize the impact of the fuel price hike," said Lim Guan Eng of the opposition Democratic Action Party.

Earlier Monday four opposition lawmakers, one in a suit and the others in shirts and ties, arrived at Parliament on bicycles to highlight the fuel price hike.

"We want the people to know that we understand their hardships and that we will fight for them in Parliament," said N. Gobalakrishan who, along with his three cycling companions, was sweating profusely.

Shahrir tables motion on inflation

2008-06-23T22:40:00.002+08:00

NST (23/6/08): Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Minister Datuk Shahrir Samad has completed tabling a motion on inflation and the House is currently debating it.

At lunch time, two members - Razali Ibrahim (BN-Muar) and Lim Guan Eng (DAP- Bagan) - had finished debating the motion while Datuk Hadi Awang (PAS-Marang) was debating midway when the House adjourned for lunch.

Razali said the increase at the pump prices could not be avoided and noted that the government had put in place several measures to help fight inflation.

"What is important now is that the effort is implemented properly. Every step must be taken to stop abuse," he said of the new subsidy plans.

Lim Guan Eng, who is also Penang Chief Minister, said Petronas should disburse RM6,000 to families which earned less than RM6,000 a month.

"This will make more sense than the current cash payout to motorists," he declared.

He called on the government to slash gas subsidies to the independent power producers (IPP) which he said were raking in huge profits despite the hike in global oil prices.

The House will resume debating at 2.30pm and is expected to vote either by voice or division, depending on the Speaker of the House.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi and his deputy Datuk Seri Najib Razak were also present in the House.

M'sia still attractive to foreign investors

2008-06-23T21:49:00.001+08:00

The Star (23/6/08): Malaysia remains competitive in pulling in foreign direct investments (FDI) with RM23.9bil already received in the first quarter of this year.

International Trade and Industries Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin said although it appeared as if investors had shifted to countries like China, India, Vietnam and Thailand, Malaysia was still very competitive in pulling in FDI.

"For example, last year the investment received was RM59.9bil and in the first quarter of this year, we have hit RM23.9bil. We are projecting to do better than 2007,” he said.

Muhyiddin was responding to a supplementary question by Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad (PAS-Kuala Selangor), who said that the country was losing its competitiveness because the Government preferred a domestically driven national gross domestic product (GDP).

Muhyddin said the outflow of FDI last year amounted to RM307mil and that four companies had moved to Thailand, Vietnam and China.

"They shifted because of certain attractions such as cheaper labour in China but I can also prove that some companies which moved there had decided to come back here.

On another supplementary question by Dr Mohd Puad Zarkashi (BN-Batu Pahat), Muhyiddin said the Government had taken measures to compete with neighbouring countries.

“We do not have to announce openly our strategies and initiatives, including those which are deemed customised incentives,” he said.

He said a special committee chaired by the Deputy Prime Minister had been set up to look into cases considered as strategic investment projects which involve large investments but increase the investment rate of the country.

Muhyiddin: Malaysia still the destination of choice for FDIs

2008-06-23T21:35:00.001+08:00

Bernama(23/6/08): Malaysia is the still the destination of choice for foreign direct investments (FDIs) despite competition from neighbouring countries.

Minister of International Trade and Industry, Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, said currently the government has initiated measures to reduce the cost of doing business here.

He said last year Malaysia attracted RM59.9 billion in FDIs and for January-April this year, the amount has reached RM23.9 billion.

"We expect the FDIs this year to be higher than in 2007," he said in reply to a question by Dr Dzulkifli Ahmad (PAS-Kuala Selangor) at the Dewan Rakyat here, Monday.

On the FDI outflow, Muhyiddin said in 2007 it involved about RM307 million from four foreign companies which decided to shift their operations to Thailand, Vietnam and China.

"Among the factors they cited were the decline in demand for their products and to take advantage of the lower labour costs in the countries concerned," he said.

Nevertheless, he said, many companies who had migrated overseas had also decided to invest here when they compared the tangible and intangible costs which were lower here.

He said the Malaysian Industrial Development Authority has identified about 300 South Korean companies, which had invested in China, decided to change their minds and move them to Vietnam, Malaysia and other countries.

PAS calls for a special parliament session on fuel hike

2008-06-23T21:24:00.002+08:00

The Star (9/6/08): PAS handed over a memorandum addressed to the Dewan Rakyat Speaker requesting for a special parliament session to debate the fuel price hike and its effects on the people.

PAS youth chief and chief whip Salahuddin Ayub said the party hoped that the Speaker Tan Sri Pandikar Amin Mulia would consider the request and grant one or two days for the session.

"For the sake of the rakyat, we hope that the Speaker would call for the special session early next week," he said, adding that there would be a peaceful walk from Kampung Baru to KLCC on June 13 in protest against the price hike.

"The steep increase shocked the people because it was the first time petrol price increased by 78 sen a litre and diesel increased by RM1 a litre," he said.

Although fuel price has touched US$135 (RM444) a barrel, it should not be an excuse to increase the price up to 41% because Malaysia is an oil-producing country, he said.

The Government announced the price hike last Wednesday following a cut in fuel subsidy, increasing the price of petrol from RM1.92 per litre to RM2.70 and diesel from RM1.58 per litre to RM2.58.

Salahuddin handed the memorandum to the Parliament administrator Datuk Kamaruddin Mohamed Baria who received it on behalf of Pandikar Amin.

The memorandum was faxed to Pandikar Amin at 12.15pm, he said.

"The Speaker will decide whether there would be a special session," he added.

Witty repartee doesn’t always translate to good debate

2008-06-02T15:27:00.002+08:00

The Edge Daily (2/6/08): Some people expected the quality of debates in parliament to improve with more opposition members of parliament (MPs) to watch over the government. Undeniably, the Dewan Rakyat has become more interesting - but it is difficult to tell if the quality of debates has improved.

The first day of parliament was already marred by boyish antics from both the government and opposition camps. In a heated exchange over some technicalities, Karpal Singh (Bukit Gelugor-DAP) labelled Datuk Bung Mokhtar Radin (Kinabatangan-BN) as “bigfoot”, and the latter responded in kind by calling Karpal “big monkey”.

Although such incidents are not unusual in the Dewan Rakyat, the matter was compounded by the fact that the first half hour of the parliament session was telecast live for the first time nationwide.

Some consider this as entertainment which one can expect from parliament, while others feel embarrassed, so much so that the Information Ministry threatened to stop the live telecast. In the end, the government decided to proceed with the broadcast.

However, the opposition has continuously engaged the government in name-calling and mud-slinging throughout the sessions.

Be that as it may, there was a lot of creativity flowing from the ranks of Pakatan Rakyat, especially Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) vice-president Azmin Ali (Gombak-PKR), who made a memorable remark in one of his speeches.

Taking a swipe at Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi’s son-in-law Khairy Jamaluddin (Rembau-BN), he said: “Since when does Umno care about “ketuanan Melayu” (Malay supremacy), when all this while it only practised “ketuanan menantu” (son-in-law’s supremacy)?”

When it came to Khairy’s turn to speak, the Umno Youth deputy chief tried to get his revenge by sowing the seed of disunity in the opposition camp, targeted at staunchly Islamic PAS MPs, by playing up the pig farm issue in Selangor.

He also said Pakatan Rakyat was just a “public relations” stunt among parties with different ideologies to pull wool over people’s eyes.

Calling PAS a “junior partner” in Pakatan Rakyat, he claimed that the PKR-led Selangor state government was giving more priority to “Projek Khinzir Raksasa” (mammoth pig project), which is a play on the acronym “PKR”.

Khairy’s remarks managed to rile up several PAS MPs, who pointed out that the project was actually approved by the previous state government led by Umno.

Not to be outdone by Khairy, Mahfuz Omar (Pokok Sena-PAS) said it was actually “Projek Babi Negara” (National Pig Project), which is a twist on the Barisan Nasional’s acronym.

Khairy appeared to be a favourite target of the opposition’s stinging attacks, as DAP stalwart Lim Kit Siang (Ipoh Timur-DAP) had earlier called him the “richest unemployed in the world” for being able to acquire and sell a lot of shares in ECM Libra.

Lim also challenged Datuk Mukhriz Mahathir (Jerlun-BN), who is the youngest son of former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, to answer on his father’s behalf.

“Isn’t Dr Mahathir’s administration known for KKN? Does the honourable Jerlun MP know what KKN is? The first K stands for kronisme (cronyism), the second K for korupsi (corruption) and the N for nepotisme (nepotism),” he said.

Even the demure Datin Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail (Permatang Pauh-PKR) displayed her mettle as an Opposition Leader in the debate on the motion of thanks on the royal address, by hurling various accusations against the government.

She tried to implicate Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak, who is also the defence minister, by alleging corruption in the procurement of military equipment, such as Scorpene submarines and Sukhoi fighter jets.

Najib also hogged the limelight as popular blogger Raja Petra Kamaruddin was charged with sedition for his article, which contained allegations linking the deputy prime minister and his wife to the murder of Altantuya Shaaribuu.

Despite the prevalence of playground antics, the Dewan Rakyat still managed to hear an array of issues of public interest, ranging from food security to highway concessions.

While it is heartening to note that many MPs took the opportunity to raise many issues while debating the motion of thanks on the royal address, their skills on real policy matters are not really tested this round.

The real occasion for law-making only came in the fourth week when they debated the Supplementary Supply Bill and the Pensions (Amendments) Bill. Alas, the two bills had to be rushed through the Dewan Rakyat.

In a nutshell, it is still too early to tell whether parliamentary debates are better now, as mud-slinging and name-calling seem to have moved to a new level.

On a more positive note, the government is trying to become more responsive to certain issues judging from certain pronouncements made in parliament. Some BN MPs are also becoming more vocal on issues such as minority rights, corruption and independence of the judiciary.

For example, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Zaid Ibrahim has even been accused by some backbenchers from his own camp of being “an opposition minister” and “realising the opposition’s manifesto” for his plans to reform the judiciary.

The government also announced that it would consider taking over highway concessions or review the toll charges to reduce the financial burden on the people.

In fact, Abdullah himself was seen sitting in the Dewan Rakyat to observe parliamentary proceedings until as late as 11pm on one occasion.

At the end of the day, regardless of the quality of debates in parliament, the more important objective of parliamentary democracy is to ensure that the government is honest and responsive.

First session of Parliament concludes with many changes

2008-06-02T15:18:00.002+08:00

NST (1/6/08): The first session of the 12th Parliament opened on April 28 with many changes. Various quarters are relieved that the 16-day session ended on Thursday before resuming in June.

It was punctuated with high drama, surprises and antics from the MPs, of whom 99 were first-time legislators.

Many opposition and government MPs fought for the opportunity to drive home their points during debates, probably prompted by the live telecasts of them beamed by RTM1 for 30 minutes.

The first session attracted a lot of attention because the Barisan Nasional (BN) was returned to power in the March 8 general election with only a simple majority winning 140 seats with the Pakatan Rakyat (PR) alliance of Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR), DAP and PAS grabbing 81 seats while another seat went to an Independent candidate.

With a bigger opposition bench, Dewan Rakyat speaker Tan Sri Pandikar Amin Mulia and his deputies, Datuk Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar and Datuk Ronald Kiandee, faced a daunting task in dealing with the point of order raised time and again by MPs on the first day of the question and answer session.

Eventually, only three questions could be answered by the government during the question time before it moved on with the debate on the royal address.

"This is because everybody wants to be on television,” was Datuk Ibrahim Ali’s (Independent-Pasir Mas) take on what happened.

Ibrahim was also chided by Datuk Abdul Ghapur Salleh (BN-Kalabakan) for not wearing a lounge suit as required during the swearing-in ceremony.

However, Pandikar said the ruling did not apply to Ibrahim as an Independent MP he did not have a Chief Whip to remind him.

Ibrahim quipped, “Congratulations, Speaker sir, you are a learned man.”

Datuk Anifah Aman (BN-Kimanis) and Abdul Ghapur also warned BN leaders that the political tsunami experienced by the coalition in the general election would become even worse for it if the problems faced by Sabahans were not dealt with.

"It does not mean that when we champion the aspirations of the people, we are going against the government. It does not mean that when use strong words we want to jump ship. What we are telling the Dewan, the people of Sabah will not jump ship like in five states in the peninsula,” said Anifah.

In another breath, he said it was not impossible to “move from a bungalow to a terrace house if you are given enough space. Never mind a terrace house if you are accorded the same facilities but in a bungalow you are made to sleep beside the toilet,” he said in referring to the raw deal Sabahans were getting from the federal government.

Talk that some BN MPs from Sabah would jump ship became rife after PKR adviser Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim had time and again expounded that the opposition would form the government with the defection of disgruntled BN MPs from Sabah.

Speaking to the press outside the Dewan Rakyat, Abdul Rahman Dahalan (BN-Kota Belud) lent weight to the talk by saying that he was offered benefits which could last three generations if he were to defect to PKR.

He lodged reports with the Anti-Corruption Agency in Sabah and Kuala Lumpur.

The Dewan Rakyat sitting also saw both BN and opposition MPs trading inauspicious remarks like `Projek Babi Negara’ by Mahfuz Omar (PAS-Pokok Sena) when he reacted to Khairy Jamaluddin’s (BN-Rembau) insinuation on PKR accronym as “Projek Khinzir Raksasa”. At another time, the Dewan Rakyat was interrupted for 10 minutes when Deputy Higher Education Minister Datuk Idris Haron said a Tamil word `ukkar’ (sit down) but some MPs said it could become a vulgar word if wrongly pronounced.

N. Gobalakrishnan (PKR-Padang Serai) was reproached when he approached the speaker’s bench and whispered the meaning of the word to him.

On another occasion, Gobalakrishnan brought P Waythamoorthy’s six-year-old daughter to Parliament’s lobby to celebrate her birthday.

Waythamoorthy is one of the leaders of the Hindraf organisation and is on self-imposed exile overseas following the detention of five of its other leaders under the Internal Security Act.

Ibrahim, meanwhile, had the misfortune of being mobbed in Parliament’s lobby by about 30 disabled people who took exception to his remarks against wheelchair-bound Karpal Singh (DAP-Bukit Gelugor) for not standing up when raising a point of order.

On seeing this, Datuk Bung Moktar Radin (BN-Kinabatangan,) who is also the Backbencher’s Club deputy chairman, pointed out the need to tighten security in the Dewan Rakyat.

Unlike before, Parliament’s car park was full during the session while the media centre was crowded as more reporters were assigned to cover the developments at the august house.

As for Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi and his deputy Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak, they were seen working at their offices at the Dewan Rakyat when their presence was not required.

On Wednesday, for the first time, a supply bill was approved through block voting - 92 Barisan Nasional MPs voted in favour of the bill, 60 opposition MPs voted against it while another did not cast his vote.

The Supplementary Supply Bill 2008 (2007) on the provision to the statutory fund an amount of RM16.810 billion was earlier debated at the committee stage.

The decision to call for block voting caused many MPs including Abdullah and Najib to rush into the Dewan Rakyat when the bell was rang.

Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz was also seen calling the MPs to come back to the house.

When Wan Junaidi announced that a lone MP did not register his vote, many MPs turned their heads towards Ibrahim Ali.

Several opposition MPs quipped that they might be lucky the next time. (Ahmad Shukran Shaharuddin - Bernama)

Youthful novice ridiculed

2008-05-31T02:04:00.001+08:00

Malay Mail (30/5/08): 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. (U-En Ng)

BMC residents take grouses to Parliament

2008-05-30T22:16:00.001+08:00

Malaysiakini (29/5/08): The House broke into an uproar, however, with M Kulasegaran (DAP-Ipoh Barat) saying that the issue must be debated according to Standing Order 18(3) if at least 15 MPs stood up in support of it.

Wan Junaidi's remark that he was not satisfied with the urgency of the issue prompted Khalid Samad (PAS-Shah Alam) to cheekily ask what would satisfy him.

As calls from both sides continued to disrupt the proceedings, the deputy speaker sternly told all the MPs to sit down and said he did not want to hear anything more about the matter. (Full report)

Drama unfolds as cops step in to block road

2008-05-30T21:58:00.002+08:00

The Star (24/4/08): More drama unfolded at Bandar Mahkota Cheras yesterday when the Kajang police temporarily closed the controversial road offering toll-free access to the Cheras-Kajang Highway.

Several patrol cars were used to block the road under the flyover leading to the Cheras 11th Mile toll plaza from 8am to 9.50am. This led to a large group of angry residents gathering at the site to protest the move.

No through road: Police officers were at the junction at 8am to close the road.

Cheras MP Tan Kok Wai, who arrived at the scene at 9am, called Kajang OCPD Asst Comm Shakaruddin Che Mood to seek an explanation.

“I have spoken to the OCPD and he said it was done to protect road users’ safety as the traffic lights at the junction have not been synchronised.

“The police fear accidents may occur,” Tan said.

He appealed to ACP Shakaruddin to allow residents to use the road for another day, pending the outcome of the survey to determine who has the right of way over the road at a meeting at Menara MPKj in Kajang at 3pm.

Police personnel later removed their vehicles to allow motorists to pass through.

Temporary measure: (From left) Seri Kembangan assemblyman Ean Yong Hian Wah, Tan, Serdang MP Teo Nie Chin, Hulu Langat MP Che Rosli Che Mat and PAS representative Mohd Sany Hamzan trying to calm the residents.

The access road built by Bandar Mahkota Cheras developer Narajaya Sdn Bhd was opened in September 2005 and closed soon after by highway concessionaire Grand Saga Sdn Bhd, who cited a loss of toll collection as the reason for the closure.

On Monday, residents defied an order from the Selangor government and opened the road.

The government had wanted a survey to be carried out with reports from the Hulu Langat Land Office, Kajang Municipal Council, Narajaya and Grand Saga.

At a press conference later, the surveyor said he needed a few more days to prepare the report and it would be ready soon.

Angry residents remove barrier at access road

2008-05-30T21:54:00.001+08:00

The Star (22/4/08): Joy turned to despair and anger when Bandar Mahkota Cheras residents learnt that the toll-free access road to the Cheras-Kajang Highway would not be opened yesterday as earlier anticipated.

More than 700 angry residents who had gathered at the barricade under the flyover before the Cheras 11th mile toll plaza and at the junction to Bandar Tun Hussein Onn took matters into their own hands by forcefully removing the blockage.

With the use of heavy machinery, they removed the barrier placed by highway concessionaire Grand Saga Sdn Bhd in 2006 and defied an order from the Selangor state government to wait till Wednesday.

An excited crowd lead by Bandar Mahkota Cheras Open Access Road Committee chairman Tan Boon Wah had earlier gathered at the location yesterday, expecting the Kajang Municipal Council (MPKj) to remove the barrier at 10am.

This came about because on Friday, Selangor State Local Government, Study and Research Committee chairman Ronnie Liu had said that the land belonged to the state and gave the council the power to act.

In their own hands: Residents tearing down the barricades yesterday.

At 10.20am, heavy machinery brought in by the Bandar Mahkota Cheras Open Access Road Committee with the help of developer Narajaya Sdn Bhd which built the road, began drilling holes into the concrete barriers, amidst cheers from the residents.

Elected representatives who addressed the jubilant crowd in the morning were Hulu Langat MP Che Rosli Che Mat of PAS, Serdang MP Teo Nie Ching and Segambut MP Lim Lip Eng, both of the DAP.

Work was stopped at 10.40am when MPKj president Datuk Hasan Nawawi Abdul Rahman arrived to announce the bad news that the wait would be prolonged.

“The council has received orders from the state government to appoint a surveyor to determine who has right of way over the road.

“The surveyor will collect reports from the Malaysian Highway Authority, Narajaya and Grand Saga and deliver his findings on Wednesday,” Hasan told the crowd who booed and jeered at him.

Calls were then made to the state government to ascertain if this was true.

The elected representatives then left for Menara MPKj to view the letter purportedly from Selangor Mentri Besar Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim, asking for all work to stop and for the crowd to disperse peacefully.

“We were told to wait but the federal and state governments must understand that we cannot wait any longer. Who is Grand Saga to flex its muscles so that we residents have to live with traffic jams every single day?” Tan asked.

Bandar Mahkota Cheras residents Phoon Chee Kai, 68 and Kelly Moh, 35, said they were tired of battling traffic every day just to access the highway using a longer route that measured 4.5km.

Residents were unanimous in their decision to ignore the calls to stop work and the barriers were removed by 4pm. Re-surfacing work was carried out soon afterwards.

PAS MP vows to end Bandar Mahkota Cheras residents’ frustrations

2008-05-30T21:47:00.003+08:00

Open to the public: Khalid signing on the plaque to commemorate the opening of the Hulu Langat parliamentary and Kajang state assembly service centre in Kajang. With him is Lee.
(The Star 7/5/08)

The Star (14/3/08): Little can be done about the Bandar Mahkota Cheras road closure issue because the case has gone to court.

Kajang Municipal Council (MPKj) deputy president Abdullah Marjunid conveyed this to new Hulu Langat MP Che Rosli Che Mat and Mohd Sany Hamzan, who contested on a PAS ticket in the Dusun Tua state seat in the recent general election.

The duo had sought a meeting with Abdullah recently to request that the road be opened.

The toll-free road leading from the township next to Bandar Sungai Long has been closed since 2005 because Grand Saga Sdn Bhd, concessionaire for the Cheras-Kajang Highway, has deemed it illegal.

Soon after the road was built, the council gave the green light for its opening.

However, Grand Saga barricaded the road and the matter was then referred to the Malaysian Highway Authority (LLM) and the Works Ministry.

Bandar Mahkota Cheras developer, Narajaya Sdn Bhd, is now suing Grand Saga because both companies cannot reach an agreement over the issue of compensation.

Grand Saga is reputed to be asking for RM400mil for loss of toll collection over the years.

Opening of the road is on Che Rosli's agenda as the new MP for Hulu Langat.

Speaking to the media later, he said all avenues would be explored to allow for the opening of the road that has caused frustration among residents.

Mohd Sany who lost to Dusun Tua assemblyman Ismail Sani said he would continue to fight for the cause because Bandar Mahkota Cheras and Bandar Sungai Long residents had asked for his help too.

Related: Deklarasi Buka Jalan (Bandar Mahkota Cheras Buka Jalan)

Road barricade is illegal, says Liu

2008-05-30T21:29:00.001+08:00

Bandar Mahkota Cheras residents showing their disapproval over the fracas on Thursday night.

NST (date unknown): The Cheras-Kajang Expressway operator, Grand Saga Sdn Bhd, can not block the access road to Bandar Mahkota in Cheras as the road is on state land.

State executive councillor for local government and research Ronnie Liu said what the company did, by placing concrete barriers on the road, was illegal.

He said a survey by the state Survey and Mapping Department (Jupem), which he received on Friday, confirmed that the land belonged to the state.

"I have forwarded the report to state legal advisor (Datuk Zauyah Lothy Khan) for necessary action, including informing the company on the status of the land," he said during his visit to the area on Saturday.

Also present were Cheras MP Tan Kok Wai, Serdang MP Teo Nie Ching, Hulu Langat MP Dr Che Rosli Che Mat and state executive councillor for new village development and illegal factory Ean Yong Hian Wah, who is also Seri Kembangan assemblyman.

Liu said so far, the company had not showed any documents to prove that the land was theirs or belonged to the Federal Government.

He said the company did not employ any land surveyor to determine the status of the land before erecting the barriers.

"In a way, no one can block the access road and the residents have the right to use it."

Liu said to find an amicable solution on the issue, Menteri Besar Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim had agreed to hold a meeting between the residents, company and the federal governmment's this week.

He said to avoid another controversy, the state government would also check with the Public Works Department to determine whether the other access roads to the expressway belonged to the state.

Bandar Mahkota residents have been fighting for their right to use the toll-free access road since three years ago, after Grand Saga barricaded the road.

Upset with the company's move, residents had several times dismantled the barriers but the company continued to erect new ones.

The dispute turned ugly last Thursday when 2,000 residents in the area demonstrated and demanded the authorities to stop the construction of the concrete barrier.

More than 1,000 Federal Reserve Unit personnel were present and had to resort to using water cannons to disperse the crowd. Police also arrested four people.

Segambut MP Lim Lip Eng, who was present, suffered cuts and bruises on his arms and body.

He had claimed that he was kicked and punched by plainclothes policemen while trying to prevent the FRU from using water cannon on the residents.

Lim had sought treatment at Kajang Hospital.

Following the incident, Grand Saga applied for an injunction against Bandar Mahkota Cheras Open Access Committee head Tan Boon Wah, Kajang Municipal Council and Liu to stop them from entering the disputed land.

On Friday, an injunction to stop the company from erecting a barricade along the access road was filed at the High Court by Serdang MP Teo Nie Ching.

It was reported that the access road was built by Bandar Mahkota Cheras developer, Narajaya Sdn Bhd, to enable easier access for the residents to the expressway.

After the road was built, the Kajang Municipal Council gave the green light for its opening. Grand Saga, however, was against the access road as it bypassed the Batu 11 toll plaza and blocked the road.

The company was also reported to have asked for RM400 million from Narajaya for the loss in toll collection if the access road was to be allowed.

Newbie Sulaiman fumbles with his words

2008-05-30T01:13:00.001+08:00

The Sun (29/5/08): Deputy Tourism Minister Datuk Seri Sulaiman Abdul Rahman Abdul Taib gave a very bad first impression in Parliament today when he fumbled with his words to answer questions on the RM10 million being allocated for the State Tourism Action Council (MTPN).

At one point, he was even "helped" by another BN MP from Sarawak, Norah Abdul Rahman (BN-Tanjong Manis) who said she wanted to provide some information to Sulaiman on one of the issues raised.

This prompted Tian Chua (PKR-Batu) to quip: "You want to help out the new (deputy) minister, eh?"

Winding-up debates for the item under the Supplementary Supply Bill, Sulaiman was flooded with questions from the Opposition MPs on a point raised by Minister Datuk Azalina Othman Said last week in which the MPs tried to refer her to the Committee of Privileges.

Azmin Ali (PKR-Gombak) said he was not satisfied with Azalina's clarification on signature tourism events being dropped in Pakatan Rakyat (PR) states.

"The MTPN which is meant to promote tourism at state level is used by the ministry for political revenge," he said, adding he wanted the Dewan to record the explanation given by Azalina to him in the parliament lounge on May 20.

Sulaiman clarified the calendar events were not dropped as the minutes of a meeting dated March 26 quoted by Azmin has been cancelled and replaced by another dated April 1.

While seemingly stuttered in forming his sentences, he went on to say the ministry was willing to cooperate with PR states, therefore the accusations that it has neglected tourism in the five states were untrue.

"The ministry wants tourists to come to the whole of Malaysia, anywhere in the country. Previously, we had promoted Penang, Kuala Lumpur, Langkawi. At that time, we should have focused on enhancing (world's) knowledge about Malaysia.

"But, if we were to promote the whole country, it would be difficult for the foreign tourists to focus. So, we had focused on destinations which are easier to be promoted and highly beneficial to the country," he said.

Later, when he repeated his readiness to work together with all state governments, irrespective of the ruling party, Datuk Abdul Halim Abdul Rahman (PAS-Pengkalan Chepa) stood up to ask for an explanation on Azalina’s statement last week.

She had said the Kelantan state government had failed to pay MTPN officers three months salary in 2002 but Abdul Halim said the pay was the responsibility of the federal government.

To this, Sulaiman read out quickly a prepared statement on the chronology of events from the MoU signed between the ministry and Kelantan in February 2002, to set up the MTPN until Jan 2003 when Kelantan had to refund the RM2 million given following the cancellation of the MoU in Oct 2002.

He said the MoU was cancelled because the state government did not follow the right procedure in the appointment of MTPN chairman, and during this process, the MTPN staff were deprived of their three-month pay.

Abdul Halim who was Deputy Mentri Besar at that time said Kelantan did not agree with the chairman picked by the ministry as he was an Umno member and argued that the selection of chairman should be the prerogative of the state government.

Only 60% of positions for docs, specialists filled in govt hospitals

2008-05-30T01:11:00.001+08:00

The Sun (29/5/08): Only 60% of positions for doctors and specialists in the Health Ministry's hospitals are filled, its minister Datuk Liow Tiong Lai said.

"We are working towards filling up the vacancies," Liow said in his winding-up for the purpose of a RM200 million allocation under the Supplementary Supply Bill in Parliament today.

Admitting thatvthere is a severe shortage of doctors and specialists in government hospitals, Liow said there were constant opportunities for training and upgrading of skills that were being provided, in addition to looking to speed up promotions of doctors and specialists under the ministry.

"We have 1,860 doctors working out of the 3,628 positions," he said, adding that the ministry was also working on efforts to prevent specialists and doctors from migrating to the private sector.

To a question by Datuk Dr Marcus Mojigoh (BN-Putatan) for migration figures, Liow said he did not have the detailed figures but disclosed that in 2007, the ministry had 1,867 specialists compared with 1,680 this year.

"These numbers comntinue to fall despite yearly replacements. The more we train, the more will leave," he added.

However, in response to a different question raised earlier, Liow said general practitioners in the private sector were also welcomed to help government hospitals in extended hours of services.

"We encourage doctors to come to the hospital and we give them an allowance of RM80 an hour," he said, also admitting to a shortage of nurses.

Liow said health services amounted to 4% of the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and that escalating costs were a burden.

"The government has been giving 98% subsidies for treatment costs and only 2% pay for the treatment under the full-paying patient scheme in which patients who can afford to pay for treatment pays for the service.

"We will be studying the full-paying patient scheme in August but the costs are rising daily and government’s subsidies are also bloating," he said, adding that the ministry received RM10 billion in subsidies in 2007 and RM12.9 billion last year.

Liow also reassured Khalid Abd Samad (PAS-Shah Alam) that the ministry will build a hospital in Shah Alam city under the 9th Malaysia Plan.

Urgent motion denied, denied, denied

2008-05-29T15:31:00.005+08:00

Victim of police bashing at Bandar Mahkota Cheras (Malaysiakini)

Saudari Teo Nie Ching of Serdang filed for an urgent motion 2 days ago, due for a hearing by the Speaker today on whether it could be debated in the House. Almost as expected, the motion was denied.

There are probably some 10 or so urgent motions which has been denied the chance to see the light of day in the House. So far the most frequently use reason for rejection is "not urgent" - be it urgent medical treatments on ISA detainees (not urgent), death to National Service detainees (not urgent) or death under police custody (only very few such cases).

So far, the only motion allowed for debate was on the issue of the sharp increase in the price of rice and its possible shortage.

Today, the Deputy Speaker once again rejected Serdang's motion, that is to debate the police action and inaction over the Bandar Mahkota Cheras - Grand Saga toll controversy, which has resulted in individuals being hurt by thugs in full police presence and another being beaten up by some 20 police officers. This issue has hit the headlines over the past 3 days or so.

The Speaker ruled that the motion is not urgent, and that since the matter is under court action, the House is not permitted to discuss the issue as it would then be sub-judice.

Both Serdang and myself stood up to point out to the speaker that the issue that is being discussed here in police inaction and brutality and not the case due for hearing in the courts. Hence there is nothing sub judice about the case.

The Speaker would have none of it, despite more members from the opposition bench speaking in support of the motion, of course with the BN backbenchers at the same time vocally opposing our cause for the Malaysian victims.

Khalid Abdul Samad (PAS-Shah Alam) stood to ask the speaker to explain to the house, if death and being beaten up by authorities isn't sufficiently "urgent", then what is the criteria the Speaker use to define "urgent"?

Well, obviously the question didn't require an urgent answer, and I don't expect to hear it any time soon. (Courtesy: Tony Pua)

Govt grilled over CYC

2008-05-29T15:26:00.001+08:00

The Sun (28/5/08): The government was grilled in the Dewan Rakyat (Parliament) today over its commitment to organise the controversial Champions Youth Cup (CYC) which costs taxpayers RM17 million per edition.

Criticisms from the Pakatan Rakyat MPs came during the debate on the Supplementary Supply Bill, and Deputy Finance Minister Datuk Ahmad Husni Mohamad Hanadzlah had his hands full defending the programme which was held for the first time last year to poor audience support.

The Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) has decided not to give its sanction to this event this year. Even if it is not held, the government has to forego RM8 million as it is tied to a contract for three years.

Datuk Abdul Halim Abdul Rahman (PAS-Pengkalan Chepa) questioned the benefits the CYC brings to the country.

Mahfuz Omar (PAS-Pokok Sena) said it is too costly to host the CYC and suggested the Malaysian team be sent overseas for training as it is cheaper.

He said the players can learn from the clubs there and gain exposure instead of spending RM17 million.

"If we focus too much on sports tourism, it will affect the focus of our sports, like the current state of our football."

William Leong (DAP-Selayang) said the CYC does not have the support of the FAM. "So what is the urgent need to give the funds?"

Mohd Firdaus Jaafar (PAS-Jerai) said the CYC has only resulted in two players being sent for training overseas. "Furthermore, Malaysia has dropped in the ranking to 169."

Datuk Ibrahim Ali (Ind-Pasir Mas) suggested the Youth and Sports Minister visit Africa where world class players are also produced. "They play barefoot, they don't even have jerseys to wear and yet they are of world class standard. Take me along so I can be your driver."

In defending the CYC, Ahmad Husni said: "There are the tangible and intangible benefits to it, the intangible becomes tangible when training is provided to the young talents." He cited Brazil’s Ronaldo and Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo as world class players who benefited from such training.

"After they are spotted, and with exposure, they become world class players so CYC has good elements.

"The CYC is one of three programmes by the Youth and Sports Ministry which benefits in terms of sports and tourism. The tangible part of it is attracting some 21 million tourists," Ahmad Husni said.

He said an ad hoc committee set up between the FAM, the Attorney-General, the ministry and a panel of advisers will look at the organisation of the CYC. The CYC involves a cost of RM17 million per year being paid to the Gifted Group Limited (GGL).

While making no mention of the RM17 million allocation for each year, Ahmd Husni said the amount given for the organisation of the event stands at RM2 million, adding that such events provide training and exposure for our athletes.

"The CYC also has relevance to giant football clubs like Manchester United, Latin America’s Flamingo, Chelsea, Arsenal, AC Milan, Ajax, Barcelona and it was supposed to include Real Madrid this year. Imagine a 16 or 17-year-old competing with players from these giant teams. It will display his competence, strength and skill. Furthermore, through agreements (under the CYC), we can also send our athletes overseas and several people have already benefited from this," Ahmad Husni added.

Close shave for RM16.8b bill

2008-05-29T15:24:00.001+08:00

The Sun (28/5/08): Had the Barisan Nasional (BN) MPs - ministers, deputy ministers and the parliamentarians - not reacted fast enough to the bell, the RM16.8 billion Supplementary Supply Bill would not have been passed in Parliament today.

After a 15-minute wait for division (vote), Deputy Speaker Datuk Dr Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar ruled the bill was passed 92 to 60 votes, with one abstaining from voting.

The division process erupted from the usual process of Wan Junaidi asking for those in support of it to state if they agree or disagree but he noted that the voice for agreeing was quite soft, then ruling that the voice of disagreement was sharper than agreement.

Tian Chua (PKR-Batu) then stood to ask for a division but Wan Junaidi waved it off saying there was no need for it, echoed by some BN MPs to which Mohamed Azmin Ali (PKR-Gombak) then said there was indeed a need for it.

"The sum of RM16 billion is a big amount," Mohamed Azmin said, supported by fellow Pakatan Rakyat (PR) parliamentarians.

Wan Junaidi agreed on the point that it involved a big sum of funds.

"As a matter of principle, we will also want to know who is involved in this and are agreeing to waste the people’s money," Tian Chua said, drawing a loud roar from the BN MPs.

"Show your dissatisfaction outside lah," quipped Datuk Tajuddin Abdul Rahman (BN-Pasir Salak).

Chong Chieng Jen (DAP-Bandar Kuching) said: "There are many ministers and deputy ministers who are not around and are not willing to sit in the House, so let’s have this to also teach them a lesson so they will attend proceedings."

Wan Junaidi then succumbed to the pressure and asked for parliamentarians to vote.

"Yang Berhormats, there are more than 15 who asked for division and according to Standing Order 46, the division will be held … Now," he said.

Throughout the 15 minutes of collecting votes, MPs started jeering, including Mahfuz Omar (PAS-Pokok Sena) who said: "Those who agree to this are indeed wasters."

Wan Junaidi then called for order and asked the MPs to take their seats.

"No need for you to stand up, Yang Berhormats. Those who are not counters, sit down. There is no need for chaos in the House," he said.

While the bell rang for MPs to return to the House, Wan Junaidi’s instructions and call for calm seemed to have fallen on deaf ears.

Boos and jeers were heard as MPs returned to the House, and even Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi took his seat to support the vote. Wan Junaidi was seen smiling at members entering the House.

A few moments later, Lim Kit Siang (DAP-Ipoh Timur) called for Point-of-Order in Standing Order 48(7) (5) where it provides that members with self-interests cannot support a motion and each parliamentarian needed to declare this.

BN MPs including Datuk Noh Omar (BN-Tanjung Karang), Datuk Seri Shafie Apdal (BN-Semporna) and Datuk Lilah Yassin (BN-Jempol) did not take this sitting down, as they "roared" against this.

After taking control of the situation, Wan Junaidi rejected the Point-of-Order, saying: "The question of interest was not raised in debates, secondly, if we want to investigate one-by-one, we will not be able to solve this even in 2010."

M. Kulasegaran (DAP-Ipoh Barat) then stood to defend Lim to which Wan Junaidi said: "Yang Berhormat! Everybody has interest in these funds because it is also used for salaries and projects and for roads."

"We all have an interest in it. Stop raising petty issues," he retorted.

Instantly, there was more noise from the PR MPs as Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak made his entry to place his vote.

Khalid Abd Samad (PAS-Shah Alam) quipped: "Next time, let the government's side be better represented."

Dr Mohd Puad Zarkashi responded: "Yang Berhormat! (Referring to Datuk Shahrir Abdul Samad – Khalid’s brother) Watch your sibling. He’s too naughty."

Following this, Education Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein also made his entry amid a noisier House.

"Please be patient and don’t make noise," Wan Junaidi pleaded before announcing the decision.

Order only resumed after the BN MPs jeered their PR peers for wasting time while Khalid then said the BN members could now leave the House again since the division was completed.