Danny Lim
Jul 5, 10
3:23pm

As rumours of a snap general election intensify, Pakatan Rakyat is taking its fight overseas with the launch of their Friends for Pakatan Rakyat (FoPR) club in London yesterday.

FoPR chairperson Brain Morais estimated that 20,000-30,000 Malaysians live in London alone.

They represent a potential political support group that could channel its energies and resources through the club.

For the launch, Pakatan top guns flew in from Malaysia to massage the morale of overseas supporters and run through a lengthy checklist of BN blemishes, whilst allaying concerns about problems within the coalition, during a five-hour wide-ranging forum.

Above all, the message was to exude confidence in Pakatan’s ability to win the next general election, adding that the Sibu by-election was the precursor to BN’s downfall.

PKR supreme council member Zaid Ibrahim (right) said this has led to a situation where BN would attack imaginary enemies or create dodgy excuses to taint rivals.

Among others, he cited the banning of cartoon books by Zulkiflee Anwar Ulhaque, better known as Zunar, and attempts to taint his Manchester rendevous with fugitive blogger Raja Petra Kamarudin as a criminal act.

“(BN) are in a state of panic, they now see enemies everywhere,” said Zaid, who later stated confidently that Pakatan’s takeover of Putrajaya is inevitable and near.

Withholding dissolution

As the cheerleading baton passed on to PAS treasurer Hatta Ramli, he said BN bigwigs such as Umno vice-president Hishammuddin Hussein have dropped wide hints that a general election is looming.

“Which is September I guess. If it is, I think we will win big,” said Hatta (left).

He then mooted the possibility of Pakatan-held states of Kelantan, Kedah, Penang and Selangor choosing not to dissolve their respective state legislative assemblies as a tactical manoeuvre.

“I’m trying to persuade our leaders…. I hope, or we hope, that the states now controlled by Pakatan will not join the fray and will not dissolve out state assembly.

“We have a duty to do. We have been given the task to rule for five years. We cannot run away from our responsibilities,” he said.

Hatta said that should a snap election be called, this scenario will allow Pakatan to concentrate its efforts on capturing other states, particularly the “difficult” states of Johor, Sabah and Malacca.

BN’s only innovation

The final speaker, Lembah Pantai MP Nurul Izzah Anwar, took a more nuanced perspective and invited her audience to appreciate the fact that unlike the BN, Pakatan is open to criticism and willing to improve itself.

“You shouldn’t choose Pakatan just because we are the antithesis to BN. We have our weaknesses, but we have also been making progress,” she said.

Eager to quote policy positions, she cited successes like the implementation of Selangor Select Committee on Competency, Accountability and Transparency which acts as a internal check-and-balance mechanism.

“(Pakatan) distinguishes the power of the state, the state assembly and the powers of the executive,” said Nurul Izzah, adding that with the BN, the lines are opaque.

Nurul Izzah (left) also took a jibe at Umno’s apparent attempts to “outsource” its racial agenda to controversial Malay rights advocate Perkasa.

“In the 10th Malaysia plan, innovation is said to be the main driver of economic growth. The only innovation (thus far) seems to be Perkasa,” she quipped.

“Ibrahim Ali… he is a creature who has to be avoided at all cost… The prime minister has allowed the voice of these narcissistic, narrow-minded, dangerous Malays and allowed (Dr) Mahathir (Mohamad) to back them up, to shore up support, supposedly for Umno, at what cost?”

Other personalities at the event were fugitive blogger Raja Petra Kamarudin, private investigator in exile P Balasubramaniam (in red shirt), and Tumpat MP Kamaruddin Jaafar.

The event was held at the Conway Hall, which is reputed as a hub for free speech and previously a platform for speakers such as author Salman Rushdie.

For Pakatan, the cost of flying its leaders to London will be far outweighed by the votes it can achieve, if FoPR can get even half as many Malaysian Londoners to make the trip back home.

DANNY LIM is a freelance writer and photographer currently based in the UK.

Free Malaysia Today

By Teoh El Sen  SAT, 03 JUL 2010 00:58

PETALING JAYA: Lembah Pantai MP Nurul Izzah Anwar today urged the Transport Ministry to review an “unfair” decision it made to award two companies a multi-million-ringgit contract for a nationwide implementation of a speed camera system to catch traffic offenders.

FMT yesterday reported that local company Tess Capital Sdn Bhd claimed that it has been sidelined in the award of the RM700 million contract for the Automated Enforcement System (AES). The deal went to the two companies whose AES is based on foreign technology.

The AES is made up of cameras installed at accident-prone areas and traffic light junctions. The devices can detect speeding vehicles and those who beat the red light.

Tess Capital claimed that its AES, the product of its homegrown technology, is equal, if not better, than its competitors.

Its executive director Soh Joon Hang said he has lodged a report with the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) to investigate what he claimed was the abuse of power and “manipulation” by Road Transport Department over the tender process in 2007.

Tess Capital was established in 2004 and later given an MSC (Multimedia Super Corridor) status a year later. Soh said his company was officially recognised as AES supplier by the New South Wales government after it had passed a stringent 18-month trial in 2008.

(more…)

By G Vinod FRI, 02 JUL 2010 10:54

KUALA LUMPUR: Lembah Pantai MP Nurul Izzah Anwar expressed her disappointment over Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak’s announcement that only Barisan Nasional lawmakers will get an increase in their allocations.

The BN Backbenchers Club chairman Bung Moktar Radin today announced that BN lawmakers will receive RM1.5 million in allocations this year, compared with the previous RM1 million.

“It is highly irresponsible of the premier to do such a thing,”she said.

“The prime minister should be fair to all lawmakers as the the fund belongs to the taxpayers.”

Nurul Izzah added this is another way for Najib to placate his members in the ruling coalition.

She also queried whether the additional funds will be used on their respective constituencies.

“Right now, the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) is investigating on how we spend our allowances but the MACC is pussyfooting when it comes to BN lawmakers,” Nurul Izzah said.

Meanwhile, Kapar MP S Manickavasagam said Najib’s move is unconstitutional.

“Both BN and Pakatan Rakyat lawmakers are elected by the people. So why discriminate?” he asked.

He also spoke of the woes suffered by Pakatan MPs.

“I have not received any allocation from the federal government for the past two years. Other Pakatan lawmakers are facing the same problem.”

“Fortunately, the Selangor government gives me some funds but it is not enough. I even have to use my own money to serve my constituents,” he said.

He added that if the prime minister is really a person who puts the people’s interest first, he should allocate funds to all lawmakers irrespective of their political affiliations.

“In the end, it is the people who will be getting the benefit,” he said.

By Patrick Lee FRI, 02 JUL 2010 14:22

FULL REPORT PETALING JAYA: The Home Ministry has suspended the printing permit of PKR organ Suara Keadilan.

The decision came three days after the ministry slapped the publication with a seven-day deadline to explain a controversial article.

“After discussing the matter yesterday, the ministry came to the conclusion that it is not satisfied with the answer given by Suara Keadilan,” said the ministry’s al-Quran and text control department secretary Zaitun Samad in a statement.

According to Zaitun, the decision was made after reviewing the newspaper’s reply to the ministry’s show-cause letter on Tuesday regarding the “Felda Bankrupt” article in its June 22-29 edition.

She said the ministry received the reply on June 30 and held a meeting the next day to discuss the matter with regard to the Printing Presses and Publications Act 1984.

“We have sent a letter to Suara Keadilan’s printers instructing them to discontinue publication until a decision is made regarding the paper’s request for a permit renewal,” she added.

(more…)

The Star

June 30, 2010

THE Employees Provident Fund (EPF) has a solid financial standing to carry out a massive development project involving 3,335 acres of land in Sungai Buloh, said Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak.

The EPF also planned to increase its involvement in property investment from 2% to 5%, he said.

“The development project will also create job opportunities,” Najib said in his written reply to Nurul Izzah Anwar (PKR – Lembah Pantai).

The Government has approved a development project to be carried out by Kwasa Land Sdn Bhd – a joint venture company between the Government and EPF on the land owned by the Rubber Board of Malaysia.

The Government approved the proposed plan to develop the land in principle on May 12.

“The direct involvement of the Government through a joint venture with the EPF enables it to regulate the direction of the development, including the development of certain industrial sector clusters in line with the New Economic Model,” he said.

The EPF would be getting several private property companies to participate in the development of the land, Najib said, adding that EPF’s contributors are expected to benefit from the venture.

Dubbed the “new hub” for Klang Valley, the development project is estimated to attract more than RM5bil in investments.

Free Malaysia Today

THU, 24 JUN 2010 14:07

Patrick Lee

VIDEO INSIDE KUALA LUMPUR: Hawkers along Jalan Chan Ah Tong in Brickfields are unhappy over City Hall’s decision to give the area a RM35 million ‘face-lift’ and transform it into a new Little India.

As part of its plan, about 68 hawker stalls will be moved to a temporary site nearby, very much against their wishes, and then will be relocated at a new site which will cater for all hawkers in Brickfields.

While the hawkers could be forced to move out of their present site, they are also facing another problem when it comes to allocation of places at the temporary site.

According to one of the affected hawkers, Selvaraja Pillai (photo), only half of the 68 have been served with the temporary relocation notices thus far. Their fear is that the others would not be given a spot at the temporary site.

He also said the hawkers were not aware of the Little India plan.

“They did not seek our views or opinion,” he said. “We had to learn about it from the papers.,” he said.

Another hawker, tomyam seller Rosni Zain, said some of them had been trading in Brickfields for 30 to 40 years.

“I don’t want to move as my business might suffer as a result.”

(more…)